Best ~3" fixed blade

I eye balled the guardian 3 HARD ...

and it still very high on my list, but damn there are SO many others on the list with it LOL I seen some of the fixed blades you post in the beer and blades thread, and you have good taste sir:thumbup:
There is a lot of good suggestions here already. I'll just throw my opinion in on the Bradford G3. Simply fantastic performance for the price. Izula has a very similar excellent cost to performance ration.
 
Swamprat SwampWarden is a great skeletonized blade.

Survive!Knives 3.5 is a wonderful small blade. I could see it as an edc. Their 2.7 model looks like it would fit this role and will be smaller than the 3.5, but the first run 2.7s are not out yet. Well worth a look at these.

The BRKT mini foxriver I have is very nice. It's small, easily fitting even in a pocket. The sheath is designed for either RH carry on the belt or it also has belt slots for crossdraw. I personally did not like this knife having a convex grind. It is quite thick for a blade this size, and I did not find the grind to perform well. I ground it to full flat and am much happier with it. It is actually a pleasure to carry now.

Lots more good blades out there. Good luck in the search.

ETA: That Bradford looks nice!
 
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If I was looking for such a thing, and I sort of am, I would look first at BRKT products. They make a lot that are in an EDC size. The Bradford Guardian 3 seems like a good option also. If a person has a generous budget there are a lot of choices, depending on your tastes. That may be one reason I like the BRK products. I do see a lot of interesting customs posted here but haven't found any that fit my exact tastes and budget.

I have a Bark River Bravo Necker 2, 7" total length, that seems like a good size for EDC. With a trim enough sheath it might fit in jeans pockets.

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I have an older Dozier Personal. I think this would be a great EDC knife but it is more expensive than what I would carry.

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I'm surprised to see Busse knives mentioned. I didn't know that there were any small enough for EDC. I'm not familiar with the Busse world but I also wonder if they are actually available, IOW if the OP wanted one, could he actually buy one?
 
yes bdmicarta the swamprats mentioned are in stock currently on the website except the solution is out of stock.
 
There are many great small Busses. Everything that has been discussed from them so far comes up frequently on the exchange. There were some Mean Streets and a Rodent Solution up today. I always thought their Game Warden would be a great edc, like the one in Mr. Anderson's avatar. Might be a little over the OPs upper limit though.

The R3 is the only small bussekin current at the factory (swamprat), the swampwarden, game warden, and rodent solution would be secondary market items.
 
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ESEE Izula. :) I've had a lot of fun with mine. I'm going to see if I can re-incorporate it into my current EDC.

Yes, it's cheaper than the price range you listed. It's also not going to disappoint you. All function, no BS. Also, that warranty is fantastic.
 
I second the Bark River Bravo Necker 2. 3V steel, convex grind, usable blade length, comfortable handles. It's my most used Bark River/fixed blade I have.
 
I can't imagine why you'd want to use a knife for any sort of prying so forget that in my recommendations. But for sub 3" fixed blades I like the Izula line a lot. If you want something with a handle and in a stainless steel, the Cold Steel Mini Pendleton is great. It's my new fixed blade EDC and I'm very pleased with it.
 
I own the Izula, Becker BK-24 (D2), Blackjack 155 Necker and the Guardian 3 (M390) for small fixed blades. They are all very nice knives but if I had to choose it would be the Bradford G3.

It is the most comfortable in my hand and the blade keeps cutting like no other. In second place would be the BK-24.
 
Received this today, just ordered the Izula (purple is cool, right? lol)........Im still trying to figure it out myself..


You pull the trigger on anything yet, A-Love?
 
what is that? looks to be something of busse nature..
Received this today, just ordered the Izula (purple is cool, right? lol)........Im still trying to figure it out myself..


You pull the trigger on anything yet, A-Love?
 
If you're willing to creep into the upper end of your range, past the $175 mark and closer to $200, have a look at Dawson knives. He's not well represented here on BFC, but I own four and I find them robust and pleasant in the hand. There is one model, the Pocket Knife, at $215, that deserves a look. So does the Gentleman's Pocket Knife, at $225, in damascus. Other smaller Dawsons include the Outdoorsman Hunter, Little Dipper, Venus (by Barry Dawson's niece, Lynn Cook), and Apache (by Lynn's husband).

I think I'm not allowed to give the link to Barry's site because he's not a paying supporter of BFC, but you can Google it successfully. It has his name and the word "knives" in it.

Look forward to seeing what you end up with, regardless. Good luck!

Zieg
 
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