FK1 or DEK?

D

DMG

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Dec 30, 2005
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I bought a FK1 a while back and I love it. Recently, I picked up a DEK on the exchange here, thinking for some reason that it was substanto ally smaller. It turns out they are quite similar in size, making one of them redundant. I am going to sell the DEK unless there is some reason it is more useful for hunting/fishing/camping/etc.

So is there any reason to keep the DEK over the FK for my purposes?
 
DMG said:
So is there any reason to keep the DEK over the FK for my purposes?
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One.
If you get rid of it, you won't have it anymore.

But, if you're inclined to limit yourself to one knife of that size, choose the one you like best. For me, I think FK1 vs DEK1 would be a tough choice. If it was the FK2, it would be easy (except for that part about not having it - IT'S MINE!!)
 
The FK1 never quite meshed with me. I’ve owned and sold several. If it works for you though and the DEK handle doesn’t immediately jump out at you as an improvement then I’d move the DEK on.
 
If your hand(s) fit both knives,keep both,that's what i would suggest.i for myself have XXXXL hands (no,i made no mistake about the 4th X),so with regrets i sold both my DEK1 and i kept the FK2,which seems to be made to spec for me.KEEP 'M BOTH and you won't regret.besides the DEK1 is out of stock and i believe would sell fast if you want.
 
hhmoore said:
One.
If you get rid of it, you won't have it anymore.

But, if you're inclined to limit yourself to one knife of that size, choose the one you like best. For me, I think FK1 vs DEK1 would be a tough choice. If it was the FK2, it would be easy (except for that part about not having it - IT'S MINE!!)
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Similar view:

UFK vs DEK1 is a simple pick based on your preference for the handle and/or blade.

FK1 vs DEK1 comes down to which handle feels better, and which blade suits your preferences/usage better, but the differences are a lot narrower and more highly specific to preferences.

For a little more detail, the UFK/FK2 handle is thicker and rounder compared to the other 2. When applying more lateral pressure in woodworking/bushcraft, the UFK/FK2 handle is noticeably more comfortable with less hand fatigue when used for longer durations.

The difference between the FK1 and DEK1 handles are a little subtler. They're both flatter designs, with one slightly more geared towards utility and the other towards defensive use.

If I were to arbitrarily attribute a number to the 3 handles, on a sliding scale from 1-10, with 1 being overall utility (more comfortable for extended cutting or higher lateral pressure cuts) and 10 being fighting/defensive use (i.e. solid grip for thrusts), I'd rate them somewhere around

UFK/FK2 = ~3
FK1 = ~5
DEK1 = ~7

In other words, they'll all work for all purposes, it just depends on your preferred usage perfomance bias.
 
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I have both and don’t view it as either or.
They are both awesome and functions overlap.
I’ll keep both anyway as I know if I got rid I’d regret it,because there always comes a time where you would fancy using it but don’t have it.
I beat on my fk1 like ray rice in an elevator
 
DEK1 was designed to function as a hunting knife- not specifically- but I kept that use in mind during conception. If you were to use it for that and fishing I'd highly recommend mounting a lanyard as the rear of the handle doesn't have a pronounced beak to grab on to if it's going to slip out of your hands. Other than that, the unobtrusive handle allows for a lot of different holds and to move from one to the other easily. Also, the high s grind and dropped point provide a nice svelte edge geometry and good point power and control, especially if you like to put the tip of your index finger up near the point.

FK1 was an amalgam of Nathan and my ideas on a compact, super tough minimally sized but useful for most stuff kind of knife. If you are parting out an animal, you might find the scraper at the butt of the handle to be a real problem. If you find yourself having to smash out a window in a sinking car or cut yourself out of the fuselage of some flying thing, or treat your knives like common tools, FK1 will be with you to the end. The scraper feature is super handy for popping tops, so if you like drinking beer you'll have an opportunity to use the knife without removing it from the sheath, which is especially handy if you've had a few.

They may be the same size, but in my view they are very different knives and if you have both it might be worth considering holding on to them until you've had enough time using them to figure out which one works best for you.
 
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