The Joker Nomad 6.5 is an awesome knife. I've seen it tested by Dutch Bushcrafters on YouTube. I found it for about $105. I think I'm going to buy one. I wish Joker and Boker had the option for Kydex sheaths. But for a little over $100 with Bohler N695, it's a great survival knife for the price.
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Best full tang stainless bowie <$300?
- Thread starter y53p
- Start date
Dutch Bushcrafters listed it as the best survival knife for the price. They do some pretty severe knife testing.
I'm generally a fan of high carbon Bowies. The Ontario SP10 Marine Raider Bowie is my favorite, along with the Cold Steel Chaos Bowie. But, it would be nice to have just one stainless Bowie I could throw in my tailgate, and not worry about rust, or it breaking when chopping or batoning. Unfortunately, the stainless steels that perform that well, are generally very expensive.
I think the Boker El Gigante is probably the best stainless, full tang "Bowie" knife for under $300. I know it's been mentioned before. The steel is Bohler N695, and the blade length is 9.25". It comes with a small handguard, as Bowie knives should. I know it's been mentioned already. It's the best I could find, that meets the criteria.
Schrade has a few options
Uncle Henry Bowie
Leroy Bowie
Uncle Henry Next Generation
191LUH
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Thank you for letting us know. That is enlightening.
Possible he just got a lemon. It happens with all manufacturers. Mine just showed up last week and it’s perfect. The handle, the grind, couldn’t be betterThank you for letting us know. That is enlightening.
All manufacturers get defective items and factory seconds, the point here is Helle actually sold it.
Does yours have a microbevel?
Younwi
The sheath on the Nomad 6.5 is particularly impressive. They have their usual great quality sheath but with an insert to guide the knife and prevent slicing the leather.
You will not be disappointed. In fact, you will turn around and order more Jokers. Ask me how I know
The sheath on the Nomad 6.5 is particularly impressive. They have their usual great quality sheath but with an insert to guide the knife and prevent slicing the leather.
Yes, mine does have a microbevel.
Sadly, Schrade uSchrade has a few options
Uncle Henry Bowie
Leroy Bowie
Uncle Henry Next Generation
191LUH
Schrade used to make very good stainless Bowie knives. They were excellent budget Bowies. Sadly, since they've been bought and sold like 4-5 times, the quality has decreased significantly. I was talking to a guy on some forum. He had a very old Uncle Henry Bowie from the 80's or early 90's. He said it was a great Bowie knife, and it never let him down. I believe they came with quality leather sheaths back then. I asked him if I could buy it, but of course he said no!Schrade has a few options
Uncle Henry Bowie
Leroy Bowie
Uncle Henry Next Generation
191LUH
The corporation that recently bought Schrade, is trying to a better job. I know they have some quality folding knives, which are actually quite pricey, with high quality stainless steel. The new Schrade Bowies (Uncle Henry, Old Timer, etc), have yet to be upgraded. They're still made from the cheapest Chinese stainless steel possible, and they come with ultra cheap nylon sheaths. I'm hoping the "new Schrade" will upgrade them in the near future. I would definitely pay 3 times the current price, if they made their Bowie knives like they used to. As for the AUS-8 Leroy Bowie, and their AUS-10 Extreme Survival Knife, I can't comment on how good they are. I bought the Extreme Survival Knife, because it was AUS-10 steel. It came in a clam package, which was my first clue that it probably wasn't that great. The real downer was the sheath. It's made out of some sort of cheap thin plastic, with a gimmicky pull-through sharpener on the side of the sheath. I turned the sheath upside down, and the knife fell out immediately. The belt clip was also horrendous. They have the same type of sheath for the Leroy Bowie. In reviews, the sheaths cracked for most buyers. It's not surprising if you actually handle one of those sheaths. I cannot speak for the quality of the knife steel. I believe those knives are still made in China, so I would not trust that the steels are actually AUS-8 and AUS-10. The other thing that bugs me, is that Schrade puts a deep hollow grind on all of their fixed blades. That type of grind is fine for a hunting knife. Survival knives and choppers, should have flat or saber grinds. The new Schrade says they're committed to making their knives in the USA again. Hopefully, the quality of their fixed blades will improve, if the manufacturing is brought back to the USA. I have heard good things about their Delta class folding knives. I believe they're made in the USA.Thank you for telling me that. I'm definitely buying one now! I hear the fire steel that comes with it, actually works pretty well, as opposed to the gimmicky fire steels that come with most cheap "survival knives".Younwi
You will not be disappointed. In fact, you will turn around and order more Jokers. Ask me how I know
The sheath on the Nomad 6.5 is particularly impressive. They have their usual great quality sheath but with an insert to guide the knife and prevent slicing the leather.
Here is kind of an interesting picture. The Helle is in the middle, two Jokers flank it.
The interesting thing is that all three knives have the same steel (Sandvik 14C28N). All three handles have curly birch wood. All are exceptionally well crafted, flawless fit and finish and sharp as hell. Granted the Helle is a bit bigger but costs more than twice as much as either Joker. Jokers are an amazing value. I’ve never had a bad one yet and I’m up to 10.
Jokers are definitely nice knives. I appreciate you telling me about the quality of the sheaths. That was the only thing holding me back.
C
Couple it with a Casstrom dangler (some Joker models come with one and some don’t but you can buy one on Amazon) and you should be good to go
Are those Jokers full tang?
Muela is another Spanish maker, how do they compare to Joker?
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Well, you got me intrigued on the Uncle Henry Next Generation Bowie. I thought the "next generation" aspect, may have meant that it was a new, upgraded Bowie knife from Schrade. It's listed as high carbon steel. It's actually a Chinese high carbon stainless steel - 7Cr17MoV. That's not necessarily a bad high carbon stainless steel, if it has a good heat treat. It has a slight hollow grind, which is a bit of a negative for a chopper IMO. That said, it seems to perform pretty well for basic tasks like chopping and batoning. However, that nylon sheath just kills it for me. I couldn't find where it was made. But considering the steel type, I'm sure it's China. The fit and finish looks pretty good. I think I'll wait until Schrade gets its act together, with respect to their large fixed blades. They need to bring the manufacturing back to the US, use better stainless steels, and give them sheaths that won't come apart after one hiking trip. I'd happily pay a lot more, if they did that.Schrade has a few options
Uncle Henry Bowie
Leroy Bowie
Uncle Henry Next Generation
191LUH
I'm actually not a big fan of dangler sheaths, but thank you for showing me. I like my knife sheaths high and tight. It's just personal preference.