Svord: farmers knife and skinner question

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I'm looking for a nice in-between size knife, and I've heard ZERO negatives about Svord, so I wanna give them a go. Does anyone have experience with either? I'm slightly concerned about the blade width, but that's probably just my hangup.

From what I've read, here's my pros/cons

Farmers Knife
Pros: Nice, not overexaggerated sweep to blade
Sheath is less obtrusive than the skinner's sheath
Is slightly shorter than the skinner (5.75 seems perfect)

Cons: Comes with rat-tail tang, not full tang
Does not come in deluxe options

Skinner Knife
Pros: Comes in several deluxe options
Full tang construction (pretty important to me)

Cons: Sheath looks huge
I won't be using it as a "true" skinner most days, mainly kitchen and light camp knife


Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[james huffaker]

I have the Svord farmers knife, and I like it. The one I have has an almost full tang, to within 1/4" of the butt. Usual Svord quality with the visible harmon line. It came sharp, and I sharpened it further. The handle is lacquered, with some hard edges. I took off the lacquer, sanded the edges, and oiled it. It comes with an adequate synthetic sheath, which I'll likely replace with leather soon. Seems like a lot of work, for an inexpensive knife, but this is the shape of the knives that I've read the "old ones" liked, to the extent they would buy knives and reprofile them to this shape. It's done everything I've needed it to do. Did I mention, I like this knife?
I also have a Svord golok, heavy and thick enough to baton/crush with the back of the blade, draw knife, chops, slices, dices, if it was an inch or two longer...

 

[Sistema1927]

I have had a Svord Peasant knife for quite a few years, mainly due to the fact that it is a design that dates back to Roman times.

 

[hso]

Comes with rat-tail tang

Whatever website gave that information isn't correct. A "rat-tail" tang is a very narrow tang. The Farmer, and all the Economy Svords, just don't run the tang all the way out to the end of the handle. They're a reduced tang vs. the skinny rat-tail.

While I like Svord knives I'd recommend looking at Old Hickory for similar knives at a much lower price if you like the look of the Svords.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I have an old hickory butcher knife that serves well, but I have trouble keeping an edge on it. The grind is a steep flat grind on a thin blade, and I can’t seem to get a good edge.

I don’t mind spending a little more on a knife, but there’s nowhere local that carries Svords, and I’m already once-bit twice-shy about buying anything sight unseen.

How flexible is the farmers knife? I’m not in the market for a toothpick. As always, thank you for the information.

 

[james huffaker]

It's not flexible with my hands.

 

[Barny]

I have the Svord farmers knife, and I like it. The one I have has an almost full tang, to within 1/4" of the butt. Usual Svord quality with the visible harmon line. It came sharp, and I sharpened it further. The handle is lacquered, with some hard edges. I took off the lacquer, sanded the edges, and oiled it. It comes with an adequate synthetic sheath, which I'll likely replace with leather soon. Seems like a lot of work, for an inexpensive knife, but this is the shape of the knives that I've read the "old ones" liked, to the extent they would buy knives and reprofile them to this shape. It's done everything I've needed it to do. Did I mention, I like this knife?
I also have a Svord golok, heavy and thick enough to baton/crush with the back of the blade, draw knife, chops, slices, dices, if it was an inch or two longer...

I will echo James.... I reprofiled the edge and refinished the handle. My favorite knife. I use it from skinning all the way to food prep in my kitchen. Again is it too much work for an inexpensive knife? Probably, but I enjoyed the chore.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I will echo James.... I reprofiled the edge and refinished the handle. My favorite knife. I use it from skinning all the way to food prep in my kitchen. Again is it too much work for an inexpensive knife? Probably, but I enjoyed the chore.

a labor of love is a love of mine! The only problem is I found this skinner model with a very attractive blade/handle design That’s very attractive.

https://www.opticsplanet.com/svord-deluxe-curved-skinner-fixed-knife-10-3-4in.html

any chance someone has something from the “deluxe” line for comparison?

I appreciate the input from everyone!

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

I got my tax return, so I went with the deluxe skinner in the link above. Haha! Pictures to come.

 

[Barny]

I got my tax return, so I went with the deluxe skinner in the link above. Haha! Pictures to come.

I honestly think you can do some filing on that spine to make the blade shape resemble the Farmer's knife. I've always wanted a deluxe Svord model. Enjoy and post a review.

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

Decided to break in the knife right-and-proper with a nice rump roast. Knife came veeeeery sharp, so zero complaints there. The knife through hot butter cliche needs to be replaced by this knife through any type of meat.

the knife did come with some weird sticky crap on the blade, but some solvent took care of that quickly. The blade already became a little oxidized from the roast (I left it on the counter for 5 minutes before washing), but I’m not looking for a show piece, so I’m not bothered.

one thing I was worried about was all the comparisons to the Old Hickory line. Believe me, this ain’t old hickory. I know I got the deluxe model, but the steel is much stiffer than the steel on the old hickory I own. It has some give, but barely any. Perfect.

the sheath? Well, I get why people complain about it. It looks like you could hide a buffalo horn in the damn thing, and while the rivets are nice, I don’t see it holding up to a ton of use. No matter. An easy fix for a blade this length (lots of options online for cheap).

finish on the blade was amazing, but the handle to knife fit wasn’t exact. The rear of the tang comes a little above the wood, but not enough to effect the feel when in use...and I really like the full tang construction and the not-so-steak-knife look of the handle as an option. The balance point is right at the brass guard and feels light in the hand. Great knife for sure! Worth the $90 I paid.

I will be purchasing more svords in the future. if their economy models are half as good and their top shelf models are twice as good, I’ve got a lot to look forward to!