In 2017 so far, the United States has struggled through 2 major hurricanes. Harvey hit Houston Texas the end of August, and flooded many square miles of land. Then hurricane Irma devastated most of Florida on September 10 and 11. How do you prepare your home and your family from these disasters? Does your survival kit contain a survival knife? Do you have a survival kit in your house, and another one in your car?
Here are my favorite engraved pocket knives for survival and rescue. Engraved, because they were laser engraved with a company logo. It’s the logos of companies who generously gave them to their customers and employees. What is a greater advertising gift, than one that can save your life?
Hot-tips When Buying Pocket KnivesKershaw and Kutmaster knives Come Sharp and Ready To Use
If you decided to give custom engraved knives to your employees, here are 5 tips to help you get the biggest bang for your buck.
Shop early. Rush jobs sometimes bring unpleasant surprises. If you give yourself time and the knife engraver time, you will see better results.
Pick a knife company with good service and quality engraving.
Keep your logo and other imprinting simple, so it can be large and memorable.
Ask for an email proof, to make sure you get what you have in mind.
Pick the highest quality pocket knives that you can afford. High quality is appreciated by your employees. Low quality knives will leave a lasting impression.
To keep it simple, here are just 4 misconceptions about company logo knives. I’m sure you can think of others.
The best price is what you need.
Knives are just for men.
A color imprint is the best imprint.
Chinese-made knives are junk.
Here are the answers….
This statement is an easy one to figure out. The best price may mean the worst service, or the worst imprint on your company logo knives.
Surprisingly, many females like to carry a pocket knife for protection, and to open boxes, just like men do. My pastor’s wife appreciated the multi-tool I gave her, because she does all the fixing around the house.
A color imprint may look the nicest, but laser engraving is the most permanent imprinting method. Color imprints can scratch off in time, especially if your car keys are rubbing against them in your pocket.
The quality of pocket knives coming from China is very remarkable. They are using good stainless steel, and the workmanship is very good. The price is low because of the low cost of labor in that country. Dako and Gerber and Starline knives are my favorite Chinese-made pocket knives.
Pocket knives are very popular as gift items to employees and customers. How are personalized knives made? Rather, how is your logo put on a pocket knife blade or handle? It depends on the material of the handle and it depends on the blade. Here are the answers…
Laser engraving is very popular for stainless steel blades and handles. Also wood handles are able to be laser engraved. Smooth leather sheaths and smooth bone and synthetics, except Zytel, are also able to be laser engraved. This is a permanent imprinting method. It is done by experts who laser engrave all day, every day.
Screen printing is popular with companies that have a color logo, and they want to stick with that color or colors on everything that they have imprinted. This in considered a semi-permanent process. It will scratch off if you put your knife in your pocket with your car keys. One or two colors are possible.
Full color imprinting is a new process developed about 2012. It is like your desktop printer, but better. It is not limited to cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. It can also print white. It prints directly on the handle, etc.
Electro Etching is an electro-chemical process in which the imprint areas are eaten away by acid and electricity. It is a semi-permanent method of imprinting.
Buck-Camo-Knife-Kent Getsee-Dave Navoyosky
However, it is the method of choice by some knife imprinters.
Computerized engraving scratches the imprint mechanically into the metal surface. It is considered permanent.
Color fill of a laser engraving. If you want to add some color to your imprint, one color can be applied to the recessed areas of the laser engraved logo.
Personalization means that each knife is marked with a different person’s name. This is a great gift idea for members of a group. The names are usually laser engraved. If someone misplaces their knife, it is easy to identify.
Serialization. If you want to keep track of each knife in your order, each knife can be marked with a serial number. It would be laser engraved.
Custom Engraved Knives are usually pocket knives. Sometimes non-folding knives are laser engraved with company logos. Pocket knives are much more popular, because they take up less space, and can be concealed easily. These 5 custom engraved knives were chosen because of their popularity. Most manufacturers, contractors, and service companies like to give these knives to their employees, associates, and customers. So here are the 5 most popular ones. You should have them, too.
