1st esc fixed knife

J

jovi129

Joined
Mar 31, 2015
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Out of my list below, which knife you recommend including the blade material. I want a knife that is sharp and has good edge retention for everyday slicing.

Bark River:
- Essential
- Mini Canadian
- Little Creek
- City Knife
 
How about a J.A. Baker S-Tac?

3.5" blade, 7.5" OAL, incredible workmanship, perfect EDC blade IMO.

He'll customize the design to your preferences (blade steel, jimping, scale material). Jeff is starting a new batch next week. I ordered one a couple months ago (for this batch), and he is INCREDIBLY patient in helping you chose exactly what is right for you. I'd recommend CPM-M4 as the blade steel, but if you need better corrosion resistance, then go for S30V.

Here's a pretty standard S-Tac he had for sale in the exchange section last week:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...with-Polished-Black-Micarta-and-White-Spacers

I've gone smaller in the past, but a fixie with a sub 3" blade just doesn't make sense to me after owning them. The S-Tac is the perfect size for EDC, in my opinion... and it's still smaller than most of the folders that I carry (when opened). But you get a lot of blade in a small OAL. And it's big enough to do fixed blade type tasks. Anything smaller and you don't really get the benefits of a fixed blade. You might as well just carry a folder.
 
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I have no experience with any of the knives you mention but between those I would choose the Essential because of size, blade shape, and blade material. M4 is some serious stuff, I have it in the BM 810 Contego and it is fantastic..

My fixed EDCs include a Bradford Guardian3 ( M390 and in my pocket right now, I have 2 btw), Bravo Necker 2 (3v), an Esee Izula (1095), and an inexpensive custom (in ATS-34). All of these fit nicely in the larger KSF pocket sheath.

Like was said above, you should also look at the custom market. On the exchange here, custom makers regularly put small fixed blades up for sale: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/754-For-Sale-Fixed-Blades
 
Its not on your list, but take a look at fiddleback forge.
 

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I've never ventured that small in the world of fixed blades...I was going to try a Little Creek; but the Bravo EDC and Mini Fox River are about as small as I want to go.
 
The little creek in a KSF sheath (if they make one that fits).

Just keep in mind, you just asked a bunch of people who can't agree on anything, what knife you should get... :foot:
 
Go with the bark river city knife in CPM 154. Gets razor sharp and has decent edge retention, but it's easy to re-sharpen. It's also stainless so sweat from the pocket or hands won't be a problem. I love that steel.
 
Smallest fixed blade I have is a Rat-3. That's probably as small as I'm willing to go in any blade (3.5" max here for a concealed knife, and that length is about perfect for EDC cutting tasks, but depending on the law...well...things could change. I'd probably get an Esee-4 if that was legal.)

The izula gets a good review. So do the becker BK14/24. (14 is 1095cv, 24 is D2...get the 24 if you like edge holding).
 
DAVE_M said:
The little creek in a KSF sheath (if they make one that fits).

Just keep in mind, you just asked a bunch of people who can't agree on anything, what knife you should get... :foot:
Click to expand...

It seems a lot of us do that around here ;)
But yeah this makes me laugh a lot, and is quite honestly true :D

Oh, and I do second this ^ recommendation, and would only say that the best EDC fixed blade I have is a custom EDC in Hanson "Random" Damascus from Kyle Hanson, and is probably my favorite fixed EDC of all time. Since I got it, I pretty much sold all of my other EDC fixed blades. Awesome knife, with a super lean edge that is probably the best slicer I have ever owned.
 
craytab said:
I have no experience with any of the knives you mention but between those I would choose the Essential because of size, blade shape, and blade material. M4 is some serious stuff, I have it in the BM 810 Contego and it is fantastic..

My fixed EDCs include a Bradford Guardian3 ( M390 and in my pocket right now, I have 2 btw), Bravo Necker 2 (3v), an Esee Izula (1095), and an inexpensive custom (in ATS-34). All of these fit nicely in the larger KSF pocket sheath.

Like was said above, you should also look at the custom market. On the exchange here, custom makers regularly put small fixed blades up for sale: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/754-For-Sale-Fixed-Blades
Click to expand...

I like that Bradford Guardian 3. Been looking for a blade of 2.5" - 2.65" with that material. How is the sharpness and edge retention?
 
I carried a little creek in 3v riding in a KSF sheath for some time. Great little package all around. I ended up selling mine a year ago because I did like the knife and it's capabilities however I found that I preferred having a solid 4 finger grip on my edc fixed blades while the little creek couldn't quite offer the real estate. Just a personal preference. Still though I would say try it out. It's a solid and classy looking blade in a small package. :D
 
Thanks for the replies, since there is no agreement here :rolleyes:, I boiled it down to Bark River Essential and City Knife.
 
I have the same dilemma as you. I just sold a Woodland Special and want to replace it with another small FB (hence my signature). I already have a Mini Fox River in 3V and I absolutely love it. I'll probably end up picking up a City Knife; I'm picky with knives in that price range and if you look closely at the Essential, those grind lines are all over the place...more so than other BRKT's that I've seen.
 
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