Recommendation? Is this knife worth it?

Z

ZIVANOVIC

Joined
Aug 27, 2019
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Hi, everyone!

I'm a hungarian guy, so please pardon me for my grammar and other mistakes. If I break the forum rules because of new topic opening, forgive me, again.

In Hungary, the wearable knife blade lenght is maximum 8 cm (3,14 inch). A police officer can seize my knife, if it's blade length above 8 cm, so I want to choose a cool knife under that size. I also want to know, in an emergency situation (maybe I lost in the forest for a week), the knife I've picked, could save my life? I mean, it can bear the general "survival stuffs"?

My choice is this one: Böker Arbolito El Héroe (https://www.boker.de/en/el-heroe-02ba371g#98810f32975a4b5bde78a4e101914d62)

I want to use it as an EDC knife.

Type: Fixed Blade
Overall Length: 17 cm
Blade Length: 7,5 cm
Blade Thickness: 4 mm
Weight: 133 g
Designer: Péter Farkas
Blade Material: N695
Handle Material: Guayacan Wood
Lock Type: Fixed
Color: Brown
Blade Color: Uncoated
Sheath Material: Leather

I've picked this because of the size, first of all. The only thing which makes me uncertain is the handle and blade material. I think the thickness of the blade is decent, and the designer guy is also hungarian (probably he can speak english better than me). The sheath is super cool in my opinion, but I ask you for a closer inspection.

So, what do you think?

I hope you guys can understand all of my hotchpotch. :(
 
Your English and grammar is is great. I think you will get lots of people asking what your budget is and how much you are wanting to spend. To narrow it down it seems you are looking for a good all purpose fixed blade under 8cm. Is there any restriction to total length? Are folders legal? I don't have any experience with Boker specifically, but N690 is good steel and I usually like wood handles.

Depending on your budget Bark River Knives has a good selection of smaller fixed blades that are good looking and functional.
 
Yes it’s worth it if it keeps you out of trouble with the law. A knife will not keep you alive in an emergency situation no matter the size. Your survival skills will save your life. The knife is a tool to use with those skills.
 
Thanks for the answers.

Ajack60: Yes, I know, but I just want to be sure, that this knife can "do the necessary job."

The price is the top of my budget, I can't spend more than that. :D
 
Finesse beats Brute Force (and is easier on your cutting tools.) A small 2 blade Pen knife can be used to build a shelter.
(Vinnies Day Off on YouTube has a video showing him making a shelter with one.)

If your skill set is sufficent, that Böker will "do the job".
As Ajack60 Ajack60 said, no knife or tool will keep you alive in an emergency if you don't know what you're doing.
If you break your knife/tool in an emergency situation you kinda be screwed; it ain't like you can pop over to the store and buy another one. (if you could, it would not be an "emergency situation".) This is one reason I cannot understand batoning a knife. Eventually, it will break the knife. In over 60 years of using a knife, I've never beat one through a branch/log or an 8-8-16 concrete block -- nor have I ever had reason to stab some poor car, like some of the "reviwers" on YouTube think is a requirement for a "survival" or "bushcraft" knife.

Böker makes a good knife, be it from their top of the line "Tree Brand" line, or one of their discount/inexpensive lines made or assembled overseas.
Be aware that a thick blade is not the "best" for skinning that critter for your supper.
You might want to consider putting a Trapper, Moose, or Stockman, or even a Barlow in your pocket in conjunction with the fixed blade. The traditional can be used to make feather sticks, tent stakes, and clean small game.
(Also, do yourself a favor, and take a lighter (or strike anywhere wood "kitchen" matches) with you. A lighter (or matches) is a better/faster/more reliable firestarter than any flint and steel.)
 
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Here is a good video that will cheer you up on the smaller blade size.


n2s
 
Actually, I really like it and wouldn’t mind having it for myself. The only thing I would change is the handle material , and that is just personal preference. I prefer G10 or Micarta over wood. Personally, I think a knife this size could serve as a survival and edc blade.
 
After having a blind horse drover for coming up on a year, I have a new respect for what a small fixed blade can do. Ideal for survival or woods use? Not really, but still very capable. Capable enough that I ordered something with a better blade shape from a custom maker, after trying a few other designs.

I've always had good luck with boker products, but some can get up there in price for what you get. I believe their Arbolito series is top knotch, but I've never used one myself as I like the value of the boker plus line.

Some pictures:
Blind horse drover (no longer available). I think this is a 7cm blade
JQOWQ4hl.jpg

Xj6DPshl.jpg


I had a CRKT hunt N' Fisch that I really liked the design of, but the steel wasn't great.

This is what I carry now, an element hunter from JK knives on the forum, made in S30V and a straight back instead of the standard drop point. It's pretty similar to a 3" puukko blade shape and grind.
sYMw4uWl.jpg


If I was concerned about survival, I would choose a different steel than S30V just for reliability and field serviceability considerations. The N695 on that boker should be better in that regard. S30V can be a bit brittle for a lot of abuse and it's abrasion resistance makes it harder to maintain without proper equipment, which I'll assume is less available when in a bad situation.

Something else to consider, the sheath on that boker looks really nice too, and something that needs consideration. I honestly think that would make a nice knife, and now I kind of want one to try :)

Depending on your price, there are a few good makers on the forums from the East (central?) European area. @wajgy @TRUSOPPS @jelio and @Jamall are some I've used that I think are in the general part of the world as you. Slovakia or Slevnia comes to mind, maybe Romania, but I think one was from Hungary, though I may be thinking of someone else. In a general sense, @wajgy makes really cool stuff with leather handles, @TRUSOPPS and @Jamall make kind of bushcraft and tactical types of knives, and @jelio makes some of the nicest puukkos you can find, all of which would be fantastic for daily use and help get you through a bad situation.
 
Do you have large hands? The handle seems to be on the small side. A larger handle will give better grip hence will give you more cutting force. Some knives with a 77mm blade go up to 200mm total length. That's 30mm more grip.
 
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