Best knife for contractor? INFI, 3v, A2, D2 etc

Hey, why dont you buy a bunch of cheap Mora clones. They cost nothing and if it gets destroyed, just take a new one. Carpenters and contractors in the land of Mora knives do not use knives that cost more than 2 bucks or so, they get destroyed after some time anyway.
The tree cutting you should do with folding saw or some tree shears or whatever they are called. The wire cutting you should do with a multi tool.

I too recommend the F1 or S1 though.
 
nodh said:
Hey, why dont you buy a bunch of cheap Mora clones. They cost nothing and if it gets destroyed, just take a new one. Carpenters and contractors in the land of Mora knives do not use knives that cost more than 2 bucks or so, they get destroyed after some time anyway.
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That's actually a very good idea. I don't know how I didn't think of that. That's what almost everyone around here, sometimes including me, uses Moras for. Good knife for abusive tasks, because you can buy them by the bucketful, so if one breaks, you just get three other ones. :D
 
Super Tactical
I suggest a Charles May Scandi grind fixed blade
You can use this pretty hard,it is easy to re-sharpen,just lay the bevel of the grind on the stone.These cut great
Here is a small one I carry in 3/32" stock S30V SS,and G-10 scales
DSCF4329.jpg

He has a website,and will do most all of his models in the Scandi grind
You would not think it,but it is REAL Sharp,and can take it!
-Vince
 
One thing about a Busse - if you do manage to break the blade somehow, they will replace it for you, no questions asked. (Well, they may ask you how you did it, but that won't inhibit a replacement)
 
If I were a landscape lighting contractor, I'd sure consider looking at one of the Graham Brothers knives.
http://www.grahamknives.com/gallery.htm
(These are fixed blades.)
If I were looking for a tough as nails folder, I'd look at one of Rick Hinderer's knives.

Also, a good multi-tool would be on my belt.

Dean
 
Oh, another thought...
Not very sexy, but you could get a handful of Moras, and use them with reckless abandon. Discard when they are too torn up and embarrassing to carry. You could try different models, then give us feedback as to which held up the best.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

Opinels would be another cheap but effective choice.
 
Or, how about a Fallkniven A1?

A 5.5" Chris Reeve one piece knife made with A2 would be sturdy but
I don't think they have enough weight in the blade to be a big chopper.
 
DoctaD: Somebody else told me to consider one of those ugly things. I just may do that. ;)

Rich357 & VCM3: I have a 3v Bushcraft from Koster that would be comparable to those.

It seams Mora is getting a lot of publicity here. I will order one since they're so frikin cheap and try it out for sure!
 
I was a general contractor for 35 years along with maintenance work. I used the Vic Explorer for 90 percent of my cutting and a cut down remodeled Old Hickory butcher knife for the rest. About 50.00 total for both combined.
 
You guys are naming wonderful knives, but the problem is that no knife is going to do what the OP wants. He needs a hatchet. When I took my GB carpenter's hatchet and HI Khukri out to chop up maple blow down, the hatchet was a little better, not a lot, but the khukri's edge rolled in two places. The hatchet's edge did not. There was a guy with a Busse for sale. He had cut a bunch of firewood with it. It's a truly great knife, but the edge was chipped and rolled. The OP expects even greater performance from his knife. No knife will stand up to that kind of abuse.
 
The closest that I can think of that you could get right away is a Ranger RD-4. 1/4 thick 5160. You will need to re profile it though, the edges are pretty much for chopping. But once you do, it's is bomb proof. Either that or a Scrapyard Yard Keeper, or Dumpster Mutt.
 
I have, while working construction, also acquired some experience in destroying knives. My first advice is avoid the big bucks knives. They get just as destroyed and better to be out $50 than $300+. If you have broadband, check out knifetests.com Lowly rated by many, the Cold Steel SRK held up pretty good, IMO. Apparently with a better tang than the lordly MK2 Kabar. I suspect the GI Tanto would also do you well. This month/week I am playing with WW2 surplus US Army Quartermaster issue Cattaraugus 225Qs. Many are found on Ebay and the last one I bought there last month cost me $19 plus shipping. They take a razor edge well and hold it fairly well. Of course we all recognize that edge with my 15 degree bevel will need a serious retouch if used to hack through copper cable. Perhaps a 30 degree bevel would be better, but then you would be disappointed when cutting cardboard, although a 23 degree bevel is a good compromise. Anyway, I haven't broken one of those Q knives yet. Also don't overlook Buck sheath knives. I like their 692 for the light work.
 
Sounds to me like you have already bought one that will work--the Koster Bushcraft in 3V.
 
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