Given my occupation, what's a hard use knife around $50 that can withstand the work?

Ten4leader

Ten4leader

Joined
Mar 16, 2014
Messages
164
I'm a sheepherder, and with summer coming up, that means I get to spend the next 3 months away from civilization, cell service, WiFi, running water, fast food and worst of all television. I need a hard use knife that I can carry (about 80% of the time while on horseback) that can put up with a decent beating. I'm not looking for some bush craft knife or machete because I'm not fighting for survival but I want something with a little more "umph" than your standard knife. I don't care about weight as I have a belt already carrying a gun, multitool, fencing pliers, flashlight ect. Since it's $50 I'm not asking for a great steel just something usable. I don't care about brand, country of origin, blade type, lock type, whether it folds or has a sheath, handle material, or deployment, all I ask is that I can open it with gloves on. I wear leather gloves for about 7-9 hours a day so I'm pretty nifty at doing tasks with them so unless it's like a traditional knife I can manage. Oh, no autos or spring assisted please. I already carey an endura for food prep and simple tasks so the knife will only be used when the delica can't be, so things like cutting hide, leather, tarp, cleaning hooves, used for prying (already got enough stuff on me last thing I need it a prybar) and things of that sort. Preferably around $50, if I loose it no major loss or anything but the cheaper the better. Once again, I could care less if its crap, just as long as it's got a thick blade and won't break on me that easy.

TL:DR: I'm a sheepherder, need a knife that can do the tasks that my endura can't. I don't care about brand, country of origin, blade steel, blade type, lock type, whether it folds or has a sheath, handle material, or deployment as long as it's not spring assisted or an auto. I'm not looking for anything fancy, just decent that can put up with hard use. I don't want something on the lines of a machete or heavy bush-craft blade either. Thanks!
 
For around $40 you can pick up a Becker BK15. I don't have a 15 yet, but whenever I need a good hard use knife, I grab one of my Beckers.
 
Would suggest a fixed blade since concealment not an issue and you mention prying and hide cutting. A Bad Blood Partisan Nano has a nice thick blade and can be had for $50.
 
Noswad0208 said:
For around $40 you can pick up a Becker BK15. I don't have a 15 yet, but whenever I need a good hard use knife, I grab one of my Beckers.
Click to expand...

^^^ THIS.

BK15_Detail.png


A very cursory search will find multiple dealers selling it for right around 50 bucks. Amazing deal.
 
Condor kephart is another option, its got a more sheepherder look going on, great utility blade geometry, full tang and sweet leather sheath

$35

Pry away
 
Have a look at the Svord Peasant Knife. It's an extremely simple and robust friction folder, is very tough, inexpensive and easy to clean and maintain. I would suggest one with plastic handles (fewer parts, easiest to clean and comfortable). You will probably need to do a bit of work on the edge initially but it's seriously worth it.

Also consider one of the larger Opinels. The number 10 is quite robust.
 
Most anything like the recon series with the tri-ad and the voyager XL would be perfect for hard use, I have the bowie xl, and in the new steel, she should be a great beater!
 
$20 you can get a Kershaw antelope hunter (fixed blade) with is a nice thick cheap 3.5" blade.
Or
Schrade schf31; 4.5" thick drop point blade, comes with a thermoplastic molded sheath so easy to pull out with gloves, no straps to fuss with. Its alot of knife, but at under 5" its not too much that it gets in the way.
At that price buy 2 and still be under $50

For $10 more you can get a CRKT free range hunter; the 4" blade is also nice and thick. I carry the smaller 3" lock back version as my edc, slightly thinner blade but I like it, and i can say the handle is really comfortable; only potential draw back might be the clip point, you can dig into the hooves better but also might be a slightly bigger risk of breaking the tip? Either the larger folder or the 4" fixed depending on preference would do the job for around $30.

I'm a Kershaw fan for their fancy folders, but for your purposes I'd go with the schrade or the crkt. Definitely sturdy.
 
Last edited:
Another great beater option for your purposes is the Broker Plus Sidekick Tanto blade. Its 440c so a durable steel, boker isn't horrible with it for a mass production company, it comes with a kydex sheath also so easy to pull out without straps to worry about, and tanto blades are great for scraping, known for their stronger tips on account of design, and the blade is reported 0.18" thick. I would image 440c in a tanto blade that thick, you'd almost have to want to break it...
 
Last edited:
Sounds like a job for a Glock knife. The 81 with the saw back might come in handy but the 78 will do if notching isn't a task it will do.

It's the only knife I trust for prying.
 
Buy a couple Mora Companions and you'll still have enough left over to buy some fast food burgers and a few beers before you head for the hills.

Mike
 
My first reaction was to also recommend the BK15. Luv mine and it would handle more than the OP requirements.

BK15.jpg



Until I read ...

Preferably around $50, if I loose it no major loss or anything but the cheaper the better. Once again, I could care less if its crap, just as long as it's got a thick blade and won't break on me that easy.
Click to expand...
Hmmm ... remote location, long duration, won't break, cheap, possible loss ... that means to me 'backups'.

And for that, I agree with Mike45ACP ...

Mora Companion Heavy Duty - 4" 3.2mm thick blade. At $16 each, for $50, get 3 of them. Comes in Black+Orange or Black+Green.

http://www.knifeworks.com/search.aspx?find=mora+companion+heavy+duty

FT11867.jpg
FT11746.1.jpg


The Mora Companion HD was my smaller fixed blade of choice until I got my BK15.
 
For a fixed blade the Becker BK15 is a good deal. Sometimes you can find the BK17 for close to that price.
For a hard use folder you can use with gloves the Cold Steel Recon 1 and Mini Recon 1 are both about $39 right now. You can't ask for a tougher knife.
 
I think the BK-15 is an excellent recommendation. I really like this knife. The other Becker knives are good choices depending on the size you want and obviously price.

Buck 110 is another recommendation for general hard use. It has been carried by thousands of people who depend on a knife in the outdoors since it's introduction in the 60's (I believe). I carried a Schrade 250T (USA) as my "110" for field work. No complaints what so ever. I just picked an as-new one up at a show for about $50 not long ago. I like it as it is similar to the Buck and is carbon steel, but has two blades which I used depending on the cutting activity.

Would suggest you carry a pocket knife as well. I would carry a Vic SAK personally.
 
For a folder, Spyderco Resilience. Fixed, Becker BK15

[video=youtube;BSM2E51MybA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSM2E51MybA[/video]

[video]Ka-Bar Becker Knife with Trailing Point, Short[/video]
 
Last edited:
Fixed blade is the way to go--can't go wrong with a Becker; if you had the time to wait and didn't mind spending the extra cash, I'd say Busse. But a Becker should prove more than capable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top