A knife newbie needs some advice.

S

SanderFromNl

Joined
Dec 6, 2011
Messages
8
Hey everyone,

Since this is my first post let me introduce myself:
My name's Sander
Im from the Netherlands, i am 22 years of age, and still go to school(medical and biological laboratory studies).
And i have a lot of hobbys one of which is hiking(had no real experience with long multi day hikes yet).

And the reason i came here is i have read a lot about the different steel compositions on this forum and
thats the reason i wanted to ask my question here.

I currently own a Smith and Wesson piece of ****, its a folder, but screws have already came loose, and it gets dull really fast(well what'd i expect from a 15$ knife?).
So now im looking for a new, more reliable one,
And 2 in special got my attention:
The Gerber prodigy
and the Schrade SCHF9.

Now, i honestly don't know which one to choose, im not on a to fancy budget, i'm still a poor student(and shipping costs from the us are around 50$ -.-')

Things i look for:
Edge retention
Wear resistance
General build quality.
(and i also like the tactical look).

And also, whats the best way to get them sharp again?


Thank you for your time and (hopefully) usefull awnser:p
 
Welcome.

How important are "looks" to you?

If the tactical look isn't the most important factor, I'd say get a Mora and a Swiss Army Knife like a Victorinox Farmer. You can get both for around $50, and it would be very hard to do better than those two while enjoying your hobby of hiking.
 
Check out Becker knives. The BK2, or something smaller like the BK11 or BK14. Done. Case closed.
 
Forgot to metion i got a victorinox somewhere, but the tip broke off after i tried to use it like a screwdriver. Off to bed now 0;07 am here.
 
If you want a folder, the Cold Steel Voyager series is worth a look. Inexpensive, very tough and decent steel, although nothing spectacular. For fixed blades Mora and Condor make some very nice, affordable blades. IMO, Condor s will be tougher, while Moras will have better ergonomics and edge retention.
 
SanderFromNl said:
the Schrade SCHF9.
Click to expand...

i've seen some decent reviews on the schrade SCHF9.

other knives to look at in that size range are:

condor rodan
buck nighthawk
becker bk7 and bk2
ontario ranger bush 6 or 7

also, if you are going to processing a fair amount of wood, think about getting a folding saw.


SanderFromNl said:
And also, whats the best way to get them sharp again?
Click to expand...

do you want a sharpener to use out in the field or something you will use at home?
 
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I have done a lot of multi day hiking in rough mountain terrain but need more specific info to really help you

what type of cooking/kitchen type chores.....slicing onions and potatoes or just opening plastic packages
will you be having regular fires and need to process a fair amount of wood or just the occasional fire.
do you hunt and or fish
do you like to whittle and wood carve
rough max weight with sheath and length of blade you are most comfortable using

if you answer these myself and a lot of other people will help you better.

I will say that for backpacking the system that works best for me is a folder with a good slicing blade, a folding saw with a 6 to 10in blade and a fixed blade in the 4 to 10 in range depending on what your doing.
suggestion for a budget..

folder - get a med size dozier/kabar or a rat-1 ontario both are cheap, tough and really good slicers and users. comfortable handles and are good aus-8 and easy to sharpen. around 20 to 30$ for either

saw - fiskars/gerber 7 in slide or folding saw, they are good saws for very little cash...12 to 20$

fixed blade........pending your answers

Regards

Brad
 
Hey welcome to Blade forums, glad your interested in knives. Some great cheap knives are always Victorinox knifes or Swiss Army Knives. I know you said you broke a tip by using it as a screwdriver, that is a no no with knives don't use your knives as a screwdriver. Another great knife i would recommend is a buck 110, retail they are around $60 but if you buy from amazon or something like it they are around $30. 110s are built like tanks and are just solid pieces of steel. To sharpen knives you need to get a sharpening system. I would recommend the smith 3 stone sharpener. To use one look on you tube and you will find many great videos on using bench stones. Hope this helps
 
Brad "the butcher";10258065 said:
saw - fiskars/gerber 7 in slide or folding saw, they are good saws for very little cash...12 to 20$
Click to expand...

