Glock KB17281 81 Field Knife

The media could not be loaded. So, why would you need an Austrian bayonet (AKA the Glock Feldmesser 81)? Joe X said so! And it's a Glock. But mostly because it's so danged cool! I had no idea I needed or wanted one until I started watching those jaw-dropping Joe X knife destruction videos.He is an Austrian (Ex?) soldier who tests knives by putting them through some of the most extreme and destructive tasks to test the physical limits of knives (and himself, as evidenced by how hard he works). The Glock Feldmesser is the official issue knife of the Austrian army and one of Joe X's favorite knives due to its extreme strength and indestructibility.I purchased the model 81, which includes a "sawback." There is also a smooth-back version, the model 78. Sawback is a stretch—it's more of a root saw than a wood saw. It doesn't actually cut through wood but will cut softer materials like cloth and roots. The knife is made from 1095 spring steel and has a smooth spray-on phosphate coating to help reduce rusting. The knife handle and sheath are polymer-based, using the same material Glock uses for its firearms.The blade is beefy but narrow. At 6.5" in length, with a spine thickness of 5mm, it's surprisingly strong. I've seen videos of people jamming it into a tree and using it as a footstep to climb up. The handle is partially hollow with a half-length metal cylinder tang designed as a barrel receiver for a rifle. It is clearly intended for tactical use - long and pokey for sticking into things (it is a bayonet). Mine arrived moderately sharp for its intended purpose but can be made much sharper.It comes with an ambidextrous polymer sheath with a positive latch that locks over the guard to hold it in place. Although the knife shakes inside the sheath, it's very secure—you can't make it fall out once it's locked in place (see video above).The narrow, flat-ground blade allows use for crossover tasks, especially wood processing. The long blade and wide wedge-shaped spine make quick work out of splitting wood and chopping branches. And, as Joe X shows, you can use it to cut your way out of a car! I've used it for food prep, too. It's surprisingly efficient.This knife is an ideal example of what to add when you have other, more functional blades. It's a funky and fun collectible, and oddly, available in multiple tactical colors (OD, black, green, sand, brown). I hope to find a model 78 to add to my collection!