Buck® Bantam BBW Camo 284cmo. Camouflage is in. It is the most popular of handle colors.
They display your corporate logo to your customer and everyone who sees his knife. That knife can lead to word-of-mouth advertising. That’s the best advertising around.
They spread your good will as a generous gift-giver. They demonstrate your generosity as a popular business owner. If your competitors don’t give away a useful gift, you stand head and shoulders above them.
Maxam Pocket Knives
They provide your customer with a useful tool for a lifetime. Pocket knives are always needed to remove clothing tags and loose threads. Ropes and other materials often need to be trimmed or cut. Without a handy knife in your pocket, you would be stuck.
There are thousands of styles of engravable knives, pocket knives, in the world. Each one has its own personality. Collectors are always looking for the newest, latest, most unique pocket knives at all the gun and knife shows across the USA. Factors they look for are the color, material of the blade, shape and material of the scales (handles), and the mechanics of opening and closing them.
These are my choices of the top 3 most beautiful engravable knives in the USA.
The Kershaw Camo Scallion made the short list because of its printed camouflage design. It almost looks 3 dimensional, or glowing. The opening mechanism is Speedsafe assisted-opening system. It works very smoothly. Of course the blade is high quality 420hc stainless steel. Just so you don’t accidentally open the knife, it has a safety lock to keep it closed when not in use. Made in the USA.
Kershaw “Scallion” Knife, Camo 1620
Buck® has many styles of knives, and keeps up with the current tastes of its customers. The most popular style now is the tactical knives. The rich black color of the blade and handle make this a beauty. The openness of the handle makes the weight low. The tanto style blade shape and the serration are both good selling points. Great for an every day carry (EDC), but still a very beautiful pocket knife.
Boker is a fine American company that manufactures knives all over the world. The Boker Leopard Damascus II Knife wins this award on several points. The damascus blade, the blade shape, and the origin of the steel, are all winning points. The steel was forged out of the barrel of the German army tank Leopard I. This gives it the Rockwell hardness of 65-67. The handle has amazing features of its own. It is made of hardcoated 6061-T6 aluminum and it encloses Ziracote wood inserts. This heirloom comes with a certificate of authenticity.
The popularity of different pocket knife styles changes from year to year. Camo knives have been very popular for a long time. More designs are being added all the time. So far in 2017 the Rescue knives are the most popular company logo knives. Their popularity is rivaling the popularity of the camouflage knives. For those people who like both camo and rescue knives, here are examples that you have been waiting for:
Pocket knives have a special mystique about them. When I go to a flea market, there are always people looking at, and buying pocket knives. They come in all shapes and sizes. Most of them are custom engraved knives with a company logo. Why are they so popular? Here’s what I have figured out:
They are constructed of steel, which is a valued commodity.
They help you do a big job, with very little effort.
The intricate mechanical nature of folding knives makes them interesting.
Triple Action Assisted Opener 15-bcr100e
They are collectible because they come in many colors, shapes, and sizes.
They give the user power to do things that he can’t do with his bare hands.
They can be used to cut, shave, carve, slice, dice, whittle, scrape, and get you out of a car in an emergency.
They are usually tough enough to last a lifetime, and even get passed down from generation to generation.
Their intrinsic beauty comes from the qualities of the handle material and the blade. Their color and sheen, texture, and smoothness all contribute to their beauty.
The Ohio Promotional Products Association had their semi-annual Cleveland Ohio show last week for distributors of promotional products. I am partial to pocket knives, so here are the best personalized pocket knives that I found in the show. Kent Getsee and Paul Rizzo represent Compass Promotions at the shows. All of the knives are offered with your company logo laser engraved on the blade, and sometimes the stainless steel handle.
Starline Elemental Survival/Rescue Knife MK110
“Defense” Rescue Pocket Knife 2625
Camo Survival/Rescue Knife MK117 
