In need of a woods walks knife

YellowSwiss said:
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Fishcakes, would this fit the bill?
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Thats a really cool tiny knife(unless you just have monster sized hands):D

It looks a bit more like a slicer than i usually look for in fixed blades, but i bet that makes it functionally even better. That thing can probably zip through fish and food prep like nobodys business. Awesome looking little knife.
 
Funny, I thought someone would have mentioned the Izula by now.

This one is in stainless but there's also a 1095 version:

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The GEC H10 is slightly longer than your specifications at 7" but is otherwise a good contender. I would be surprised if it was oversized for your requirements. I don't know much about them, but the bark river offerings seem very good.

Otherwise, Hultafors or Mora are good choices - albeit the modern ones are non traditional. I have about ten of these in various locations around home, in boats and in cars.

Don't get too sucked into the bushcrafting/survivalist world - there is very little truth in it. The one positive to emerge from that domain is recognition that knives like Moras are ideal for most outdoor living purposes.
 
Go check out the Buck sub-forum - lots of guys there with lots of great info on many, many Buck Knife models (and variations in other steels too, like 5160, D2, S30V, BG42, etc.) OH
 
fishcakes said:
Hello ladies and gentlemen. This past summer i took a 2 month cross country road trip with my girlfriend. We did ALOT of canping and i got to see lots of this amazing country and meet some pretty interesting people. The only knives i had with me were a gec coyote and a case peanut.

While i realized while on that trip that i truly need very little knife, and not that i struggled, but there were a couple times where a smaller fixed blade wouldve made alot of the camp tasks i encountered quite a bit easier.

Now, i dont plan on another trip like that anytime soon, mostly due to financial and familial obligations. What i do plan on though is moving closer to the area i grew up in which is a more "woodsy" area. I grew up in sussex county nj, where hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, canoeing, and just general outdoor activity is not only expected, but highly encouraged. Ive lived in bergen county for maybe 3 years now due to some life choices i needed to make that have turned out much better than expected.

Now to my dilemma. Id like a smaller fixed blade for those outdoor activities ive mentioned, but with the lack of reviews and videos im finding it hard to make an informed decision.

Ive looked through the small fixed blade threads, checked out offerings from bark river, anza knives, lt wrights patriot, battlehorse knives, and ive looked into some of the smaller pukkos. If you guys give me your thoughts on specific fixed blades in the 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inch overall length that youve got experience with id be very appreciative.

As always, thanks for reading and have an awesome day.
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Different people camp in different ways. The more you can say about what your normal camping activities, the better the collective can give advice.

Some of my personal opinions, that might not help you...

For wood crafting such as making feather sticks, shavings and general wood working, I think there is really nothing that surpasses the Mora Companion. The handle on the Companion is simply the best in every possible wood working hand hold. The blade is not too long and tip is fine enough to detail work and drilling while not being as frail a full clip point. I personally prefer my Companion convexed, but the Scandi grind is excellent for wood working. I don't like the Moras for food prep. They don't slice very well. They slice better when convexed. When convexed, the Mora does a great job splitting kindling, although the 4" length is a limitation.

For cleaning fish and game, I have a slight preference for a hollow grind, like on my Bucks. But I find my hollow to be the worst slicers, as the shoulder of the grind hangs up in foods like potatoes. They are also the worst at splitting wood and I find aren't the best at making shavings.

My favorite camp knife is an old Schrade H-15. It has a thin, convexed sabre grind. I find this grind gives a great overal balance of what I want in a camp knife. It makes shavings and splits almost as well as the Mora. It handles fish and meat just fine. And because of the thin stock, it's a great slicer. The H-15 is 5" long, which I prefer for food prep. It's not too much to handle for wood working tasks.

Schrade H-15 by Pinnah, on Flickr

The Schrade 147 is also readily available on the used market and its just a bit smaller and might be better suited for smaller/normal hands. I have XL hands.

If I were forced to replace my H-15s, I would look for something with a full flat grind. I don't know of any production makers who use the convexed sabre grind that Schrade used back in the day.
 
22-rimfire said:
Have you considered a BK-14 with after market handles? I think it would fulfill most of your needs and it is a strong little knife if you need to baton with it.
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Not traditional :o


Pinnah you have me hunting for a Schrade H15 :D
 
Sometimes I wonder... it is as traditional as a Mora. Mods can delete my post if they want. The line between traditional and modern is sometimes pretty thin.

If I want something small, I would choose one of Bob Dozier's knives which are in most cases D2. They are consistently well made. Since I seldom ever baton a knife in the woods, I personally would carry one of my Blackjacks (A2) like the 125 or one of the similar Bark River knives that are a bit smaller in the bird & trout zone. But I have some very small Dozier's too.
 
I tend to favor small fixed blades myself. For something affordable, that's borderline traditional (plastic handle) The Mora Eldris or the Ahti Tikka (wooden handle). For something a bit more expensive look into Roselli Bearclaw or grandfathers knife. I own an Eldris and love it, don't often find a need for a longer blade.
 
