Fixed blade

Jason B.

Jason B.

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
11,143
I have been looking for a good outdoor knife for a while now and can't seem to make up my mind. My main interest has been with BRKT's Gameskeeper II and bravo 2, I also like the fox river recurve and manitou carver. The later of the two are a little smaller than I would like but that's another thing I'm not sure about. I was thinking I would like a blade length of 5 or 6 inches but the more I look the more I find my self liking the blades with 4 or 5 inch length's. The reason I wanted to go a little bigger is because of the other knives I will have with me are in the 3.5 to 4 inch range. Others I like are the RC-5, RC-6 and on the more custom side the breeden sparky with green micarta handles. As you can see I like way to many knives and my options keep growing by the day.

I would like to hear from those that have these knives and what your thoughts are on their performance. I will also take any new suggestions and thoughts on a good blade length.
 
Look into the knives in the show your steel thread. Ask questions of guys who have posted some that you like the looks of...many great makers hang out on this forum and I'm pretty sure they would love more business!
 
Check out Brian Andrews knives, he has some really nice ones that you will be pleased with! I'm having to wait for the stars to align for me to get a few, but they seem very worth it.....www.offthemap.com I think is the place, Grin!
 
I second the idea of getting a custom from one of the makers who frequent this forum. They are a great bunch who will help you to get just the knife that you want.

If you are looking for a Bark River, take a look at the Canadian Camp. It is great for a larger woods bumming knife that is not too heavy to carry with you.
 
The Barkies are all good my friend. The RC-6 is all good my friend. I guess you have a few choices in front of you :D
 
I like brian andrews and stomper's but then the question of what one and the fact I really don't like scandi grinds, the knife I end up getting will either have a convex grind or get one shortly after purchase. :DI could custom order what I want but I think my brain might fry with all the options.
 
Isn't that the truth.

Here is what I have done. Get a blade that you like that you see retains its value. I bought a Kosters. Liked it - sold it for another Kosters and it cost me about 20 bucks to use that knife for 6 months.

Barkies can be that way and customs on this forum are almost all that way.

TF
 
Talfuchre said:
Isn't that the truth.

Here is what I have done. Get a blade that you like that you see retains its value. I bought a Kosters. Liked it - sold it for another Kosters and it cost me about 20 bucks to use that knife for 6 months.

Barkies can be that way and customs on this forum are almost all that way.

TF
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Yeah, but when I buy a knife its like a new baby I just can't get rid of it. If I bought all the ones I like it would end up like my folders half used half collecting dust. I'm just the type that can't part with a good knife once purchased. I have changed my knife buying habbits only going for the ones that are the "best" and most well suited for the job.
 
I used to be into the biggest is best camp and carried big blades, now I go for the I have to carry this thing and have dropped down in size, for me a 5 inch blade is big enough to handle any task i am likely to meet and if I really want something bigger I will go for really big and strap an axe of machete/kurkri to my pack.

Smallish lets you do detailed/delicate work, like slicing tomatoes, but if you get a strong blade you can also split logs to get dry stuff, or break bones to get marrow,

Some carry multiple smallish blades, i tend to carry a folder (leatherman) and a fixed blade if going bush, for a day trip I might just take one folder, if I was planninmg on building shelters etc then a folding saw or a kukri might be included, when i get around to choosing between them!
 
I agree that a bigger blade can be a pain to carry but to me big is when you get to 7+. For all the larger chores I reach for my outcast, its hard to beat a 10in recurve in D2. Thats why I am looking for a mid sized knife, something easier to carry than the outcast but bigger and tuffer than my mule team or folder.
 
If I was already carrying something with a blade around 4” it would make no sense to me to also carry one just a little bigger.

Whilst I can see some appeal in the RC-6 there is no way I'd take that in preference to an Ontario RAT 7 in D2. They are very similar designs and both look like fantastic platforms to modify. All it would reduce to for me is that the RC-6 is a slightly more pretty package NIB, and I would happily overlook that given that each could be easily made as pretty as the other. Here, both cost about the same, yet the D2 is going to degrade much more slowly. I would happily trade the redeeming feature of toughness for better edge retention and slower corrosion. Dedicated impact tools and saws make the which would live longer in an abuse test a non-issue.
 
The Bark River Gameskeeper II is a great all-arounder. :thumbup:

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Being the same steel and thickness as the Bravo-1 and Bravo-II it is one tough knife.

The blade size slots in between the two; I like bigger blades and find it a good compromise between blade length and ease of carry.

It comes with a nice sheath that rides high and tight, making it easy to carry for a knife of its size.

I have modded mine a bit to better suit my style of usage, but it’s a great tool right out of the box.





"If you're not living on the edge, …you're taking up too much space."

Big Mike
 
For a 5" blade I love my JK Hiker but even this seems overkill for me 99% of the time, I now feel a blade of 3" to 4" is more than enough for most of my tasks !

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i live IN. south of ya i have a ontario rat-5 i would send ya to try out if ya like just let me know. is havent usd it in a while it's a good design and should see more sun lite. theres no huury to return it so you will have time to give it a good work out.
 
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If ya want the tougest 5" blade ever made then you need a Scrapyard Dumpster Mutt......

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Stomper is running an April Special on his Hiker. Only 100 bucks. Can't beat it, I've got one on order. I've got a couple of his knives already and I love them. Can't go wrong. And what's great about John is that if you just tell him "I can't decide, you figure something out", he will.

He'll do a convex grind as well if you ask.
 
Having a tough time gauging, is your query mostly about length, or are you also open to different girths/style?

The Kabar/Becker BK2 is a popular 'little-big' blade. I got to play with an Ontario Ranger Afghan that filled a similar role. Both of big ol' brutes, not featherweights.

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Breeden Big Paw - 4.5" blade that is 1.37" wide. It is shorter than 5" but feels like a bigger knife than the buck 119 at 6"! Its called the big paw because it has an extra long 5.5" inch handle - specifically designed this one to be used with work gloves and mitts.

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In the shot below - Breeden pathfinder - 5" blade and 5" handle, buck 119 special, big paw and JK-kephart. The JK is 4.5" in length and it can be ordered in a 5" length if you desire. All of Bryan Breeden's knives that I have are in O1 most are 1/8" except the big paw = 5/64" thick. JK knives come in O1 or 1095. My JK is in 1095 and 1/8". It can be had in 3/16" if you desire it.

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JK kephart and Breeden pathfinder together.

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Below is a Breeden peacemaker (6" blade and 4.5" osage handle) and kat knife. The peacemaker makes a nice light knife for belt carry. Not good a chopping, but works well for batoning and camp chores.

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Here is the RC-6. Now you are really stepping up into a size category with this blade. It is still light enough to carry on the hip in comfort, but at 12.85 oz you know it is there! The 3/16" thick and 1.5" wide 1095 blade feels quite a bit larger than the above knives even though its blade length is only 6". This is a true medium size knife where as the others above fall into the larger small size knives. The RC-6 can handle bigger chores, still not a very effective chopper, but you certainly can chop with it. It is a fast blade, well balanced and very tough. I like this one a lot too. If I were to go on the - you can have only one scenario - it would probably be the RC-6.

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