Looking for a VERY specific knife... up to the challenge?

A

Azraell

Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
214
I just learned that sand inside a folder is no fun to clean out. At all. So, I figure my next sea-and-sand knife be a fixed blade. Yes, I recognize many folding models are made specifically to keep sand and grime out of the pivot, but there is a simple, easy maintenance solution out there that I would worry much less about, for sure. ;)

Anyways, in looking for my next sea knife, I'm searching for the following features:
1) Small. When I say small, I refer to 5" overall length or less. Less is preferred, naturally. I would also want at least 1.5" of exposed cutting surface.
2) Grippy. I'm extremely fond of skeleton handles with ring grips like the La Griffe and HAK. They are painfully efficient in terms of function and ergonomics, offering good retention with little length.
3) Middleweight performance. I don't want to baby it, but I probably won't pry things with it. Though, the extra security of a heavyweight knife is very appealing. If they made a slightly smaller Izula with a ring grip, I'd buy 3. Those things are amazing.
4) Not hollow ground. I'm insecure about hollow ground blades no matter how good the steel and heat treatment are.
5) CORROSION RESISTANT. Probably my most important modifier. This knife will be doused in salt water whenever I'm at the beach just because it'll be worn on me at all times. It should also be unaffected by sand. Since I'll have this knife clipped to me, I also desire a...
6) Good sheath. I can make my own sheaths, but it's a plus to have one pre-made that holds the knife without worry. I prefer something more than just friction fit, but it's not a dealbreaker if it is.
7) Not combo edged. Pure plain is preferred, but pure serrated is also good (though a pain to sharpen). If the knife comes in both flavors, I'll end up buying both.
8) Not a bank-breaker! I like Hideaway knives a lot, and titanium is pretty rust resistant. Yet, $189 is a bit much. Nice knife, just not that nice.

My knife is really for the beach more than anything. It'll be cutting up sandwiches and opening packages of sorts. I'll also end up EDCing it alongside a painfully useful SAK Cadet.

So any suggestions are very welcome!
 
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This had about a 3 1/2 inch blade on it. I've got one at home, a prototype. I'll dig it out and see what it's called.
 
Azraell said:
I just learned that sand inside a folder is no fun to clean out. At all. So, I figure my next sea-and-sand knife be a fixed blade. Yes, I recognize many folding models are made specifically to keep sand and grime out of the pivot, but there is a simple, easy maintenance solution out there that I would worry much less about, for sure. ;)

Anyways, in looking for my next sea knife, I'm searching for the following features:
1) Small. When I say small, I refer to 5" overall length or less. Less is preferred, naturally. I would also want at least 1.5" of exposed cutting surface.
2) Grippy. I'm extremely fond of skeleton handles with ring grips like the La Griffe and HAK. They are painfully efficient in terms of function and ergonomics, offering good retention with little length.
3) Middleweight performance. I don't want to baby it, but I probably won't pry things with it. Though, the extra security of a heavyweight knife is very appealing. If they made a slightly smaller Izula with a ring grip, I'd buy 3. Those things are amazing.
4) Not hollow ground. I'm insecure about hollow ground blades no matter how good the steel and heat treatment are.
5) CORROSION RESISTANT. Probably my most important modifier. This knife will be doused in salt water whenever I'm at the beach just because it'll be worn on me at all times. It should also be unaffected by sand. Since I'll have this knife clipped to me, I also desire a...
6) Good sheath. I can make my own sheaths, but it's a plus to have one pre-made that holds the knife without worry. I prefer something more than just friction fit, but it's not a dealbreaker if it is.
7) Not combo edged. Pure plain is preferred, but pure serrated is also good (though a pain to sharpen). If the knife comes in both flavors, I'll end up buying both.
8) Not a bank-breaker! I like Hideaway knives a lot, and titanium is pretty rust resistant. Yet, $189 is a bit much. Nice knife, just not that nice.

My knife is really for the beach more than anything. It'll be cutting up sandwiches and opening packages of sorts. I'll also end up EDCing it alongside a painfully useful SAK Cadet.

So any suggestions are very welcome!
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karambits are awesome for water blades. I used my Kabar 5 inch underwater for a good long time, held up like a champ.
 
bladefoolish said:
It's called the River Rescue Knife. Google and you can see what it looks like.
Click to expand...

Oh, you meant 3.5 inches blade length. I was going after a 5" OAL knife, actually. :D

PayetteRucker said:
karambits are awesome for water blades. I used my Kabar 5 inch underwater for a good long time, held up like a champ.
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I actually have a black-coated civilian KABAR that I use as a camp knife. Still, it's about 4-5 inches too large for my needs this time around. :(
A fixed bladed mini-karambit would be interesting to see. I get the feeling that none would meet the length restriction, however.
 
