A look at afew of my knives, what to take on day hikes.

[Fonly]

Medium fixed blade testing:

SO, I've been watchng various vids over on youtube by a guy called Nuttin facny. He believes that a medium fixed can handle feild work on a day trip, and I've thought so too, though Ive had all theses knvies out in the field many times, I wanted to do a little work to show you guys some of what they can do.
If your looking into buying any of these or something similar, this will give you a little about what their strengths and weaknesses are.

But the main point is I cant figure out what one I wanna carry for day treks, its a try a keeping on the light side, one knife and nothing else, whihc would make the best companion.

To start it off, I would like to give a spec list.


Ka-bar 1218 USMC:
Blade length - 7" 3/16 thick
Overall length - 12"
Blade steel - 1095 carbon
handle - stacked leather (full pin tang)
Sheath - leather
Right around 11 ounces


Ka-bar 1245 8" tanto:
Blade length - 8" 3/16 thick
Overall length - 13"
Blade steel - 1095 carbon
Handle - Kraton G (full pin tang)
Sheath - plastic
Right around 13 ounces


Buck 119:
Blade length - 6"
Overall length - 10.5" ~3/16 (lil thicker)
Blade steel - Bucks 420HC (big diffrence from no name 420, closer to 440c)
Handle - phenolic (a tough high heat plasic)(full pin tang)
Sheath - leather
Weighs 10.5 ounces


Grohmann #4 stainless
Blade length - 5.5" 3/16 thick
Overall length - 10.4"
Blade steel - unknown stainless ( I find it comparable to a 440b,close 440c)
Handle - Rose wood (full tang)
Sheath - leather



Now, I did 50 chops between each knife and came up with these results. This was very dry wood, it has been inside for 2 years and was a 6" thick post, split in half.




So out of this, It shows that the USMC was the better chopper, then the 8" tanto, then the #4 then the 119.


Now I wanted to see how well they would handle shavings and stike a fire starter.

Fisrt off the USMC. It worked well for shavings, but lacked severly on the striking part of the test, the coating and dull spine wouldn't spit off any sparks, so I removed some coating and sharpended the spine. But It didnt help much and would definetly want a striker with this knife.



Over all I give it a 6/10 for chopping (10/10 beigng an axe,1/10 being a mora), a 6/10 for shavings (10/10 being a SAK,1/10 being a sharpend prybar) and 1 for striking ability

(10/10 being a saw on a SAK, 1/10 being a coated stainless knife ).


Now for the Ka-bar 8" tanto.

I did ok, but the serations came in the way obviously, and the guard dug into my hand. It also had trouble stiking, and I would want a striker with me. Chopping was also ok, but not as fluent as the usmc. 5/10 for chopping, 5/10 for shavings and 1/10 for striking.



Next was the #4. This guy got a 3/10 for chopping , 7/10 for shaving and a 1/10 for striking. stock this knife is useles for it( at least mine was) it has to be sharpened up on the spine for it just to spit a few sparks, so If I could give it a 0 I would but it lit the lint so it does work, just not well at all. But to be fair it could be sharpened more on the spine.



Next up was the 119. Good knife for striking, and shaving but laking on the chopping side. a strong 2/10 for chopping, a strong 8/10 for shaving and 9/10 for striking, gave a good shower of sparks and was very goo user.



So, as a closing statment. For a general day knife, the 119 is the one for me out of what I have, I definetly will not stop looking for a suitible knife, even better than this one. I could see the old CS Recon Scouts being exactly what I was looking for( with a reprofiled edge of course )

But what are your thoughts guys, what do use on a day hike, and what do you see suitable.

Can you think of any others that might have similar atributes and you have tested and are similar to my findings?

 

[Fonly]

forgot too guys here is a group shot and my fire kit.

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

If you sharpen the spine of the KABAR and grind off the gaurd on the backside..it is a great bushknife. Me, I would sharpen the spine of the Grohman and take it..great knife.

 

[ROCK6]

You must have been laying low Fonly...good to see you're still hanging around!

