- Joined
- Apr 13, 2009
- Messages
- 2,809
This is my first review so go easy and I hope you all enjoy...
My favorite and most used blade size by far is in the 3 to 4 inch category as I’ve found a good blade in this size can pretty much handle 90% of what you ask of it – even light chopping and battoning.
I am always looking for another excellent knife in this category and stumbled upon Fehrman Knives. They are a smaller company, with a great warranty, and there really isn’t too much info out there at all on them, but it seems that those who get one love em. I am no exception.
This is an initial look and overview at their Peace Maker – it is in their “Utility Series,” as opposed to “Survival Series,” and is meant to fill the niche for a small 3.5” chore/utility blade with a nice CPM-3V steel. Overall, I find this is an excellent, top quality little BIG blade that will excel as a primary camp knife and even work as an edc due to its overall slim dimensions. It easily fits into my top three favorite knives in this size along side the RAT Cutlery RC-3mil and the Bark River Canadian Special. I don’t think that a direct comparison of these three is fair, they all have their advantages and disadvantages and I am happy owning all three.
Top - Bottom: Fehrman Peace Maker, RAT Cutlery RC-3mil & Bark River Canadian Special
The specs are as follows:
Blade Size : 4" x 1.25" x .19"
Usable blade is about 3.5”
Overall Length : 8.5"
Steel : CPM-3V
Weight: 7 oz without sheath
Handle : Linen Micarta
Price: $180 with black crinkle coat and NO sheath / $210 with satin finish
Kydex Sheath: additional $15
Guarantee – if it breaks or fails they will fix or repair it
Fit and Finish: It is just a beautiful looking knife - check out the pics! The lines, curves and proportions just make it look awesome and tough but not uber tactical cheesy - it is simple and classy. A lot of care has gone into the details and production of this knife. The fit and finish are excellent and the nicest I’ve seen in a long time on a semi-production blade – the handles are very nicely finished, shaped and smoothed (take a look at the close ups). It sports beautiful green & black micarta with a nice pattern. The black crinkle coat is very even and thick. Edge is evenly ground. Blade stamped with Fehrman logo on front and stamped USA and with individual number on back (Mine is #213). An example of just how quality this blade is - if you look at the spine - its sides have been very lightly beveled so its not just squared and rough looking - awesome attention to detail even on a coated blade! This really looks and feels like a BMW of knives - it is a quality piece of steel that is set FAR ahead of the majority of semi production makers in this regard.
Blade and Edge: The blade shape has a very subtle clip-point shape and has a great look to it. The tip is nice and strong. The edge comes ridiculously sharp and the geometry is just wonderful - splitting hairs is no problem and it is great in the kitchen on veggies. I have the black-coated version so I’d imagine the satin would cut even better on food. Notching and detail work is very easy - the ergos and fantastic choil lend itself to this nicely. The grind is nice and even. I have an email in to Fehrman to confirm the exact grind and angle, but it looks like a stabdard V grind and it liked the 40* setting on my Sharpmaker. Being a 3/16th (.19") thick blade, it still slices and cuts very well. This thickness to me seems like a good compromise for an outdoor blade – not too thick, but not too thin that you have to ever worry about snapping it. As I mentioned before, I have never had a blade with CPM-3V steel and I look forward to seeing how it performs as it has a reputation of being more corrosion resistance than 1095 or A2, tough as nails and have very good edge retention.
Ergos: The handle is hands down the most comfortable I have used of any knife – it just melts into my hand and makes the blade feel light and quick – a bit cliché, but it really feels like a natural extension of my hand. I can’t foresee long term fatigue or hot spots forming as the micarta is very smooth and nicely rounded at the edges. Further, the micarta is not just flat slabs - they are actually shaped with a very slight palm swell to fit into the palm. It is comfortable in myriad hand positions – standard, reverse and choking up. Chocking up feels natural with this knife. Also, the curve to handle provides nice real estate if you like to hold the knife at the very end of the handle to get more momentum for chopping. It has jimping in two areas on top of the spine for one’s thumb - they are functional and well placed, but it seems they were filled in a bit much by the coating – I’d bet they are much more aggressive on the satin blades – with that said they do the trick and serve for added blade control when your hands are wet without any worry of rubbing your thumb raw. I love the choil!!! Best choil on any knife I’ve owned. Nice and big and very usable – like I mentioned before it makes detail work a breeze. I think the choil and flared guard also add to the great look of this knife – that flared guard is the Fehrman trademark and found on all their blades. Balance is excellent - center point is the first finger groove on the handle right behind the guard. There is a bow drill divot in the handle which is a nice feature for you hardcore bushcrafters out there. I will never use it. Overall, I love this handle! My one criticism is that the handle may be a bit small if you have really big hands – I have medium hands and it fits me very well. I would have also preferred canvas micarta over, but this really is nitpicking as these handles are plenty grippy enough.
