Fixed blade knife with natural handle

N

Nevada

Joined
May 23, 2020
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Okay I’ve cruised this forum quite a bit and definitely have become more educated on knives.

I finally decided to post because I need some advice.

I’m looking for a fixed blade everyday carry knife for my best friends birthday. We usually carry 1095 steel pocketknives (case, mooremaker, oldtimer.) She’s packing a custom belt knife right now but she cant stand the short, stubby, thick shape of it.

I was leaning toward a Moore maker spear point knife in 1095 steel but this forum steered my curiosity towards some of the higher end steels.

The biggest catch is it must be a wood or bone handle. She made that clear.

I found a Benchmade Saddle mountain skinner 15001-2 model with wood handles. I also found the Boker USA integral 2.0 stag.

The benchmade is CPM s30v steel. The price is $140. I like the shape and size. The reviews were great but definitely implied that it was a skinning knife, not a bushcraft knife. My friend uses her belt knife like she was born in Argentina (for everything from splitting elk pelvis’s to cutting pvc pipe.) I’m not sure this knife would hold up for her.

The boker solingen knife is 440c steel for $320. It looks a bit more durable. I wanted to get her something that would sharpen to and hold a wicked edge though. Anything under $400 meets my budget.

Benchmade also makes a 162-1 bushcrafter sibert knife. The handles are g10 but they have a sand finish that makes it look pretty natural. It’s cpm s30v steel as well and looks like it would survive some abuse.

So my question is broad. I need some education to sway me towards the best knife.
 
Have you looked at Bark River knives?
I don't own one, but many guys here do.
They come in a variety of handle materials, including exotic woods.
They also use a variety of blade steels, you'd probably find some premium offerings.
Maybe some of the guys will chime in, they seem to be right in your price range too.
 
Neat thanks I just looked them up. That added a whole lot more inventory.

They make a bushcrafter 3v with a sheep horn handle. It’s CPM 3v steel which I believe is top notch, no?

The blade thickness is .155 in. For reference, the BM bushcrafter is .16 in thick and the BM skinner is .14 inch thick. So it might survive my friend’s abuse.

But like you said I’d like to hear some good reviews. I’m not a brand snob but I’ve rarely heard a bad thing about Benchmade. I have a Ford and a Chevy; they’re both broke down in the yard.
 
Nevada said:
Okay I’ve cruised this forum quite a bit and definitely have become more educated on knives.

I finally decided to post because I need some advice.

I’m looking for a fixed blade everyday carry knife for my best friends birthday. We usually carry 1095 steel pocketknives (case, mooremaker, oldtimer.) She’s packing a custom belt knife right now but she cant stand the short, stubby, thick shape of it.

I was leaning toward a Moore maker spear point knife in 1095 steel but this forum steered my curiosity towards some of the higher end steels.

The biggest catch is it must be a wood or bone handle. She made that clear.

I found a Benchmade Saddle mountain skinner 15001-2 model with wood handles. I also found the Boker USA integral 2.0 stag.

The benchmade is CPM s30v steel. The price is $140. I like the shape and size. The reviews were great but definitely implied that it was a skinning knife, not a bushcraft knife. My friend uses her belt knife like she was born in Argentina (for everything from splitting elk pelvis’s to cutting pvc pipe.) I’m not sure this knife would hold up for her.

The boker solingen knife is 440c steel for $320. It looks a bit more durable. I wanted to get her something that would sharpen to and hold a wicked edge though. Anything under $400 meets my budget.

Benchmade also makes a 162-1 bushcrafter sibert knife. The handles are g10 but they have a sand finish that makes it look pretty natural. It’s cpm s30v steel as well and looks like it would survive some abuse.

So my question is broad. I need some education to sway me towards the best knife.
Click to expand...

Take a peek trough the BF knife maker's sales thread.
https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-fixed-blades.754/
 
Oh boy I just started on that. I could spend all day on there. She’s a little wary of custom cause some are great, some not so much. But hey, I’m buying it so I’ll take the hit. It kinda looked like the Bark River Knives are semi-custom, no?
 
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Also check oit LT Wright. His smaller models are pretty affordable.

If you know what you're looking for specifically having a custom maker make something for you can be a fun time. I'm a little biased towards the forum knifemaker's and it feels like I'm getting more custom or at least handmade fixed blades than production fixed blades.

You mentioned liking 1095, I would check out the GEC fixed blades if there are still some around. Collector knives is usually where I shop for traditional genre knives but there are plenty of other places.
 
Gotcha. Great information. Keep it coming. I still gotta order one for my dad. Looks like I’ll route custom with his. I might be outta time to place an order for this birthday knife though. I’m curious about bark river now if anyone has an opinion on them.
 
Nevada said:
Gotcha. Great information. Keep it coming. I still gotta order one for my dad. Looks like I’ll route custom with his. I might be outta time to place an order for this birthday knife though. I’m curious about bark river now if anyone has an opinion on them.
Click to expand...