Great testing! I too would sharpen up the spine on the #4. I have a carbon steel convex version with Micarta handles and it's a great blade (need a new sheath though :grumpy: ).

ROCK6

 

[Fonly]

You must have been laying low Fonly...good to see you're still hanging around!

Great testing! I too would sharpen up the spine on the #4. I have a carbon steel convex version with Micarta handles and it's a great blade (need a new sheath though :grumpy: ).

ROCK6

Cant agree more, I need some of Normarks pants, hurry up pay check

 

[Fonly]

If you sharpen the spine of the KABAR and grind off the gaurd on the backside..it is a great bushknife. Me, I would sharpen the spine of the Grohman and take it..great knife.

yeah taking off the backside of the guard help alot, solid grind as well.

 

[BarberFobic1992]

id go with the #4 personally, just be sure to bring a ferro rod striker. ti me it looks like the best bush design. my next pick would be the buck.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Well, the Buck 119 is a popular knife for a reason.

If you sharpen the false edge on the Ka-Bar, would that strike sparks well?

Despite what many say, one of the guys I go fishing and camping with a lot uses a Ka-Bar USMC as his goto knife in the field.


I was thinking about starting a topic on this. Seems with a lot of the reading I've been doing lately, that it was popular for people in the colonial days to carry some sort of hatchet and a medium size knife (6-10 inches), rather than the 4" or less that is so popular for bushcraft these days. So it got me thinking, why not a medium blade? Other than the pursuit of low weigth at any cost, I'm not sure I can think of an idea of why a medium blade is a bad idea. Thoughts?

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Hey Fonly,

For me, one of the determining factors would be where the hike takes place. Are you on the East Coast at the moment, or back up Northwest, or still in the car.................

What I'm getting at is, if I take a day hike in one of the local areas, 3 or 4 folders is all I need, but if in an area that's more remote, a different choice would be made.

Doc

 

[DOC-CANADA]

If you sharpen the false edge on the Ka-Bar, would that strike sparks well?

All you need is a square edge and it should work fine although removing the coating might help. The striker doesn't have to be steel. It can be any sharp, hard material, glass, for example, or more commonly, a rock(6) with a sharp edge (and Lord knows he has lots of them )

So it got me thinking, why not a medium blade? Other than the pursuit of low weigth at any cost, I'm not sure I can think of an idea of why a medium blade is a bad idea. Thoughts?

I think the idea here is that mid sized knives 4.5" - 7" are somwhat small as choppers and somewhat big for fine work and I agree with this, others may differ. I would rather have a ~4" blade for finer work and a 9 or 9"+ for chopping.

Doc

 

[bladefrienzy]

I feel kinda the same as Doc-Canada. For a day hike a good locking folder and a Sak Farmer, maybe a folding saw. But location does make a good nit of difference . That regular KaBar should handle just about anything you throw at it. I know they are stick tang, but I have beaten one regularly for many years. I made a little tiny choil on mine after it got pretty roughed up, just the right size for the ferro rod and save the edges of yours stones too. I also cut off the top guard on mine.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

All you need is a square edge and it should work fine although removing the coating might help. The striker doesn't have to be steel. It can be any sharp, hard material, glass, for example, or more commonly, a rock(6) with a sharp edge (and Lord knows he has lots of them )

I was just thinking on that style knife, I sharpen the false edge anyway (check local laws, some places it's not legal) so there'd be no reason to scrape off coating to put a sharp edge ont he spine. Just a suggestion.

I think the idea here is that mid sized knives 4.5" - 7" are somwhat small as choppers and somewhat big for fine work and I agree with this, others may differ. I would rather have a ~4" blade for finer work and a 9 or 9"+ for chopping.

Doc

I'm not saying they'd work better than the 4" or smaller knives. Just thinking that a lot of people seemed to err on the side of a medium blade, and I have known people who use them very well. Just seems that on the forums a lot of the time we mistake "not optimal" with "can't be done". I'm as guilty of that as anyone.