It may be tough to find a knife that small with what you want. The Benchmade 100SH20 with their optional Tek-Lok sheath seems to be the closest to what you want. However, it seems to only come in combo edge. You might want to look at the Spyderco salt series which has some fixed blades, like the Caspian Salt, Aqua Salt, and Jumpmaster. The salt series is made of H1 which is very corrosion resistant. However, the salt series seems to be all hollow ground. However, you maybe able to get a Tom Krein reground to make it flat ground. I saw pics of a reground (Pacific?) Salt by Krein.
 
Not sure about the grinds, but Crawford knives makes a whole line of neck-type knives, IIRC including one with a ring.
 
I strongly recommend looking into Spyderco's H1 series of knives. H1 is a remarkable steel. It is rust-proof (which has been thoroughly tested and proven) and has a work-hardened edge (with constant use, the edge becomes harder and requires less sharpening). The Salt knives by Spyderco are very light weight, ergonomic, easy to clean and are relatively cheap. They also come in PE or SE, hawkbills and sheepfoot blades. Essentially, you have a wide variety of quality knives to choose from.
 
I am also going to suggest something from the Spyderco Salt series. H1 won't rust.
 
Fubarski said:
Not sure about the grinds, but Crawford knives makes a whole line of neck-type knives, IIRC including one with a ring.
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I see the ringed one, but it's a pinky-ring rather than an index-ring grip. It's not really the ring I was looking for; it just happens to be that many ring knives are efficient and conservative with design.

I have heard a lot about the H1 series, but I'm too against a folder in the sea now. Cleaning sand is a pain, and having a pivot just means that much more can malfunction. :(
I did take a look at the H1 Ladybug (http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=399). If worse comes to worst, I'll probably pick it up. Thanks to everyone so far.

They should really make a Cadet with H1, or any traditional bodied alox SAK with a premium steel. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
 
Mantis, blackhawk, Emerson and a bunch of other renowned companies make karambits. I've even seen fully serrated fixed karambits which would be perfect for a water knife. After all most emergencies you will have underwater will be related to lines and hoses, which a karambit style blade would eat through. I bought a 20 dollar S&W folding karambit for use as my rafting knife. I ran a lanyard through the hole in the blade, when I need it I yank the loop lanyard on my rafting vest, which pulls the blade open, the pocket clip off the vest and slides the lanyard through my hand. It takes a milisecond to open and secure both around my wrist, through the ring and in my hand. A fixie would be even nicer. It's stainless surgical which of course doesn't hold an edge but sure takes a sharp one, and if needed in an emergency I'd only need it for 2-3 cuts tops anyway.
 
just for fun, I'm going to recomend the Aqualung "squeeze" dive knife, the have a small model about 5-6 in and a large model 8-9 in, can be had is 304s.s. and titanium, with blunt tip, pointed tip and tanto. for less than $70 "IIRC"

It does not meet all of your criteria but, im just introducing different a company than what we all normally look to.

happy hunting!
 
PayetteRucker said:
Mantis, blackhawk, Emerson and a bunch of other renowned companies make karambits. I've even seen fully serrated fixed karambits which would be perfect for a water knife. After all most emergencies you will have underwater will be related to lines and hoses, which a karambit style blade would eat through. I bought a 20 dollar S&W folding karambit for use as my rafting knife. I ran a lanyard through the hole in the blade, when I need it I yank the loop lanyard on my rafting vest, which pulls the blade open, the pocket clip off the vest and slides the lanyard through my hand. It takes a milisecond to open and secure both around my wrist, through the ring and in my hand. A fixie would be even nicer. It's stainless surgical which of course doesn't hold an edge but sure takes a sharp one, and if needed in an emergency I'd only need it for 2-3 cuts tops anyway.
Click to expand...

Pretty interesting... I'll look around for a cheap SS K-bit.

thwolf said:
just for fun, I'm going to recomend the Aqualung "squeeze" dive knife, the have a small model about 5-6 in and a large model 8-9 in, can be had is 304s.s. and titanium, with blunt tip, pointed tip and tanto. for less than $70 "IIRC"
It does not meet all of your criteria but, im just introducing different a company than what we all normally look to.
happy hunting!
Click to expand...
I took a look, and wow, that's actually really nice. I couldn't find a 5" OAL, unfortunately, but these dive knives really strike me as nice. I'm especially fond of the aqua blue handles, which are both very visible in emergencies, very PC, and very cool.

Padawan said:
CRKT Dogfish:
http://www.crkt.com/Dogfish
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Very nice, and a reasonable price too. A tinge long, meaning it can't fit into my wallet, but a move in the right direction.

Just found: http://www.crkt.com/Ritter-RSK-Mk5
It's too small. There isn't enough handle retention. Very close to what I want though.
 
Supmonkeyface said:
The Spyderco Swick is 5 1/2" long, s30v is very rust resistant in my experience, it has a skeleton handle, a finger hole, and is flat ground. Here is the info at spyderco's site It almost what your looking for, maybe just a tad too long though.
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That's EXACTLY what I was looking for... except it's an inch too long. I'm specific about the length because my wallet can hold a 5" knife. It's what it was made for.
But that is one tempting knife. S30V for $40 is an outstanding deal.
 
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