Help pick an outdoors knife?

D

Dakki

Joined
May 29, 2007
Messages
197
Okay guys (and gals) I'm in the market for a decent, all-purpose hunting and camping knife for the great Texas outdoors. Basically something that will gut and dress whitetail, hogs and jackrabbits with equal aplomb, pan-dress catfish and bass in a pinch, handle the camp chores, function as part of my survival kit and be legal for carry alongside my old alox SAK. I asked a local (Austin, TX) cop about this and I was told I'd be fine as long as the blade wasn't more than 5 1/2" long. I'd like the knife to be something I could pass on to a child or grandchild someday, so quality and durability are up there on the list. And fiinally, I don't want to spend more than I have to, but on the other hand I've never regretted buying a fine tool, while cheap tool purchases have come back to haunt me on a regular basis.

Reading up on the older threads here it seems a lot of people like the Fallkniven F1, and even those who don't think much of Cold Steel seem to like the Pendleton Hunters, at least in Carbon V, so I'm considering these. I have a couple of questions about that:

-Internal tang vs exposed tang? It seems to be the exposed tang on the F1 would be better for batoning and such. Is this accurate?

-Stainless CS Pendleton Hunter vs Fallkniven F1? Some of the people who've expressed admiration for the Hunter seem to be talking about the Carbon V version. How does the stainless Hunter hold up?

-CS Pendleton Mini Hunter: How does this one stand up to the other two? Do I really need the extra size and weight of the others for my purposes?

-Am I missing anything here? I'd hate to miss out on a near-perfect choice just because I narrowed my options too early.

I haven't been hunting or camping in about 15 years, and my "camp knife" back then was a cheap "Rambo knife" with the factory edge, no less. I ended up using the SAK for everything...
 
Carbon V is not being made any longer.

The Fallkniven F1, in my opinion, is a far better knife than the stainless steel CS Pendleton.
Actually, it's a better knife than most.
 
i would check out some of the customs in the makers gallery and fixed blade forums. find one you like and contact them about making something that will fit your needs. there have been quite a few camp style knives posted lately that have been very reasonably priced. probably comparable to some of the production knives you are looking at. also, if you plan to pass the knife down, knowing that it was hand made specifically for you can add a nice bit of history to the knife.
 
Pendleton hunters never made in Carbon V to my knowledge only stainless. The CS Master Hunter was made in both, I have both and love both for deer hunting. Kraton handle is durable, not slippery when coated with blood and fat, and does not go thunk when your gun stock hits it like Micarta. You can still find both on ebay if you watch. I actually find myself using the AUS8 stainless more often. The new ss ones are laminated ss and I have not got one yet. A lot of people trash CS but my experience with MH and the SRK has been very good.

It appears that the fallkniven handle is a lot smaller than the CS Master Hunter handle if that is important to you. I have never batoned a knife so cannot comment on that. The farther I hunt from a paved road the more likely I am to take a Gerber hatchet and a Gerber folding saw in my pack. Gerber saw is also great for sawing through pelvis and ribs of our big Ohio whitetail. Good luck with your search.
 
messer454 said:
Pendleton hunters never made in Carbon V to my knowledge only stainless.
Click to expand...

Ah, my bad. It seems I was confusing the "Pendleton Hunter" with the "Master Hunter." I'll have to re-read the threads to understand whether people were talking about the Master or the Pendleton and what they thought of each.

I guess the only way to pick between handles would be to actually, er, handle them. On that topic, how are the relative durability of the handle types and materials?

Thanks to everyone for your replies.
 
F1. No contest IMHO. The F1 is an allaround winner.
 
I own a fallkniven f-1 and it is a dandy knife....for the most part my search is over...the handle is smaller than some of the otheres but comfortable to grip and lonenough to give you extra on either end, and the exposed tang is dandy for cracking open nuts, I haven't used it to dress anything yet.... but my one concern in such a case would be that the spine of the blade is thick...(while making it virtually indestructable) itwould seem that it might diminsh it's ability as a slicer...however I have not had this problem...I've uses it for food prep many times and it performed well I've also used it to make fuzz sticks and several other tasks and it came up aces. The handle is made of theromun and it has a nice grip, I can't imagine aything that would break the handle material....Also if you haven't already you might want to look at bark river knives one of them will be my next purchase, I particularly like the wolf river, or the uplander (for the tasks you mentioned) or perhaps the northstar for an all purpose outdoors knife..Good luck in your search, and keep us posted
 
I would strongly urge you to contact Nick Allen- aka NWA about one of his Sportsman" models. For not alot of money it is an excellent all arounder, great fit and finish, well thought out design. Search in Makers Fixed Blades for sale on "Sportsman" and you will see a starter pic.
Bill
 
Don't over-estimate the utility of a large-ish knife for gutting and skinning game. I carry a Knives of Alaska 4 inch "Hunter style" knife (KoA Hunter series ) but I find that I always grab the caping knife that I also carry (Cub Bear) when I get a deer on the ground. The utility of a large knife goes down exponentially as one goes from deer to rabbits to game birds etc.

That being said, I also have a scrap yard dog father (Scrap Yard click and scroll) for camp building and such, and an array of midling knives if it strikes me to use something else. But, my "go to" knife for cleaning game is the caping knife.

