Need a good all purpose fixed blade and have around $150 to spend no more than 4 inch

I've been kicking the idea around about getting an ESEE 3 because I could always have it on me, and it wouldn't look that menacing once you had to show it to the authorities. There is a site where you can buy just the blade (but have to buy the handle/custom handles) and it seemed pretty reasonable for building one up with a sheath and all. I was thinking about doing one up in tan. Shoot me a PM if you want to know the dealers name.
 
Thanks all. I think I have it narrowed down to the ESEE-3, BHK Bushcrafter, and the BHK Brumby.

Any thoughts on these?

I don't like the look, but the coating on the ESEE knives is a good thing on a utility knife. The ESEE warranty is pretty awesome. The ESEE is about $50 cheaper. The BHKs have a more traditional look with what looks to be a more comfortable handle.

All knives are close enough in size.
 
Let me know what you come up with. I have the same issue. I need a blade that is primarily for cleaning game, but just tough enough to break a limb down for dry wood. My biggest concern is comfort and finding a handle large enough to fit my hands then it is the steels ability to take an edge and keep it. I can't sharpen worth a darn so I have to use a WS at home and hope the edge makes it through a few animals. I am looking at a blade in ELMAX and jsut ahve to get the design down on paper.
 
Aesthetics aside (which make me far more partial to BHK than ESEE), I wouldn't underestimate the BHK warranty either. And I'm not a fan of coatings on knives. But if I lived in a really humid, wet place, I may reconsider them. My vote would be for the Brumby - little more belly for game work than the Bushcrafter.
 
There are many custom makers in your price range. David Farmer is the first to come to mind. John Kiedaisch is also a good bet. Scott Gossman and NWA are a bit higher $, but definitely worth it. Also, I believe I read that ESEE is releasing their blades without coatings this year. Bark River is also an option.

Bushcraft knives are almost as addictive as slipjoints brother!
 
silenthunterstudios said:
There are many custom makers in your price range. David Farmer is the first to come to mind. John Kiedaisch is also a good bet. Scott Gossman and NWA are a bit higher $, but definitely worth it. Also, I believe I read that ESEE is releasing their blades without coatings this year. Bark River is also an option.

Bushcraft knives are almost as addictive as slipjoints brother!
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I sure hope not!!!! This was supposed to be a hobby cheaper than shooting, drag racing, guitar..... :o
 
RWT said:
Let me know what you come up with. I have the same issue. I need a blade that is primarily for cleaning game, but just tough enough to break a limb down for dry wood. My biggest concern is comfort and finding a handle large enough to fit my hands then it is the steels ability to take an edge and keep it. I can't sharpen worth a darn so I have to use a WS at home and hope the edge makes it through a few animals. I am looking at a blade in ELMAX and jsut ahve to get the design down on paper.
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Will do.
 
When you say "sharpen in the field"? Do you sharpen with natural stones you find in the field? Do you carry a small pocket stone with you? If the latter, there are great pocketable diamond sharpeners that will sharpen any steel in the field. Get whatever steel you like, but don't limit yourself because of sharpening issues if you're willing to carry a pocket/portable sharpener. I prefer simpler steels generally, but I wouldnt pass up a CPM 3V blade just for the sake of sharpenability.
 
me2 said:
When you say "sharpen in the field"? Do you sharpen with natural stones you find in the field? Do you carry a small pocket stone with you? If the latter, there are great pocketable diamond sharpeners that will sharpen any steel in the field. Get whatever steel you like, but don't limit yourself because of sharpening issues if you're willing to carry a pocket/portable sharpener. I prefer simpler steels generally, but I wouldnt pass up a CPM 3V blade just for the sake of sharpenability.
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I want something I can sharpen on a rock if I needed too.... though it will probably only see proper stones.
 
Becker BK-16 with the micarta would be my vote. ESEE makes a great blade too, but I've never liked the blockier scales.
I have an ESEE Izula-II that is great, and I own a Junglas that is a good chopper. The in-between knives never fit my hand as well, but everybody's mileage varies on this point.
 
Ooh, there are a wealth of options within your price range, custom and production.
Don't compromise on this one!

In my limited experience cleaning game, the edge gets sticky before it gets dull. Cleaning is necessary way more frequently than sharpening.
 
Don't forget Guy over at " Survive Knives" has a new 4.1 available now I believe. Check them out. I have one of his choppers - excellent.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Thanks all. I think I have it narrowed down to the ESEE-3, BHK Bushcrafter, and the BHK Brumby.

Any thoughts on these?

I don't like the look, but the coating on the ESEE knives is a good thing on a utility knife. The ESEE warranty is pretty awesome. The ESEE is about $50 cheaper. The BHKs have a more traditional look with what looks to be a more comfortable handle.

All knives are close enough in size.
Click to expand...

I've not handled a Brumby, but I've owned the other two.

Really liked both blades, but I sold the ESEE-3, still have the BHK Bushcrafter. BHK makes a very nice knife and the Bushcrafter is an almost perfect size for me.

The ESEE-3 might have my favorite blade shape and length of any knife, but the choil didn't do it for me. Took me a while to figure that out. Handle maybe isn't the most ergonomic, but it never bothered me. I'd get one again if I could mod it like Reuben's (bearthedog) to grind off the upper guard part to remove the choil.

Like others said, the Becker BK16 would be another good alternative and is priced low enough that you could get micarta/ G10 handles and a new sheath and still be under your budget. You can get exactly what you want that way. The handle is more contoured than the ESEE or Bushcrafter too.
 
Take a look at Swamp Rat knives. I personally prefer the Rodent 6. They are built so tough you could cut a car in half and not hurt the blade. They are easily field sharpened but will probably not need to be sharpened in the field because of the convex grind and strong edge retention. There are excellent field kits at knivesshipfree.com but you also could make one very easily and the honing can be done very quickly.
 
Here's a few comparison pictures I just took.

L to R: Fallkniven F1, Blind Horse Bushcrafter, Bark River Canadian Special, Becker BK16

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BHK and Bark River (the BHK handle is pretty much round and the Bark River is pretty squared)

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BHK and Becker (BK16 is more contoured, these are aftermarket scales and are a bit thicker than stock)

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BHK and F1 (F1 handle is thinner and somewhat tapered near the bottom)

image_zps58a5037b.jpg



Fyi the BK16 fits nicely in the BHK sheath (you can buy this separately from BHK).

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After holding them all again at once, the Becker has the most comfortable handle to me.

Lastly, I stayed away from convex blades for a long time. Now after trying them, my convex blades are the sharpest and easiest to maintain knives I own.
 
Good comparison pics. I own a BR Canadian, and have been thinking about a BHK Bushcrafter, so it's useful to see them side by side. I think the Canadian is one of the most versatile knives that BR makes.

CCMI said:
Lastly, I stayed away from convex blades for a long time. Now after trying them, my convex blades are the sharpest and easiest to maintain knives I own.
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Yup! :thumbup:
 
Thanks CCMI! Good info. I understand about the convex blade, but I'd like to be able to sharpen it with stuff I could find.... if I had to. It seems sharpening supplies for it would be harder to obtain.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Thanks CCMI! Good info. I understand about the convex blade, but I'd like to be able to sharpen it with stuff I could find.... if I had to. It seems sharpening supplies for it would be harder to obtain.
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then just sharpen it on a rock v-edge style. no biggie. If you're so desperate that you're looking for rocks on the ground, who cares if it started convex. Or pick up some fine silt, sludge it into your pants leg, and strop it on your jeans.
 
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