Looking for a New Neck Knife - Hartsook vs. Carson F4

P

pinetree

Joined
Jun 24, 2005
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I have a Becker Necker. Great knife, but i wear mine on my belt. I want a small neck knife. I am interested in the Buck Hartsook vs the CRKT Carson F4. The Hartsook is a neat looking design. The F4 looks more useful but may be a little big.

What do you guys think?


Thanks,
tjg
 
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I personally would try the hartshook,i have the f4 and the steel is something like 420j if i remember right.i also think it's a bit heavy for neck wear,but that is a personal opinion.the choice of steel alone would guide my decision on this,but the hartshook wasn't available when i bought the f4.
 
The CRKT is a much better design, but I don't care for the steel used. I have one of Kit's custom F4s, so I have no need for the CRKT version.

Given your choices, I'd get the Buck Hartsook.
 
Another option:

You can still buy a USA made Camillus Arclite for about 20 bucks.

Yes, it's bigger than either the F4 or the Hartsook, but much
lighter than the Becker. The 420HC sharpens up nicely
and the knife feels good in the hand. (It is a D. Ralph design.)
Another thing is that it has a very slim carry profile.

I've not handled either the Buck or the CRKT, but I have a few of
the Arclites. All fit really well into their sheaths. The grinds were good too.
 
Also, and I think this is worth a separate post, I think the best
production neck knife - for SD, anyway - is the Emerson LaGriffe.

TOPS makes some nice ones too that are more general purpose.
 
I would go with the Hartsook. I love mine and slip it my back pocket everywhere I go. a note of caution: wrap the sheath with Duct tape to make it nice and snug.
 
mmmotorcycle said:
I would go with the Hartsook. I love mine and slip it my back pocket everywhere I go. a note of caution: wrap the sheath with Duct tape to make it nice and snug.
Click to expand...

Every post I've read about the Hartsook here seems to relate
to some issue with the sheath. Or at least the fit of the knife
into the sheath.

So I'm a little leery of it.

Of course, there could be plenty of Hartsooks that fit fine into
their sheaths, and no one's posted about them.
 
I'll advise against the Carson F4. I have one, and I've found the steel to be undesirable. Also, for a knife that small, I don't find the serrations to be useful (not sure if they make a non-serrated version). The sheath is thicker than necessary for a neck knife, owing to the fact that it has a built-in slot for the pocket clip (for belt carry). This feature is nice, but it bulks the sheath up more than I care for.

I would prefer a thinner sheath, and a wider, non-serrated blade.

That being said, the Carson F4 has found its way into my fishing gear, where it sees regular use. I have no complaints about its performance in line cutting activities.

All the best,

- Mike
 
I want a hartsook but have already bought 2 knives this week. The Buck seems like more of a real neck knife , as in small enough to wear comfortably around your neck. S30V vs 420j is no contest. Some people find the Hartsook small but I like that. If the sheath is as sucky as everyone says I would get a custom from On Scene. I got a custom sheath for my CRKT Sting and it makes for a much much better setup than the stock setup.
 
Just picked up a Spyderco Swick. An awesome little wharncliff blade and comes nice and sharp. I've read a couple of posts from others that had issues with the sheath being a bit loose. Mine was as well, so I put the heat gun to it and tightened it up. Other than that its been great.
 
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