Guy Seiferd is the owner and product designer at Survive! Knives. Upon starting the company, he quickly became known for his quality control. He ran a very lean operation to ensure each knife met his exact standard. That high standard, mixed with an intense demand and some unfortunate setbacks, led to extensive wait times to receive an order. They took on more orders than they could handle, and couldn’t provide accurate timelines for delivery. As you can imagine, this upset many of their customers. I knew of the demand when I placed the order and had already heard of the lengthy wait times. The GSO 5.1 and the GSO 7/7 appealed to me the most. I had been mulling the purchase for months. Living in New York City, a knife of that size would have been completely impractical, and beyond my needs. But, let’s be honest here, how many of us solely purchase gear out of a “need” for said gear? I loved the materials, and the simplicity of Guy’s designs. This was an unnecessary and frivolous purchase, and I don’t regret it. As ordering for the GSO 5.1 had closed by the time I made a decision, I placed an order for the GSO 7/7. I comfortably resigned to receive it whenever I received it.
Four years and three months later, with a GSO 7/7 in hand, I’m happy. It is large knife, made of CPM-3V steel. It has an overall blade length of 7.25 inches, with a cutting edge length of 6.50 inches. There are a few customization options available when ordering. I selected black oxide fasteners, black & red g10 scales, and a black kydex sheath. According to Survive!, this release has been completely redesigned. They made the blade and handle longer, and improved the overall ergonomics of the knife. It shows. The knife is incredibly well balanced. Knives of this size are often blade heavy and unwieldy for small tasks. That isn’t the case here, the GSO 7/7 has a fairly neutral balance, located right at the finger guard. The g10 scales and palm swell provide a solid grip. The finger choil allows for even greater control, while the handle provides enough length to lower your grip and use the knife for chopping. The damn thing is just a joy to hold.
Now much has changed in my life over the last four years. In a few months I will no longer be living in the city. I’m looking forward to taking this brute out and putting it to work. For those of you interested in Survive!, they released the following videos just a few days ago, discussing some of the setbacks they’ve had to work through over the past couple of years. I certainly appreciate the transparency, and I admire Guy’s uncompromising standards. In the last four years they have moved their shop and invested in equipment that should considerably accelerate production and therefore delivery. I can attest that they do in fact deliver, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.