Canoeing neck knife

O

Outdoorsmn

Joined
Jan 23, 2000
Messages
11
Is anyone aware of a company that makes a concealable neck knife in a M-2, Ats-55, 154cm, or of the Aus variety? It will be mainly a canoeing knife for convenience, but shouldn't be terribly conspicuous for public.
I dont know how much $ I want to put into it yet. Thanks

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"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have."
(Theodore Roosevelt, 1903)
 
I believe Cold Steel should have something to suit you. They have several blade types and I think they come in stainless.
Newt Livesy(sp?) manufactures neck knives but I am unsure of the steel used. They are very nice and very sharp.
If the sheath were suitable I would say the Spyderco Moran fixed blade would be nearly ideal. Hope this starts you out on your quest...

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Where no law exists there still must be justice- Dan Mahoney
 
The Moran is good, and an aftermarket sheath can be acquired which will do well for neck carry.

John Freeman is a custom maker who has knives for sale on his site, immediate delivery and prices under a C-note.

Newt Livesay makes the Bow Hunting Buddy, which I really like the look of, and it is available in 440C and 1095.

Allen Blade has a 3 month wait currently, and makes some great knives period, his MEUK is great for a full sized knife, and his Street Scapel is cool as a neck knife and his Utility has a lot of that.

If you are looking for a beefy knife, you could look at TOPS, they offer the Spokane Street Scapel. Or, if you decide to go with a full sized knife there is the Shadow Hunter, a real beauty.

Busse offers the Mean Street, or the Badger Attack for the hip.

Personlly I would pass on the neck knife and go for a 3.5 to 4 inch fixed blade on the hip, sheath it in a high ride Concealex/Kydex sheath to keep it out of the way. Having the sheath on the belt and in Concealex/Kydex means that no matter what happens to the boat, you have the knife with you, and you don't have to worry about overhanging branches strangling you.

What about a folder in a neck sheath? Folders are inconspicuous in the city, slip it into the neck sheath for outdoors. Mike Sastre makes quite a line.

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Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye, Cd'A ID, USA mdpoff@hotmail.com

My Talonite Resource Page, nearly exhaustive!!
My Fire Page, artificial flint and index of information.

"Many are blinded by name and reputation, few see the truth" Lao Tzu
 
I use neck knives for canoeing - sometimes. It's not the best option for several reasons. I never use one near whitewater and instead have one lashed to my pfd. This is in addition to a larger fixed blade on my hip or lashed to the boat. The only time I regard a neck knife as essential is when I'm wearing a survival suit, and that really only applies when I kayak in the arctic. But I presume you have your own techniques and your own well developed rationale for a neck knife. So, which one to recommend?
Personally, I like customs. My favorites are a double edged Tighe, a little Hayes tanto and now a Blackwood talonite. The talonite is perfect around saltwater. Neil solved the sheath problem by making me two: one around the neck and one for the belt. You might also consider Lightfoot's neck knives either directly from Greg or from ProEdge[Murray Haday] I'd be surprised if Lightfoot and Tighe weren't also available from the first rank dealers like Les Robertson, ACK and Knifeart and Chai.
If I were to choose a commercial neck knife, I'd probably look at the Nealy's. Provided you can get a lanyard on them, they look really sweet for the purpose, although I tend towrds double edged and serrations for serious water. The MCS carry system, if its anything like Nealy's custom, is very concealible and very versatile. Bud's custom knives are fantastic and I should think the commercial versian in ATS 34 would be excellent and available under $100 US.
John Freeman is a great Canadian maker. I have several of his knives, but not a neck knife. He grinds 440c, ats34 and some damascus. Nice sheaths too. I find his knives to be very straightforward, they keep a great edge and are unusually rust resistant. He is on the web and he's a wonderful guy. You can't beat the exchange rate, that's for sure.
Sorry to be so longwinded.
 
I own many different neck knives by many different makers.

One maker you may want to consider is Fred Perrin and his La Griffe. (Emerson makes a factory version of this knife.)

The reason why I would recommend it for canoeing is that it is small, unobtrusive, and because of the finger hole, you will not lose your grip on it when wet.

You can see the La Griffe and many other neck knives if you use the link below my signature.

Blues

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Live Free or Die

Some Knife Pix
 
A low-cost option that is convenient and inconspicuous is the Outdoor Edge Wedge. You may want to take a look at it.

I'm not sure of the steel. I think it's a lower end stainless. Perhaps 440a?
 
Couple thoughts:

Emerson LaGriffe is a neat knife (I have one), but is a really short blade, curved like hawkbill, and really a slashing defensive knive. It's curved the wrong way (anti-belly?) for many normal working tasks unless you cut carpet as an installer.

Paracord could kill you if you got tangled canoeing/kyacking, it's so tough. Simple breakaway chain (the little balls pull free...what are they called?) sounds like the right approach. Better to lose a knife than strangle (this goes for self defense also... assailant could strangle you with your own paracord, it's right where he needs it to be, around your neck).

