Is there a blade out there like this?

Shotgun

Shotgun

Joined
Feb 3, 2006
Messages
8,250
I was wondering if there's a production blade out there with the features below. Seems that the prevalent thing that I need a blade for is splitting wood and food prep. Right now I'm using a scrapyard 711 but it generally stays home most of the time due to it's weight(14.5oz + 5oz sheath) so I'm looking for a light splitter of about the same size. So what I want is:

New production, don't care for used blades.
6-8 inch blade
full tang
wood handles
sub 1/8" thick
carbon steel
straight spine
Machete like temper. I don't need it to hold it's edge forever and will trade edge holding for strength.
And I'd like it to be somewhat nice but under $100

Really something like condors eco-survivor with a straight spine, wood handles and a shorter blade is what I'm looking at. If I can't find it my options are:

to cut down a machete which I don't have the tools for.
OR
to go custom which doesn't interest me because every custom knife, but one, I've bought has been disappointing.
 
I was thinking something from Old Hickory as well. Don't hold an edge forever by any means, but man they are tough. For the weight, and well under the price, of what most of us carry, you could take an entire set of OH's to the woods.
I have used my 14" butcher knife as a machete, chopped wood, and tried to hurt it. It's not as tough as their machete's but it has taken very little edge deformation through it all.
 
fmajor007 said:
You know, for your criteria i wonder if something like this

http://www.baryonyxknife.com/hudsonbayknife.html

or possibly an old-hickory-butcher-knife-7-inch-carbon would serve your needs?

I realized the Hudson Bay knife is 3/16", but it's still seems like it would not be too hefty and otherwise meets your needs.....
Click to expand...

Thanks but I'm looking for something light. The 711 is the lightest blade in that category that I have found so that's why I'm leaning toward a thin machete. I may eventually try an old hickory if I can't find what I'm looking for. The blade shape just isn't right on them. I really want a blade shape more of what is in the vid in this thread. Cool vid too by the way. :D Keep the suggestions coming.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1040864-Inexpensive-flippers?goto=nextoldest
 
The first maker I thought of was David Farmer. I know you aren't happy with your custom purchases, but David is a great maker and very competitive in regards to pricing.
 
Brian Andrews said:
It sounds like you are looking for a Stromeng Leuku. They are thin like you are asking, come in 5, 7, 8, and 9 inch lengths. Are about the right price. Have a wood handle, and the full tang is peened at the brass pommel.

There is an old BF thread on them as well:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ust-In-Stromeng-8-in-Leuku?highlight=stromeng

B
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that Leuku's were stick tang. Is that not the case? The other problem is for kitchen work I really don't like scandis. At least not on anything over 3/32" thick.
 
I could always take an Imacasa "daga" or spoonbill bolo and cut it down for ya'.
 
Shotgun said:
I was under the impression that Leuku's were stick tang.
Click to expand...

It might just be a definition thing, but full tang (to me) means that the tang goes all the way through to the pommel and you can either see it sticking out of the pommel (as the case here) or is fastened to the pommel internally. Full meaning it goes fully through the handle (unlike something like a mora where it is a partial stick tang).

A tang can be reduced, and still go full through the handle, as the case here. I think that many are just used to generically referring to stick tang as a mora style knife.

I am assuming then by full tang, you wanted steel visible all the way around, and slab sides?

Either way, doesn't sound like it is what you were looking for. Just clarifying.

B
 
Yeah I think that "full tang" here means "full-profile tang" as opposed to "full-length tang". There's been a lot of confusion of the term in recent years.
 
Shotgun said:
I may eventually try an old hickory if I can't find what I'm looking for. The blade shape just isn't right on them. I really want a blade shape more of what is in the vid in this thread. Cool vid too by the way. :D Keep the suggestions coming.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1040864-Inexpensive-flippers?goto=nextoldest
Click to expand...


I would think the Old Hickory 7" Butcher Knife would get really darn close to the knife in that video with some very minor reshaping.

Reshaping blades is relatively easy and for the price, you can muck up a bunch of Old Hickories for cheap.

Place the knife edge down and tip pointing you in a padded vice. Draw a good, clean, sharp file towards you along the spine to shape it to your preference. Wrap the file in wet/dry paper in increasing grits to clean up the crude marks of the file.

Here is a shot of an Opinel #10 that I took down to a drop point next to a stock #8. About 2 beer's worth of time.

Opinel #10 (drop point) & Opinel #8 by Pinnah, on Flickr

I keep eyeing the Old Hickories as good project knives. Bit of sanding, staining and oiling might spruce up the handle too.
 
pinnah said:
I would think the Old Hickory 7" Butcher Knife would get really darn close to the knife in that video with some very minor reshaping.

Reshaping blades is relatively easy and for the price, you can muck up a bunch of Old Hickories for cheap.

Place the knife edge down and tip pointing you in a padded vice. Draw a good, clean, sharp file towards you along the spine to shape it to your preference. Wrap the file in wet/dry paper in increasing grits to clean up the crude marks of the file.

Here is a shot of an Opinel #10 that I took down to a drop point next to a stock #8. About 2 beer's worth of time.

Opinel #10 (drop point) & Opinel #8 by Pinnah, on Flickr

I keep eyeing the Old Hickories as good project knives. Bit of sanding, staining and oiling might spruce up the handle too.
Click to expand...

Nice work. Looks like a factory job.
 
Shotgun said:
I was under the impression that Leuku's were stick tang. Is that not the case? The other problem is for kitchen work I really don't like scandis. At least not on anything over 3/32" thick.
Click to expand...

