TwistedHollow
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I have a TOPS BOB and really like it. It will do everything your looking for
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Fixed blade suggestions
- Thread starter Khory
- Start date
If you are in the PNW area where it's rainy and wet, you may want a stainless type of blade. There are many of those made as well. How about an Fallkniven F1, F1X, S1X or S1Pro model in COS steel. There handles are easy to hold onto when wet with the thermorun handle, and the Cos steel just shrugs off rust and it's easy to sharpen.
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Chronovore
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The Ruike Jager is a good, versatile, and durable budget option. The 14C28N is easy to sharpen and holds a decent edge. It's one of the toughest stainless steels. It also has good corrosion resistance. The handle is more comfortable than I expected it to be based on the picture. The steel is nicely rounded where it protrudes.
While not perfect, the sheath is decent. The best part about it is the clip. It uses an 8-position rotatable clip with something like a button lock. It can be adjusted in seconds. You click it into the orientation you want and it stays there. Even if you swapped out for custom kydex, you could still fit that clip with holes on both sides.
The utility for the money is huge. On the opposite end of the price range here, I get a lot more picky. A big part of that is because the quality really opens up on fixed blades and you can even start closing in on customs. So I say, either go low with a solid budget option like the Jager or go high and talk to a quality knife maker like
David Mary
who can help you get exactly the features you want.1, I'd say skip the S1. VG10 is not a good steel for outdoors, especially by today's comparison.
The only reason Fallkniven keep using VG10 on their base models is...well...Did you notice ALL their knife steels come from that ONE factory in Japan? I don't know what contract they have but IMO this will be the one factor that eventually kills this brand. I use to love Fallkniven, but I've gradually sold off my entire FK collection.
The only reason Fallkniven keep using VG10 on their base models is...well...Did you notice ALL their knife steels come from that ONE factory in Japan? I don't know what contract they have but IMO this will be the one factor that eventually kills this brand. I use to love Fallkniven, but I've gradually sold off my entire FK collection.
JJ_Colt45
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You're correct I mistyped it should have been Battle Horse Knives. LT Wright and Battle Horse knives came out of Blind Horse Knives
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Well, I didn’t know it. Now I learned something new, going to Google those 
‘Blind Horse used to have some very good models, I’m curious what Battle Horse have in shop…
‘Blind Horse used to have some very good models, I’m curious what Battle Horse have in shop…
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I am curious on your experiences on why you don't like VG10 in this role?
VG10 was introduced as a good chef knife steel choice, and it was very good for that purpose.
However, as an outdoor fixed blade steel, it will chip.
You can easily see that it's inferior to even S35VN. Which is understandable for a non-PM stainless steel.
The 3-layer structure used by Fallkniven will make sure the knife does not completely break in half. However, it offers no extra protection for the cutting edge.
For an outdoor knife, unless I'm using it on the beach / fishing boats (which requires LC200N / MagnaCut / Vanax), I'd go for AEB-L or 1095 all day every day, with a Fallkniven DC4 or CC4 in hand (which is my favorite Fallkniven product now). These steels are much tougher, and generally tend to roll rather than chip even when they do take edge damage, which is much easier to fix in the field.
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That's fair.VG10 was introduced as a good chef knife steel choice, and it was very good for that purpose.
However, as an outdoor fixed blade steel, it will chip.
You can easily see that it's inferior to even S35VN. Which is understandable for a non-PM stainless steel.
The 3-layer structure used by Fallkniven will make sure the knife does not completely break in half. However, it offers no extra protection for the cutting edge.
For an outdoor knife, unless I'm using it on the beach / fishing boats (which requires LC200N / MagnaCut / Vanax), I'd go for AEB-L or 1095 all day every day, with a Fallkniven DC4 or CC4 in hand (which is my favorite Fallkniven product now). These steels are much tougher, and generally tend to roll rather than chip even when they do take edge damage, which is much easier to fix in the field.
I have a few, and the factory edge did indeed chip. After a sharpening though, I have not had that happen again and find the steel works fine for my purposes.
I should try one of those sharpeners. I keep hearing good things about them.
Well I'm not sure if they're the best portable sharpener out there in terms of performance, I'm almost sure the Work sharp guided field sharpener will do better given the guided angles and ceramic rod and built-in stropping leather and etc, although I never owned the Work sharp one.
