Buck Alpha Hunter...CS Kobun....

A

Angelus1781

Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
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Get a lot of these posts, but can't get the useful input from friends, that I can get from you people. Been looking at the Buck alpha hunter, and the CS carbon V kobun as my last compact fixed blade. Can't buy anymore knives for a whie, have to start saving up. So whatever I choice it will have to be it for a while.

Its gotta be fairly compact, but big enough for everyday carry..meaning the shealth should have a clip to it. Blade has to be tough, able to stand up to hard use...last a while.


Buck shealth isn't too compact and the kobun is pretty big for everyday carry. Any other options are very welcome...post some pics, and review if you can.
 
The Kobun has a very slim handle. If you want a utility knife you probably don't want the Kobun, I don't think, and it also will look very scary to sheeple. I traded mine for a Spyderco Perrin Street bowie, which is a great knife. It will certainly cut, although it is 5/32" thick so it's not a pry-bar. The Temperance is a solid FB but it is much bulkier so I don't know if that suits you.

The Buck Alpha I can't speak to. you might want to look at the Gerber Yari, which has a lot of fans here on BFC. The Yari is definitely a SD knife, 4.5" blade w/o a lot of belly, but it can do chores & is stout I believe. It's a discontinued model, but Knifecenter.com still has some of these, I think.

the Camillus CQB Jr. is a nice knife of a similar "tactical" design, 4" x 5/32" blade, but it's sheath doesn't have a clip, so you'd have to have one made, or fabricate a clip (not that hard). Fallkniven S1 or F1 are very stout using knives, but no clip on the cordura belt sheaths, you'd need to have a kydex one made. Same with the Bark River knives, these are nice but no clip on the sheaths. Same with the Ontario Randall TAK. Same with the Swamp Rat offerings.

The Spydie Ronin is a small but very useful knife. Same with the Camillus Talon, although I don't know if you would want to pry with either of these, and neither has a clip. The Camillus Becker line is probably too big, and the sheaths don't have clips, although you could get a B11, cord-wrap the handle, fabricate a clip to the neck sheath, and have a nice performer that doesn't look scary for about $40.

Hmm . . other FB knives with blades between 3-5", preferably thick, with clipped sheath, decent steel, and in the price range of the Alpha or Kobun . . . well, the Cold Steel Master hunter has a 4.5" x 3/16" Carbon V blade, for about $50, which I THINK comes with a clipped kydex sheath, although they keep changing their sheaths so you'd have to be sure about that before ordering from a dealer. then there's the ENTREK cobra, which you might like but costs twice that of the Master hunter. Same with a Newt Livesay ICU, and you'd have to get one used b/c Newt's delivery times are unreliable lately.

Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head, that seems to be in your parameters. You can find pics and info on these knives at 1SKS, or knifecenter, or knifworks, or any of thew advertisers here.I'm sure others will occur to me later. & you'll probably be getting more suggestions from other forumites in short order!
 
thanks for the reply, it gave me a lot of ideas. I think the CS master hunter might be the one. In carbon V of course. Do you know if they were ever made with a boot clip? If so I could try to find a shealth for one. Maybe someones got some decent pics of this knife
 
I'm rally partial to a BM Nimravus, but I carry my Spyderco/ Lum Fixed Tanto- it's the only one I have a survival sheath systems rig for... currently. The Nimravus is a great little knife and now comes with a fancy sheath, but I have the old one that you can throw it from. I think it's pretty tough, but then I don't pry with it or chop wood:D I have had a Kobun when they were AUS8, and did not like the little rubber guard, it felt "cheap". It was kinda big for the sheeple too as was earlier stated. I owned a Gryphon M10 for about a day before I traded it (as promised) but was so impressed with it, I want to get another one for myself! That is a great knife too, and feels great in the hand. Please post what you finally decide on, I'm interested in what you pick.
Mike
 
I forgot about the Nimravus! That's a good one, esp. in M2 - THERE'S a hardy FB! The Spydie Lum fixed is beautiful, but more pricey, and does it come with a clipped sheath? As for the M10, it looks mighty cool but, as others have posted, the CQB Jr. is pretty much the same design in better steel for less money.

Oh yeah - check out John Greco knives too, they are very stout at resonable prices. I think he only makes (very nice) leather sheaths, however.
 
Thanks for the Gryphon info Fishface. The sheat the Lum comes with is BUTT-UGLY :barf: :barf: :barf: I really don't like leather sheaths, but it is the most useless piece-of-sheat I have ever encountered!... Until Robert H of Survival Sheath Systems! I have a shest rig for it that I can also put a teklok on! Now it is not only beautiful, but there when I need it! I wanna get the same thing for my Nimravus as well.
 
If you want to stick with buck knives I would say go for a Big Sky, the alpha hunter is somewhat agressive for an edc you might want to use in a public area :)
The big sky is short (OAL is 8-1/4 and it helps for an edc you prefer to be "low profile" ) but has a blade designed for tough work and is not scary at all. The sheath is really nice and yes, it has a clip!
Though the steel is nothing "hyppie" (420hc I think) it will do the job and keep an edge for a good while.

PS: If you want a real good field knife you can use as an EDC (thanks to the teklok), catch a Spyderco Fred Perrin, it won't disappoint you.

-- Xavier
 
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