^ +1. i also recommend the fiskars/gerber folding saw (i have the gerber sportsman branded model). it works great and is both light weight (3.4oz) and inexpensive.
 
SanderFromNl said:
Forgot to metion i got a victorinox somewhere, but the tip broke off after i tried to use it like a screwdriver.
Click to expand...

if you are prying with knife tips, look into getting a countycomm pocket prybar and/or screw-key

countycomm_pocket_widgy_pry_bar.jpg
screwkey3large.jpg
 
If you have the ways and means, I'd recommend the ESEE Izula 2 for a general use outdoorsy fixed-blade. For a little guy, it's a monster cutter/slicer... :thumbup:

izula01.jpg


For something a little bigger/more robust, look to the Becker line... they give you a lot of knife for the money. A Mora is also a solid and affordable option. In the folding knife category, I'd say go with a SAK and/or an Ontario RAT-1.

tinkerrat01.jpg
 
Insipid Moniker said:
If you want a folder, the Cold Steel Voyager series is worth a look. Inexpensive, very tough and decent steel, although nothing spectacular. For fixed blades Mora and Condor make some very nice, affordable blades. IMO, Condor s will be tougher, while Moras will have better ergonomics and edge retention.
Click to expand...

Im looking for a fixed blade.
And i did look into mora knives, they are relatively cheap and no really bad reviews

jimnolimit said:
i've seen some decent reviews on the schrade SCHF9.

other knives to look at in that size range are:

condor rodan
buck nighthawk
becker bk7 and bk2
ontario ranger bush 6 or 7

also, if you are going to processing a fair amount of wood, think about getting a folding saw.




do you want a sharpener to use out in the field or something you will use at home?
Click to expand...

Yeah, i could not find a single bad review abou the Schrade.
And ive looked into the beckers, the only difference between the bk2 and bk7 is size?
As for sharpening, as the knive can maintain the edge for a few days, ill use it at home only.

Brad "the butcher";10258065 said:
I have done a lot of multi day hiking in rough mountain terrain but need more specific info to really help you

what type of cooking/kitchen type chores.....slicing onions and potatoes or just opening plastic packages
will you be having regular fires and need to process a fair amount of wood or just the occasional fire.
do you hunt and or fish
do you like to whittle and wood carve
rough max weight with sheath and length of blade you are most comfortable using

if you answer these myself and a lot of other people will help you better.

I will say that for backpacking the system that works best for me is a folder with a good slicing blade, a folding saw with a 6 to 10in blade and a fixed blade in the 4 to 10 in range depending on what your doing.
suggestion for a budget..

folder - get a med size dozier/kabar or a rat-1 ontario both are cheap, tough and really good slicers and users. comfortable handles and are good aus-8 and easy to sharpen. around 20 to 30$ for either

saw - fiskars/gerber 7 in slide or folding saw, they are good saws for very little cash...12 to 20$

fixed blade........pending your answers

Regards

Brad
Click to expand...
I was thinking of getting a wire saw, opinions on that?
And for the choirs:
I do have my MREs, but i like to eat what i can find, so that does mean slicing and dicing.
as for fires, we are allowed to have them, but we are not allowed to sleep in "the great dutch outdoors", i am kind of a pyro man(who doesn't like fires?), so we will keep that issue to a regular fire.
hunting is not allowed either, but i do like to fish, and if i can get my hands on some some meat, i think i will try that.
Yeah, i do like to wood carve, to bring back a nice present to my Girlfriend.
Weight is a factor i dont really dont know, id rather have a better knife if its 100 grams heaver, and if it comes with a legstrap, then its no problem at all, but lets say max is about 100gram

My budget is around 80$, that might seem enough for a knife, but shipping from the us is around 35$.

