Buying A Knife...need Help!!!!!!!

S

SEALSOG

Joined
Jan 20, 2002
Messages
5
Im thinking of buying a knife, costing $100 or less.
i want a fixed blade,4-6", suitable for hunting, camping, and "utility" purposes. i was wondering what some good choices are.
Currently i am considering the KA-BAR 5 1/4" with krayton handle
is this a good choice?
Help me please!!!!!!!!!:confused:
 
www.1sks.com

Check out Becker Knife and Tool (camillus)

Cold steel Carbon V knives (camillus)

maybe a benchmade outbounder?

I would probably get seperate camping and hunting (skinning?) blades.
 
But I hate Kraton! Hurts for hard use and is not always durable. Anyhting will work, but if you are really going to use it, get something else.
 
A Cold Steel SRK or Buck Nighthawk would be a couple of other good choices (although the Nighthawk might be a little too thick for some chores).
 
I have the 3/4 Kabar, but I don't really care for it. IMO they should not have shrunk the guard down same as the blade and handle. The regular Kabar guard is rather smallish to start with, and should not have been reduced in size. The shrinking of all of the regular Kabar parts in equal amounts IMO was not the way to come up with a good five inch bladed knife.
 
Top choices off the top of my head, roughly in order of my perception of meeting your request at the right price:

1. Fallkniven A1 or S1:
http://www.fallkniven.com/next-index.htm

2. Save up a few more bucks and get a used Dozier KS-3 Pro Guide off the forums. Alternatively, the small KS-4 or large KS-5 Elk hunters are similar:

http://www.dozierknives.com/

3. That Ka-Bar is probably fine, I'd go with D2 myself in a blade in the 5" range. Leather looks and feels good, but will rot and shrink over time if you really use it.

4. In carbon steel, Camillus offers real value in my estimation ... solid no-nonsense designs and a good heat treat with their BK&T products:

http://www.camillusknives.com/bkt.htm

The Companion is a little "taller" than I like but a stout working knife in that length.
 
Fallkniven and Becker Knife and Tool are the two that I would wholeheartedly recommend. Looks like evryone beat me to it, but I'll mention them again. :D
 
I wouldn't order the 3/4 size Kabar without trying it out first. I think that the blade is a very good size, but they shrunk the handle down too much in girth. And I don't have very large hands.
 
Aeneas makes another good point about the Kabar. Shrinking something in equal proportions all over may be a good way to make model cars and airplanes, but it isn't the best way to design a knife.

I don't think anyone has mentioned my favorite utility knife of those I own - the Greco Companion with a five inch A2 steel blade. These are available from Bladeart.
 
thanks for the tips so far guys

unfortunately i am very picky as far as the looks (and specs) of potential knives

-i didn't mind the look of the becker, although i believe it could be inproved upon
-didn't like the BM outbounder's looks
-don't like the double colour of the nighthawk
-Falkniven wasn't bad looking
-didn't care for the dozier
-companion is nice looking

what would u say about the SOG SEAL & SEAL PUP?
or the ColdSteel UWK?
im not too rough on my knives, and i am wondering if a folder would be acceptable for my uses, if so, could you reccomend some.
 
I'm in the same boat. I will be getting the Fallkniven S1. The price performance ratio seems very good to me.
 
Check out some of these knives by Newt Livesay.

Very good bang for your buck. Newts a real nice guy, he'll set you up with what you need.
 
Looking at your handle, I was going to suggest the Seal Pup. I had a full-size Seal 2000, which I think is a great knife, but it's probably larger than you need. It is big.

If you can get a Dozier, go for it. Total class, the best knives any of us have suggested. They cost real money but you can get the occasional nice price on the Exchange forums. I saw a couple of his beautiful folders up for sale recently.

I agree Newt Livesay may have the best bang for the buck in hard-working knives.

I have a BK&T Combat/Utility on order from Bayou Lafourche. You can check it out on his home page http://www.knifeworks.com/ as a new arrival -- the knife, not you!
 
Check out some of these knives by Newt Livesay.
Very good bang for your buck. Newts a real nice guy, he'll set you up with what you need.
Click to expand...

Nice looking knives. I like something a bit more rust resistant, but that's just me.
 
SEALSOG - look at this pic, (3rd from the bottom of the page):
http://www.petestacticalknives.com/cusfix.htm
Don't worry about that price: (there's one on ebay for less.)
It might have the "look" & overall use you need.
Otherwise, the Greco Companion mentioned earlier in A2 is a GREAT knife in that pricepoint! It's heavier & stouter than the pics let on... yet a fine slicing edge, for whatever you need cut. Camp usage will see both aspects being utilized, in food prep, + light chopping/wood-working (whittling, making kindling with baton, etc.)
Just a couple more to seriously consider...
Climber Clif

PS Just re-checked on that ebay knife: i couldn't find it :eek:
Well, it WAS there... Hmmm. Sorry; :rolleyes: :o
Pete's price is within your range, tho...
 
Nobody's mentioned the Marble's knives so far - they are very popular. The Gamegetter versions have longer guards.

This is $20 over your $100 limit, but how about the New Blackjack Trailguide ? There are two models, one with a single guard and one with a double guard. They are essentially a combination of Randall styles with Marble's steel and grind.
 
I've thought about the Fallkniven S1 myself, but aren't the convex edges supposed to be very difficult to sharpen? Does anyone have experience sharpening a Fallkniven or other blade with a convex edge?
 
SEALSOG,

I carry the SOG Seal2000 as my main field knife on my departments SWAT Team. We are located in the mountains of western N.C. and are the 3rd largest county in the state. Lots of hiking into objectives and "fieldcraft" type work. I'm also a Diver and have carried the knive diving from N.C. to the Florida Keys. The blade has took ALOT and kept on going strong. I recently bought the SOG Recondo and although I havent carried it long it seems to be a great blade! VERY LIGHT and feels great in your hand!! I also have the SEAL PUP and carry it when I go camping. The SEALs are a great blade design and if you do a little research the design has been around for a long time, since early in the Vietnam war. Check out this link http://www.sogknives.com/misc2/ I started with the SOG Seal and liked the proformance so much I've got almost a dozen SOGs in my collection now. They are great made knives of the highest quality and priced very reasonable.

One small (and I think neat) detail aout SOG knives, they are made in SEKI Japan. Which if you do any research on Samurai Swords you will find that Seki (Mino) was a major Samurai Sword production center. I think that anyone would have agree that Samurai Swords were some of the greatest works of blade craftsmanship ever. The SOG Seal 2000 is, as I'm sure you know, issued to our Nations most elite Special Forces unit, the SEALS. It seems to me that SEKI is once again turning out awsome steel for great warriors!


The choice is yours and although I'm new myself, welcome to Blade Forums!
 
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