About the UC933- I do own one, I've had it for close to 15 years or so. The   
   knife was designed for the Navy Seals, I first saw the knife in the early   
   '90's, and it was the George Lainhart one, like mine. The knife is made to   
   Military Specs in the USA, I    
   believe, will check mine again. The ATS-34 steel was top of the line then, and   
   is hardened to Rc 56-57, a good working hardness that will prevent it from   
   breaking when stressed (or it SHOULD) The knife is really a great design, one   
   of the best designs I    
   have seen for "survival" type knives, it has 2 rubber straps to attach it to   
   your leg, or arm, which is better in my opinion. There is a "wire breaker   
   notch" at the butt, and this is a fantastic little feature, as long as it   
   works. I have never tried it,    
   so I don't know, but if it only bends the wire back and forth until it   
   breaks-it's done its job, right? The saw back was designed to be easily   
   sharpened on a stone, like a plain edge, and the saw back edge works, this   
   design has now become almost    
   standard on serrated knives, it's a design that does exactly what it is   
   supposed to, and sharpen easily too. There is extra cord on the sheath-not too   
   much explanation needed. The inner sheath comes out so you can put it over the   
   blade when you use the    
   wire breaker notch, so you don't get cut on the blade, and so you can hold it   
   better and apply more torque to the wire. There isn't much to go wrong, I mean   
   I would rather see it made of some carbon or tool steel, but the Navy Seals   
   and such operators    
   work in wet environments and the ATS-34 was a better choice in controlling   
   rust. The ATS-34 should hold and edge fine, it was designed to be tough, and   
   sharpen easily rather than hold an edge forever, which may make it brittle.   
   Nowadays, the knife is    
   made again by United as the UC 2804- (I think is the model number) Combat   
   Commander, I think (Colt also made it a while ago under the same name)The new   
   one is made of AUS-6 steel, tougher, but a bit less edge-holding, the saw back   
   is a bit different (an    
   added tooth between the "cutter teeth") and it has a "NAVY SEALS- strike hard,   
   strike fast" or something etched on blade. No rubber straps (unfortunately-but   
   they can be procured or made)They are on ebay, and I just bought 2 of the new   
   ones, if that    
   tells you what I think of the design. IF you REALLY don't like the materials,   
   get one of the cheap ones and send it to any knifemaker and have him make you   
   one in your choice of materials, it wouldn't be too expensive-all one piece.   
   Hope this helps.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)