fixed blade

J

jlowery00

Joined
Oct 26, 2002
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I was going to get a fixed blade knife. Should I get a cold steel or K-bar? It will be use as a all purpose knive from camping to a fighting knife. I have $150 to spend, maybe another brand besides them two would work. Let me know what you think. Thanks
 
To answer your question directly, either Kabar or Cold Steel are decent knives in their price window. I would need to know more about your intended uses for the knife to offer an opinion on whether these are the best choices for your purposes.

Question: "What size blade did you have in mind on the knife?"

At $150 you are starting to hit the price window for a custom-made knife. You may want to contact some of the many custom makers here on BFC and see if one of them will make you the knife within the price constraint of $150. Since it will be a custom-made blade, the blade can be made to best suit your requirements.

Given that I don't know what size blade you want or what the job requirements for the knife are, for commercial blades within the $150 maximum range my general recommendations are, in no particular order:
  • Becker Combat/Utility-7 (BK7) (~$50 at 1SKS or Bayou LaFourche, 7" blade) or Combat Bowie (BK9) (~$60 at 1SKS or Bayou LaFourche, 9" blade), designed as exactly what you've spec'ed out as your uses for the knife (camping fighter)
  • Swamp Rat Camp Tramp ($129, 7.5" blade) or Howling Rat ($89, 4.5" blade), less pure fighter than the BK7 but tougher heavy-duty beaters overall with handles that IMHO are more comfortable than the BK7
  • Cold Steel SRK (under $30 for factory seconds, 6" blade) or Recon Scout ($140, 7.5" blade) or , CarbonV steel & squarish Kraton handle
  • Gerber Yari (~$75, 4.75" blade), more pure fighter and less adaptable for camping chores, pretty much pure cutter/sticker and no chopper at all
  • Newt Livesay Air Assault ($125, ~5.5" blade), 101st Air Mobile ($150, 6.5" blade), or 82nd Airborne ($150, 7" blade). These are 1095 steel heat-treated by one of the best. Be sure to call Newt first and find out availability and delivery ETA for any blades you order. Last I heard he is busy and backed up on orders.
  • Benchmade Nimravus ($110, 4.5" blade) or Outbounder ($84, 3.75")

Above your price window, I recommend the Randall Model 1 as a pure fighter, the Busse Combat knives which are configured much like the Swamp Rat knives with their drop point blades (i.e. more utilitarian and less of a pure slashing/thrusting fighter), or again contacting a custom maker to really tune the knife to your requirements.

One Stop Knife Shop (1SKS): http://www.1sks.com
1SKS combat knives: http://www.1sks.com/store/combat-knives.html#232
Swamp Rat: http://www.swampratknives.com
Busse Combat: http://www.bussecombat.com
Newt Livesay: http://64.227.169.223/
Bayou LaFourche: http://www.knifeworks.com
 
You can get a Cold Steel Trail Master 9 1/2" in Carbon V for under $150....or around $100 for a Second....:)

Very good Bowie Knife, well balanced and very tough...:D
 
Between Cold Steel and KA-BAR I would choose... FALLKNIVEN!
Please search their site at www.fallkniven.com
My favorites are F1 and S1, however models A1 and A2 might be what you are looking for.
 
After you've picked out the make & model of knife you want, keep an eye on the For Sale forums here on BFC and check out eBay. Of course, be sure check the web for online prices. Local gun shows can also yield good deals on occasion.
Originally posted by Ankerson
You can get a Cold Steel Trail Master 9 1/2" in Carbon V for under $150...Very good Bowie Knife, well balanced and very tough.
Click to expand...
True. :)

For some comments of mine on blades in this size range that you may want to consider:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=191387
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=191388
 
One of my favorite fixed blade knives is the USMC Kabar. They are still available for less than $40.00...if you ever wear it out or destroy it, it's cheap to replace.

I rarely use my fixed blades for field use any more...I have found that a hatchet and a short machete (combined cost less than $50) will out peform any fixed blade. These are not tools I would carry on a long hike though.

What chores do you have in mind for your fixed blade and is it simply a fixed blade knife that you are looking for?
 
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