 

[Fonly]

Well, the Buck 119 is a popular knife for a reason.

If you sharpen the false edge on the Ka-Bar, would that strike sparks well?

Despite what many say, one of the guys I go fishing and camping with a lot uses a Ka-Bar USMC as his goto knife in the field.


I was thinking about starting a topic on this. Seems with a lot of the reading I've been doing lately, that it was popular for people in the colonial days to carry some sort of hatchet and a medium size knife (6-10 inches), rather than the 4" or less that is so popular for bushcraft these days. So it got me thinking, why not a medium blade? Other than the pursuit of low weigth at any cost, I'm not sure I can think of an idea of why a medium blade is a bad idea. Thoughts?

This is kinda what I'ev been seeing. and It might jsut be me, but the little extra hasn't cause any problems yet, if its that delicate I have various SAK's and a multitool you know.

Hey Fonly,

For me, one of the determining factors would be where the hike takes place. Are you on the East Coast at the moment, or back up Northwest, or still in the car.................

What I'm getting at is, if I take a day hike in one of the local areas, 3 or 4 folders is all I need, but if in an area that's more remote, a different choice would be made.

Doc

Im in the boonies in Northern alberta, so I kinda like to have the fixed. but at the park in town a folder is fine.

 

[Fonly]

I was just thinking on that style knife, I sharpen the false edge anyway (check local laws, some places it's not legal) so there'd be no reason to scrape off coating to put a sharp edge ont he spine. Just a suggestion.

The only thing I can see with this is that it might be hard to maneuver, where as when the striking surface is on the spine by the riccaso its easier to manitulate.

 

[sodak]

I'm pretty sure that sparking is directly related to hardness. Assuming a sharp edge on the spine, the harder the steel, the better the sparks. A small piece of hacksaw blade works well also.

I love my Recon Scout. If I'm *really* doing some hiking, then I sometimes drop back to my SRK, but the RS is hard to beat, after you've thinned out the edge.

 

[Fonly]

I'm pretty sure that sparking is directly related to hardness. Assuming a sharp edge on the spine, the harder the steel, the better the sparks. A small piece of hacksaw blade works well also.

I love my Recon Scout. If I'm *really* doing some hiking, then I sometimes drop back to my SRK, but the RS is hard to beat, after you've thinned out the edge.

Yeah I've have been eye baling those for along time now. I looked at one in a local shop, but it had china stamped on the side, and looked, well not like I expected it too, but it still had alot of charm to it.

 

[sodak]

The Carbon V's were all made in the USA by Camillus. The SK5's are made overseas. You might want to look at the for sale forums or ebay.

 

[OmegaA]

Perhaps my question is a bit silly, but what is the need for a large knife on a day trip? You should not be far from civilisation, I think you can avoid heavy work if you want, so it seems to me any knife will do for such a trip...
Thanks,

 

[kgd]

I have to say I've really bought into the small compact knife with blades between 3 - 4". When coupled with a good handle they just feel like an extension of my hand. You always know where the tip is without having to look at it and I just don't get the same feel with a longer blade.

That said, I agree that there is definitely a place for the medium sized fixed blade. When out camping I really like a 6" blade (10-11" overall length). Anything bigger just doesn't really sit well on my belt. I know you can stow it in your pack, but if I'm going to pack it then I will more likely pack the axe.

To me, where the mid-sized blades really excel at are as the base camp knife. They are great for food prep and pair up will with a smaller fixed blade to tackle anything foodwise. They are also great for batoning and preparing kindling. I like an axe still the best for chopping. So my trio is a 3" thin knife that is an optimized cutter; 6" mid-sized knife (1/8" thick) good as the camp knife (kitchen/kindling) and small axe. If I'm deep in the woods with this combo, then the 6" will be on my body and the 3" and axe in the pack. Thus the 6" becomes part of the survival knife package in case the pack gets ditched.

 

[sodak]

I guess I'd rather try and answer his question then be critical of his choices. Everyone has their own preferences, and that's fine with me.