For the record, I was born and raised in Austin, and have hunted Texas whitetails all my life, and while I live elsewhere now, I'll always be a Texan.
 
Fallkniven makes good knives and I doubt you would have remorse with any of their products. The fixed blade knives that I've been drooling over lately are the Bark River products.
 
hlee,
Good point and I ALWAYS team my knives. A hard use 5-6" with a fine light use Like a Koster Karda, Ingram B&T or Cold Steel B&T(only 20.00). Just too many tasks to ask one knife to do but I have never felt under equipped with the pairing mentioned.
Bill
 
Dakki said:
-Internal tang vs exposed tang? It seems to be the exposed tang on the F1 would be better for batoning and such. Is this accurate?

I personally prefer a full tang knife for survival purposes. It serves better for batoning and for any potential hammering, IMHO.

-Am I missing anything here? I'd hate to miss out on a near-perfect choice just because I narrowed my options too early.

Another option is to look at Busse or SwampRat knives. They have a couple models that would suit your needs and have a lifetime warranty. I have a couple Busse blades that I use while in the woods and the INFI is a tough steel IMHO.
Click to expand...

I think it is great that you intend to pass on your knife(s) to your children. I have bought a couple extra blades for the same reason.

Good luck with the search.
 
Dakki, we live in the same City, man...I love finding out there are other Knife nuts out there in my town. Hey, I have the F-1, a great knife..perfect, but.......If you want 1 knife to do it all, try something with just a slightly larger blade...this is just my opinion, but I am a huge fan of the BRKT stuff..the Gameskeeper, Bravo 1, and Aurora, are all awesome knives...I have 2 of the Bravo 1's...they are really a stout knife. My all around favorite knife right now is the Aurora..a great survival, bushcraft, hunting, whatever knife.
Good luck on your search...if you want to see a sellection of small (3.5-5in) knives, let me know...I have a few. Gene
 
Well, if you want a F1 with bigger blade, the natural solution is the S1 :)
The TK series are a bit longer and fancier too.

Well, I forgot you were from Texas, then you should do like this :) :
Get one Fallkniven NL2 or 3 (big enough), put it somewhere where everyone can see that you have a manly and macho big knife with quality. Then you also get an F1 that you put on your belt so you always bring it with you.
The NL knife you can use for chopping and other violent chores and the F1 (which actually IS a survival knife) does the small chores for you.
If something now happens so you can not use all your fancy equipment you will still have the F1 and the Firesteel (in your pocket) and the situation that could have ended in black headlines and helicopters would just result in just another cosy night in the forest.

Having watched the TV series with Ray Mears I noticed that most incidents resulting in death or long hospital stays could have been avoided if they just had brought something to make fire with.

If you dont have any need to show off manly knives then choose between the S1 and A1/ A2 and get an F1 as well or a WM1 with neck sheath. Rumours say that Swedish paras and other special units carry the WM1 with neck sheath just because it is always there as a backup.

You can buy any knife you want to use, as long as you have at least one Fallkniven on you at all times.
 
TOUCHE' .........I still like the Barkies.:D
 
Yep, check out gunknifenuts field blade thread. SOme excellent knives in there!
 
Thanks for your thoughtful replies, everyone.

Okay, so the consensus is that the F1 is a good choice but it would be better to have both a smaller knife for precision work and a larger knife for the camp chores. I guess there's no "holy grail" in knives either...

So if I go with two knives, is a pair of Fallknivens such as the A1 and the TK6 appropiate? I'm not married to the brand, and I'm certainly looking at other stuff, but everyone seems to have a pretty high opinion of these knives. Could I avoid buying two knives by getting a single, medium blade with a guthook?

If I went with two, the shorter blade would be one I'd carry around on a daily basis. How do you guys feel about those deep-bellied skinners as all-around knives?

Although price matters, I'm willing to pay the extra cash for two knives if that's the right choice. My main thing is getting the best of what I need and absolutely nothing I don't need. A couple of years ago I bought a nice, large set of kitchen knives for rather more than what my first car cost, and I use the chef's knife for just about everything. The other knives have barely seen the light of day since I sharpened them out of the box!

RedWolf, I think we speak the same language. My SAK was handed to me by my grandfather, who'd had it for many years, and it is one of my prized posessions. Objects that have been "in the family" for a while seem to acquire a life of their own...

gunknifenut, thanks for the offer, I might take you up on it once I've made up my mind on what exactly I need... Being able to handle the things before blowing what's looking more and more like a couple hundred bucks on them would be pretty cool.

EDIT: Wow, you guys respond fast... will now look for the thread. Thanks everyone!

EDIT 2: Seems like you know us Texans pretty well Nodh... :p I definitely agree on your comments about fire. I have two Bics on me at all times even in the city (I'm a smoker, and nothing sucks like having to beg a light when your lighter runs out :p ) and a firesteel would be a triple backup in the woods. Plus it just looks hella cooler than "flicking your Bic." :p
 
Ok I am going to be different here and recommend the Grunt by Blackjack knives...probably one of the most underated knives out there, here is mine...
SaanichInlet022.jpg

It can be bought here for a good price...it says out of stock but would just order you one in within a day or two !!!
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=4993

Or another you might look at is the NRA Snody by Benchmade, this is one of my favourite EDC's...
SaanichInlet007.jpg

This can also be bought from newgraham...
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=5148
 
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