Hello and few questions...

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polak187

Joined
Oct 18, 2004
Messages
85
First of all let me introduce my self. My name is Matt. I'm an EMT in Brooklyn NY, currently having 2 months left before becoming paramedic. I have prior military service (Army Infantry), I camp, kayak and hike a lot. I prefer knives to the firearms since anything that cuts is my friend on the street when pulling people out of messy situations. I have a big cuddly retarded 100 lbs 4 yo lab mix who is the best camping companion out there except for his huge appetite for my beef jerky. I used to carry Large Sebenza that got customized and my EDC became Microtech Tarzuola (sp). I love both knives and wouldn't trade them for anything. On the job I have a Spyderco Assist and Benchmade Rescue Hook which are really great help. My fixed blade is a SOG Gov that is about 8 years old but holds great. I'm not a stranger to knives or firearms and when I'm done with my Paramedic course I want to enroll in Kali fighting classes and probably work with Tom Brown on some tracking skills. I have a pretty nice EDC setup and with my EMT skills and previous outdoors/military experience I'm pretty much all right out there. But there is always room for improvement and knowledge and since I love learning I will never stop gathering new information and train/practice new skills. Now to the point:

I want to purchase a low profile, small fixed blade that I can carry with me. It has to be a straight blade since I hate serrated knives (hate comes from not being able to sharpen them). Blade should be under 4 inches and sheath has to be low profile to fit in the boot, on the belt, inside pants, etc etc... Knife will be used for everyday stuff and some rescue work. I find my self in a lot of situations where I have access to my tools with one hand only or in a weird position... I had also Sebenza folding on me in the very dangerous situation and if it wasn't for Kevlar gloves it would have been a very messy scene.

I was looking at Tops Scout, Anso Sheepsfoot, Boker's Applegate boot knife, some rangers knives in BQM catalog as well as Air Force small tanto survival knife.

I would prefer to stay under $150. And upon purchasing of this blade my SOG would wonder into my BOB kit so it wouldn't be easily accessible. Because of that the new knife would have to be everything from work knife, to camping knife to attach me to your life vest knife or maybe even a weapon.

Thank you gentlemen and Ladies for all your help in advance. I also posted a picture of my custom Sebbie in a gallery forum.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Matt,

The Benchmade 145 Nimravus Cub would be an excellent choice for what you need...I have one, and it's the perfect small fixed-blade knife that can fill many roles.
 
AG Russell Splinter Picker, $155-$395
This knife is the absolute finest personal fixed blade for detailed caping work on game of all sizes. The 2-1/4" ATS-34 blade at 59-61 Rc. will hold an edge better than any knife you have ever owned, or we will give you a full refund upon return of the knife.
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The knife starts with a 9/16" wide blade of 1/16" stock of ATS-34 and is hollow ground to the thinnest edge suitable for practical use. Overall length 5-3/4". Leather "dangler" sheath included.
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phpOE4aub.jpg
 
BTW, polak187 welcome to the forums, nice to have a new face, er name on the forum, I did the EMT thing for a while, I worked in a lot of Industrial areas, with a lot of hazardous materials around, add to that the fact that I lived in a rural north eastern PA, and I decided to take the course for me and my family.

In that line of work you can never have too many sharp knives.

Hey ever been in a knife fight, build your own auto from a kit from Buck for a Buck 110 folder? :rolleyes:

Inside joke, I'm sorry. :(

Hey welcome and enjoy there are a lot of great people here, I look forward to reading more from you.
 
Welcome matt, I'm an EMT as well. As for a knife that you are describing my $.02 would be for the Bandicoot or Howling Rat from Swamp Rat Knife Works. Well under the $150 mark, sharp, tough, comfortable Resiprene-C handle, and an unbeatable gaurantee.
 
G'day,
My new Dozier ($175) Straight Personal has a blade that is very similar to a small regular sebenza but the grip is far more ergonomic for me--I have quite small hands. It is the sharpest knife I have had out of the box and sharpened up even better. The kydex sheath is a horizontal carry and works a treat.
This knife is so nice that I find myself just holding it--and looking and feeling.
BTW it also cuts well. :D
Greg
 
Thank you guys for you replies... Keep them comming... So far I've chosen couple and eliminated couple.. here's what I got:

1) Timberline Aviator Pilot Survival Knife
I like the shape, idea that it is all solid piece that can get washed if contaminated

2) Benchmade Nimravus Cub
I like the blade and the sheath, seems like a solid knife for the money

3) Tops Scout
One of the original choices because of reputation of Mr. Brown but don't really know much about that blade since everyone is raving about Tracker and few people own the Scout

Does anyone have an experience with above knives?

Matt
 
Matt, the Aviator is a brute-force knife, designed for breaking out of a wreck, not slicing light materials. It's a chisel grind and chisel grinds tend to slip off to the side when cutting.

The Nimravus Cub is an Elishewitz design, with a blade similar to the Ares folder he also designed for Benchmade. Classic knife, excellent control, and it will keep that sharp edge.

I won't comment on the Scout because I'm not familiar with it. TOPS does make strong knives.

Edit: so I just did what I could have done before posting, and went to TOPS site to look at the Scout. It looks a lot thicker in the handle and broader in the blade than the Nimravus. If you have big hands, it could work, if not, you might be happier with the Nimravus Cub.

Edit again! I couldn't believe that was the best TOPS could offer. Look at this, the UTE #02. Much better. Ideal, in fact. Looks almost Scandinavian.
 
The idea behind aviator was that it is a solid knife that can give me leverage and won't break. I won't use any of these knives to slice clothing due to pointy tip and that's what Benchmade rescue hook is for.

My biggest problem with buying a scout knife is that even if I know that TOPS is top of the line manufacturer many people try to cash in on their fame. Let me explain. Tracker was a succesful knife, praised by many... but you don't hear much about Scout except for that it is a nice companion to a Tracker. I don't want to buy something because it has a big name behind it but something that is functional.

Also one of the other important things is the kydex sheath. It has to be very low profile. All the loops and attachments are quite nice if you wear it on you LCE but for EDC they are troublesome.

Matt
 
Due to huge negative response I got on the Aviator this knife is out of the question...

Benchmade is not to strong for me and I have bigger hands that will accommodate TOPS handles...

That leaves TOPS Scout and TOPS Covert...

How are the sheaths on TOPS knives? I heard they are really not that great...

Matt
 
Welcome to BladeForums... I am interested in hearing about how your sebenza folded up on you. Didn't think that could/would happen.
 
Mongo said:
Welcome to BladeForums... I am interested in hearing about how your sebenza folded up on you. Didn't think that could/would happen.
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It was winter and some lint has accomodated on the stoper inside the handle. I was wearing kevlar gloves and leather gloves over them. Car door that just got rolled over was frozen shut and I needed to get access around the lock so I fliped open the sebenza and rammed it into the space between door and the frame before my partner got hooligan tool out. Lint prevented the blade from opening fully, innerlock didn't deploy and upon strong hit, blade folded around my pinky cutting thru the leather glove. Less than half mm offset from the lint on the stopper was enough to cause the problem. Now a) I should have maintained my knife better and b) I should have checked the lock before ramming knife in. But since I was wearing double layer of gloves I didn't feel the typical click you get while flicking your Sebbie open. Lesson learned.

Matt
 
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