Neck Knives: I'm torn between a few. Help!

fulloflead

fulloflead

Joined
May 3, 2002
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I recently spent a vacation in Alaska where I found that a cheap CRKT Ryan Plan B neck knife was as handy as H*E*L*L*. It was great when I was wearing a lot of rain gear and couldn't get to my pockets or belt knife easily. I wore it outside my rain gear and could get to it easily and it was great. I wore it all over the place outside my clothes and REALLY got to know how useful a neck knife can be.

Now, I really want a nicer neck knife to wear at home more often. Besides, the Ryan is a little heavy and a little large for me to conceal under my shirt. There's a few I'm interested in, but I'm torn between a few. Help me out in deciding, please:

Spyderco Spot: I love SC but I'm not crazy about the blade shape and the thinness of the metal around the finger hole. I like the small size though.

Emerson La Griffe: Looks nice and tough and a great size but I don't care for chisel grind or the hooked blade so much.

MOD Scorpion: I like the double edge and belly of the main edge but it looks a little long for a short, fat guy like me to conceal beneith my shirt without printing.

Benchmade Tether: Big fan of BM. I love the geometry of the plain-edge version, but again, it seems a little long.

Microtech Medallion: BIG fan of MT. Don't know much about this one.

Busse Assault Shaker: Expensive, heavy and a bit thick for good slicing for utility use. Good quality I assume.

Fallkniven WM: I like this brand, but it seems long, thick and I don't care for rubber handles so much.

I'm considering all of these about equally and I can get over the shortcomings of each of them if they come highly recommended. I'm not interested in the cheaper ones from SOG, CRKT, Cold Steel, S&W, etc.

I'm leaning toward the La Griffe and MOD.

Please give your input and please limit your reply to these knives because I've already researched the forum and narrowed my search to these 7.

I'll be using it for mostly utility use and potentially defense.
I'm concerned about the thick ones' cutting performance.
I also consider weight, printing under the shirt of a short, fat person and rust resistance.
I insist on a safe break-away beaded chain.

What's your opinion?
 
from AG Russell. I have the cheapie version in 420HC but they'll carry the same so I'll give you my two cents for free. Very thin. You'll hardly notice it, even though it is close to 7". Blade shape is very utilitarian and so long as you don't have a pair of hamhocks you call hands it offers a pretty secure grip. Mr. Ralph knew what he was doing with those cutouts. They're not just decoration. Add a lanyard and it gets even better. Or you could wait till the Becker neck knife hits the streets:D

Frank
 
I have had the pleasure of trying my hand on the WM1. The blade I tried was a BT coated VG10 Thermorun handled. It is very strong as the whole blade is convex ground. In my hot and humid tropical climate the blade works and the coating does wonders to keep rust of the blade from the mineral from sweat. I find the size just minimal for my medium sized hand. The neck sheath is quite thick kydex and comes with ball chain necklace. Give it a try.
 
My Busse AS is a real favorite, but I don't think it fits your requirements. For a little knife, it's a bulldozer, and not a slicer, and not so easily concealable, either. Top quality, comfortable to hold, great for breaking into things.

The MT Medallion might be your knife. The handle was just too short for me to hold securely, but the blade was a delight and the entire knife is strong and sharp. You will probably join every other Medallion owner in wondering what ever possessed them to put such a beautiful knife in such a freaky sheath. Get a minimal neck sheath made and it's a real winner.

The WM1 might surprise you with its quality and utility, but it probably is too bulky for what you want.

La Griffe. Get one anyway, whichever other knife you decide on. You will find so many times that its compact, concealable size, razor edge (easy to maintain) and totally secure, comfortable grip make it a knife you will wear -- like, why not? It's hardly even there, until you need it.

- ------ ---- ------ - - ------ ---- ------ - - ------ ---- ------ -

I am big fan of neck knives, and have a couple of hooks with my constantly rotated collection hanging from them. You don't need to hear about knives that aren't on your list but ...

After you decide what you want, take a look also at the new Simonich Bitteroot -- it is cheap, it is tiny, it is very secure and comfortable to grip, extremely strong and sharp, and comes with a neck chain AND a keychain. Mine is S30V but I understand Bladeart has it in Talonite.

I also really, really like my Carson F4 -- NOT the CRKT, but the (much more expensive) S30V custom. Check out the CRKT anyway.

Along with La Griffe, these two may be good choices for small backup utilities.
 