Quartermaster said:
Hey welcome to Blade forums, glad your interested in knives. Some great cheap knives are always Victorinox knifes or Swiss Army Knives. I know you said you broke a tip by using it as a screwdriver, that is a no no with knives don't use your knives as a screwdriver. Another great knife i would recommend is a buck 110, retail they are around $60 but if you buy from amazon or something like it they are around $30. 110s are built like tanks and are just solid pieces of steel. To sharpen knives you need to get a sharpening system. I would recommend the smith 3 stone sharpener. To use one look on you tube and you will find many great videos on using bench stones. Hope this helps
Click to expand...
I used it on a rather small screw, the crewdriver option wouldnt fit.
And i almost ordered the SCHF9 from amazon, only problem is amazon doesnt ship to Holland, thompson tools did, but again shipping costs were around 40-45 $, so that made the knife more expensive.
I do own a wetstone, a really fine one(looks like clay).
timberweasel said:
If you have the ways and means, I'd recommend the ESEE Izula 2 for a general use outdoorsy fixed-blade. For a little guy, it's a monster cutter/slicer... :thumbup:

izula01.jpg
Click to expand...
I really, really like ESEE, but there expensive though.
As for the metal, its the same as in the Schrade, whats the diffrence in quality? and is that caused by heat treatment only?

marcinek said:
If those Vics just came with blades specifically designed to drive screws with....:rolleyes:
Click to expand...
If it only was for really, really small screws^^
 
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SanderFromNl said:
Yeah, i could not find a single bad review abou the Schrade.
And ive looked into the beckers, the only difference between the bk2 and bk7 is size?
As for sharpening, as the knive can maintain the edge for a few days, ill use it at home only.


My budget is around 80$, that might seem enough for a knife, but shipping from the us is around 35$.
Click to expand...


becker bk2 - 5.25" blade, 0.25" thick, weighs 16oz.
becker bk7 - 7.00" blade, 0.188" thick, weighs 13.6oz

do you want to hand sharpen the knives or would you prefer a sharpening system?

is that $80 total, so your budget is $45?
 
I'd go with a fixed blade, and if you want bang for the buck with a great knife from a great company, look into esee. You can find them cheap on the exchange if cost is a big issue, but even new they won't break the bank. The esee 3 is a great all arounder slicer/food prep/bush crafter/edc. Good luck.
 
The folks here know what they're talking about when they recommend a SAK Farmer or some other SAK to go along with a fixed blade. If I was in your situation, I'd get a SAK Hiker for my folder. It's not as fancy as the Farmer but can do everything the Farmer can do and more. It's my main woods roving knife. As for the fixed blade, you don't have to spend a bundle to get a fantastic knife made right in Scandinavia. The Marttiini rubber handled hunting knives are light in weight, have better sheaths than Moras and will handle both wood and fish processing. The Marttiini M571 is the sharpest out-of-box knife I ever owned. It's a great general woods knife. I use mine as a deer hunting knife. The red plastic grip is slippery but works well when wearing rubber or leather gloves. If you could swing for a Fallkniven F1, you would have a general duty knife to last a lifetime.

Joe
 
jimnolimit said:
becker bk2 - 5.25" blade, 0.25" thick, weighs 16oz.
becker bk7 - 7.00" blade, 0.188" thick, weighs 13.6oz

do you want to hand sharpen the knives or would you prefer a sharpening system?

is that $80 total, so your budget is $45?
Click to expand...
I dont really care, i lean toward hand sharpen to get a feel of it, but since im a beginner at that to, the knife wouldnt like it.
And well, yeah overal budget is 80$(withouth sharpening tools).
So for example, the SCHF9 can be bought on ebay for around 40-50$ and 35$ shipping cost,
as for the gerber, its around 50 if im correct but just 10-15$ shipping.

monk3yfist said:
I'd go with a fixed blade, and if you want bang for the buck with a great knife from a great company, look into esee. You can find them cheap on the exchange if cost is a big issue, but even new they won't break the bank. The esee 3 is a great all arounder slicer/food prep/bush crafter/edc. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I have to agree i like those, just the looks, the steel, and the good reviews of the knives, but its a lil over budget.

As for the metal, i was thinking of 440c or 1095 or even d2(but i know that aint gonna happen in budget).

As for other questions i thought of today, serrations, usefull or not?
And the other one: ive seen some knife blades on ebay, from custom knife makers, does any one have experience on those?
 
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