Overall, they're good. They've had a few hiccups in the past but I think they haven't had a big messup for quite a while. They had a blade steel mixup at one point but they're generally regarded as a high-quality production option. I usually go for LT Wright knives in that proce range just because I like the man and company more but Bark River is fine.

If your peice range tolerates it, fiddleback forge makes outstanding products as well but they are far from inexpensive.
 
Get a real puukko. Light, not chunky, can be carried in your pocket easily if needed. Most real ones have natural handle materials, and stacked birchbark is not only unique to these types of knives but is just as good if not better than most stuff on modern designs.

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Theres a very long thread on them - https://bladeforums.com/threads/puukko-pictures.904702/
Puukkos and related Finnish made knives are available in many places from a number of makers, from mass produced to individually forged, and you can find good ones for not a lot of money.
 
If your friend is used to sharpening 1095 a fancier steel is probably not a good idea.

420hc from Buck is comparable in sharpening, maybe a brass and diamondwood Buck 102 woodsman would be a good choice.
And when they're in stock Copper & Clad has a special cocobolo handle 102 with a 5160 blade
 
I can wholeheartedly recommend LT Wright knives ... and would go that over Bark River any day all day. You have several models and grind options to choose from. And different steels to pick from.

Their AEB-L is really nice if you want stainless but tough steel. The old standbys A2 and O1 are well done ... their A2 is exceptional IMHO. And they have some offerings in 3V also if you want that added toughness.

They offer many knives in various woods if that is your preference.

If you are short on time LT Wright may be a great route. If you have time many the makers on here do outstanding work.

I have some Winkler II knives that I like a lot and they are well made ... the price tags may be a bit higher than LT Wright's for the most part and you won't find quite the selection but they are solid knives too.

There are of course many brands out there but those are a couple of my favorites.
 
Wow cool thanks guys. I’ve got a lot to look at. I want to go with a fancier steel out of curiosity. She has a nice long three sided whetstone and used to work in a butcher shop so she can sharpen a knife. Should I look at buying her a diamond stone to go with the new knife? Not trying to change the topic but I’m well aware it will probably be a bear to sharpen. I’m after the edge retention/ toughness capabilities.
 
Your budget opens up huge range of options, but the search for a hard use blade with natural scales is, as you know, kind of a contradiction since most knives you can hammer through an oil drum will have an equally indestructible handle material.

With your responses so far you might want to check out A.G. Russell for their in-stock semi-customs for immediate delivery. Lots to choose from and solid folks to deal with.

One maker to consider is Bob Dozier and the Arkansas Made Dozier line that Russell stocks. They are fine cutting tools, not sharpened crowbars - but paired with a Leatherman (saw through the pelvis and PVC!) I can tell you I have been able to take on daily chores and skinning big game with equal efficiency. Might be a choice for your dad too with your tight timeline.

Here's a few of mine from Russells, FYI...

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Actually, you don't need to spend a ton of money to get a decent fixed blade but if you want to you can...;)

Bark River, lot of range, they look good but I've had very negative experiences with 3 of them in terms of the durability of the handle slabs so they no longer impress at all.

As suggested before a Puukko makes for a very fine general purpose and tough durable knife. The Scandi grind is easy to sharpen and you can split small firewood with one plus shave fire curls. There are custom ones and inexpensive everyday ones too (which I prefer) Puukko dangler sheathes are the most practical for carry especially when you sit down or get in a vehicle, no jabbing the ribs :eek: The sheathes are tight and you won't lose the knife, not always so sure with other knives.

Look into Hess Cutlery, nice quality and no outrageous prices either.

Why not check out one of the makers and contributors to this Forum? @Horsewright he makes a very big range of knives and is a very pleasant gent too:thumbsup:
 
Hey this is great guys. I got her involved and we’ve been doing a lot of scrolling. Good thing I got her to look cause she’s got a particular blade shape in mind if given the choice.

She wants lots of belly and a very mild drop point. She wants a total length not much over 7 inches. GEC actually has a 1095 steel upland hunter model that is the right shape but it is only .127” wide. I don’t think it’ll live through what she’ll do to it. I looked at horsewright’s knives but I didn’t see one that fit the shape. Can anyone give me a hint if there’s a custom knife that fits the bill?
She liked the shape of these:
 
Crap the pictures didn’t show up. I dunno how to do that. Um, she liked the shape of the bark river aurora hunter, the Hess caper, and the A.G. Russel tinus beukes hunter.
She also wants at least a little catch/ groove on the bottom of the handle to keep your finger from sliding up the blade.
 
I second a look at PUUKKOS - especially with stacked birchbark handles. Nothing feels as nice, by my way of thinking.

There are a number of excellent BF puukko makers, for example -

@Todor Hristov - https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/todor-hristov-puukkos.1625828/page-4#post-19652584

@jelio - https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...ss-g10-stab-alder-burl.1729741/#post-19763266

Among others not so prolific and perhaps not as expensive and of course check out the thread link provided by A Arathol above.
 
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