New Knife - Al Mar Rescue Assist

Without a doubt, this is an item that is completely unique in my otherwise quite extensive knife pile. But today's news excellently complements the collection. What was missing was a real rescue tool. This is where the Al Mar Rescue Assist comes into the picture.

Of course, I have knives that (unfortunately) are equipped with a glass breaker at the end of the handle, and I have also tested a pen with that function. That's when I discovered that carbide tips don't get scratched, but the rest of the object, the pen in this case, does. But that's another story.

But this is a pure tool with a knife blade intended for various emergency situations. Getting out of a crashed car is, of course, a scenario that comes to mind, but also things like quickly needing to cut a rope, fishing net, mooring line, or rope at sea or on land, cutting open a pair of trousers if someone has been injured, and so on.

Al Mar Rescue Assist

Rescue Assist is a tool centered around a knife blade designed for just such tasks. It means a blade with a partially serrated edge that is curved to better bite into ropes, for example. In addition, it lacks a tip so that you don't accidentally stab someone if you need to remove clothing. Special scissors are often used for this if you work in rescue services, but this can be an alternative in an emergency situation.

The blade is made of D2 but blackened to increase rust protection. It opens either with a flipper, with a thumb stud, or with two hands. Additionally, it is equipped with spring assistance to ensure the blade opens when it should. It locks with a cross-bar lock, which in the Al Mar version is called Max Lock.

In addition to the knife blade, there is also a fold-out belt cutter that certainly doesn't lock, but still feels solid. Then, as I mentioned in the introduction, there is a glass breaker at the end of the handle. There is also a wrench for oxygen tanks. That's the square hole in the handle.

Everything is finished with a signal orange color so it won't be lost, and a shaped handle with fairly coarse G10 on the sides to maximize grip. When such tools are needed, you don't want to slip!

Rescue Assist offers a partially serrated blade, a glass breaker, an oxygen tank wrench, and a belt cutter.

Overall, an exciting tool that I won't fully review as a regular folding knife, however. Details that immediately come to mind are that how long the edge stays sharp is not of the utmost importance. Just that it does its job when it's supposed to. On the other hand, other aspects are more important, such as whether the blade can really open under stress and whether it locks stably.

The answers to those questions and more will be provided in a future review.

Al Mar

/ J - better safe than sorry

#knivesandbikes #knivigtvarre

New Knife - Al Mar Payara 32

Al Mar belongs to those great classic brands that are perhaps best known for what they did in the past. They then made a comeback with a series of new "old" knives a few years ago, more specifically in 2020. They then revived classic models such as the S.E.R.E. Folder, which is perhaps their most famous folding knife. But the bird family with Hawk, Falcon, and Eagle was also looked over and found in both classic designs and as an ultralight in two different variants.

But even if it was welcome, there was still something missing, and of course, it was news and not least fixed blades. The only thing in the assortment was a small keyring knife. At regular intervals, hints were dropped that new knives were on the way but not much happened.

Now, however, the wait is over! Several novelties have been launched, including some changes to the existing range but also completely new models. Some of them looked extremely nice and I felt they needed to be reviewed. First off, this knife is called Payara 32

Al Mar Payara 32

However, it should be pointed out that Payara is not completely new to the Al Mar family, but rather new-old if you can put it that way. There has previously been a knife with the same name and basic design. It was bigger, heavier, and equipped with a liner lock and blade in VG10. It, like all other Al Mars at the time, was made in Japan.

Therefore, it can quickly be established that this is a completely different type of knife. The handle material is now a fiber-reinforced plastic, which contributes to making the knife lighter. It weighs only 85g. The handle provides much more grip than the original as it is abundantly equipped with grooves for higher traction. Maybe it's even a little too much of that stuff. More on this later. Although it is a thin knife, there is plenty of handle to grip around as the length is 5 inches.

If the handle material can be seen as a simplification, the lock is, on the contrary, more advanced. Now an "Axis-type" lock is found, which in this version is called Max Lock. It has very strong springs and a distinct feel and holds the blade firmly in place as it should.

