I need a fixed blade knife! burned out on researching them. It's been like 6 mo now..

B

byteblock

Joined
Jul 13, 2012
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I'm having a hard time deciding what to buy.........

I bought a BK2 based on the price and ratings:reviews ratio on AMazon, it was an impulse buy. It seemed like a nice knife but I just felt in my opinion even though I'm a fixed blade noob that it was just too much knife. So I gave it to a friend for christmas. So now I'm back to owning just folders. I'm not opposed to having a knife that weighs comparable to a BK2, I just think if a knife weighs that much it should have a much longer more useful length. I liked the length of the BK2 but it looked so thick that I just couldn't fathom how it could be effective at slicing. When looking at it, reminded me of the sharpened steel bar I would weld onto tractor loader buckets when I worked at a welding fab repair shop

I also believe you get what you pay for so I'm not oppsed to spending 200-300 on a great knife. Or is that just stupid? You tell me.

When my back injury heals now that I've had surgery I wanna step it up on my camping/hunting/hiking outtings. I don' have to be a knife expert to know my folders won't cut it in the long term.
 
Not sure how big you want, but the ESEE 6 is a nice knife for a pretty good price. You can also probably find a good deal on a Fallkniven A1 if you look around. Another knife with very good steal in the same size range is the Swamp Rat Ratmandu. They make them to order or you can most likely find one on the Swamp Rat for sale section.
 
esee izula is nice and light and very useful. a bargain at $80 (with the survival pack)
 
What is your criteria for this knife you need? I think you'll get a lot of suggestions that fit other peoples needs unless you share.
 
BK-9,Scrapyard 711-911-1311,Esee Junglas,Himalayan imports anything big looking (I got a 39oz kukri and a 51oz bowie),Swamprat rodent series,Ontario SP series,the list is long.
 
one of my current favourites is the scrapper 5 in infi, you do see them floating around for sale at the upper end of your price range at 250 - 300 bucks. in my opinion these are a fantastic all purpose blade that will do almost anything you would need a camping, hiking, utility knife to do, short of major chopping duties. and it being a bussekin product you have the best warranty in the business and a solid resale value should you decide its not what you want.
 
For 2-300 bucks, I would contact one of the custom makers here. Then you get exactly what you are looking for.
 
Take a good hard look at the Swamp Rat RMD and Survive knives GSO 5.1. I would take the Survive due to better steel imo. The Swamp Rat is made from 52100 while its a great steel its not as good as the 3V used on the Survive.

Or get a hold of Big Chris here on the forums he can build you anything you want in just about any steel you want.
 
You might want to look at Bob Doziers knives. Hard to go wrong and has a large selection of sizes.
 
byteblock said:
I'm having a hard time deciding what to buy.........

I bought a BK2 based on the price and ratings:reviews ratio on AMazon, it was an impulse buy. It seemed like a nice knife but I just felt in my opinion even though I'm a fixed blade noob that it was just too much knife. So I gave it to a friend for christmas. So now I'm back to owning just folders. I'm not opposed to having a knife that weighs comparable to a BK2, I just think if a knife weighs that much it should have a much longer more useful length. I liked the length of the BK2 but it looked so thick that I just couldn't fathom how it could be effective at slicing. When looking at it, reminded me of the sharpened steel bar I would weld onto tractor loader buckets when I worked at a welding fab repair shop

I also believe you get what you pay for so I'm not oppsed to spending 200-300 on a great knife. Or is that just stupid? You tell me.

When my back injury heals now that I've had surgery I wanna step it up on my camping/hunting/hiking outtings. I don' have to be a knife expert to know my folders won't cut it in the long term.
Click to expand...


Check out the Spyderco South Fork:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...rco-South-Fork-Performance-Review-and-Testing
 
The South Fork is a complete steal at the price they are asking. Not as good as one of Phils customs but at that price you can not go wrong at all.
 
I'll invest in a large blade later. I can see a use for them.

I'm thinking basic camp site duty knife used for cutting rope, food prep, tinder making.........I don't see why an 1/8" thick 4-5" long blade wouldn't be ideal. Am I just totally in the wrong for this?
 
You certainly don't have to spend $200 or more to get a great fixed-blade. At a certain price point I think you are just paying for the "name", the "super-steel", and perhaps bragging rights.

I've known guys who went camping in the woods (roughing it, not RV camping) and used knives made of 1059 to do everything they needed, including chopping and batonning, without any complaints.

I own and carry a fixed-blade that I spent $300 on, and if I had it to do over, I would have found one just as good (if not better) for maybe half the price.
 
You don't need to spend much money to get a good knife, Buy a mora. Really. getting what you pay for is sometimes right on the money, I think with Moras you get far more than you pay for.

You can get even the worst mora made and still get a really useful knife that can hold up to real use. I'd say pick one between $10-20 and honestly use it for a season. Then use what you learned to guide you in a search for a "better" knife (if need be).

I have a few knives that are "better" than my Moras, but they are just about never used... there seems to be a point of diminishing returns with any knife, and Moras seem to be right at that point. I camp/hunt/ hike myself, and have never felt under knifed with a simple mora clipper or mora 2000.

A second option would be a Green river hunter knife, again like the moras in you get way more knife than you pay for.

Both of these knives (or types) are sort of the cornerstones to outdoor knives in general. They are time proven designs that date back to when the woods were really wild, and they worked fine.
 
Many companies make a bushcraft knife, some with finger guards and others without, generally in the 4 to 5 inch blade length range, and varying between 0.125" and 0.25" thick.
Have you tried a Mora? Good quality cheap knives built for camp and field use.
 
A knife the same size but much lighter weight with better cutting potential would be either the Becker BK16, similar in shape to the BK2, or the ESEE 4. For longer length but lighter weight with good cutting potential, the BK7 or ESEE6 work well, and for choppers the BK9 or Junglas. You can of course see similar sizes with other companies like Swamp Rat or Condor. I'd highly recommend Condor for testing out exactly what you're looking for, as they are just plain built for work and you won't be afraid to beat em up. I usually carry the BK16 along with an axe/hawk and a saw. Those three divide tasks up very easily.
 
In that price range 200 to 300, I would start looking at custom/hand made knives.

Busse, Swamprat, Scrapyard are a few I like for production.

That price range puts you in nice custom land, which might be more satisfying to you.
 
Brasso3 said:
Not sure how big you want, but the ESEE 6 is a nice knife for a pretty good price. You can also probably find a good deal on a Fallkniven A1 if you look around. Another knife with very good steal in the same size range is the Swamp Rat Ratmandu. They make them to order or you can most likely find one on the Swamp Rat for sale section.
Click to expand...

Took the words right out of my mouth! Got an ESEE 6.....great knife. 6" blade but doesn't feel unwieldy due to weight and choil. Haven't use an A1 but my S1 and F1 are fantastic. And now I've got a Ratmandu on the way. I really have to stop this insanity.

byteblock, if that Mora doesn't do it for you check out the Fallkniven F1.
 
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