However I'm pretty sure DC4 / CC4 are the best in terms of compactness. And since the best sharpener is the one you have at hand, I'd say for me they're the best.
Be aware though, if you decided to try them out, you may want to "wear-in" the DC4 / CC4 for a bit with some cheap knife you don't care no more, before actually using them. Even the attached instruction states that the product becomes smooth and usable after a few sharpening attempts. The first few strikes on them are very, very rough and will likely destroy the edge instead of sharpening it.
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Understood, thanks for the heads up.
I have several different diamond sharpeners and they all required a bit of break-in.
Another important detail is to use light pressure. Pressing too hard will cause premature tear-out and render the sharpener ineffective.
Creaky Bones
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Some great choices already mentioned. BK16 (mine has been modified), Joker Campero (also available with micarta scales, and I modified mine as well), Ruike Jager, and I’ll throw one more into the mix- Casstrom No. 10. The Joker, Ruike and Casstrom are all 14C28N, one of my all time favorite outdoor steels.
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I've used my F1 quite a bit outdoors, camping, whittling shavings, light firewood splitting (by hand, no batoning), field dressing and processing game (moose, back bear) and haven't noticed any chipping. It is a bit difficult to get the burr off when sharpening, compared to high carbon steels, but it holds an edge longer. Haven't had any corrosion problems either.VG10 was introduced as a good chef knife steel choice, and it was very good for that purpose.
However, as an outdoor fixed blade steel, it will chip.
You can easily see that it's inferior to even S35VN. Which is understandable for a non-PM stainless steel.
The 3-layer structure used by Fallkniven will make sure the knife does not completely break in half. However, it offers no extra protection for the cutting edge.
For an outdoor knife, unless I'm using it on the beach / fishing boats (which requires LC200N / MagnaCut / Vanax), I'd go for AEB-L or 1095 all day every day, with a Fallkniven DC4 or CC4 in hand (which is my favorite Fallkniven product now). These steels are much tougher, and generally tend to roll rather than chip even when they do take edge damage, which is much easier to fix in the field.
"More prone to chipping" does not mean "it will 100% chip no matter how you use it". It only means it will chip under less load than steel that are less prone to chipping.
By "high carbon steels" if you mean stuff like mass-produced 1095 and 5160 then yes, VG10 will hold its edge for longer. People choose 1095 mostly for high toughness and easy to sharpen in the field. However if you mean non-stainless in general then VG10 just stands no chance against stuff like CPM M4 and CPM Cru-Wear. Even within stainless steels, VG10 is outperformed by equally available and affordable S30v, S35vn, and S45vn.
To understand why I suggested AEB-L (which is also stainless) over VG10 here, one first have to understand the difference between CATRA "edge retention" (the [edge retention] in the graph I quoted) and real-use edge retention. If you choose a fixed blade for processing wood, then AEB-L with its slightly lower CATRA rating but significantly higher toughness rating will significantly outperform VG10. Because wood mainly does not dull a blade by wearing, but by chipping or rolling the edge on a microscopic level. Field dressing on the other hand is a different game, for field dressing you do need to rely on CATRA rating a lot more.
Also, F1 and S1 has pretty different blade style. The last Fallkniven knife I sold was an F1 3G, because of its full convex grind, even if it's not tough, it's at least still quite practical.
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My suggestion would be to go with the A1 over the S1 personally. I found the S1 a very awkward size, to short to chop and long enough and thick enough to be not the greatest at slicing. I have extensively used the A1, its been a great knife. It won't do fine tasks as well as a small knife of course, but its do able. Its large enough it can chop pretty well to though. The handle is great in my opinion, I have no complaints with it personally.
The ESEE 4 would probably my next choice of that list.
If you want a few other ideas, check out the maker section here. You could probably get a custom off there for less than $200. If you want a cheaper option to consider, Mora knives are a great choice and perform very well for the price.
The ESEE 4 would probably my next choice of that list.
If you want a few other ideas, check out the maker section here. You could probably get a custom off there for less than $200. If you want a cheaper option to consider, Mora knives are a great choice and perform very well for the price.
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Mora is good and all, but they def lack the "nice" feeling.
Many good options there!
