Look at the SOG, i think it is more of a military knife butthey have somemade of the 440C. I agree with The Rev, it is very hard to work with. When I first bought my SOG it was very sharp and I didn't have enough since to stop cutting everything. It stayed sharp for quite a while but got to were you couldn't cut butter with it. I bought a wet stone and sharpened it for 3 straight nights before I got the edge I wanted on it. Im not too good with knife sharpening either, could be the reason it took so long. Hope you find what your looking for.

Your not that far away from Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville TN, stop in there and you can test them out before you buy it. Just don't get too caught up on what the salesmen has to say or you will have one of every knife made. Take Care