good neck knife ?

T

tnozh

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Feb 4, 2005
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Hi,

I am thinking about buying a neck knife to use when I am fishing. It has to be light, reasonably corrosion resistant and not too expensive. Since I will use it almost exclusively for fishline cutting and killing fish (and, hopefully only rarely, as a safety knife) it does not need to be an indestructible work horse. I have found the Benchmade 160 for 42 dollars + S&H . Is this a good deal? What do you think about this model? Could you reccommend a better deal?

Also - I have noticed that the BM160 is advertised one some websites (including Benchmade's) as having a 440C blade while other websites indicate that the blade material is GIN-1. Is that another name for 440C or, if these are different materials, what are the differences? Which is better for my purposes?

Thanks,

TN

PS: just curious - has anyone ever made a neck kife in s30v?
 
Hi,

Thanks for the pointer. I found this knife for less than 20 bucks which is really cheap. But how does its 420HC compare with BM 160's 440C?

The Camillus weights more than twice the weight of the Benchmade (3.28 oz versus 1.50 oz).

Also - does Camillus offer as good a lifetime guarantee as Benchmade?

Cheers,

TN
 
Another option is titanium. Check out www.tiknives.com for Larry Ramey's low-priced Ti neck knives. In my experience, unless it is very special Ti, the sharpness will disappoint, but it doesn't corrode and the material makes for good lighter-use knives.
 
I looked up the URL and ebay tells me that "all items have been purchased". I have found no other website selling these knives...
 
I think the ArcLite would probably be a good choice here. The steel isn't the best, but it is farily good in the corrosion resistnace department. That would be a major concern for a knife that will be used almost exclusively around water. The edge holding of that steel isn't all that great, but if all you are doing is cutting fishing line and some fish I think it will be fine.

There is really very little that can go wrong with the knife, it is as basic as it gets. It is just a single piece of stel, which IMHO is a good thing for a cheap beater knife that you will likely be using and abusing while fishing. To me the best part is the price, at that price you can use it, abuse it, and not worry about it while enjoying your fisihing. If it does get lost or broken it is cheap enough to buy a replacement.
 
I have a Becker Necker, which I like. The handle is a bit small, but it is nice and light. Scraped some of the finish off when I was battoning though.
 
ErikD said:
I think the ArcLite would probably be a good choice here. The steel isn't the best, but it is farily good in the corrosion resistnace department
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The weird thing is that Camillus also offers the ArcLite with a D2 blade for $49.95. I looked at the forum's FAQ and it seems that D2 is actually less corrosion resistant than 420HC. If correct, then its a weird choice, why would they use D2 instead of, say, S30V?

Any ideas?
 
USAFSP said:
S30V? Here you go. Look at this thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338517
Click to expand...

The S30V got my undivided attention alright. But then I looked at the size of the handle and figured that it is probably too small for me (I have large hands). Too bad...

So far, the Camillus ArcLite (with the 420HC blade) and the Benchmade 160 still looks like the top contenders to me.

Any other models I should look at before making a decision?
 
whitedoor said:
Might look at the Fallkniven WM1. It's in VG-10 which is pretty rust-resistent.
Click to expand...

these are very nice but, alas, they are out of my current price-range
 
lumpymike1 said:
I have a Becker Necker, which I like. The handle is a bit small, but it is nice and light. Scraped some of the finish off when I was battoning though.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I found one here for only $29.99. It does look superb and very well designed.

How big is the handle exactly?

What can you tell me about the "Camillus 0170-6C carbon steel" blade material? How does it compare to 420HC, 440C?

You mention scraping off the finish - did you have corrosion problems after? Shouldn't the Camillus limited lifetime warranty cover this kind of problems?

Thanks!

TN
 
The Peter Atwood Mini Bee Sting looks mighty nice. Might be a little heavy, since its 1\8th" S30v.
 
D2 isn't a stainless steel, it is semi-stainless. I think it would rust much easier than 420HC. I got my ArcLite at a knife show about two years ago. Since then I have basically just thrown it in my garage to use for garden work. I have put it away dirty and wet, and I only see some very minor rust spots where the finish is scratched up a bit.

I am sure that the Becker Necker is a fine knife. The only possible problem I see with it is that it isn't stainless. All that really means is that you will need to be more careful and take some extra time to care for the knife. You will just need to be sure to clean and dry the knife after your done, and keep it dry.

What it really boils down to is how you want to use the knife. If you just want something that you can throw in with your other gear, and just take it out when needed than I would go for the ArcLite. If you don't mind the bit of extra work involved the Becker would be a better knife. I always have at least a good folder on me anyway, so keeping a cheaper beater lying around would probably be my choice.
 
ErikD said:
D2 isn't a stainless steel, it is semi-stainless. I think it would rust much easier than 420HC. I got my ArcLite at a knife show about two years ago. Since then I have basically just thrown it in my garage to use for garden work. I have put it away dirty and wet, and I only see some very minor rust spots where the finish is scratched up a bit.

I am sure that the Becker Necker is a fine knife. The only possible problem I see with it is that it isn't stainless. All that really means is that you will need to be more careful and take some extra time to care for the knife. You will just need to be sure to clean and dry the knife after your done, and keep it dry.

What it really boils down to is how you want to use the knife. If you just want something that you can throw in with your other gear, and just take it out when needed than I would go for the ArcLite. If you don't mind the bit of extra work involved the Becker would be a better knife. I always have at least a good folder on me anyway, so keeping a cheaper beater lying around would probably be my choice.
Click to expand...

I just came back from a couple of hours surf fishing. I had to cut bait with a poor quality knife and it was a pain. So I need something *very* sharp and reasonably corrosion resistant (at least until I come home and clean it with some remington oil). So, alas, the Becker Necker is out. So is the Arclite with D2.

That leaves the Arclite with 420HC for 20 bucks or the Benchmade 160 with 440C for about 40 bucks.

I know that BM knives are very well sharpened, they come with a lifelong free re-sharpening service, they have a world-class "no questions asked" limited lifetime guarantee. I really like this company.

What about Camillus? What has been your experience with them? Are their knives sharp "out of the box" or do they need re-sharpening/shaping? Have you ever returned a knife to them for sharpening or repairs?

Thanks!
 
tnozh said:
What about Camillus? What has been your experience with them? Are their knives sharp "out of the box" or do they need re-sharpening/shaping? Have you ever returned a knife to them for sharpening or repairs?
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I've got a "Ol' Glory" ArcLite that I like pretty well. (AFAIK the "Ol' Glory" line is being phased out.) :( The flagwrap coating is pretty nice, and from the company's description, it's like a car's paint coating. Mine does have a few dings and scratches in the coating from cutting bamboo and it hitting things while hanging from my neck. Mine came shavinge sharp in the box. I haven't needed to return mine to the factory because I know how to sharpen my knife already, thankyewverymuch! (Dood, if you don't know how to sharpen your own knives, you got other problems! I realize serrateds are a PITA, but really?) ;)

Matt in Texas
 
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