A leuku is not a "scandi" which is the name Brituish "bushcrafters" have decided to call a single-bevel grind that they like and promote (as opposed the the grinds usually put on Nordic knives). Leuku are the traditional knife of the Sammi people who use them to butcher and chop small trees and bushes. Think of them as a small machete.

I suppose they can break, but I have never heard of one breaking. And yes, like all traditional knives and swords, they have a "stick" tang. Tough enough for battle swords but not for ???
 
Thomas Linton said:
A leuku is not a "scandi" which is the name Brituish "bushcrafters" have decided to call a single-bevel grind that they like and promote (as opposed the the grinds usually put on Nordic knives). Leuku are the traditional knife of the Sammi people who use them to butcher and chop small trees and bushes. Think of them as a small machete.
Call it what you like. I want the bevel to go farther up on the blade when dealing with >3/32" thick knives.
I suppose they can break, but I have never heard of one breaking. And yes, like all traditional knives and swords, they have a "stick" tang. Tough enough for battle swords but not for ???
Properly made that would be okay. For the price I want to spend I'd rather not risk it and just get full tang. Everyone loves the USMC Kabar but I've seen too many broken ones to go for cheaper mfg stick tangs.YMMV
Click to expand...

See above.
 
Shotgun said:
See above.
Click to expand...

OK. Forget about machetes.

The Mark II has a square tang/blade junction that is a design defect continued to the present day.

As for "cheaper," I have no idea where that comes from. Stick tangs is the way knives are traditionally made all over the world for centuries, including in the U.S. Think Randall, Loveless, and Scagel. Let me know if you find one of theirs 'cheap."

Best of luck.
 
Thanks for the kind words. But as much as I appreciate it (and I do) it's not what I was fishing for in posting it.

I was more thinking about this part of your OP..

Shotgun said:
OR
to go custom which doesn't interest me because every custom knife, but one, I've bought has been disappointing.
Click to expand...

I used to know a guy who did computer security. He once told me, "A hacker is somebody who can bend a computer to his or her will." I've always liked that.

I worked for many years as a bicycle mechanic and have seen my share of custom bikes and full blown super bikes that cost more than my car. And I've seen others with that sense of disappointment.

I've concluded there are 2 kinds of owners. Buyers and tinkerers. Tinkerers are hackers. Bending the object to their will. Hot rodder is another term I like.

Vice. File. Sand paper. Old magic marker. That's the sum total of tools I used on that Opinel. That's why I posted it. I'm a hack. Ok, that's not the first one I tweaked but it's super easy.

I was struck by how close the bottom edge profile and belly of the Old Hickory 7" was to the knife in the video. No need to do anything with that. Just bring the spine into conformance with your will. Ditto the handle. Wrapping 100 grit paper around an old magic marker (or similar household round thingy) allows for easy formation of curves.

I would think the vice and a bench to mount it on would be the biggest hurdle.

Curious, why not just go with a Condor Hudson Bay? Same thing. If the bump on the top offends you (it does me), just knock it off.

60009s_725x0.jpg
 
As someone else said, Modifying an Old Hickory is pretty easy. I turned a 6" Boning knife into a 2" carving knife a week or two ago. It was a little tricky cutting the blade down with just my belt sander, but I managed to figure out a way to do it. Once the blade was the length I wanted, shaping the blade and rounding the handle to my liking was easy.

That Condor Hudson bay, looks like another great knife to mod to your liking.
 
pinnah said:
Thanks for the kind words. But as much as I appreciate it (and I do) it's not what I was fishing for in posting it.

I was more thinking about this part of your OP..



I used to know a guy who did computer security. He once told me, "A hacker is somebody who can bend a computer to his or her will." I've always liked that.

I worked for many years as a bicycle mechanic and have seen my share of custom bikes and full blown super bikes that cost more than my car. And I've seen others with that sense of disappointment.

I've concluded there are 2 kinds of owners. Buyers and tinkerers. Tinkerers are hackers. Bending the object to their will. Hot rodder is another term I like.

Vice. File. Sand paper. Old magic marker. That's the sum total of tools I used on that Opinel. That's why I posted it. I'm a hack. Ok, that's not the first one I tweaked but it's super easy.

I was struck by how close the bottom edge profile and belly of the Old Hickory 7" was to the knife in the video. No need to do anything with that. Just bring the spine into conformance with your will. Ditto the handle. Wrapping 100 grit paper around an old magic marker (or similar household round thingy) allows for easy formation of curves.

I would think the vice and a bench to mount it on would be the biggest hurdle.

Curious, why not just go with a Condor Hudson Bay? Same thing. If the bump on the top offends you (it does me), just knock it off.

60009s_725x0.jpg
Click to expand...

No I get what you're saying. I'm just in a spot where I'm tired of fixing knives. I may do that project down the road but not at the moment. The hudson bay is cool but it's heavier than what I'm using now(it's a step down in all aspects really) and the whole point is to get a lightweight splitter. The reason for looking at a machete is because they're thin and tough. Which is what I want.
 
Thomas Linton said:
OK. Forget about machetes.

The Mark II has a square tang/blade junction that is a design defect continued to the present day.

As for "cheaper," I have no idea where that comes from. Stick tangs is the way knives are traditionally made all over the world for centuries, including in the U.S. Think Randall, Loveless, and Scagel. Let me know if you find one of theirs 'cheap."

Best of luck.
Click to expand...

LOL...I'm not sure why you're trying to talk me into something I stated outright that I didn't want. And a machete is exactly what I'm getting. :D
 
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