Field & Stream's "Best of the Best" winner for hunting knives is...

It might be a great knife for the price, but "best of the best" seems like a bit too much. Oh well, at least he chose something functional.
 
I've got the Finn Bear from this series and use it in the kitchen, cuts meat just fine, and has held up well even being ran through the washer.

Yeah, these are bargain knives, but they work.
 
I think a percentage of F&S readers are not really knife people who would want to spend more than $40 on a knife anyways.
 
So is everyone upset because it was a Cold Steel product chosen and not a brand they prefer ?

Why is cost an issue ? A $12 Mora can do the exct same job on a fishing/hunting trip as one costing 20 times that , so why not a Cold Steel knife ?

Maybe all you naysayers should write your own article.... ? oh wait... :D

Tostig
 
If David E. Petzal's collection of hunting knives is 440 series of steel then he shouldn't probably be reviewing knives for a publication like that. Buy a Buck 110 or Omni Hunter.
 
directly for hunting, there isn't much a knife needs to do. About all a hunting knife is required to do is cut a line up the gut of the knife, then be able to cut the guts from inside the animal. (for large game)

Now, I don't know anything about this cold steel knife, so I don't know how good or bad of a knife (hunting or not) it would be.
 
Tostig said:
So is everyone upset because it was a Cold Steel product chosen and not a brand they prefer ?

Why is cost an issue ? A $12 Mora can do the exct same job on a fishing/hunting trip as one costing 20 times that , so why not a Cold Steel knife ?

Maybe all you naysayers should write your own article.... ? oh wait... :D

Tostig
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Glad someone else said it. :eek:
 
Our ancestors did it with a piece of chert, just exactly how expensive does a hunting knife need to be???
 
Nobody said a hunting knife needs to be expensive. To put it in perspective, what if you picked up Car & Driver to read their "best of the best" car article and discovered they picked the Chevy Aveo?

"Best of the Best" implies to me that the choice would be a top-of-the-line product, not something from the low budget market.

I think I could do a pretty decent job field dressing a whitetail with a sharp tuna can lid if I had to, but that's not the point....

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Tostig said:
So is everyone upset because it was a Cold Steel product chosen and not a brand they prefer ?

Why is cost an issue ? A $12 Mora can do the exct same job on a fishing/hunting trip as one costing 20 times that , so why not a Cold Steel knife ?

Maybe all you naysayers should write your own article.... ? oh wait... :D

Tostig
Click to expand...

Yeah. The highly functional Mora knives are so inexpensive that back there professionals buy them by the buckets! The stainless version is Sandvik 12C27, which is not super steel but entirely adequate for the job.
 
Dave Petzal is a decent gun editor but not much of a knife man, I've been gettting Field and Stream for years and the best of the best issue is on the back lid of the throne at my office right now on top of several other Field and Streams, NRA American Hunters, Outdoor Life and Buckmasters. The knife reviews in all of these mags when they do their gear issue is funny. Dave Petzal isn't as bad as the goon squad they have doing reviews at Outdoor Life but he is not a "knife man" in my opinion judging by the things I've read by him concerning knives over the years.

Field and Stream is of this but all of them will recommend a $400.00 dollar fishing reel and turn around tell you to get 20 dollar knife, in the same issue they have a story of bushcraft or some survival skills. Really, that $400.00 fishing reel is going to come in reel handy ain't it after that 20 dollar snaps like a dry twig. Classic and they don't even see the irony in it.

Gimme a high end knife any day and a middle of the road rod and reel I want the most utilitarian and potentially life saving of my tools to be of the highest quality, I can always go buy another reel. Even today Zebcos are still cheap and hold quite well if properly cared for.
 
Our ancestors did it with a piece of chert, just exactly how expensive does a hunting knife need to be???
Click to expand...
Exactly.

I haven't fondled one of those Cold Steel knives, but I'm tempted. Looks pretty nice in the online ad.
 
fatcat55 said:
The article is in the Sept. issue.
There are other knives in the article but not a complete list of all knives tested.

There is a sidebar about the testing which included; checking the bevel and polish of the blade, out of box hair shaving sharpness and the ease of getting it to that sharpness and cutting 1 inch pieces of 1/2 inch hemp rope until the knife quit cutting rope. He then checked to see how easy it was to resharpen the knife.
Click to expand...

You know fellas, for the average hunting knife user, the testing this man did approximates normal use. It doesn't match our usage and expectations, but we are a fairly small percentage of the hunting knife using population.

The knife performed well for its intended use. I got no problem with that, and if I were talking to a non-knifenut who wanted a good blade, I might well recommend this one.

I remember just recently talking to a similar sort of fella who does not like 440C because he finds it hard to sharpen. He likes 440A and Buck 420HC much better. His knife does what he wants it to do and is easy to sharpen. I got no issue with his assessment of what he wants for his own use, even if it does not match mine.
 
MikeC said:
Dave Petzal is a decent gun editor but not much of a knife man, I've been gettting Field and Stream for years and the best of the best issue is on the back lid of the throne at my office right now on top of several other Field and Streams, NRA American Hunters, Outdoor Life and Buckmasters. The knife reviews in all of these mags when they do their gear issue is funny. Dave Petzal isn't as bad as the goon squad they have doing reviews at Outdoor Life but he is not a "knife man" in my opinion judging by the things I've read by him concerning knives over the years.
Click to expand...

