Deciding on a good outdoors knife

ambivalens said:
I can certainly see the logic in these setups, and I like them very much. I think I'll break the norwegian tradition (which I think might be more sami than norwegian, but what do I know?) of carrying a very large knife. While I do like the look and feel of a large knife, I feel I'm not skilled enough to put a long blade to proper use when it comes to smaller tasks.

About the F1, does it have a large/broad enough handle for a pretty large hand? I haven't got freakish hands, but as I stated earlier, the small Ka Bar feels like a little kids toy in my hand, so I'm worried :) I'm asking because I order my knives from the US, as the prices in Norway are abhorrent, insulting and right out insane. Even with added taxes on importing I'm saving a pretty penny on getting my knives from the States - the downside is that I'm not able to hold them in my hand before I fork up the cash.
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skicka epost till nicklas(punkt)odh(alfakrull)gmail(punkt)com så kan du få låna en S1 (och kanske en F1) och känna på dem innan du bestämmer dig.

Nicklas
 
JohnnyO said:
Looks like a Sandstorm.
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Ah, quite! Thanks for pointing that out. Also a beautiful knife. This is becoming a race between Bark River and Fallkniven. On the aesthetic side I feel that Bark River is clearly in the lead, with beautiful and yet very utility oriented designs. In the other corner, we have Fallkniven, which by the looks of them seem to be tough and sturdy work horses.

One remaining worry is the size of the handle on the F1/S1, which elkins45 describes as somewhat small even for a small handed person. Hopefully I'll get to hold one myself before deciding.

The Bark River knives under consideration are:
Aurora
GamesKeeper I / II
Sandstorm

Fallknivens that are on the table:
F1
S1
(A1)
The NL series has been put on hold, until I find out if the Fallkniven knives are actually for me or not.

Also under consideration is Ontario RAT3 knives. They look to be a lot of bang for a not too big buck.

Anyone have any experience with the GameKeepers and/or Sandstorm knives? Looking at the Bark River line up I think I've found a new mistress (and boy is she going to cost me pretty penny). Oh, and thanks to all of you for hints and pointers, it is greatly appreciated.
 
The Gameskeeper is a winner. No problem with handle size and the blade is as overbuilt as the Fallknivens. It slices well for so thick a blade, being convex. The Gameskeeper II might be longer than you need.

If the Gameskeeper looks good, take a look at the Bravo-1 also.
 
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I've become aware of the Enzo Trapper too. Looks to be a great knife, any reasons for why it should or should not make The List? :)
 
JohnnyO said:
Looks like a Sandstorm.
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That knife is indeed a Sandstorm A:

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Very comfortable handle...sharp...nice sheath...overall a very sleek knife that has done everything I needed it to do so far.

Cliff
 
I got my first Bark River, an Aurora, about two weeks ago and I just love it. At 6 ounces its barely noticeable on your belt but yet is a sturdy knife that can be batoned with all day. The edge retention of the A2 was much better than I expected and sharpens up quickly. Its a great knife. :thumbup:

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theonew said:
I got my first Bark River, an Aurora, about two weeks ago and I just love it. At 6 ounces its barely noticeable on your belt but yet is a sturdy knife that can be batoned with all day. The edge retention of the A2 was much better than I expected and sharpens up quickly. Its a great knife. :thumbup:
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What a beautiful picture, theonew! This knife really is carving its way to the top of my list right now (pun certainly intended).
 
As others have mentioned, Bark River should more than cover your needs as they have a vast array of models and handle choices. I'd recommend buying 2 Bark Rivers 1 large and one more compact for fish dressing duties etc. My Northstar in Bonestag has become a favourite knife,it's tough but not clumsy so it can do more delicate tasks as well.The Bonestag gives a nuch better grip than the usual micarta handles which can get slippery-no joke with these sharp edges. As for the smaller knife look at Bird&Trout, Mini Northstar,Custom Wharncliffe or the new Escort bootknife,this has a guard. I live in Scandinavia too and if you e-mail me I can recommend some reliable US dealers for you.
 
Update: Received a Fallkniven S1 on loan from nodh (thanks man!) today, and I must say I am very impressed with the look and feel of this knife. It really gives off a feeling of hardcore sturdiness and looks like it can take some pretty heavy use.

The weight is what pleases me the most about this knife. While not being too big, it manages to feel like a larger knife in my hand, the weight distributed perfectly. I really am looking forward to taking this knife into the woods for some proper use - as of now it really feels like a keeper.
 
ambivalens said:
Update: Received a Fallkniven S1 on loan from nodh (thanks man!) today, and I must say I am very impressed with the look and feel of this knife. It really gives off a feeling of hardcore sturdiness and looks like it can take some pretty heavy use.

The weight is what pleases me the most about this knife. While not being too big, it manages to feel like a larger knife in my hand, the weight distributed perfectly. I really am looking forward to taking this knife into the woods for some proper use - as of now it really feels like a keeper.
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WOW !!! That was generous of nodh.
I think you'll like the S1. It's a good ,solid knife.
Let us know what you think about it after you use it for awhile.
Cliff
 
He doesnt live more than 160 km due west from my place. However I had to pass a national border and the outer limits of EU to mail the knife to him. Actually I passed the border (with the closed checkpoint), drove another 500 meter and went into the small store and bought some stamps. Then I went on to Halden to drive back into Sweden again.. to visit Burger King.

My small town is so off the map so you even have to leave the EU to find the nearest McD :)

I hope you like the S1.
I am getting short of Fallknivens to use. I have about 35 but they are collectables. I had four that I was using/going to use. The F1 and U2 was mutilated by a crappy knife sharpener guy, The S1 is in Norway so I only have a WM1 left :)
Fortunately I got Finnish M95 and M07 knives in the mail so I am equipped again.

The IT dept (me and two other guys) at work are planning to take the town mayor (kommunchef) for an outing in three weeks so I have to get my stuff in order :)
I am the unofficial GPS, knife and weird gadget guy so I have a rep to keep. :) Well, I have to have at least five knives, three expensive flashlights, multitools and stuff. Unfortunately it is a nature reserve so I dont need saws and axes.
 
Ambivalens, I too am going to recommend Bark River knives to you... the previously mentioned choices are all excellent, but the BEST of the Barkies is the Canadian Special. You won't be disappointed. You have to hold, and more importantly, USE one to understand what I mean. I too have a Sandstorm-A, it is an excellent knife, but the CS surpasses it.
 
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