Advice on 1st good fixed-blade?

Cabella's sells a version of the Buck Vanguard in S30V steel.

I am very happy with my Fehrman Peace Maker, although it is considerably more expensive than the other knives that have been mentioned in this thread.
 
MGF said:
For me, the handle is at the same time a little on the thick and a little on short side (big palms, short fingers). Am also fairly sure I'd like a 4" blade more in the drop-point shape for carry.
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wow, yeah if the buck handle is too thick then definitely get out there and handle all of the knives you are interested in before you buy. ive never really had any issues with grips since i have exactly the opposite - my hands arent as wide but i have very long fingers...

..but i never would have imagined someone having issues with the buck 119 - its pretty much one of the most 'generic' knives (in terms of styling) out there, nothing unconventional about it at all. in fact the only thing id modify on it is removing the upper guard like cliff stamp did - to facilitate a more diverse range of grips, more control and comfort.

its not an expensive knife, so if you are bored sometime and want to modify it it could be easily done. perhaps take the sides to a belt sander to take down some of the width, and remove the upper guard to accomodate your wider palm. cliff stamp did this to his: if memory serves he did it with first a hacksaw and then a file/sandpaper to smooth the finish.

if theres one good thing to come of it, however, its that you now have more of an idea of what you want, and it came at a cheap price... and its not like you have a piece of junk for your money - its still a fine knife.
if you regret purchasing it entirely, however, ill take it off your hands for whatever you paid for it plus postage.

cheers,
-gabriel
 
MGF said:
Hi, I'm thinking about getting my first decent fixed-blade knife and would like some opinions.

Use would probably be hiking, small-game hunting, camping ... survival use if it came to it (but let's hope not).

I've been eyeballing the Bark River Forager and the Benchmade Outbounder. Both seem to have reasonably stout blades and a touch of traditional "warmth" if you will.

Any thoughts?
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Bark River makes great knives, and you won't be dissapointed. The Benchmade Nimravus is a great knife as well. But if money isn't a problem, go with one of the small Chris Reeves one piece line.
 
Gabriel,

Thanks for the kind offer, but I'll just hold onto it.

I rubbed a coat of Neatsfoot oil into the sheath, put a single layer of gaffer's tape around the handle to lessen the handle's "shiny slick" feeling and used a shaving brush to put a light coat of G96 (a gun cleaner/protectant I've had very good experience with) on the blade. Tucked it snugly into some bungee cords I have running the width of the rear seatback.

It's nice to know there's a good blade in the truck if I need it, and because it's not readily accessible to the driver, I'm pretty sure the way I have it stowed is legal in my state (Illinois).

Re my hands, yeah, they're an odd size. Nine times out of ten, if I can get my palm comfortably into a glove, the fingers are too long. Larges tend to be too snug across the width; in extra large I tend to end up with extra material dangling off the finger tips.

Such is life.
 
Try the short verson of the U.S.M.C. ka-bar.A sweet blade and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
 
savagesicslayer said:
Try the short verson of the U.S.M.C. ka-bar.A sweet blade and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
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unfortunately, thats going to be very much like the buck 119.

i paid attention to the comment about the wide palm and short fingers but i guess i underestimated by how much.. i think the best bet is to go to some stores and actually handle the knives before buying, that way you can get something with the best ergonomics for your hand.

if you still cant find anything ideal, keep in mind that you can often have something custom made for the price of a mid-higher end production knife. that might also be an option, depending on how much you had intended to spend.

cheers,
-gabriel
 
An update:

Picked up a Marbles at a local store today. Box doesn't tell me much, but I believe it's the "Sport Safety Grip" -- a drop-point carbon steel blade of about 3.75 inches long and 0.19 inch thick. I believe it is full-tanged, with the rubber handle enclosing tang in the grip.

I paid $50 for it. Can be found on the web for $30 plus shipping. However, it did come with a Marbles brass compass, so with that and preferring to shop locally when I can, I'm OK with the price. I quite like the blade shape and the way the knife feels in hand.

Cheers.
 
The Buck 119 with the soft black synthetic handle comes up on e-Bay fairly often and usually pretty cheap if used.

I like that handle a lot better than the hard black one (I have both).

Great knife.
 
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