Fixed-blade suggestions...

A

allenC

Joined
Jun 18, 2000
Messages
10,762
Recently, I have become charmed by fixed-blade knives.

I'm looking for your recommendations for great fixed-blade knives, with a 4"-6" blade, with good blade steel, not too expensive (less than $200.00 bucks), with a secure sheath.

I prefer knives made in the U.S.A., but I will consider others except knives made in China or Taiwan.

What say you good people?


Thanks,
Allen
 
Bark River Knives (of Michigan) has lots of loyal followers...about $200 for what you wants, usually in A2 or 3V steel.
I think that Fallkniven is also an excellent brand for that money...not made in the U.S., but a good knife. The company is based out of Sweden, but the products are made, IIRC, in Japan by MOKI and elsewhere...not China, not Taiwan. The Fallkniven products are issued to the Swedish military, I believe, and many folks here love those knives. Mentioned later in this thread, SurviveKnives are also top-notch; made in USA.
 
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I think Survive Knives has probably the best selection out there in your size range. The GSO 4.1 is an excellent all around camp knife.
I also have some sharp knives available in M390, that's kind of my preferred material for edge retention. ;) uploadfromtaptalk1402899563665.jpg
 
Agree with Bradford. The Survive! knives are great. Perfect steel and a good price quality ratio.
 
Before you decide I think you should go have a look at what's been on offer over in the "For Sale: Fixed Blades" section of the Knifemakers' Market here on the forums. There is some really cool stuff being made by a lot of talented member knife makers. Your $200 should get you something very nice.
Have fun choosing! :)
 
Good suggestions. I can personally vouch for Bark River, ESEE, and Becker. I carry a BRKT daily, and I have Beckers and ESEEs that are users and work very well. Another US shop that hasn't been mentioned is Dozier Knives. You can get several models made by Dozier's people for right around $200 from A. G. Russell.

Still... I really like the idea of going to the custom FB board and looking at what the indie makers can do for you. I have several of Alan Davis' knives and they are top notch, and all under $200 w/ sheath.
 
I'm just not sure how it gets any better than the ESEE knives until you get into customs. I have one that is a real "user" and it's been great.
 
allenC said:
I'm looking for your recommendations for great fixed-blade knives, with a 4"-6" blade, with good blade steel, not too expensive (less than $200.00 bucks), with a secure sheath.

I prefer knives made in the U.S.A...
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As others have mentioned, Bark River Knives has many models that will meet your requirements.

I highly recommend them. :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:




Big Mike
 
Bradford said:
I think Survive Knives has probably the best selection out there in your size range. The GSO 4.1 is an excellent all around camp knife.
I also have some sharp knives available in M390, that's kind of my preferred material for edge retention. ;)
Click to expand...

Ruudr said:
Agree with Bradford. The Survive! knives are great. Perfect steel and a good price quality ratio.
Click to expand...

Chris Larrikin said:
Before you decide I think you should go have a look at what's been on offer over in the "For Sale: Fixed Blades" section of the Knifemakers' Market here on the forums. There is some really cool stuff being made by a lot of talented member knife makers. Your $200 should get you something very nice.
Have fun choosing! :)
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Check here first: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/754-For-Sale-Fixed-Blades

If you don't see something you like, I also recommend Survive! Knives. They are currently moving from PA to ID and selling off what they have in stock so there are deals that abound. There are other companies with a lot of decent offerings that will get the job done (Buck, Gerber, ESEE, Becker, Bussekin) but S!K works hard to provide a tool with qualities these others lack at an affordable price. Each knife is made from high quality materials including various steel options: CPM-20CV for high wear resistance, S7 shock steel for supreme toughness, CPM-3V for a balance of the two. Stock knives are equipped with a KiahDex sheath (all made by Kiah here on BF) that is very durable and secure and adapters for various carry options are available. And they perform! I've done a couple reviews of Survive! Knives with videos embedded throughout:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...n-to-SYKCO-511-SRKW-RatManDu-Cattaraugus-225Q
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...comparison-to-BRKT-Bravo-1-amp-Swamp-Rat-HRLM

GSO-4.1
[video=youtube;pVsKMAlYAcU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVsKMAlYAcU[/video]

SK-4
[video=youtube;hj_1lrnQIkA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj_1lrnQIkA[/video]


And if you like the look of the one below, drop me a PM:

P1010626.JPG
 
I'll put another vote toward the GSO 4.1

CPM 3V steel, rugged construction, great kydex sheath, made in the USA and guaranteed for life.

All under $200
 
jeepin said:
For less than $200.00 ?. You tell me where because I'm gonna buy everyone of them :D
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My father bought it in a pawn shop in El-Paso Texas for $250; believe it or not. We couldn't believe our luck. My uncle liked my.Fathers knife so much that he ordered a Commando life support system 1 knife from Mr. Crain made to order ; and he even paid the money . Sadly ; its been 8 years now and we never got the knife. I often wonder what happened to it.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
My father bought it in a pawn shop in El-Paso Texas for $250; believe it or not. We couldn't believe our luck. My uncle liked my.Fathers knife so much that he ordered a Commando life support system 1 knife from Mr. Crain made to order ; and he even paid the money . Sadly ; its been 8 years now and we never got the knife. I often wonder what happened to it.
Click to expand...


That's to bad that your uncle didn't recieve the knife, It's because Jack Crain is a thief and never sent it at all. You can do a search and you will find many people with the same trouble with Jack.
 
Personaly I recomend ESEE. You can't beat the warranty, if you break it they replace it no questions asked. I love my ESEE 5 once you hold it, you can't let go. Its around $150 ish, I got mine from the-knife-connection.com.

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Chris Larrikin said:
Before you decide I think you should go have a look at what's been on offer over in the "For Sale: Fixed Blades" section of the Knifemakers' Market here on the forums. There is some really cool stuff being made by a lot of talented member knife makers. Your $200 should get you something very nice.
Have fun choosing! :)
Click to expand...

You'd have no trouble finding something you like within that price range at the Knifemakers Market here on the forum.
 
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