Tough little fixed blade knives?
- Thread starter G.A.Pster
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451 Detonics
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Mora...that or buy a Mule Team from Spyderco and add scales.
Mora, Becker, ESEE, TOPS, Entrek
Storz
Member
I just asked a similar question, and though recommendations here went with an Esee Eskabar
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=585663
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=585663
Deltaboy1984
Member
I love Mora's
Sheepdog1968
Member
There is a minature version of the famous KBar knife out there (I've seen it). It might have the blade length you are looking for.
Carl Levitian
member
The smaller Scandinavian puuko type knives are great.
I have a Brusletto Balder and a Roselli grandmothers knife that are good carbon steel, very tough, and compact. The puuko style sheaths carry in a way that you can forget there's a knife there untill you need it.
Ragnar's Ragweed Forge is a great place to pick up high quality puuko's.
Carl.
I have a Brusletto Balder and a Roselli grandmothers knife that are good carbon steel, very tough, and compact. The puuko style sheaths carry in a way that you can forget there's a knife there untill you need it.
Ragnar's Ragweed Forge is a great place to pick up high quality puuko's.
Carl.
Storz said:
That is actually the BK14 I recommended. It is manufactured by Kabar under the Becker trade name I believe, and was designed in collaboration with ESEE, so all three logos are on the knife.
Here is a review I wrote:
BK-14, OAL 7", edge 3.25"
The good:
* 29.99 cost - probably the best value for a fixed blade out there
* Comes with a decent sheath that is configurable for a variety of uses with a bit of 550 cord
* Black powder coat is very durable
* Easy to sharpen, 1095 carbon steel
* Excellent ergonomics (a combination of the "Becker Necker" blade profile and the RAT Izula handle)
* A variety of inexpensive options for the scales, such as naked (my preference), cord-wrapped, and $15 micarta scales for the Izula which can be modified to fit in about 10 minutes with an exacto knife
The bad:
* No jimping whatsoever. If you grind jimping in yourself with a file or dremel, you have to cut into the black powdercoat
* The sheaths shipped with early models were actually for a tanto blade profile, resulting in some sheath rattling (problem has been corrected since)
* On my 3 examples, the factory edge was unacceptably dull. There is no good excuse for this; it's like selling a sports car with tires at 20 psi. Not hard to correct, but a nuisance and it drastically affects performance
* A notch between the guard and the sharpened part of the blade makes the blade stick in fabric on draw cuts, requiring modification if you want a good self-defense knife
It's a nitpicky list of complaints, to be sure. You can sharpen a knife like this very easily with a variety of systems; the notch won't be a concern for your average person; and most people probably don't care about jimping.
As for the positive, the cost is unbeatable. You can buy these knives and keep them for a variety of purposes, from utility to self-defense (they conceal very easily and the pommel lanyard hole is big enough to lock the pinky into, providing instant indexing from the draw) to survival equipment/bug-out bags. Another thing about the cost is that if you decide the knife is not for you, you are only out of 30 bucks! People often ask why I have 10 or more different knives; other than enjoyment of using the appropriate tool for the appropriate task, and appreciating them as functional art, the truth is that you are extremely unlikely to find the "best" knife for a given task the first time you buy it. I'd rather buy three different $30-50 knives if I were on a budget, than buy one $100 knife that isn't the right fit for me.
The 1095 carbon steel is not over-hardened. I have seen it listed at 58 RC on the rockwell scale, but I am not sure if this is from the company literature or not; it sounds about right though and a 58 RC 1095 knife will take a lot of abuse and bend damn near in half before breaking. It won't hold an edge extremely long like a harder steel with a high carbon content, but it will be easier to sharpen and is tougher. It's a trade-off and you can get this thing extremely sharp very easily.
