SARK

The SARK (Search and Rescue Knife) or NSAR (Navy Search and Rescue) is a folding knife designed by Knifemaker Ernest Emerson for use as a Search and Rescue knife for the US Military. It features a wharnecliffe blade with a blunt tip in order to cut free trapped victims without cutting them in the process. A variant with a pointed-tip designed for police use exists, known as the PSARK(Police Search and Rescue Knife).

Specifications

All three models feature a wharnecliffe shaped chisel-ground blade that is 3.5" long and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 57-59 RC. The handle is 4.7" long making the knife 8.2" inches in length when opened. The blade steel is Crucible's 154 CM and is .125" thick. The butt-end of the knife tapers to a point and features a hole for tying a lanyard. Some models are made with partially serrated blades.

The handle material of the SARK is composed of two titanium liners utilizing a Walker linerlock and a double detent as the locking mechanism. The reasons for using titanium as a linerlock material were due to its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. The handle material is made from black G-10 Fiberglass, although models were made for a few years utilizing green G-10. A pocket clip held in place by three screws allows the knife to be clipped to a pocket, web-gear, or MOLLE.

SARK
• Type Folding Knife
• Place of origin Torrance, California, USA
• Service history
• In service US Navy
• Used by Navy Special Boat Units
• Wars War on Terror, Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Production history
• Designer Ernest Emerson
• Designed 1999
• Manufacturer Emerson Knives
• Produced 1999 through present
• Number built 3,000+
• Variants PSARK(pointed tip), NSAR(line cutter on blade spine)
• Specifications
• Length 8.2"
• Blade length 3.5"
• Blade type Wharnecliffe
• Hilt type G-10 laminate and 64AVL Titanium
• Scabbard/sheath Pocket Clip

History

After a helicopter crash in 1999 resulting in the deaths of six Marines and one sailor, the US Navy performed an assessment of their equipment and decided among other things that they needed a new search and rescue knife. The Ka-bar knives issued to the SBUs (Special Boat Units) had catastrophically failed to cut the Marines free from their webbing.

The Navy went to Emerson Knives, who designed and fabricated a working prototype within 24 hours. The Navy found that the knife met their needs, and the model was dubbed the "SARK" (Search and Rescue Knife). The SARK is a folding knife with a wharncliffe-style blade and a blunt tip designed so a rescuer could cut trapped victims free without stabbing them. The knife features Emerson's Wave. Seeing another need in the police community, Emerson replaced the blunt end of the SARK with a pointed end and named it the "P-SARK", or Police Search And Rescue Knife. The Ontario, California Police Department consulted Emerson to produce written policy for the carry and deployment of the P-SARK knives in their department.

In 2005, the Navy changed the requirements on the SARK to incorporate a guthook on the back of the blade for use as a line-cutter. Emerson made the change on this model which is only available to the US Navy and the model designation is the NSAR (Navy Search And Rescue) Knife.

EKI SARK