Payara is Al Mar's latest contribution to the category of lightweight EDC knives

Then, as I said, the knife is slightly smaller than the original. The number 32 in the name says something about the knife. In this case, that blade is 3.25 inches long. The same logic thankfully applies to all knives in the Al Mar range. The material used is D2. It is the most used steel in the current catalog but not the only one. The blade shape is the same fairly advanced tanto with a recurve as it used to be.

With these materials, the low weight, and the good traction, this is a knife that can be placed in the same category as some well-known models from, for example, Spyderco and Benchmade. A category that also includes newcomers like SRM and QSP just to name a few. It remains to be seen how Payara fares against the competition.

This was the first of five knives from Al Mar that I intend to test during the spring. The next knife presented will be a very interesting fixed blade.

Al Mar

/ J - looking for news

Ny kniv - Al Mar Payara 32

Al Mar tillhör de där stora klassiska märkena som kanske är mest kända för vad de gjorde förr. De gjorde sedan en comeback med en rad nygamla knivar för några år sedan, närmare bestämt 2020. Då  återuppväcktes klassiska modeller som t ex S.E.R.E. Folder som kanske är deras mest kända fällkniv. Men även fågelfamiljen med Hawk, Falcon och Eagle fick en genomgång och hittades i båda klassiskt utförande som ultralätt i två olika varianter. 

Men även om det var välkommet så saknades det ändå något och det var förstås nyheter och inte minst fastbladare. Något som de en gång i tiden var mycket kända för. Det enda som fanns i sortimentet var en liten nyckelringskniv. Med jämna mellanrum släpptes vinkar om att nya knivar var på väg men inte så mycket hände. 

Nu är det emellertid slut med kräftgången! Ett flertal nyheter har lanserats bland dem ingår en del förändringar av befintligt sortiment men även helt nya modeller. Några av dem såg synnerligen sympatisk ut och jag kände att de måste recenseras. Först ut är den här kniven kallad Payara 32

Al Mar Payara 32

Det bör emellertid påpekas att Payara inte är helt ny i Al Mar familjen, snarare nygammal. Det har tidigare funnits en kniv med samma namn och grunddesign. Den var större, tyngre, försedd med en liner lock och blad i VG10. Den var liksom alla andra Al Mar på den tiden tillverkad i Japan. 

Därför kan snabbt konstateras att det här är en helt annan typ av kniv. Handtagsmaterialet är nu en fiberförstärkt plast vilket bidrar till att göra kniven till en lättviktare. Den väger endast 85g. Handtaget ger rejält mycket mer fäste än originalet då det är rikligt försett med räfflor för högre friktion. Kanske det till och med är lite för mycket av den varan. Mer om detta vid senare tillfälle. Även om det är tunn kniv så finns det gott om handtag att greppa kring då längden överstiger 12 cm. 

Om handtagsmaterialet kan ses som en förenkling så är låset tvärtom mer avancerat. Nu hittas ett lås av "Axis-typ" som i det här utförandet kallas Max Lock. Det är utförandet har mycket starka fjädrar och en distinkt känsla och håller bladet på plats som det skall. 

Payara är Al Mars senaste bidrag till lättvikts-EDC-knivarna

Sedan var nya Payara som sagt något mindre än originalet. Siffran 32 i namnet säger något om kniven. I det här fallet att bladet är 3,25 tum långt. Samma logik gäller tacknämligt för alla knivar i Al Mars sortiment. Materialet som används är i det här fallet D2. Det är det mest använda stålet i den nuvarande katalogen men inte det enda. Bladformen är samma tämligen avancerade tanto med en recurve.

Med de här materialen, den låga vikten och det goda fästet så är det här en kniv som kan placeras i samma fack som några kända modeller från exempelvis Spyderco och Benchmade. Ett fack som även inkluderar uppstickare som SRM och QSP bara för att nämna några. Återstår att se hur Payara klarar konkurrensen. 

Det här var den första av fem knivar från Al Mar som jag ämnar testa under våren. Nästa kniv blir en mycket intressant fastbladare. 

Al Mar

/ J - flirtar med "the warriors edge"