Backpacking Fixed Blade?

I would not stick with serrations in outdoors knife, you can have a lot of problems to sharpen them in field conditions. It is also far not the best blade for food preparing, one of the most common functions of outdoors knife.

I'm extremely lazy guy so I would choose the lightest possible knife for backpacking, SPYDERCO Bill Moran Featherweight would be just right for me.
If you do like the knife, which can take more abuse, you can't go wrong with Fällkniven F1. For harder tasks Fällkniven S1 Forest Knife seems to be the best choice. This is the biggest knife I agree to carry on myself and I can use efficiently for the tasks suitable to be performed with the knives. For even harder tasks - sorry, but there are no knives for that purposes. Someone simply should get the hatchet or axe in this case.

BTW, the light, handy small fixed blade supported with the decent axe is very sensible set of equipment traveling in wilderness.
 
A good solid working knife in the production line would be the Fallknivens. As with others expressed opinions here the 5" S1 comes to mind for your specifications. Its VG10 stainless steel is quite tough and corrosion resistant. Its thicker blade stock and convex edge is a bit stonger than some traditional edge bevels. You can probably abuse it a bit such as doing splitting and light prying chores if need. The slightly exposed full tang butt can be used for an impact tool. The S1s blade shape is among the most versatile in its category. The clip point can perform more delicate chores (including anti- personnel!) But at the same time is plenty strong due to its blade thickness. The blades belly is quite adequate for skinning in the field as much as it is for slashing at 4 or 2 legged predators if need be. :) While it is lacking in having a more ample guard, its checkered rubber handles work quite well, gloves or barehanded. Good choice.

Nakano
 
Besides the Fallknivens, there are a few more reasonably priced options in stainless Scandinavian knives. Helle makes a model with a good single guard and laminated stainless blade of between 4.5 - 5 inches. I can't remember the name right now, but the price was around $70. It is an exception to most Scandinavian knives in having an adequate guard. An internet search on Helle knives should turn up two or three dealers who carry it, including Ragnar in New York.

Of course, if you don't think you need a big guard, there are plenty of other Scandinavian stainless knives, with the Fallknivens getting the most praise.
 
I just looked up the Helle knive I had in mind in my previous post - it is the Helle Safari. Ragweed Forge has it for $68. The blade is 4 3/4 inches long.
 
I have an SRK second. Classic sharpened prybar. Good for pounding through something. Not heavy enough for chopping, and not profiled well for cutting rope, but works well enough to shape pegs, and can dig like crazy.

I also have a Mora2000! What a cutter! Inexpensive at $26 or so and very thin, but will supprise you with its durability and comfort in use though I wonder how the very-comfortable handle would stand up to DEET, I just don't know. Even if it fell appart in a season though, at $26 one might afford another for next year. I used the Mora this summer to create lots of kindling from small logs (2" dia) without problem dispite its 1/16" stock!

The Fallknivens are much more rugged than the Mora, and also better profiled for cutting than the SRK, but otherwise much more similar to the SRK than the Mora.

Lots of other good suggestions too of course. Small to medium sized fixed blades do not have to be expensive to be of high quality.
 
I have been looking for a good factory fixed blade for back packing this upcoming summer myself. These are the choices I have narrowed it to so far. I will probably order something by April or so...Looks like you are looking for something a bit bigger though. I find that the 3.5-4" range is plenty of blade for me and weighs a bit less than longer blades. I personally do not carry serrated blades, and feel they just take up space that could be occupied by a more useful edge.

Camillus Talon Talonite
Camillus Talon 154 CM
Camillus Close Quarter Battle Junior
F1 Fallkniven Swedish National Defense Knife
Spyderco Bill Moran Feather Weight

The Yari may be a good choice, sound like you are heading in the right direction. I had a Seal Pup and this was not the right blade for anything I needed, so I sold it. Overall it was a well made, light knife. This may work out well for you.
 
I was going to mention Marble's myself, but Eagle131 said he wanted a stainless knife. From what I have read, Marble's are probably the best factory knives for hunting/camping. However, they don't make any stainless models.
 
I am getting the drift that the SOG is not the best choice. I think I have narrowed it down to the Cold Steel SRK or the Falkniven S1. Could anyone guve me a comparison of the two?
 