Talonite is all the rage now, but guys have been making knives out of stellite (the more generic term for these cobalt alloys) for 15 years or more. It will not rust or corrode (short of a strong acid attack something well past acetic acid) since it contains no Iron. It is not a steel, since it contains no iron, just a big matrix of other metals, it's an alloy. Talonite/stellite is perfect for saltwater, for sure. None better (since titanium doesn't hold a candle edge-wise).

440C is about the most corrosion resistant of the normal blade steels, and if hard enough (above 55Rc, but below 58Rc where it starts to get brittle) makes a good blade around water. It exceeds the ATS-34/154cm materials in corrosion resistance (440V should also) simply because it has 18% chrome vs. 14%. But ATS-34 will rust around fresh water if not taken care of, mildly anyway, and I saw a guys ATS-34 blade in his saltwater fishing boat, it was a real rusty mess... the bonehead (I GAVE him a BM Eclipse, and he lets it sit, rusting away, in his freakin' marsh boat... last of my charity).

If you are serious about edge retention, avoid 440A like the plague (lower carbon content than 440C, so hardenability is low, and not enough for a serious blade), and 440B isn't seen much but avoid it too. If the vendor says "440 stainless", you can be sure it ISN'T 440C, or they would have said so. Seriously.

Neck knife design? Eye of beholder. I'd emphasize "light weight" and a 3" or less blade, perhaps skeletonized metal handle.

It makes me laugh to see some of the big, bulky neck knives being sold these days.... "it's the 'hot trend', feed the ducks while they are quacking."

Crawford has a nice skeletonized neck knife, many others, Nealy's small 3" Pesh Kabz is a gem.
 
Oh, and skip M2 around water. Too much trouble to use a non-stainless knife if the main goal is for use around water.
 
You can wear a neck knife in any kind of pouch sheath; it doesn't have to be upside down. Native Americans frequently carried their trade knives in pouch sheaths (often handsomely fringed and beaded, at least in paintings of the era), slung around their necks. Grohman's Russell belt knives come with a pouch sheath, Mora's ugly but utilitarian black pastic sheaths work, the open-ended swinger sheath for the Fallkniven F1 all lend themselves to neck carry.
 
Check out the Busse Police Recruit. It will be available yet for a short time before being discontinued (comes w/ kydex neck sheath. Otherwise, if you want something with a little more heft, look at the Mean Street or Basic #3 ( both of which are made by Busse ).
 
If you are sold on the neck knife idea, then see my review of small fixed blade knives at: http://www.geocities.com/chiro75/fixedreview.html
If you are only taking one knife with you, I personally would second the motion for taking a single 3-4" blade fixed blade. The Spyderco Moran is a superb, incredibly light fixed blade, and an alternative would be one of John Greco's knives, available at Hammerhead Knives. The Moran can probably be found for around $55, and the smaller Greco's are usually $75. For either, I would recommend upgrading to a Kydex sheath so you don't have to worry about losing the knife. When you are doing a lot of sitting and that sort of thing, the knife can potentially slide out of a leather pouch sheath, while a synthetic sheath will retain it better and keep things more safe.

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Madpoet (Mel Sorg, Jr.) Tribute page:
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CRKT Stiff kiss, in a variety of blade shapes. Inexpensive, well designed...I love mine. Also Wicked Knives, although these are prone to rust.
 
The Fallkniven WM1 is stainless VG-10 and can be had with a Kydex neck sheath.

Small, strong and stainless.

Tom Lagan
 
Listen to the people who warn you about the danger of a ligature around your neck. They are right! One method of weakening paracord is to remove the inner lengthwise fibers from about half an inch of both ends, then heat sealing the covers together. I would try this for weakness before actually using it.

rdangerer said some very valuable things. I would listen to him. I would add only a few nitpicking remarks. Stellite (r) is not a generic name for the cobalt alloys; the generic term is 'Haynes alloys.' Stellite (r) is a trademark of Stoody Deloro, the makers, who have been making it for over 50 years. Talonite (r) is a trademark of Carbide Processors, and there is a lot of good info here:
http://www.carbideprocessors.com/talonite.htm

It differs from Stellite (r) as it has been hot rolled and age hardened, which allegedly yields more hardness and better edge holding.
I say allegedly, as that is what Carbide Processors say, but Kit Carson uses the two alloys interchangeably.

Talonite (r) does have Fe in it, up to 3%, but it is not a steel. It gets its' hardness from the Cr, Mo, and W carbides primarily.

Another good site for information about Talonite (r) and Stellite (r) is Marion David Poff's site:
http://www.geocities.com/mdpoff/talonite.html

Hope this helps, Walt
 
Here's my high-dollar kneck knife in my 15 minute no-sew sheath. Kinda tactical, dontcha think?
smile.gif

http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/moraneck.htm
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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 06-05-2000).]
 
Outdoorsmn,

If price is a concern, check out the Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) Neck Peck or Stiff KISS line. CRKT also makes an interesting neck knife called the Bear Claw. Looks to be very ergonomic. It is a hawksbill shape and comes in AUS6A stainless. You can either get a sharp pointed straight edge or a blunt tipped serrated edge. I was just looking at it in the A.G. Russell catalog last night. It was listed for $35.
Let us know what you decide,

Jim
 
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