Hey, you! Do you like sharp things? Then boy, do I have a recommendation for you!
I found this little number on Amazon a little while back:
It’s called a Benchmark “Backpacker”, which is obvious hey-it-kind-of-sounds-and-reads-like-Benchmade Chinese product mimicry. Shameless brand name aside, the little thing is actually really nice. It’s a 2.75” hollow-ground fixed blade made of 1095 steel and fitted with Micarta scales, all for the price of a Kindle book or a brew pub burger meal. (It came out to under $20 with shipping.)
Even the Kydex sheath is serviceable. It has a non-removable belt clip on one side, lots of holes for paracord loops, and a carabiner hook strap on one end for attaching the sheath to a backpack or what-have-you.
It’s a small, handy blade that has a satisfying heft and feel to it, and it has proven useful as a utility blade. I sometimes clip it to one of my belt loops upside down when I go to do some work outside. It holds an edge pretty well and is easy to sharpen on the ceramic sticks.
It’s right handy for cutting open chicken feed bags or opening packages. Rig the sheath with some paracord, and you’ll have a small but solid neck knife that’s legal to carry in all but the most uptight jurisdictions.
An easy way to tell is to use some cold bluing solution. 1095 will blue, and stainless won’t. Of course this predisposes that Marko A)is willing to potentially discolor his new knife for the curiosity of his readers, and B)actually has cold bluing solution on hand.
How hard is that steel? I ask because you say it is easy to sharpen with ceramic sticks. My Victorinox knives which are stainless are relatively hard to sharpen on the sticks but hold an edge a lot longer than one of my 1950’s no-name kitchen knives which is also stainless but needs sharpening frequently.
Are you sure it’s 1095? Amazon says “stainless.”
That hook on the strap sure looks like the muzzle end hook of a G3 sling! Any idea of what the hole next to the pivot was for on those?