The Sog sealpup isn't necessarily "better" or "worse" than the coldsteel SRK or fallkniven S1. If your going to be packing around saltwater alot or mixing in some kayaking, the Sog is least likely to rust on you.

But for general backpacking with only occasional exposure to water, then yes the fallkniven or coldsteel would probably serve you better overall (better edge holding and over all tougher).
 
Eagle131, didn't you say that you already have the SOG Seal Pup on the way? Stick with that, it's a fine knife. All these others that are mentioned are good, too. Many of them even better. But there isn't a thing wrong with the Seal Pup. In fact, after having used some of the others mentioned here, I have still considered getting the Seal Pup just because of its looks, its price, and its size. Take it and use it a while. The probability is very high that you will never need a knife more than that. If for some reason you don't like it, then get another of another brand. Don't fall into the steel-snob trap, as many of us have. For 99.9% of the cutting you'll do, 99% of the time, the Seal Pup will work perfectly.

As an aside regarding Fallknivens (of which I own the A1, and consider it my favorite real, working knife), the F1 and S1 were found satisfactory by the Naval Air Warfare Center for issue as survival knives for US Navy aircrew. Of course, you must accept that with a grain of salt, though: the Camillus Pilot Survival Knife is satisfactory as well, and is the knife you will find in the SV-2 that is issued to aviators. Or at least as recently as, um... 3 years ago. Can't personally say for certain that you'd still find it in a newly-issued SV-2 here in twenty-oh-two. :)
 
I happen to like that Camillus Pilot's knife, and looked for a long time for a high grade stainless knife with similar characteristics. I never found one, but found a few carbon steel knives that would make a good upgrade, including the new Blackjack Trailguide III. Marbles is about to offer a mini-Trailmaker with five inch blade and double guard. Then there is the Randall Pilot's Knife, but it is quite expensive in comparison to the other options.

I have the Fallkniven F1, myself. My problem with that line is the teeny tiny guards. Of course, compared to many other Scandinavian knives the guards on the Fallknivens are whoppers.

I have read that Fallkniven is coming out with a line of bowie style knives with double guards. It would be nice if they offer a model with a five inch or so blade.
 
Eagle 131, I agree with Sergiusz Mitin about the Spyderco Moran (I prefer the drop point version). When backpacking a neck knife is very handy since it is out of the way of your pack straps and belt, yet can be easily sheathed or unsheathed with either hand. The Spyderco Moran makes a great neck knife (you can remove the Tek-Lok if you prefer). Also, VG-10 is one of the most highly regarded stainless steels. Just my two cents!
 
Thank you Rockspyder. I will take your advice. I never really had any intention of returning the Seal Pup, I just wanted to know if perhaps there was a better knife that I might buy later in addition to it. Even if it didn't serve well as a backpacking knife, I am sure it would still make a fine kayaking or diving knife, as well as many other things. Thank you again.
 
One more stainless option nobody has mentioned - the Emerson Police / Utility. It has a coated 3 1/2 inch ATS-34 blade.

I don't own one but from the pictures the Emerson looks to have a more secure grip and guard than alot of similar knives. I once read that the last place one needs an accidental cut is out in the wilderness, far from medical care. For this reason knives with ample guards, finger grooves, etc. are a good idea for backpacking.
 
Just spotted a new Buck on the Knife Outlet website. It is the Buck 405 with an ATS-34 blade. The styling appears to be traditional with a single guard (looks like stainless or nickel-silver).
 
Just another thought.... for about 8 years (before I came down with steel-snob syndrome a.k.a. SSSsssssss), I carried and used exclusively a Buck Vanguard with 420HC blade and the rubber and brass handle. Never had a problem with it at all, and it would likely still be my sole backpacking knife if I didn't suffer from SSSssssss condition. ;)

The Buck 405, however, with a 4 inch ATS-34 blade, for $99.95 (if you follow this link, you'll need to page down the list a bit to find the Buck 405) is a pretty dang good deal, though. And you'll never find better customer service than Buck.
 
I think the seal pup was a good choice but I would have directly compared it to the Sog Ranger. Which is about the same size with what I think has a more utilitarian blade shape. Tuff Choice.

Zachary
 
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