Those are very attractive, they should be fairly tough being made of tool-steel.
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First Good Fixed Blade Suggestions?
- Thread starter Jarrett2k
- Start date
Those are very attractive, they should be fairly tough being made of tool-steel.
I think you're right, all of those knives seem to fit me. I just wish the Ratmandu was just slightly longer, but it may suit just fine. You guys would be amazed at how often i have to use a knife changing transfer truck, tractor, and skidder/log cutter tires. It may help to mention that my current carry knife is a CRKT M21, it's help up, but I still have concerns with it.
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I'm similarly making my first fixed blade purchase soon and I've been researching pretty exhaustively. One thing I've been getting over recently is a natural level of steel snobbery, at first I wasn't going to consider any offerings in 1095 because it seemed too basic. But now, I'm really leaning towards either the ESEE 6 or the Scrapyard 711. I love the aesthetics and warranty of the ESEE, and the Scrapyard (while pretty ugly) has a similar warranty and is apparently fairly indestructible. I don't find the Becker BK2 or BK7 to be very appealing, although they have a great reputation. The Doug Ritter/Becker collaboration has caught my eye, but with Micarta handles you end up paying ~$160 which is a little unreasonable.
You may also want to go custom, with your budget you should be able to get something rather nice off the exchange. However, I've found that most of the knives there usually are on the smaller side.
You may also want to go custom, with your budget you should be able to get something rather nice off the exchange. However, I've found that most of the knives there usually are on the smaller side.
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You are just in time to buy a Scrap Yard 711 at the company price and it would be hands down the best knife for the money in that size range . I have one . You have to hold one to feel what it's like , but the resiprene-c handle makes them much lighter as well .
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HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
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HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
First thoughts are these:
Becker BK2
Becker BK7
ESEE 5
ESEE 6
SYKC 711
The Beckers have a nice tang extension made specifically for pounding on, which sounds like it might be something you're looking for. Also, as others have said, you can get canvas micarta scales for them if you don't like the standard grivory scales (I really quite like the stock handles to be honest, but that is just me). Also, Ethan Becker makes his knives overbuilt, and to be honest, I really can't think of one that has broken unless they were really trying to break it (sticking it in a vise and hitting it with a sledgehammer type stuff).
Check out these threads of the BK2.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ting-the-BK2-to-the-test-so-you-don-t-have-to
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/839944-BK2-test-the-final-part-(LOTS-of-pictures)
The ESEE 5 is a great knife, very similar to the BK2. The main difference is the grind on them. The BK2 has a higher grind, and so it slices a bit better. The ESEE 5 is more like a wedge, so it might split wood a bit better.
The ESEE 6 is more like a knife than the last two. Its thinner and longer, and will do excellent for any normal hard use woods style use. If you're wanting to pry tons of things and chop concrete... then I might look elsewhere.
The SYKC 711 is another great knife. Its got a higher grind than the BK2, but is the same thickness. It is plenty tough. The only problem I see with this knife for how you want to use it is I don't know how the handle material will hold up if used as a hammer. Others will have to let you know about that.
Good luck
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Becker BK2
Becker BK7
ESEE 5
ESEE 6
SYKC 711
The Beckers have a nice tang extension made specifically for pounding on, which sounds like it might be something you're looking for. Also, as others have said, you can get canvas micarta scales for them if you don't like the standard grivory scales (I really quite like the stock handles to be honest, but that is just me). Also, Ethan Becker makes his knives overbuilt, and to be honest, I really can't think of one that has broken unless they were really trying to break it (sticking it in a vise and hitting it with a sledgehammer type stuff).
Check out these threads of the BK2.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ting-the-BK2-to-the-test-so-you-don-t-have-to
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/839944-BK2-test-the-final-part-(LOTS-of-pictures)
The ESEE 5 is a great knife, very similar to the BK2. The main difference is the grind on them. The BK2 has a higher grind, and so it slices a bit better. The ESEE 5 is more like a wedge, so it might split wood a bit better.
The ESEE 6 is more like a knife than the last two. Its thinner and longer, and will do excellent for any normal hard use woods style use. If you're wanting to pry tons of things and chop concrete... then I might look elsewhere.
The SYKC 711 is another great knife. Its got a higher grind than the BK2, but is the same thickness. It is plenty tough. The only problem I see with this knife for how you want to use it is I don't know how the handle material will hold up if used as a hammer. Others will have to let you know about that.
Good luck
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What is it you don't like about the Becker handles? If you can, you ought to handle one before you dismiss them. I know they look slippy but they aren't.
The ESEE knives are great and from your list, I'd pick the ESEE 5 but the BK2 is one whale of a knife for lots less money.
