Blira - what a nice and articulate post. You clearly did your homework and it is refreshing to see a recommendation post where people have narrowed down what they want in a knife by specs and usage patterns.
Many folks are recommending ratcutlery and they are good knives. I would strongly recommend for your situation to go with the RC-4. Its a bit smaller in length but a much better thickness for all around use. In truth, I tend to like 5" knives too, but a 4" knife is 95% as handy and a little bit more friendly. In fact, most backpacking/bushcraft knives are closer to 3.75-4.5" than 5".
There are several bark river models as well that would be very appropriate for you. They have the added quality of being beautiful while RC is functional/tactical. Depending on what people like, they go either way. Personally, I go both ways
I am going to go on a limb here and also recommend that you strongly consider a custom knife from one of the makers here on bladeforums. The advantage here is that you can have them make a knife exactly the length and thickness that you want, rather than what the company sells. Here are a couple of examples that I think are right up your alley.
Bryan Breeden - pathfinder (5" blade, 5" handle, O1 steel, 1/8" thickness, handle in orange G10). This one has a little wave to it, almost like a Cnd belt knife. It is one of the most handy knives I own! Bryan goes by the name Sicily02 on blade forums.
Bryan Breeden peacemaker. This one has a 6" blade, but Bryan routinely makes them in 5" blade sizes. The one pictured is 1/8" O1 steel with osage orange handle (4.5" handle length).
Here is another maker who has his own sub-forum in the Makers section of blade forum. His company's name is JK-handmade knives. John offers a variety of styles, but he is probably most famous for his classic Kephart knife. He also makes a mean nesmuk. The one I have was custom ordered in 4.5" blade length, 1095 steel and 1/8" thick. The handle is black mircata. John also does a variety of wood handles also.
I've ordered 6 different knives from Bryan Breeden and 2 from JK-knives. I trust these guys very much for their professionalism, fit and finish and ability to deliver as promised and on time. They are also very reasonable with most of their knives costing between $110-$140 USD. Both of these makers a will customize the knife to your specs. JK's motto on his website is 'Your design or mine'.
I just received an excellent blade from 'Knives by Christof' who goes by the name Koyote here on the forums. Christof also has a sub-forum in the makers section. Christof's knives tend to be a bit thinner ranging from 3/32" to 1/8" and they all have a classic style to them. Don't let the thin stock fool you, these things are made to be used hard. He has several styles that are of 5" length, his full tang leuku pattern probably being the most popular. I just reviewed a knife I received from him this Friday. It is not what you are looking for, but the review speaks to the quality of his work. Christof also makes a really nice Nesmuk! Here was my review of one his knives:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=633097. There is also a passaround thread that reviews his full tang leuku that can be found in W&SS subforum.
Fiddleback Forge, Andy is the owner and he has his own sub-forum in the makers area. Andy is a bit unusual in that he doesn't take individual orders. He will set up an order forum on his website and people sign up then he makes the knives in batches. He also periodically offers knives on sale in the Makers section, under individual knives for sale. He has a model called 'The Woodsman' that is gorgeous and 5" blade perfect for bushcraft. Andy is famous for his duel wood handles and amazing ergonomics. Dan Koster uses the same formulae as Andy and also has his subforum.
Other notable makers. Brian Andrews (his company is called off-the-map outfitters). He makes an amazing full tang scandi with wonderful handles. You can find his website by google. Brian frequents W&SS and his handle is his full name.
DP-knives. He makes several camp models and is reasonably priced. I've only handled his knives before but they are high quality and can be had in a variety of woods for handles and different grinds including V-grind, convex or scandi.
Scott Gossman - his PSK senior model is a great and respected camp knife. Scott has his own sub-forum in the makers area.
David Farmer. David is sort of a sleeper maker, in that you see his knives pop up once in a while in the makers section. Universally every review I've seen of his work is extremely positive. He is known for hair whittling sharpness. David also has a very unique style to his blades. He has a website that can be found by googling them.
For some reason - most new users are very shy of getting into the custom knife world. I think part of it has to do with a pre-conception that custom knives are all very expensive. All of the makers I've listed above make great camp knives that can be had for <$200 and some less than $120. They are all friendly and respond to their e-mails readily and really enjoy talking about their product and making suggestions about what you might need in a knife based on what you are looking to do. For some of them, like Bryan Breeden, he'll get your custom knife to you sometimes within 2 weeks of making the order. JK-is also very fast from my ordering experience from him.
The other thing new users get worried about in custom makers is the quality. However, this can easily be addressed at the sub-forums by asking questions about an individual maker and requesting reviews of their products. Given the nature of your post, I'd like to invite you to come by the Wilderness & Survival Skills subforum:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=692&order=desc At W&SS we like nothing better than talking specifically about backpacking and wilderness applications for knives. Good luck on your knife hunting pursuit!