I have been a knife fan/collector for decades and have many knives, but out of all of them, this one gets used the most. The 81 is my all-purpose work knife, and I carry it around when doing pretty much any outdoor tasks. While the Glock 81 isn't the perfect knife, and there are definitely better ones out there, you just can't beat the value.PROs:-Size/shape: having a 6.5" blade is really nice for performing work and outdoor tasks, and why I like to carry this instead of a smaller, folding knife, if I can. The blade is thin top-to-bottom, but thick in width, and so is still very strong and capable of prying despite being very light. You'll forget it's on you (so be careful where you carry!)-Hilt: the handle is made out of that famous and much-lauded Glock polymer. It is lightweight, comfortable, and grippy. While it can be scuffed fairly easily if you slam it against metal or rock, it will not crack or chip with hard use.-Blade: made of high-carbon spring steel, this blade can take whatever you throw at it. It can be used as a pry bar just as well as a cutting edge. It is light enough to be used for careful, fine work, and heavy-duty enough to abuse without fear of breaking. You really have to intentionally try to break this knife for it to fail. There are videos of people online shooting the knife...with bullets- it doesn't break. No joke."Bottle opener": actually, that bent part of the crossguard is so the knife can be attached to a rifle as a bayonet, but it is perfectly effective as a bottle opener and what most people will use it for, so it deserves mentioning.-Sheath: most knives, even good quality ones, come with a poor to average sheath from the factory. The Glock sheath is as awesome as it is simple, and much better than sheaths for knives that are three times the price. It is made of the great Glock polymer, secures the knife very well, has a drainage hole, and an awesome belt hook that, if applied right, makes it impossible for the knife to fall off. The securing latch takes a bit of practice to get used to, but the knife can be removed with one hand once you figure out how to do it.-Value: it's stupidly cheap for what you get.CONs:-Edge: I've ordered four of these and none of them came terribly sharp (though sharp enough for most jobs). Many people have found the knife difficult to sharpen, which I can concur with. The knife is made of spring steel, which will "bend before breaking," so the edge tends to roll when sharpening, and it can take a bit of practice to get even and sharp. However, it seems to hold its edge for a long time once sharpened.-Steel: this is high carbon steel, not stainless steel, so it WILL rust if left wet. It also needs to be oiled every once in a while. You're buying a strong knife rather than a pretty one though, so this is expected of any high-carbon knife. Oiling takes literally 60 seconds also, so to me it's not a big deal at all.-Pommel: this is my personal biggest complaint of the knife. It comes with a polymer pommel cap, which when removed (with great difficulty, I might add), reveals a hollow base with a screw socket. This is so the knife can be screwed on to certain rifles as a bayonet. I like to hammer with the pommel, so I really wish it was metal, as the pommel cap will get scratched and scarred if you use it to hammer hard things.-Limitations: compared to other "survival knives," the Glock knife is limited due to its profile as a bayonet knife. It cuts, stabs, and pries perfectly well, but the blade is too light and not of the right shape to be used for chopping. It's better than you think at batoning wood, however, due to its thickness and good length. Still, I would not recommend this as your one choice for a survival tool, because it does have its limits.NEUTRAL:-Saw back: this gets a lot of criticism. Some will say the saw has a legitimate purpose if the knife is used for survival, or for cutting roots while digging. Others will say it was added just to make the knife seem more like a "survival knife" than a "combat knife" to civilians, and thus less scary. Whatever the reason, the saw DOES work, albeit much less-effectively than- you know, a real saw. Still, other similar knives have very poor saw backs that barely work at all: I have used this one a number of times to cut small branches when I was too lazy to go look for a full-sized saw. If it really bothers you, you can order the Glock 78 instead, which lacks the saw on the spine- though these seem to be harder to find these days, and aren't always for sale on Amazon.-Tip: the tip of the knife is slightly rounded; all four knives I bought from Glock came this way, so I know it's factory standard. Rumor says this is so the knife doesn't get stuck in a sternum if used as a combat bayonet, but who really knows. A lot of people have complained about the rounded tip, but if you really want to use the knife for digging in the ground or chiseling into wood, it's not blunt enough that it won't be effective at this task. It might not have the best penetration as a fighting knife, but I have no doubt it would still be effective if you had to use it to defend yourself. If you are really serious about investing in a stabbing knife for self-defense, I would shell out the extra cash for a good double-edged dagger, like the KA-BAR EK 44.All in all, none of the criticisms matter much because the knife is so cheap- often seen for $30 or less. For a 1st-world-made, (not Chinese or Pakistani) knife of this quality, you can't find anything better. The closest thing I've seen is an Ontario Marine SP1 for $8 to $10 more, but (as far as I have seen personally by watching online videos), many Ontarios can't stand up to the brutal torture tests that Glock knives can and do survive. Really, if you like and use knives for any tasks, there is no reason you shouldn't own one of these.*5 out of 5 stars*

This knife is extremely sharp right out of the box.The serrated edge side is also very sharp and most likely could double as a light saw on small branches.The scabbard is a hard composite plastic and is very sturdy. It has a retainer clip near the hilt of the knife which is extremely hard to flip open, and is basically impossible to do one-handed. If you used this on your belt with the integrated belt loop, you would have difficulty getting the knife out of the scabbard.The blade itself is long, sturdy and feels well-balanced in my hand. That being said, the handle on the hilt is a hard plastic that bevels out in the center, which feels unnatural, even in my large hands. I will be adding grip tape to it, as it also feels slightly slippery, not the solid, firm grip I require from a knife like this.All in all, this is an exceptional value, and worth the money. I just wish it wasn't made by Glock, as I am NOT a fan of their crappy, highly overrated pistols. Sig Sauer makes everything Glock makes look ridiculously silly and toy-like by comparison. So does FNH, who make REAL, professional pistols. Barettas are way, way better too. My point is, I'm shocked and a bit ashamed that this knife is a Glock, because it greatly exceeds the quality of their guns. This is worth it to buy. Their guns? Nope. I need pro, not schmo. Fanboys can choke on it. A G17 can't hold a candle to a Sig P320 or any pistol in Sig's lineup. That's just a fact.Buy this knife if you need a quality hunting / camping knife, or use it for a great personal defense knife. You won't regret it.