Sheath: It does not come standard with a sheath. However, you can buy a leather or kydex sheath from them. I have the factory kydex that cost $15 which seems more than reasonable. Note that in my picture, the kydex is attached to a RAT Cutlery molle backing – you only get the kydex sheath and a kydex belt loop from Fehrman – not the molle backing. It is a nice sheath – fit is good and it does not rub the blade, however, even though it snaps in, I don’t know if I would trust the blade in sheath upside down without any additional retention. Rivet spacing seems standard and fit large teklok. My one criticism is that when I remove a blade from kydex I like to grab the handle then click the blade out by pressing the thumb against the kydex then drawing it out. With this sheath doing so is a tad awkward using as the kydex has been trimmed down at an odd angle where you would press with your thumb – I am used to a “lip” for my thumb. I will just have to get used to it. All in all, it would be nice if the kydex was included but for $15 it is much cheaper than buying from the average bender.
Overall impressions: As far as pitting it against my other two favorite 3.5” knives (RC-3 & Canadian Special), I don’t think it is fair to compare them. The RC3 is half the price, 1095 steel and an excellent sheath system included – the Canadian Special is just a different type of knife altogether, its classily designed and is one tough slicing machine. I feel that the Fehrman Peace Maker is a wonderful addition to this lineup and will get grabbed probably the most for general hiking and camp use.
I think that this is a very high quality excellent blade and worth the $180 price tag is commands ($195 if you add a kydex sheath) – though at that price kydex should really be included. It is a beautiful looking blade, very VERY comfortable, the fit and finish are excellent, the geometry excellent and with a wonderful tough and corrosion resistant steel. It is a lot of knife packed into a relatively compact package and I don’t think I would ever worry about damaging it – it is a tank. If you are in the market for a high quality camp, hiking and edc blade and have the money to spend I would recommend it. If I lost mine, I would buy it again.
Top - Bottom: Busse Game Warden, BRKT Canadian Special, RAT Cutlery RC3, Fehrman Peacemaker
Left - Right: Fehrman, RC3, CS, Busse Game Warden
My favorite and most used blade size by far is in the 3 to 4 inch category as I’ve found a good blade in this size can pretty much handle 90% of what you ask of it – even light chopping and battoning.
I am always looking for another excellent knife in this category and stumbled upon Fehrman Knives. They are a smaller company, with a great warranty, and there really isn’t too much info out there at all on them, but it seems that those who get one love em. I am no exception.
This is an initial look and overview at their Peace Maker – it is in their “Utility Series,” as opposed to “Survival Series,” and is meant to fill the niche for a small 3.5” chore/utility blade with a nice CPM-3V steel. Overall, I find this is an excellent, top quality little BIG blade that will excel as a primary camp knife and even work as an edc due to its overall slim dimensions. It easily fits into my top three favorite knives in this size along side the RAT Cutlery RC-3mil and the Bark River Canadian Special. I don’t think that a direct comparison of these three is fair, they all have their advantages and disadvantages and I am happy owning all three.
Top - Bottom: Fehrman Peace Maker, RAT Cutlery RC-3mil & Bark River Canadian Special
The specs are as follows:
Blade Size : 4" x 1.25" x .19"
Usable blade is about 3.5”
Overall Length : 8.5"
Steel : CPM-3V
Weight: 7 oz without sheath
Handle : Linen Micarta
Price: $180 with black crinkle coat and NO sheath / $210 with satin finish
Kydex Sheath: additional $15
Guarantee – if it breaks or fails they will fix or repair it
Fit and Finish: It is just a beautiful looking knife - check out the pics! The lines, curves and proportions just make it look awesome and tough but not uber tactical cheesy - it is simple and classy. A lot of care has gone into the details and production of this knife. The fit and finish are excellent and the nicest I’ve seen in a long time on a semi-production blade – the handles are very nicely finished, shaped and smoothed (take a look at the close ups). It sports beautiful green & black micarta with a nice pattern. The black crinkle coat is very even and thick. Edge is evenly ground. Blade stamped with Fehrman logo on front and stamped USA and with individual number on back (Mine is #213). An example of just how quality this blade is - if you look at the spine - its sides have been very lightly beveled so its not just squared and rough looking - awesome attention to detail even on a coated blade! This really looks and feels like a BMW of knives - it is a quality piece of steel that is set FAR ahead of the majority of semi production makers in this regard.