Camillus said:
The GEC H10 is slightly longer than your specifications at 7" but is otherwise a good contender. I would be surprised if it was oversized for your requirements. I don't know much about them, but the bark river offerings seem very good.

Otherwise, Hultafors or Mora are good choices - albeit the modern ones are non traditional. I have about ten of these in various locations around home, in boats and in cars.

Don't get too sucked into the bushcrafting/survivalist world - there is very little truth in it. The one positive to emerge from that domain is recognition that knives like Moras are ideal for most outdoor living purposes.
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That gec h10 looks real good. I also love gecs 1095, so thatd probably work pretty well for me, even if a bit larger than id like.

The thing with bushcrafting is, its a wonderfully useful skillset. That said, most buahcraft skills like shelter making, woodcarving, and making feather sticks can be made up for with a little forethought and by having a well balanced kit. A tarp/ tent, some dry tinder, a spoon, a water bottle, and some kind of metal container will take you pretty darn far. The one thing i dislike about the buahcraft movement is the insisted "need" for a scandi ground, 4 inch blade made of supersteel. You can get by with just about any knife, it may not be comfortable or efficient, but it can be done
 
pinnah said:
Different people camp in different ways. The more you can say about what your normal camping activities, the better the collective can give advice.

Some of my personal opinions, that might not help you...

For wood crafting such as making feather sticks, shavings and general wood working, I think there is really nothing that surpasses the Mora Companion. The handle on the Companion is simply the best in every possible wood working hand hold. The blade is not too long and tip is fine enough to detail work and drilling while not being as frail a full clip point. I personally prefer my Companion convexed, but the Scandi grind is excellent for wood working. I don't like the Moras for food prep. They don't slice very well. They slice better when convexed. When convexed, the Mora does a great job splitting kindling, although the 4" length is a limitation.

For cleaning fish and game, I have a slight preference for a hollow grind, like on my Bucks. But I find my hollow to be the worst slicers, as the shoulder of the grind hangs up in foods like potatoes. They are also the worst at splitting wood and I find aren't the best at making shavings.

My favorite camp knife is an old Schrade H-15. It has a thin, convexed sabre grind. I find this grind gives a great overal balance of what I want in a camp knife. It makes shavings and splits almost as well as the Mora. It handles fish and meat just fine. And because of the thin stock, it's a great slicer. The H-15 is 5" long, which I prefer for food prep. It's not too much to handle for wood working tasks.

Schrade H-15 by Pinnah, on Flickr

The Schrade 147 is also readily available on the used market and its just a bit smaller and might be better suited for smaller/normal hands. I have XL hands.

If I were forced to replace my H-15s, I would look for something with a full flat grind. I don't know of any production makers who use the convexed sabre grind that Schrade used back in the day.
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Very detailed and well thought out post! Thanks for taking the time pinnah.

As for camp tasks, minor food prep, cutting cord for shelter, aharpening sticks for cooking/ tent stakes, very light duty wood processing(if i need to split wood, ill just grab a hatchet), maybe processing some fish if theres a lake nearby(though thats unlikely as i dont bring my fishing pole around much anymore)

Your h15 looks like a well loved friend by the way:thumbup: i juat looked up the schrade 147 and it looks pretty good too, if a bit big
 
If you're drawn to a Mora but want more style look to other Scandi knives. Norwegians tend to be more elegant, Swedish utilitarian, and the Finns in between. I have a beautiful Helle Eggen that's my #1 carry when out and about on my property. It's strong enough to take light baton work for kindling. Very easy to sharpen too.

Check out Ragweed Forge.
 
fishcakes said:
That gec h10 looks real good. I also love gecs 1095, so thatd probably work pretty well for me, even if a bit larger than id like.
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Take a look at the Hess Caper. It's 6.5" overall and GEC makes their blades, so if you like GEC's 1095 that's what you're getting with a Hess knife. Also, they're a fair bit cheaper than the GEC models and better put together, in my humble opinion.
 
The Hess Bird and Trout is very handy and a great fixed blade on the smaller side with lots of handle options. Also the Buck 102 "Woodsman" in cocobolo. Then there's my favorite "walking around" fixed blade, the AG Russell "Woods Walker", great knife that packs a "punch" in a small package. Price is good too!
 
Cory Hess said:
Take a look at the Hess Caper. It's 6.5" overall and GEC makes their blades, so if you like GEC's 1095 that's what you're getting with a Hess knife. Also, they're a fair bit cheaper than the GEC models and better put together, in my humble opinion.
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Very much agree :cool:

Here's the Hess Caper in Maple Burl

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That's a beauty, Will. I was at Hess Knifeworks yesterday and they're no longer making the caper in burl woods. I hopped on today and ordered one of the last ones I know of that was still available online. You've got a treasure there, and one that will be very difficult to find in very short order.
 
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