This article will tell you why the L.T. Wright GNS Tactical is a great knife that brings together some traditional and some tactical elements. The knife was donated by L. T. Wright Knives as a prize for the winner of the main event match at the Stout Fights Pro Grappling show this past weekend. Therefore, this will also be somewhat of a crossover article for me, as I refereed at the show. Being a prize knife I didn’t get to use or carry it, so unlike my other articles my thoughts here will be based mostly on first impressions. However, I do have experience with L.T. Wright knives so I think I can give a fair, honest, and full review (as always!).
Materials and Specifications
The GNS Tactical package actually includes two pieces, a “live” knife and a “trainer”, both with different materials. The live knife has a full tang blade of O1 tool steel, OD Green micarta handle scales, brass and steel handle rivets, and a leather sheath. O1 tool steel is a well liked and widely used steel for outdoors fixed blades. It is not stainless and not a super steel when it come to edge holding / wear resistance, but it is easy to sharpen and pretty tough. OD green micarta is a pretty classic choice for an outdoors or tactical knife, as it is low key but provides good grippiness even when wet. The trainer knife seems to have an aluminum blade, orange g10 handles, and aluminum pins. Many trainer knives are made with aluminum, although in this case there are some burrs that I would definitely file off before using the knife for training, as they could easily leave small cuts. The orange g10 is quite strikingly visible, which is a good thing both to differentiate if from the live knife and to help to see the knife in training. Both knives have a ~4.45″ blade and ~5.1″ handle. The live knife weighs about 8.5 ounces. With those specs, it would be considered a medium sized fixed blade by most. It’s big enough to get most tasks done, without being unweildy to carry or use. This knife, like all L.T. Wright knives, is built by hand in Ohio. Overall the GNS Tactical’s materials and specs are pretty standard for either a tactical or traditional knife.
The GNS with a Blind Horse Knives Woodsman Pro, both in O1 tool steel 
Box label
Design
The GNS Tactical is very similar to many outdoor fixed blades. It has a blade shaped somewhere between a drop point and a spear point, similar to a Kephart style knife. It has a simple and comfortable handle with a slight palm swell, small guard, and small upturn at the butt. However, there are some small tweaks that push it more toward the tactical end of the spectrum. First, there is an added swedge near the tip. This swedge makes the tip pointier and better at piercing. Second, the handle has aggressive scallop texturing that make for a much grippier purchase than on the typical traditional fixed blade handle (even in the same material). Beyond those two modifications, it’s very similar to the normal L.T. Wright GNS, which is a pretty standard outdoor fixed blade design. The sheath is the same sheath that comes with several L.T. Wright knives. It is a classic vertical belt carry sheath. It can either be carried low, using the d-ring dangler loop, or higher with the built in loop. I think that, for a tactical knife, the built in higher carry belt loop would be the better choice because it would be kept in place better and would be easier to conceal. The sheath also has a firesteel loop, which is basically a holdover from the more outdoors focused knives in the L.T. Wright lineup. I was thinking that one might be able to put a flashlight in the firesteel loop, but it’d have to be a thinner flashlight than any I’ve seen. Still, even if the firesteel loop is redundant in the tactical usage of the knife, it doesn’t really seem like it’d get in the way. Overall, the GNS Tactical is a really classically designed knife with a few added tactical features.
Spartan Harsey 2, L.T. Wright GNS, Spyderco Reverse, TOPS ALRT 
Drop carry leather sheath, vertical carry kydex sheath, horizontal carry kydex sheath, necklace carry molded sheath 
You can carry it with the extended (and removable) loop… 
or higher and more concealed with the built in loop 
Both trainer and live knife feel great in both forward grip… 
and reverse grip (as well as pinch grip, and really any grip)
Build
L.T. Wright built this knife simply, but very well. The blade is saber ground, meaning it isn’t ground all the way to the spine. Sometimes this kind of grind can be left too thick for my liking. For example, my Blind Horse Knives Woodsman Pro has a saber grind and didn’t cut as well as I’d like, so I had it reground by Razor Edge Knives. However, although I didn’t get to use this knife, this GNS Tactical looked to be ground quite well for good cutting performance. The swedge is also evenly ground. To be honest, the blade grind on this knife looks significantly better than the one that my older Woodsman Pro came with (more on why it’s a relevant comparison later). The handles are held on by steel pins peened into brass tubes and also glued, so they have both mechanical and chemical attachment. This double attachment makes for a sturdy handle. The handles on this knife have been sculpted in a way that I really enjoy. It’s what I’d call a scalloped finish across the entire handle, over top of an already sculpted handle. These finishes together make for a handle that feels great, with no hotspots, but also feels like it would be easy to hold onto even if it were wet or cold. The sheath is extremely well put together. In my experience, it’s clear as soon as you first look it over whether a leather sheath is high or low quality. This one seems built to last, with solid rivets/snaps and thick stitching on good strong feeling leather. As a whole, this knife exudes quality and a readiness to be put to use.
A thinner grind on the L.T. Wright than on my older Blind Horse Knives 
The live blade with OD green micarta handles and the trainer with orange g10 
The sheath is made of high quality feeling leather
Conclusion
This L.T. Wright GNS Tactical is a nice knife. It has a classic design that has been slightly modified for more tactical secondary features, and it is built extremely well. I do wish that it came with a sheath made more specifically for tactical type carry. Also, the trainer knife was far too pointy for use in the type of training I’m familiar with, as it could easily puncture and cause serious injury when grappling (beyond that, it was well made, and it could easily be ground down to be more safe). However, don’t let two small gripes make you think I don’t like this knife set. In fact, I think the GNS Tactical is a great knife whether you want an outdoors (hunting, fishing, bushcraft, etc.) or tactical (self defense, combat, etc.) fixed blade. I can tell you how it feels great in the hand, has a practical design, and classic materials but the best testimonial comes from the new owner of the knife. Mike Wilkins, who won the knife at the Stout Fights Pro Grappling Superfights, is not a knife enthusiast. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever owned more than a Victorinox Classic. However, after having the L.T. Wright GNS Tactical for a few days Mike said he really likes it, can tell it’s really well made, and he’s looking forward to using it! If you’re looking for a very practical medium sized fixed blade with a flare for the tactical, this might be a good option. You can find a list of authorized dealers at this link.