I too am a big fan of neckers and have owned a full range of them from productions to customs. I've owned a few of what you're considering and would really recommend spending a little more and going for a custom or at least a mid-tech like the Bitter-root. I've had a couple of Simonichs and they're really outstanding. The only other one I'd really recommend is going for a Perrin La Griffe instead of the Emerson La Griffe, I think (based on my likes/dislikes) that you're better off with a handle of somekind, G10, micarta or carbon fiber and if you watch the for sale/trade forums you should be able to pick one up for no more than $120-$140.
 
I favor the Benchmade TK-1 Tether Knife. It's nice and light so it's not a burden around the neck. The knife feels secure in its sheath, though there is a tiny bit of play. (It's a very small amount, but I noticed it only because I was hoping for *none at all*. I'm picky. For none at all, try the Timberline Mini Pit-bull, which is perfect in its sheath, but a little heavy for neck carry.)

The TK-1 is relatively pricey for what it is -- a small, light knife of minimalist dimensions, materials, and structure. Really it's almost like carrying a fixed-blade box cutter with a handsome shape. The blade is short and very thin (mine has a wicked sharp edge now). When it's in your hand, it feels almost like it's not. That's something to like about a neck knife. I would not consider the TK-1 much of a defensive knife, though. A last-ditch defensive knife, perhaps, but then anything can be that, even a Ladybug. :p

I still think that the 440C TK-1 is worth having, and carrying, even if $70 or so seems steep.

---Jeffrey

P.S. I also occasionally carry a Cold Steel Spike, which is a really sturdy flat-ground, very triangular cross-section neck knife. Secure in its sheath, a little long, a little heavy, but boy you know you can depend on it going through stuff!
 
I really have to advocate the Arclite in D2. I also used the 420HC version on several camping/kayak trips, after cord-wrapping the handle. It is veryt comfortable and very efficiant, but the steel was lame. Get it in D2 and you have a very useful, light knife that barely prints at all in a great steel for a relatively cheap price. I think it is the most utilitarian of the knives you've listed (the WM is great too but the handles are much thicker).
 
can't comment on the rest but I had a eki la griffe and I couldn't cut butter with it even if my life depended on it. And thats after I sharpen it to a thinner profile
 
I've got an Arclite in D2, it performs just fine but doesn't carry well for me. I'm only 5'7" with a short torso, so I prefer to carry the smallest neck knife I can find. I haven't found it yet, although the SPOT or the Tether may just fit the bill. Of those you've listed I would choose one of those, maybe leaning a bit towards the Tether because of the more utilitarian blade shape. I also really like the size of the Camillus Mini-Talon, but it's way out of my price range and frankly I prefer steel to Talonite.
 
Out of the mentioned knives I have FALLKNIVEN WM1, BENCHMADE TK1 Tether, SPYDERCO S.P.O.T. (in fact two – one serrated edged and Micarta handled VG-10 and another plain edged plain handled AUS-6). I have also some personal experience with Emerson LaGriffe, the friend of mine has one and I had some opportunities to play with it. This one is the very last knife I would use for anything – so obtuse single-sided grind and thick edge are simply useless for any kind of cutting.

Among the rest – hmm, this is pretty hard question...

Going outdoors I definitely would choose FALLKNIVEN WM1 because it has the most comfortable handle and the longest blade – excellent for utility tasks. However it is certainly onto bulky side for discreet urban carry. Note – the cord it hangs around the neck doesn’t have any safety device and is thick more than enough even to hang anyone, not only to choke. I would advise to replace it with breakable ball-chain.

SPYDERCO SPOT is just right for urban convenient carry, it is flat and theoretically shouldn’t print through the plain T-shirt. However in fact it does because of quite angular shape. It handles very (but really very!) securely and this provide applying a lot of cutting or rather ripping power. If the hard ripping is required (self-defense or emergency situation) I definitely would like to have this knife in my hand over each other mentioned one.

BENCHMADE Tether is adequately comfortable to handle and to apply cutting effort (although not as good as WM1 in this matter). Due to pretty smooth shape and right dimensions it is pretty comfortable and discreet to carry. Acceptably good cutting power as well although not as good as in case of nor SPOT neither WM1. On the other hand, it cuts way more accurately than SPOT.

So my conclusion is – the Tether is the best way balanced knife among mentioned and this makes it the most versatile and useful. As to ideal knife – no one neck knife is ideal because of its size.
 