I actually used a paint remover on one of mine and ground jimping into it and modified the bevel into a convex edge. It is holding the edge really nicely, and has very aggressive, "toothy" properties. I sent the other two off to be professionally sharpened and modified to my specs by Richard E of bladeforums.com (see Tinkering, Maintenance and Embellishing section - he only charges $1 per inch of blade!). I will probably order a fourth to use as a "trainer" (I will totally dull and round off the edge and point, of course) in force-on-force scenarios and to practice my drawstroke without cutting my nice shirts.
This knife is very well thought out and despite my complaints has clearly been the product of collaboration between some great knife-makers and has undergone changes according to user feedback. This makes for the best sort of knife. Spyderco, another favorite knife brand of mine, practices "Constant Quality Improvement" or CQI.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Spyderco CTS-XHP, given to me by a good friend.
In addition,for times when I need a little less "scary" knife, a Scallion, or a Gerber Ripstop, or my Grandfather's old Western 3 blade.
In addition,for times when I need a little less "scary" knife, a Scallion, or a Gerber Ripstop, or my Grandfather's old Western 3 blade.
76shuvlinoff
Member
This Anza works for me, made from a file, the blade is under 3"
zignal_zero
Member
ESEE is hard to beat
451 Detonics
Member
I do have another suggestion. There is a maker who creates really great knives using new Nicholson files as his steel material. I have bought 8 or 9 of his knives and as he says "deez ain't no sissy knives!". You can ask for whatever scale material you like, and he will do it along a with black micarta bolster. These are hollow ground and tempered to 56-58rc. The blade is 1/4 inch thick, 3 3/4 inch and comes with a nice hand stitched leather sheath. $115 delivered, cheap price for the quality you get.
http://www.michaelmorrisknives.com/
http://www.michaelmorrisknives.com/
I forgot the up and coming Blind Horse Knives
I picked up a BK14 this week while on vacation. I've not gotten to use it yet for anything, but I'm very impressed with it out of the box. It seems perfect for what I purchased it for; a light weight fixed blade for backpacking chores. I have been using a Mora carbon blade, and I've been happy with that also, but I just love to waste my money on new knives, so I picked up the Kabar ; )
The notch allows for easy manufacturing without running into the trouble associated with the grind ending at the ricasso/guard area. It allows the edge simply to run off the blade.
You wouldn't want your thumb to rest on the sharpened edge while you were holding the wire in that notch, would you?
You wouldn't want your thumb to rest on the sharpened edge while you were holding the wire in that notch, would you?
sixguns4fighting
Member
I like the "Sharpfinger" from Schrade Cutlery.
Creature
Member
Kellam Wolverine Puukko 3.7" SPT...excellent steel with an extremely sharp and durable edge. And it can be had for under $100.
dairycreek
Member
ESEE 3" isan excellent choice here!
22-rimfire
Member
ESEE 3 would be my choice without knowing more than you said. ESEE 4 is a good flexible use blade too.
Meridian Blades
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Heres my choice.....A little custom integral made by Eric Knight. All forged 52100 construction, handle and blade. Pretty hard to wear it out if cared for properly, with a nice kydex neck sheath. I love these little blades...... Larry
exxarkun78
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my reco
I just got the Dajo survivor nice little set ..3 and 3/4 blade 7.5 OA comes with a whistle and a fire starter in a decent nylon sheath g10 over 7cr17mowv steal runs about 30 bucks depending on where u get it and how fast/much u want to pay to ship it
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=XTDJ00918
I just got the Dajo survivor nice little set ..3 and 3/4 blade 7.5 OA comes with a whistle and a fire starter in a decent nylon sheath g10 over 7cr17mowv steal runs about 30 bucks depending on where u get it and how fast/much u want to pay to ship it
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=XTDJ00918
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Yo Mama, I asked a guy named Richard_j over on bladeforums to do it when he sharpened it for me. He charges one dollar per inch of edge, so its a no brainer to have him shipped the knives then pay s&h for him to reship after sharpening. He will do anything from a convex grind to a very acute V grind. Nice guy and fast.
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