Nonsny SWHRT1 HRT Tactical Boot Knife, Black

This is a good everyday carry knife. I didn't get the first one because someone at the post office ripped the package open and stole my item. Fortunately Amazon is great about shipping out a new item under that circumstance. I received the replacement, it was not hair shaving sharp, so I used the Samurai shark (don't laugh, it a great sharpener,) to sharpen it. I was worried that the blade wasn't sharpened to hair shaving sharp level. I found out differently when I tied a paracord lanyard to it. I was testing the lanyard when the blade slipped out of the sheath, barely skimmed my thumb and cut it open pretty deep-past the first layer of skin, almost to the meat. I bandaged the wound to stop the bleeding, took the bandage off, clean up the wound a little bit and crazy glued it shut. Long story short that boot knife is very sharp now. Aside from the sharpness its a nice heavy blade. It doesn't feel light or cheap. The sheath must of already been broken in because the blade came right out. I crazy glue part of it so the knife wasn't so loose. The sheath and blade ride nicely on my belt. Overall a great boot knife. Its longer than Amazon said it is. That is not a criticism, but an observation.

This is a great knife for the price. I specifically picked model for a few reasons. 1. The full tang design. The handles are there to make the grip wider and more comfortable, but could easily be used without them if needed. The top of the knife is thicker than most, especially for it's length. 2. The hand feel. The ridges on the spine give a good solid position for your thumb. The half finger loop on the bottom holds your index finger securely. The knife sits well in the hand and allows a lot of dexterity without losing grip when working in tight places. 3. The blade. It's only sharp on one side so you don't have to worry about hurting yourself from kick back. You can push the blade through something dense from the top. It's also a great length for most any task. In addition to those points, the sheath is nice and compact. Many have reviewed having issues with it. If you have problems with this sheath being tight, you shouldn't own a knife. If it were any looser, it would certainly be falling out of it within a year from purchase. Lastly, it's designed to be a boot knife. I wasn't looking for that, but I evaluated it anyway. Don't expect the sheath to clip nicely to your boot. If it does, consider yourself lucky. It does however fit nicely on a belt up to about 1.25" wide.

Smith and Wesson are killing their reputation by selling items made in China. The sheath is plastic and useless for a boot knife since the entire thing comes out when pulling. It does not keep an edge very well and it's too heavy for its size. My suggestion is move on and get something better for a bit more money.

I bought this to use as a last ditch fighting knife to keep concealed in my boot. The plastic clip holds secure even when running, and the sheath is of very high quality, You can adjust the retention that you like by shaving off a little plastic. I have used it for about 8 months and have yet to have it come loose or out of the sheath. However, THIS IS A HEAVY KNIFE. Probably a pound or so, so if you are looking for an ultra-light this is not the knife for you. My only beef is that the blade tends to lose its edge pretty quickly, most likely due to its weak steel. Also it is made in china, which kinda sucks. I like to buy American. Overall, not a bad price for the money.

This is a solid knife which, for its size, is relatively heavy, but with a fine balance. A few minutes of stropping on newspaper brought the sharp factory edge to shaving sharp. The sheath does hold the knife securely, perhaps a bit much so, yet working the knife repeatedly in and out of the sheath does seem to relieve that somewhat, and the reviewer who suggested twisting the knife when trying to disengage it from the sheath was on the money - it works. The clip on the sheath will lock it into a pocket or on a belt. The black coated stainless handle is quite comfortable, and fits either right or left hand well. I would think this knife to be a fine, small camp knife for smaller cutting chores and food preparation. It's a bargain that's well made with excellent steel.

It is very tought to pull this knife from the sheath. It has kind of a funny feel and balance. Not crazy about it. It does feel tough like it would stand up to abuse. Good for a boot tucker and not much else.

I was looking for something smaller - something that could be concealed or attached to boot or gear. This little beauty fits the bill! The handle is ergonomic - feels like it was built to fit into your hand (or at least mine - I have a smaller - broad hand), with a place to even 'rest' your thumb and forefinger when grasping it, stabilizing the knife. The sheath is made out of a hard polymer 'plastic' that is made to last. The design of the knife makes it fit snugly into the sheath, so it WILL NOT fall out accidently if you choose to connect the sheath to a boot or gear in the 'upside-down' ready-to-use position. You will have to give a slight tug to get the knife from the sheath, so you will have to secure it fast to where you plan on using it. There are holes along the outside of the sheath that are made for 550 paracord to lash it to your gear of choice, plus it has a 'clip on' function. Just realize that you cannot use the clipon alone and expect to pull the knife from the sheath without supporting the sheath with the other hand. This knife came sharp, however I still plan to hone the edge sharper. This is the kind of high quality product you would expect from S & W.

HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE: There are plenty of great boot knife products on the market, if you want to carry what is legally considered to be a "double-edged dagger", and is therefore ILLEGAL to carry in many states and jurisdictions. This SWHRT1 HRT Tactical is single-edged, not too long, extremely well made, feels good in the hand, has thumb gimping on the spine, has a full tang, and has a deep finger choil to protect you from hand slippage when performing either a thrust or slash cut. The blade is thick, and the scales feel better in the hand than some knives that cost five times as much. (Yes, I have a collection.) SHEATH CHALLENGE: I understand why some reviewers describe problems with the sheath being too tight. However, this can be remedied. Specifically, the first time you extract the knife, do NOT try to pull and pull to remove the knife. (It is dangerous...DUH!). Instead, carefully spread open the plastic sheath where the semicircular molding grips the finger choil, just next to the blade edge. Spreading the sheath at this point will enable the knife to slide out with a firm pull. Using a fine-grained metal file or fingernail file will allow you to carefully reduce the semicircular molding that grips the finger choil.