Are neck knives any good?

[Hale Storm]

I did when it was uber-cool to imitate popular YouTube and Television Expert Ninja Stars of Bushcraft.
Dont remember when or why it all changed. Neckknives are for clueless rubes & total chumps.
What was I thinking ??

Nice comment insulting the community here. I see you just joined. I've been a necker user for many years and actually spend time in the woods camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and use a necker daily at work in the city as well. Never considered myself a cluleless rube or a chump of any kind.

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[Danke42]

Secondly, don't use paracord unless it's in the outdoors or you plan to clean it a lot or change it a lot. While it's cheap, durable, and works well for neckers, it can also be used to strangle you in the wrong situation. I realize that would be rare, but it has happened in real life. I use a stainless ball chain on all of my EDC's except my fishing pliers and my little ESEE Candiru I use at deer camp.

I agree. What I do is cut a section of cord, pull the inner strands and melt the ends. Then I push the ball chain through that so I can have a cover on where it rubs my neck but sill have the breakaway of the ball chain.

It's a hassle for sure but worth it to me.

 

[Thefinaledge]

I have yet to own a knife that gets more carry time than my Izula. Fits in any pocket and takes a good edge. I'm not a fan of neck carry. I have never (except dog tags while in the service) liked or worn things around my neck. Personal choice, that's all. It may not be the best choice for all tasks but it gets the job done when I don't have the benchmade bushcrafter on my hip.

 

[craytab]

I agree. What I do is cut a section of cord, pull the inner strands and melt the ends. Then I push the ball chain through that so I can have a cover on where it rubs my neck but sill have the breakaway of the ball chain.

It's a hassle for sure but worth it to me.

Now that is a nifty idea.

 

[Velitrius]

Great if you're like me and wear shorts 24/7/365. Some of my shorts have pockets that allow coins, knives and such to part company when I sit down.

Love a neck knife when I'm mushrooming. Nice for taking out, putting back, out, back, repeat...

I never had a problem with it. Wore a bead chain with dog tags the whole time in the military, so I'm pretty desensitized.

 

[brownshoe]

Nice comment insulting the community here. I see you just joined. I've been a necker user for many years and actually spend time in the woods camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and use a necker daily at work in the city as well. Never considered myself a cluleless rube or a chump of any kind.

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What does killing and trophy poses have to do with neck knives? Notsure why you'd want to take fox and bobcat, most people want some predators on their property, but maybe you do free range chickens

I like small fixed blades but carry them in my pocket. I tried to go necker, tried a low end newt livesay and a buck hartsook, didn't go for it. I have a jody muller and mike franklin small knife that i carry in my pocket. Clip sheath with a rare earth magnet to hold the blade.

 

[ChrisB507]

I tried to carry a CRKT Minimalist. I didn't mind carrying it or pulling it out to use, and never had retention problems. But re-sheathing the thing, under a shirt, with two hands...no thanks, a folder works better for me. Same reason I'm not an AO fan...it's just getting the knife out, it's easily and quickly putting it away one-handed. I couldn't do that with a neck knife. YMMV.

 

[SALTY]

Sounds to me like the Becker Necker BK-11 or the BK 14 is for you. 1095 Cro Van carbon steel, durable, easy to keep sharp and very rugged. If D2 is your thing the BK-24 is a BK-14 in a different steel. Ethan Becker himself is often seen with his trademark BK-11 worn in the provided sheath tip down. He uses, as many of us do, a strap of bicycle inner tube to secure a small light and whatever other small item(s) you may want at the ready and very handy.

 

[SALTY]

The first two pics (above) are of the BK-11, with and w/o optional handle slabs. Either way the bottle opener is fully functional.

The last pic is of the BK-11 and the BK-14 for comparison. There are several options of handle slabs available for the BK-14 and its D2 cousin, the BK-24. The little knife in the last pic is the Ramora and i do not believe that there are any optional handle slabs available for the Ramora - at least not from KaBar.

The BK-11 as well as the BK-14 are rugged users and popular with many bush craft folk.

 

[Nap]

I have several small fixed blades. I usually have one around my neck; other times I'll have one on my belt, in my pocket, on my pack…

What's an ESEE Izula? A neck knife, a belt knife, a pack knife, a camp knife? Your question isn't really any different from asking "Are knives any good?"

 

[stonproject]

Hello everyone, I want you guys' opinion on if neck knives are good for EDC. I am currently carrying a Delica 4 ffg and I love it but I am an avid bushcrafter and I would like a little more capability out of my EDC. I was thinking about trying a neck knife, but before I do, I want to see what you guys have to say.

