Remington F.A.S.T. Knife Durability Test

A while back I reviewed a Remington Sportsman Series F.A.S.T. knife and….well….received some criticism for it.

What was this criticism? Primarily its manufacturing origin of China as well as the belief that you get what you pay for. This knife is less than $20.00 and some readers posted their opinion that it will not hold up in a survival situation. They may be right. They might be wrong.

knife attached to a pole makeshift spear
F.A.S.T. knife strapped to pole

My review of the knife was based on initial contact and experience with it. I shaved some wood with it. I threw it at a tree a few times and also inspected its construction. I then reported initial experiences and observations on to you.

In an attempt to better judge the ruggedness and abilities of this knife – I have decided to…….and I don’t know how else to say this – “Beat the crap out of it“. I am going to perform a series of tests to determine the limits of this knife. I will not purposely try to break it – I will perform what I would term an  “Accelerated Durability Test” to see how it stands up.

Here is what I did –

I strapped the knife to a pole to facilitate the testing as well as generate some decent forces on the blade:

I stabbed the knife into the dirt 10 times in different spots. Honestly – I was praying I didn’t hit a large rock. I was lucky. Afterwards – mud covered the blade but it appeared undamaged – including the finish:

Jabbed full blade into the dirt 10 times

To test the knife’s overall strength and edge retainment – I decided to cut down a decent sized tree limb with it:

Hacking away at 2 1/2″ – 3″ tree limb

At approx 2 1/2″ – 3″ – it took a little while to hack it down:

Still hacking……..

My arm was sore but I finally cut all the way through the limb. Being attached to the short pole, I was swinging the Remington Sportsman F.A.S.T. Knife with substantial force:

Knife hacked all the way through limb. DONE!!
Dirty and needs some sharpening.

At this point I picked up a short stick and carved the end of it into a sharp point. Reason for doing this test was to check the ability of the edge to perform this basic function.  was able to do so with know problem.

I have thoroughly inspected the knife and it has remained intact with no problems.

The tip suffered no damage – although I have no doubt it would have should it had struck a rock. The blade is not bent in any way.

The edge is what suffered the most – it is not damaged at all however it is not nearly as sharp as it came when it was brand new. Some work on a stone or ceramic sticks will bring the edge back.

Although the edge after this test is not what it once was – it is still very functional.

End of test: In my opinion – this knife is well worth the price. It is NOT a Ka-Bar…..I know. It is what it is – an inexpensive Chinese-made “survival” knife that appears to be a great value.

For someone on a budget – it would make a decent addition to their survival supplies. I would never recommend this knife over a Ka-Bar or similar high-quality and more expensive manufacturer.

The Remington Sportsman F.A.S.T. Fixed Blade Knife is available in numerous colors other than the black-version seen in this post. It is also available as follows:

  • Mossy Oak Obsession
  • Mossy Oak Blaze Orange – best deal as of this writing
  • Realtree Advantage MAX-4 HD
  • Stainless Steel

One final observation from my test was that the serrations on the bottom-side of the blade work very well when it is attached to a pole.


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8 thoughts on “Remington F.A.S.T. Knife Durability Test”

  1. I just ordered two more of these! I agree with you Rourke, for the cheap price you can have many of these. I have really worked mine much harder than your test and it has held up. The knife needs sharpened frequently, but it is durable for the price.
    Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  2. DI just picked up 2 of these from Cabelas for about $11.00 each in the Mossy Oak with the same flat black blade. I buy American when I can but have to stretch my budget. These are perfect for get-me-home bags in the vehicles.

    Reply
  3. I like this knife too. It has a good feel to it but obviously a little long for urban use/carry. I like the shape of the finger guards but have a little trouble pulling the knife from the soft retention strap.

    Reply
  4. i think some of your readers (including me) need to realize not everybody can afford a nice $70-100 knife. i personally would not buy that remington knife…..but there are many who cannot afford more. Therefore your reviews of products like this are doing a great service to many of your readers.

    keep up the good work!

    Reply
  5. Your accelerated use test is fairly thorough. Some of my survival items are cheaply priced, resulting in keeping an extra in stock for emergencies if my primary tool breaks or gets lost. If the tool stands stands up to my abuse, it will work in a pinch! Any knife you have in a survival situation is better than no knife at all!

    Truthfully, some brand name items are sold at a high price solely because of the name on the product – and that does not make the tool any better…some of the cheaper priced items you may have are worth way much more than you pay for them!

    in summary, a survival product is only as good as the end-user! Keep up the good work!

    Jim – The Sun Cooker Guy
    Shreveport, LA

    Reply
  6. I have expensive knives, and I have cheap ones.

    While I prefer to buy American, I do find, like everyone else, sometimes isn’t possible, or doesn’t make sense.

    Should I buy one knife, for my own use, and none for those that will be here with me? Or have none for possible barter in the worst of time?

    I think, based on your review, I will buy these, or similar knives. I like the Cabelas recommendation above. I would also recommend getting sharpening stones, and learning to use them, as well as teaching those around you how to sharpen a knife.

    Every skill you and those around have today is one you won’t be trying to teach someone under harder circumstances.

    Reply
  7. Rourke,

    My thought on this is when you really need a knife it does not matter if it is made in China or timbuktu if it’s sharp and helps you survive then the knife is worth its weight in gold.

    John

    Reply

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