Sergiusz Mitin,

I would suggest a look at Rob Simonich´s Crowfoot. A 3.125 inch blade of S30V. I’ve been carrying one for 6 months now and am more than pleased with the performance. The flat grind take a keen edge, and holds it well.
My major bitch with many neckers is the fact that many of them do not have enough grips for more than two fingers. I have large hands and can easily grasp the Crowfoot with four fingers. It is light in weight so you don’t notice carrying it all day.


Good luck, let us know what you decide.



Steve
 
You don't mention how much you are willing to pay, but I am going to suggest having a custom neck knife made. Custom neck knives are generally pretty inexpensive, compared with the regular knives made by these custom makers. You could have a nice slim, skeleton handled BG42 neck knife made for probably $100-150.
 
Big neck-knife fan here. Of the production blades, I like the LaGriffe as a daily wearer. The Simonich Bitterroot is a tiny razor sharp two finger blade and well designed minimalist sheath. I like the Fallkniven WM-1, but the handle is too thick to conceal under a shirt. The MicroTech has a nice handle, but the sheath is poorly designed. The Camillus ARClite is probably a best buy and if Camillus (Will you paying attention here) would do it in a better material (Talonite) I would have a new daily wearer. CRKT's version of the F-4 is a great knife too and again, a better blade material would do wonders for the line.
Of the customs, I like Tom Mayo's Talonite necker, Kit Carson's Talonite F-4 is awesome! Rick Hinderer is doing a wonderful necker in Talonite, The Bitterroot again in Talonite is underpriced and a great design for a minimalist blade. Frontsight makes a nice looking necker, but she does not make it in Talonite yet, so I am on hold there.
 
If you want some thing REALLY light... A Cold Steel Bird & Trout is about as minimal as you can get yet it is fabulous for fine work. ...And heck, for $15 you can always just use it as a tacital letter opener if it doesn't do what you want. I bought one and liked it so much I got a second.
 
Among the knives you listed, the La Griffe would be my favorite with the Medallion coming in at a distant second.
 
How dare you ask for us not to make other suggestions ;)


Of the mentioned knives I would go with the Medallion or Scorpion and have a new sheath made for it. Or the Tether.

IMO the Spyderco blade is too funky for heavy utility use. The Emerson is chisel edged and hawkbills are relatively limiting.

The Fallkniven is a nice knife but a little heavy IMO for neck carry and I also don't like the rubber handle. I had one of the Micarta ones and it was just too highly polished and even heavier.

Most of the production neckers leave a lot to be desired in the sheath department because a neck sheath is something that is difficult to mass produce, they really should be fitted and tweaked to be functional. The MOD and MT neck sheath are two of the worst I have ever seen.

I will echo the sentiments of others and say that for very little more money you can go custom.

The beauty of the neck knife is that it gives everyone a chance to buy a custom knife at near production prices. I am a huge fan of neck knives and wear them almost everywhere but at my regular job. I use them for everything from utility cutting to kitchen duty. When I liquidated all of my custom pieces the only ones I kept were neck sized fixed blades and I have 5 of them which all see frequent use, all are custom and the most expensive of which was $135.

Dozier straight personal
Dozier Razorback
Allen Blade Talonite Tadpole
Allen Blade Talonite Chipmonk
Kurt Meerdink Cahill's Gold

Good luck choosing!

PS: Look at Bladeart's clearance page at the Webb & Fishers, they look like they'd be great knives and for the price you could have a neck sheath made and still be around $100.
 
I have the Arclite in 420HC, it has served me well so far. Like the shape and weight. It isn't the best steel but it holds a decent edge, is easyt to touch up and hasn't had any rust problems. I want one in D2 but given the weather here in Georgia in the summer I would be concered about sweat and it rusting badly. Do not know if that would be a problem for you or not. I like the La Griffe but good luck getting one. I have had one on order for some time.
 
I'm going to echo Danbo's advice and say go custom. I have a little wharncliff bladed knife from Craig Camerer that is similar to the crowfoot. It's a sweet little cutter and decently priced too.
As far as production goes... I have a 420HC Arclite which hardly ever sees any use, but I do appreciate it's small size and ergonomics. I am also waiting for and will most likely purchase, the Becker necker or BK-11. It's purt near impossible to go wrong with a Becker.
One useful thing about neckers... since they are so small, the number of options for carry are numerous. You can probably get a kydex sheath system set up with a mini-teclock. You can spend hours changing things around and seeing where it works best. Or, you can take the teclock off and attach a chain/cord and voila, a neck knife!
 
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