Cold Steel Recon Scout alternative?

[CWL]

If you bump the price by $50-60, the BRKT Bravo may be an alternative.

 

[Zakk Wylde]

hey m8 how about esee 4 or 5? they are very god hard users imo and carbon steel.(no guard sorry)

 

[Chris Pierce]

Oh good, the Becker and ESEE guys showed up
These knives don't have the traditional lines I'm looking for. I've tried them and they're nice but not what I want.
The Kabar shot I have also tried out. It was a little too small for my hands. If I could find something like the Recon Scout or KaBar USMC but with a 5" blade and full sized full guard handle I'd be in love.

The BRKT knives that I've owned have been great. I don't really have anything negative to say about them. I recently had a kephart and I loved how it felt in hand, I loved the blade shape and grind, and I loved the handle material, Stag. But I sold it for some reason. I couldn't bring myself to take it camping or fishing and beat on it. I had a TUSK I really liked as well but didn't want to really beat on either.

Anyway, to recap, Traditional-ish (NEO-traditional?) clip point bowie typle blade, carbon steel blade, full guard 5-7" blade Fat grind is preferable around $120 or up to $200 if the leather sheath is awesome. I don't care if the blade is coated since I can easily remove that. What suggestions do you got?

 

[ocnLogan]

Well, we had to show up . I understand though, they're not very traditional looking.

I've heard that complaint about the Kabar short before... in fact, its why I don't own one. And since you say you like it, why not just get a Kabar USMC and shorten the blade yourself? Just thought I would throw out the option.

I'll be interested to see what you finally go with, whenever these threads show up, I find something I've never heard of before.

Good luck

 

[Zakk Wylde]

understood sir searching continious.....

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Aha! I have a solution for you!

For your budget, you should be able to have the perfect knife custom-made for you by the amazing kami's of Himalayan Imports. Email Karda or Auntie and let them know what you are looking for. You'll get a gorgeous hand-made knife that's indestructible, full tang, at a price that can't be beat. AK Bowie or cherokee rose might fit the bill.

 

[Chris Pierce]

I may look into the custom route. Why not Himalayan Imports?

 

[ron_m80]

I may look into the custom route. Why not Himalayan Imports?

Himalayan Imports would likely get you a knife with a very large spine on it, something that would rival even the trailmaster. Reading the HI forum that is something I heard about custom requests.

But reading the other sub-forums at BladeForums this morning, I just found this. HAHAHAHHA I think it will likely be the one and only answer to your question short of going custom.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/882622-Cold-Steel-s-Kabar-Clone

 

[Hawkings]

Randall model #15 with a CDT? (not a full flat grind)

You guys are right about the Fallkniven but wrong knife IMO.

Try the Northern Lights series for a full flat grind and similar pattern as the recon scout.

Njord #NL3

Frej # NL4

Yes but the Northern Lights series all have rat tail tangs

 

[ron_m80]

Yes but the Northern Lights series all have rat tail tangs

You are misinformed.

Northern lights full tang picture....

Rat-tail tangs, as the name implies look like this.....

 

[Chris Pierce]

I believe the Tang on the Northern Lights is similar to the Recon Scout. I'm really not that worried about it. I don't go hammering on my knives too much anyway. I've got plenty of axes to break if I want to split wood. And 5" bladed knives aren't great for chopping anyway.

 

[spareparts]

A little micarta modification can fix the Recon Scout for you. Here's a mod I did to a Trailmaster and an RS

Strip everything off and do a little creative grinding on the guard

I used a dowel to mark my lanyard hole for drilling out later

Do one wrapping with linen soaked in fiberglass epoxy resin, wrap with plastic wrap, then firmly apply masking tape to squeeze it all together.

After a second application of micarta and some shaping and sanding

Final product after shaping, sanding, texturing, and buffing with a phosphoric acid etch on the steel

 

[LX_Emergency]

How about a Blackjack model 5?
5 inch(ish) blade CHECK (5.5 inches)
Carbon(ish) steel A2 CHECK
Full guard CHECK
Traditional styled CHECK (in Micarta, stacked leather or stag.)

Produced by Bark River...so the quality will be decent at the least. They make a slightly smaller blade as well (their model 125)

which has a 5 inch bladelength but no full guard.

 

[spareparts]

I have to admit that IMO the Recon Scout is a better cutter than my Bark River Bravo 2. Granted it's no scientific experiment but for one of my many simple cut tests I used to compare the two, I can get a thinner cut on this cucumber with the RS over the B2 with less effort exerted in the cutting stroke.

RS

B2

In the meat test the RS cuts deeper with one stroke than the B2 (yes I'm bored at work, don't know if this will influence the OP's decision but what the heck).

RS

B2

 

[ron_m80]

I believe the Tang on the Northern Lights is similar to the Recon Scout. I'm really not that worried about it. I don't go hammering on my knives too much anyway. I've got plenty of axes to break if I want to split wood. And 5" bladed knives aren't great for chopping anyway.

So what are you thinking now, have you found what you are looking for?

did you see this one too?

 

[Sheckey]

My vote is for the RAT 7. Hard use, carbon steel, comparably sized and priced. Too many folks here recommending knives that are too small and not hard use. Apples to apples, I own both the RS and the RAT 7 and they are both awesome. If I was forced to choose, I would say RAT 7 (Sorry Lynn).

 

[Zombie Zeke]

If 200 bucks is your maximum there are a ton of good things you can get into...

-BUCK HOODLUM, longer blade for less weight, its the knife that made me trade my San Mai Trailmaster.
-TOPS Anaconda in 7.5" Blade, simply put a tougher all around knife with killer outdoor characteristics.
-TOPS Prather War Bowie, a beast in hand.
-Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works Customs.
-Scrapyard Son of Dog Father...

 

[ocnLogan]

I think he's looking for something more traditional looking. Something like a cross between a traditional bushcrafter and a small traditional bowie if I'm not mistaken.

I think the Blackjack knives seem to be just about what he was looking for, but those ones are pretty sweet. I might have to look into some of them.

 

[LX_Emergency]

Personally I'd go for one of the blackjack ones. They seem to have everything a guy could want.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Yes, I'm looking for a knife with more traditional lines. The scrap yard, esee, becker, etc are all nice knives but are just so butt ugly. I've owned and used a lot of them and found that I prefer a more traditional knife. If that means that I have to be more thoughtful about how I use it that's not a problem.
The black jack knives look great. I will look into them and see if I might prefer them over the recon scout.