Ironically, this makes him quite qualified to do such a review. He picked a knife that excelled for the average knife user, not the average knife nut. When it comes to knives, too often, a knife nut has the odd ability of being unable to see the forest for the trees. Non knife nuts are not saddled with this baggage. If they find something that works, then it just works. No excuses or justifications are made for brand names, steels with fancy numbers and letters, or whatever novel idea we all get giddy about here.
 
shecky said:
Ironically, this makes him quite qualified to do such a review. He picked a knife that excelled for the average knife user, not the average knife nut. When it comes to knives, too often, a knife nut has the odd ability of being unable to see the forest for the trees. Non knife nuts are not saddled with this baggage. If they find something that works, then it just works. No excuses or justifications are made for brand names, steels with fancy numbers and letters, or whatever novel idea we all get giddy about here.
Click to expand...

I don't care what anyone says , the above is not only the truth , but said very well , I could not have said it better. :thumbup:

Bravo :)

We here on BF get all uppity in our little universe of this that and the other without realizing that outside of internet forums there is a whole world of folks buying and using knives every single day.
Not very many of them give a crap about titanium and g10 , or how 'great' of a steel s30v is...

they just want asomething that works


tostig
 
Tostig said:
I don't care what anyone says , the above is not only the truth , but said very well , I could not have said it better. :thumbup:

Bravo :)

We here on BF get all uppity in our little universe of this that and the other without realizing that outside of internet forums there is a whole world of folks buying and using knives every single day.
Not very many of them give a crap about titanium and g10 , or how 'great' of a steel s30v is...

they just want asomething that works


tostig
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I agree with that. :thumbup:

BF has currently:

Members: 162,928, Active Members: 15,425

It's a very big world outside of BF with Millions of knife users.
 
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shecky said:
Ironically, this makes him quite qualified to do such a review. He picked a knife that excelled for the average knife user, not the average knife nut. When it comes to knives, too often, a knife nut has the odd ability of being unable to see the forest for the trees. Non knife nuts are not saddled with this baggage. If they find something that works, then it just works. No excuses or justifications are made for brand names, steels with fancy numbers and letters, or whatever novel idea we all get giddy about here.
Click to expand...


THAT should be attached to any review by a non BF memeber.

Tostig said:
I don't care what anyone says , the above is not only the truth , but said very well , I could not have said it better. :thumbup:

Bravo :)

We here on BF get all uppity in our little universe of this that and the other without realizing that outside of internet forums there is a whole world of folks buying and using knives every single day.
Not very many of them give a crap about titanium and g10 , or how 'great' of a steel s30v is...

they just want asomething that works

tostig
Click to expand...

I am with you 1000%.

I don't have that many knives compared to those here. 80, tops after 50 years of carrying. But often I remember around hunting season how well most of my older, inexpensive knives did in seasons past. 35-40 years ago, I used knives that weren't considered "classics" at that time like my Schrade Golden spike, Buck 119, etc. and thought I was on top of the whole game. Inexpensive and great performers then and know.

The Golden Spike even had a small pouch for a tiny stone for touch up. That was something I found invaluable at the camp as I could sharpen with a few strokes as needed. They were inexpensive enough you could feel fine about pushing them as hard as you wanted (near abuse) without worrying. Never had one of the old knives fail.

Now I have S110V, 154cm, S30V, like everyone else. I found NO difference in performance in camp chores with these new knives, and they are a PITA to sharpen out in the field. The time these high performance steels shine in under continuous use such as butchering an animal, or repeated exposure to wet weather without an opportunity to properly clean and store them. (Think getting caught in 2-3 days of rain while distance hiking or camping/hunting).

On my old knives, I started to "microbevel" after reading an article in Guns and Ammo. And thought I discovered electricity by doing that simple adjustment to sharpening. (It did make a difference BTW!)

Now owning a knife is a process. I buy a knife based on multiple reviews, field testing, knife maker reputation, knife steel heat treating reputation, corrosion resistance, handle material etc. It takes months of agony. Then I get the knife and modify it to suit me even better.

And yes, I even look at tests that use criteria I will never have to approach. Until I got here I lived in ignorance for 45 years not knowing that I needed to be able to shave with my knife (I have a nice razor), baton wood (we simply called it splitting many years ago and did a bit of it on small stuff to get a fire going, never stumps), make shelters (when out overnight, I have at minimum a poncho), to use as a striker on a firesteel (I found I can hang onto waterproof matches AND a Bic as easily as I can a firesteel, and both work better on moist tinder), and never knew I needed all the things that are tested here. I never knew I needed to be so prepared for complete and total disaster. I never knew that I should prepare for total loss of all my gear, except mysteriously, my favorite knife on which now my very life could depend.

Still, I play along as I enjoy the process to some extent.

But I have to say after reading the responses written concerning the original post, I am surprised at the snide commentary the post has generated. I'll bet few have used that knife, yet doubt the opinion of one that has. I am used to the suspicious conspiracy guys that hang around, but geez.... all the suspicion (yeah... well just look at the advertiser *snort*) and brand snottiness over a $20 knife? I think anyone here would probably agree it isn't going to outperform any high end knife, but what if it is a good value for their target audience? Don't they have room at the table, too?

Robert
 
I don't have the particular knife, but I know many people who would not spend more then $40 on a knife. They are likely doing this as a best of the best for non knife-nuts. If we were the intended audience, I am sure the knife would have been something more elaborate.
 
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