- Joined
- Aug 9, 2006
- Messages
- 718
Neck knives, as the name suggests, are knives that are housed in sheaths intended to be hung around the neck, generally to the users front. Some are suspended tip down and some tip up.
While I dont have a strong interest in them as a category, I have a few and thought I would share some opinions and experiences.
The first neck knife I acquired was a Randall King Snitch. Not a nice name for a knife in my opinion. At the time I purchased the knife I was doing a lot of day sailing, and living in a hot tropical climate, mostly dressed in board shorts or swim shorts with a lightweight sun shirt no belt or secure pockets and the Snitch was a handy way of carrying a sharp blade. I usually wore it under the sun shirt where it went unnoticed by others.
Despite my dislike of the name the Snitch worked well for me. The sheath is kydex and holds the knife, tip up, very securely while still allowing quick one hand access. For a small blade it handles well. The ATS-34 blade was hair popping sharp as delivered and it was easy to maintain a good edge on this knife. The only problem I experienced was its tendency to corrode after only a day on the water. A small neck knife is not a good candidate to keep oiled or greased. Eventually I replaced it with a Spyderco Salt 1 folder it sits in the waistband of swim shorts unnoticed and is immune to corrosion.
The next necker was a Buck Mayo Kaala the S30V blade was a big attraction as I hold the steel in high regard. At just under 7 inches it pushes the limit of the neck knife concept for me. Like most Bucks this knife was delivered sharp and touches up well. It is the only neck knife I have owned that came with a chain designed to break away if snagged. This is a good safety feature as a solid cord around the neck can present some risks the trade off is that an easily broken chain could lead to a lost knife in some circumstances. Due to its size and blade steel, this knife doesnt trade off much in performance and can do what most belt knives can do. The weak point for this knife in my opinion is the sheath mine does not secure the knife well and I have been reluctant to carry this knife suspended tip up for fear of losing it. At some stage I will probably put some timber scales on it and find a belt sheath. Buck should offer this knife with a decent, secure kydex sheath to do justice to their excellent blade.
Later on I picked up a Becker 11 I included it here only because it is described as a necker. For me it is too big for this carry method. Im sure some will disagree but its size is too distracting hanging from the neck. When I carry the Becker I attach it to the belt horizontally with paracord. The Becker sheath, though basic, allows may carry options.
The most recent acquisition is a Buck Hartsook this one also comes in S30V but is much smaller than the Kaala. It uses a similar retention mechanism to the Kaala but seems a lot more secure. The Hartsook is the fiddliest knife to re-sheath and overall the least appealing to me. Although it is about the same LOA as the Snitch, it feels less secure in the hand and is not as comfortable. The Hartsook is a thin blade and this seems to make some sense given its length but the thin spine is noticeable when you apply any downward pressure on the blade. I like the look of the Hartsook, and as much as I want to avoid criticising a small knife because it is small, I think the Hartsook needs to double in length and thicken up a bit. If so, in S30V it would be a formidable knife.
corrosion evident on the grip
the Hartsook and Snitch are similar in length
the security on the Kaala could be better
Overall I was most impressed with the Snitch. The combination of good sheath design and excellent small knife ergonomics did it for me. The corrosion didnt suit the primary use I had for it at the time interestingly I have not had this problem with other ATS-34 knives, but unlike the matte finished Snitch, the others are highly polished. I dont know if the Snitch is still in production. The Bucks come in excellent steel - the Kaala is let down by its sheath and the Hartsook just doesnt work for me as a small knife. The Becker is a great knife in its own right and has the most versatile sheath but to me its a belt knife.
While I dont have a strong interest in them as a category, I have a few and thought I would share some opinions and experiences.
The first neck knife I acquired was a Randall King Snitch. Not a nice name for a knife in my opinion. At the time I purchased the knife I was doing a lot of day sailing, and living in a hot tropical climate, mostly dressed in board shorts or swim shorts with a lightweight sun shirt no belt or secure pockets and the Snitch was a handy way of carrying a sharp blade. I usually wore it under the sun shirt where it went unnoticed by others.
Despite my dislike of the name the Snitch worked well for me. The sheath is kydex and holds the knife, tip up, very securely while still allowing quick one hand access. For a small blade it handles well. The ATS-34 blade was hair popping sharp as delivered and it was easy to maintain a good edge on this knife. The only problem I experienced was its tendency to corrode after only a day on the water. A small neck knife is not a good candidate to keep oiled or greased. Eventually I replaced it with a Spyderco Salt 1 folder it sits in the waistband of swim shorts unnoticed and is immune to corrosion.
The next necker was a Buck Mayo Kaala the S30V blade was a big attraction as I hold the steel in high regard. At just under 7 inches it pushes the limit of the neck knife concept for me. Like most Bucks this knife was delivered sharp and touches up well. It is the only neck knife I have owned that came with a chain designed to break away if snagged. This is a good safety feature as a solid cord around the neck can present some risks the trade off is that an easily broken chain could lead to a lost knife in some circumstances. Due to its size and blade steel, this knife doesnt trade off much in performance and can do what most belt knives can do. The weak point for this knife in my opinion is the sheath mine does not secure the knife well and I have been reluctant to carry this knife suspended tip up for fear of losing it. At some stage I will probably put some timber scales on it and find a belt sheath. Buck should offer this knife with a decent, secure kydex sheath to do justice to their excellent blade.
Later on I picked up a Becker 11 I included it here only because it is described as a necker. For me it is too big for this carry method. Im sure some will disagree but its size is too distracting hanging from the neck. When I carry the Becker I attach it to the belt horizontally with paracord. The Becker sheath, though basic, allows may carry options.
The most recent acquisition is a Buck Hartsook this one also comes in S30V but is much smaller than the Kaala. It uses a similar retention mechanism to the Kaala but seems a lot more secure. The Hartsook is the fiddliest knife to re-sheath and overall the least appealing to me. Although it is about the same LOA as the Snitch, it feels less secure in the hand and is not as comfortable. The Hartsook is a thin blade and this seems to make some sense given its length but the thin spine is noticeable when you apply any downward pressure on the blade. I like the look of the Hartsook, and as much as I want to avoid criticising a small knife because it is small, I think the Hartsook needs to double in length and thicken up a bit. If so, in S30V it would be a formidable knife.
corrosion evident on the grip
the Hartsook and Snitch are similar in length
the security on the Kaala could be better
Overall I was most impressed with the Snitch. The combination of good sheath design and excellent small knife ergonomics did it for me. The corrosion didnt suit the primary use I had for it at the time interestingly I have not had this problem with other ATS-34 knives, but unlike the matte finished Snitch, the others are highly polished. I dont know if the Snitch is still in production. The Bucks come in excellent steel - the Kaala is let down by its sheath and the Hartsook just doesnt work for me as a small knife. The Becker is a great knife in its own right and has the most versatile sheath but to me its a belt knife.