Blade and Edge: The blade shape has a very subtle clip-point shape and has a great look to it. The tip is nice and strong. The edge comes ridiculously sharp and the geometry is just wonderful - splitting hairs is no problem and it is great in the kitchen on veggies. I have the black-coated version so I’d imagine the satin would cut even better on food. Notching and detail work is very easy - the ergos and fantastic choil lend itself to this nicely. The grind is nice and even. I have an email in to Fehrman to confirm the exact grind and angle, but it looks like a stabdard V grind and it liked the 40* setting on my Sharpmaker. Being a 3/16th (.19") thick blade, it still slices and cuts very well. This thickness to me seems like a good compromise for an outdoor blade – not too thick, but not too thin that you have to ever worry about snapping it. As I mentioned before, I have never had a blade with CPM-3V steel and I look forward to seeing how it performs as it has a reputation of being more corrosion resistance than 1095 or A2, tough as nails and have very good edge retention.
Ergos: The handle is hands down the most comfortable I have used of any knife – it just melts into my hand and makes the blade feel light and quick – a bit cliché, but it really feels like a natural extension of my hand. I can’t foresee long term fatigue or hot spots forming as the micarta is very smooth and nicely rounded at the edges. Further, the micarta is not just flat slabs - they are actually shaped with a very slight palm swell to fit into the palm. It is comfortable in myriad hand positions – standard, reverse and choking up. Chocking up feels natural with this knife. Also, the curve to handle provides nice real estate if you like to hold the knife at the very end of the handle to get more momentum for chopping. It has jimping in two areas on top of the spine for one’s thumb - they are functional and well placed, but it seems they were filled in a bit much by the coating – I’d bet they are much more aggressive on the satin blades – with that said they do the trick and serve for added blade control when your hands are wet without any worry of rubbing your thumb raw. I love the choil!!! Best choil on any knife I’ve owned. Nice and big and very usable – like I mentioned before it makes detail work a breeze. I think the choil and flared guard also add to the great look of this knife – that flared guard is the Fehrman trademark and found on all their blades. Balance is excellent - center point is the first finger groove on the handle right behind the guard. There is a bow drill divot in the handle which is a nice feature for you hardcore bushcrafters out there. I will never use it. Overall, I love this handle! My one criticism is that the handle may be a bit small if you have really big hands – I have medium hands and it fits me very well. I would have also preferred canvas micarta over, but this really is nitpicking as these handles are plenty grippy enough.
Sheath: It does not come standard with a sheath. However, you can buy a leather or kydex sheath from them. I have the factory kydex that cost $15 which seems more than reasonable. Note that in my picture, the kydex is attached to a RAT Cutlery molle backing – you only get the kydex sheath and a kydex belt loop from Fehrman – not the molle backing. It is a nice sheath – fit is good and it does not rub the blade, however, even though it snaps in, I don’t know if I would trust the blade in sheath upside down without any additional retention. Rivet spacing seems standard and fit large teklok. My one criticism is that when I remove a blade from kydex I like to grab the handle then click the blade out by pressing the thumb against the kydex then drawing it out. With this sheath doing so is a tad awkward using as the kydex has been trimmed down at an odd angle where you would press with your thumb – I am used to a “lip” for my thumb. I will just have to get used to it. All in all, it would be nice if the kydex was included but for $15 it is much cheaper than buying from the average bender.
Overall impressions: As far as pitting it against my other two favorite 3.5” knives (RC-3 & Canadian Special), I don’t think it is fair to compare them. The RC3 is half the price, 1095 steel and an excellent sheath system included – the Canadian Special is just a different type of knife altogether, its classily designed and is one tough slicing machine. I feel that the Fehrman Peace Maker is a wonderful addition to this lineup and will get grabbed probably the most for general hiking and camp use.
I think that this is a very high quality excellent blade and worth the $180 price tag is commands ($195 if you add a kydex sheath) – though at that price kydex should really be included. It is a beautiful looking blade, very VERY comfortable, the fit and finish are excellent, the geometry excellent and with a wonderful tough and corrosion resistant steel. It is a lot of knife packed into a relatively compact package and I don’t think I would ever worry about damaging it – it is a tank. If you are in the market for a high quality camp, hiking and edc blade and have the money to spend I would recommend it. If I lost mine, I would buy it again.
Top - Bottom: Busse Game Warden, BRKT Canadian Special, RAT Cutlery RC3, Fehrman Peacemaker
Left - Right: Fehrman, RC3, CS, Busse Game Warden
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