I search of a good 4-5 inch fixed camp knife

I just picked up a BK&T Campanion today. It has a blade length of 5.25" with a very functional drop point and flat ground blade. For under $70.00, I was well satisfied.:D :) :D
 
Pietje010 said:
Hey there BF mate’s,

As you know I really like this forum especially for the advise I get. As now I need your advise again! I’m looking for a knife between my most used knifes, in size and performance. These are my BK-7 for anything big and a normal Mora for carving wood and small food preparation. As you know carrying only the Mora is to small and the BK-7 is most of the time overkill and illegal over here.

After some searching I really like the Howling Rat from Swam Rat or Busse. (Btw is this the same company??). Good grip/handle, good for all-round camp stuff, not to big or to small and if really necessary a good survival tool.........
Click to expand...
I'd go with Extrema Ratio Shrapnel, 4" and excellent product from Italy.

Cheers
 
I made a small list of the knifes you guys recommended and other knife I like. The knife I am looking for is under 10 inch and very camp/utility/bushcraft. To bad that there isn’t a RD4 from Ranger knives, I would have liked that one!

Brand - model and overall size inch - cm
Ontatio - RAT-5 10,75 - 27,3
Camilus - Crewman 10,8 - 27,1
Camilus - Campanion 10 5/8 - 27
Ontatio - TAK 10 - 25,4
Fallknives - S1 9,7 - 24,7
Coldsteel - Masterhunter 9,25 - 23,5
SRKW - Howling rat 9 - 22,9
Fallknives - F1 8,3 - 21
Ontatio - RAT-3 7,8 - 20

The two Camilus / Beckers are very good but just to bulky. Still I like the SRKW Howling Rat and the Fallknives S1 the most. I probably will buy the S1 on a Swedish holyday within a year or two. The Howling Rat is where I go for now. But it while be difficult getting one as a oversees member whiteout my personal credit card, from the secondary market from BF. So how has one left and what is a decent price for a NIB or minimal used model?!
 
Pietje10 - you don't have Bark River on list, although most of Bark River's knives are under 10" overall length :)

As for Ranger RD4 - have you asked Justin? I think he will make it for you, he has incredible customer service
 
Hey Huugh,

I will send Justin a mail whit that question and about the activities from Ranger Knives in Europe. Maybe he will make me one for a decent price. The (your) RD4 shure looks sweet!

As far as Bark River's knives. I’m not familiar whit the brand and going to do some internet and BF research.

Good luck on the next soccer match against Ghana! :)
 
I agree with you that the BK-10 is a bulky. Even though it has a 5.5" blade, it's a big knife. At $43 here in the USA, it's one of the best buys IMO!

If that's too bulky, from the knives you listed, The howling rat is the best choice IMO. If cost is an issue, for half the price of a howling rat, the cold steel master hunter is also a very good cutter.

I was disapointed with the wood cutting/carving ability of the S1 and F1. The S1 was a little better but not nearly as good a carver as a Mora. If you're into wood cutting, aka bushcraft, I'd steer away from the F1 and S1, or the NL-5, etc. A lot of folks speak highly of them and I know I'm going to get flammed for saying this but, they just aren't good wood cutters! Good for dressing game but not wood.

Cheers,
Collecter
 
There is actually a lot of hype about F1,S1 etc.
Guys at FKN say that by means of laminating breaking point has been increased by 20% or so, but outer layers are made of 420J2, then it would bend far before breaking point :jerkit:
When I had to face a similar decision I opted for Extrema Ratio Shrapnel, which, BTW is available also without upper guard.
Some considerations:
F1 is 4.5mm thick and Shrapnel 6.3mm (per my caliper readings), thus 1.8mm thicker. Which makes it 40% thicker at thickest point.
F1 is 10cm long, Shrapnel is 11cm long.

F1 is laminated with costless 420J2 steel, Shrapnel is integrally made of N690, which is nearly identical in chemistry to VG10.

F1's edge is convex and you'll NEVER restore it as such unless you'll have a slack belt (I don't think you'll carry a spare one while trekking or camping).

F1 is coated with Ceracoat, Shrapnel with ZrN (Zirconium Nitride) which performs a 2800 on Vickers Scale, has excellent erosion resistance, good lubricity and ductility and it is thermally stable up to 1050°F/565°C. Not only it does protect steel, it helps on blade hardness and even toughness to some extents. No literature about Ceracoat but I had rough times with a similar coating on my Gladius torch (now sold).

F1 has a "glued" handle in a 'take it or leave it' style. Break it or damage it and you'll have to send the whole knife back to factory. Shrapnel has a detachable serviceable handle, thus you can clean the whole knife, from tip to tang. Break the handle and all you'll have to do is just to order another one.
Shrapnel has a forprene handle, which handles temperatures from -40°C to +150°C. F1's Thermorun handle looks like being less performing.

F1 has a kydex sheath (tek-lok is an option you've got to buy). Shrapnel ships with a tek-lok ABS sheath.

Last but not least: Fallkniven offers a two years warranty while Extrema Ratio offers a LIFETIME one. Full stop.

In Italy I paid 167EUR for my Shrapnel, when I should have paid 130EUR for F1: this NOT the correct price ratio IMHO !!

So, Collecter, it is not me who is gonna flame you ;)
 
After a good e-mail conversation whit Justin from Ranger knives about the RD4. I decided not to buy it. The RD4 is a good knife but to thick for a small camp knife. It’s probably a decent copper for its size. But not really what I was looking for.

I decided to buy the Howling Rat from a BF user and it’s on its way home! The HR is more what I was looking for. The under 10 inch knife that can be worn discrete but if SHTF a good survival blade. Not to big but very hardcore. Great all-round especially for outdoor and good for hunting. Maybe the wood-carving is a bit less then a Mora but witch knife isn’t…


Will post a small review later….
 
1. The Fehrman Peace Maker made from CPM3V (but not around a lot of salt water)

2. The Fallkniven F1 GM VG-10 laminated with last you a live time.

That is my $.02 worh of advice (that's 2 cents [not much])

Ciao
Ron:cool:
 
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