Thanks a lot guys!

I love neck knives. Are they practical for utility? Absolutely! but in my eyes they're "stick em in the gut and gtfoutta dodge" item

 

[Spectre]

Neck knives, for me, are most useful in certain particular situations. The ARK is a necker because neck carry is the only practical way to carry a knife 100% of the time, even when you don't have your clothes.

One set of my dog tags has a factory ARK and a microlight. My other set has another very small Shirley-Owens knife and a microlight.

No single tool is going to work for every task, but for some certain applications, neck knives are a good choice. I also carried an ARK while kayaking last summer, since my usual Spydercos were impractical to get to quickly while in a kayak cockpit.

John Shirley

 

[bflying]

Another way to use paracord safely is to use quick release barrel connectors. I think I just got mine online somewhere, but pretty sure you could find them in craft shops also. Strong enough to hold together when deploying any of my kydex neckers, but pop pretty easily if the cord is yanked firmly.

 

[Thetimefarm]

I keep buying neck knives and then not carrying them. I love the idea but it always seems more practical to carry a folding knife or a larger sheath knife. Currently the only neck knife I own is a CRKT minimalist bowie and I swapped out the neck cord for paracord and then attached a bic lighter to the sheath with a few feet of duct tape. I figure in the right situation it could be usefull, just something to throw around my neck or tie to a back pack if I'm going out, so far I've never used. But as far as cheap, portable survival kits go, I'd take it over most hollow handles.

 

[Hale Storm]

What does killing and trophy poses have to do with neck knives? Notsure why you'd want to take fox and bobcat, most people want some predators on their property, but maybe you do free range chickens

I like small fixed blades but carry them in my pocket. I tried to go necker, tried a low end newt livesay and a buck hartsook, didn't go for it. I have a jody muller and mike franklin small knife that i carry in my pocket. Clip sheath with a rare earth magnet to hold the blade.

It shows the guy who insulted me and called me a clueless rube and total chump that I actually use knives and spend quite a bit of time in the outdoors. I assumed my pics would show I'm not what he insinuated just because I carry a neck knife. His post in the thread was very "mall ninja-ish" if I do say so myself.

Secondly, the venison and pork feed my family and most of the predators were taken because the local farmers and ranchers asked me to since they were losing calves from their herds, and other animals from there farms, which is their livelihood. Being in the outdoors and hunting, fishing, etc, is how I got here in the BF world to begin with.

Free range chickens. That's funny. Wonder if you've ever hunted these predators in the dark in the deep woods of Texas. Hogs here get up to 400 lbs. and we 've had a few near 800, and I've found myself in a tree before in the middle of the night surrounded by more than a dozen hungry coyotes. Spend 100+ nights in the woods hunting wild hogs and predators and you'll have some pics and stories too.

Fact: Of the 21 states with feral hog populations, Texas has the highest number of attacks by wild hogs on humans (24% of those recorded as of 2012).

SO, I carry a neck knife. Every day, everywhere I go, especially in the woods. If you look at my earlier post, you'll see a whole spread of useful knives (tools) I carry around my neck for different tasks.

 

[Spectre]

 

[cut it out]

How else can you go skinny dipping and still Cary your knife? Or in the showers at camp grounds?? lol. I use them on occasion. Not always but sometimes I like the idea of being able to use either hand. Not so easy with a folder but sitting in a car also makes it easy to take out and put away unlike a folder in the pocket.

 

[22-rimfire]

I usually have another knife handy inside my vehicle.

 

[Mister X]

I own, use and carry several "neck" knives (Emerson La Griffe, Spartan Enyo, CRKT Folts), but never around my neck. The closest I've come is on paracord looped over my right shoulder and under my left arm, great for reef walking (in swim trunks) or on a ladder rigging tarps. Other than that they're usually carried in pocket on paracord tethered to my belt on days when dress or circumstance dictate a light carry.

 

[RX-79G]

In reference to the OP, I think one of mistakes in thinking about the bushcraft knife paradigm is believing that the potential downside to a folder is much greater than the very real limitations that short, flat handles definitely are.

If I had to use a bushcraft knife of very short length, I would much rather use this:

Rather than this:

Realistically, you're better off with a saw equipped lock blade SAK, like a Trekker or Evolution, than a tiny fixed blade with a stubby blade or hand cramping grip.