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Beckerhead #42
The ESEE knives are great and from your list, I'd pick the ESEE 5 but the BK2 is one whale of a knife for lots less money.
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Beckerhead #42
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What is it you don't like about the Becker handles? If you can, you ought to handle one before you dismiss them. I know they look slippy but they aren't.
The ESEE knives are great and from your list, I'd pick the ESEE 5 but the BK2 is one whale of a knife for lots less money.
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Beckerhead #42
Wait what happened to the rest of the pics? Cleaning fish ect ect.........
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Google Fallkniven A1 knife test. It does pretty good.
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1095 will be easier to sharpen though.
If you look around, almost no one talks poorly about any Becker or ESEE knives. The Beckers cost less its true, but its mainly because they come with grivory handles instead of micarta, and a non-kydex sheath. In my opinion, the Becker is just as good of steel and HT as the ESEE (both do 1095 spot on), but with the option to make it more your own through a custom set of handle scales and sheath. In my opinion its not just that they're good bang for your buck. They're just good bang, and won't let you down.
Many people would say they wouldn't want to spend more than that on a knife that they KNOW they are going to beat the living snot of, but I can see the reasoning behind getting the "best" blade you can for a certain price point.
If you want to spend more, then by all means go ahead. I would go with the SYKC 711 if thats how you're feeling. They don't come with a sheath though, so just know that so you're not surprised.
The Swamprat Ratmandu is also an option, but sounds a bit smaller than you're looking for, but its worth a look anyway.
Or maybe you can look into some used Busse knives, but those are likely more spendy than your budget will allow ($400-ish), but I hear they're absolutely amazing.
Thanks man, I'm not meaning to come off snobby in my posts. You just have to understand that I come from gun collecting with a you get what you pay for mentality. Personally I collected HK firearms, so i was looking for HK quality knives, lol. I'd greatly considered getting a Busse, but it's just a little more than I want from a beginners standpoint.
Its all good man, I hope I didn't come across as sounding snobby either.
And just so you know, SYKC and SwampRat are part of the Busse family of knives. They have the same warranty, and are the "inexpensive" versions of the Busse blades. It goes Busse, SwampRat and SYKC in that order in terms of price.
The nice thing about knives is that they're generally much cheaper than those HK guns you've got back home. Sadly... this just means we tend to get more of them...
.And pretty much all of the suggestions in this thread would work for you, and are considered the "quality" hard use knife brands by most here, so you really can't go wrong with any of them. You just have to pick which one you like best.
Good luck man, and let us know what you end up going with.
Its all good man, I hope I didn't come across as sounding snobby either.
And just so you know, SYKC and SwampRat are part of the Busse family of knives. They have the same warranty, and are the "inexpensive" versions of the Busse blades. It goes Busse, SwampRat and SYKC in that order in terms of price.
The nice thing about knives is that they're generally much cheaper than those HK guns you've got back home. Sadly... this just means we tend to get more of them...
And pretty much all of the suggestions in this thread would work for you, and are considered the "quality" hard use knife brands by most here, so you really can't go wrong with any of them. You just have to pick which one you like best.
Good luck man, and let us know what you end up going with.
Thanks man, I'll be ordering a blade in a few weeks, so I'll be sure to let you fellas know what I go with.
I have an Ontario Rat-7 in D-2 as my hunting and jeep beater knife. It holds an edge for a long time and takes a beating. Nice thick flat grind with durable black finish and micarta scales. The nylon sheath is the blackhawk type with the accessory pouch. I like those, but I know many don't, so they sell kydex ones for a decent price there too. I actually bought the kydex one for it and it's a good setup. I think chestnut ridge still has some, but they are getting harder to find.
Interesting, I was actually looking to be closer to the $250 price point anyway.
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I only do the full court press occasionally.
That's not my objective. Given your original specs, in my opinion the BK2 is the best knife you can get for around $250. Of your original list, I think the ESEE 5 best meets your specified criteria but I like the BK2 better. The fact that BK2 costs less is a happy coincidence.
For those two knives, the steel and heat treat is about the same. In my opinion, ESEE's sheath is better but Becker's handle and grind are both better. ESEE's warranty is better on paper but in practice, they are about equivalent.
For your budget, you could easily get a number of great combinations of knives (BK9 and BK11 or BK14 or ESEE Izula - for instance) that *may* serve you better than a BK2 or ESEE 5 but that's not what you asked about. I'm trying to stick to your original criteria.
Others have mentioned custom as well I see - certainly worth looking at. You may as well get what you like now because, you'll end up getting it eventually.
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Beckerhead #42
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