Need a Knife to fit Criteria

Joined
Sep 19, 2000
Messages
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I'm looking for a knife to fit the criteria below for a class I have to attend plus personal use in the woods. I was looking to spend somewhere between $50-75(I know I'm cheap). Anyways I was looking at either CS Master Hunter or Fallkniven F1 would either of these knives fit the bill. Any other knife suggestions?

Thanks,
Derek
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Pick a knife whose weight feels good and that will not tire you out.
Bigger is not better (unless you plan to use it like and axe!)

If feasible for you, avoid lock backs. Techniques for splitting wood
with your knife will destroy a lock back. Avoid hollow handle survival
knives. Navy SEALS that have gone through said they were useless. They break
too easily under heavy use. Instead, your best bet is a full tang knife,
(a knife where there is just one solid piece of steel from tip to butt.
Even reputed heavy duty knives like the USMC K-Bar knives have design problems
in this regard. They, and others have an attached butt-cap that provides
a nice hammer like surface. Unfortunately, This weakens the knife.
I have personally busted one so I know this is true. Stick to the
full-tang-no-frills designs and it will last a lifetime.

Avoid fighting knives with fancy guards and double-edged blades. For
fine carving you will want to press on the spine of the blade. This is
awkward if you have to maneuver around a hilt, and impossible if there are
saw-teeth or a sharpened edge on the spine. A simple finger guard is
useful near the sharpened edge to help you orient the knife in the dark
and to prevent injuries.

Choose a knife with a smooth handle. Antler is pretty, but after several
hours of use it will eat your hand. Knurling and textures on the handle
will do the same thing. Smooth handles are better. Micarta is nice
because it requires no maintenance. A wood handle will eventually cause
problems if not properly maintained.

To recap:

Choose a smooth handled knife of comfortable weight that is a single
piece of steel from tip to butt. There should be no hilt protruding off
the back of the knife but a finger guard is OK.
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Kezon, I've got both and I think I'd give the edge to the Fallkniven. VG 10 in my limited expereience with it seems to out preform the AUS 8 that CS uses in their stainless Master Hunter and you don't have to worry about rust like you do with Carbon V. The one area where the Fallkniven is far superior is in the fold over flap leather sheath that is like the ones Buck use to make. I don't know if CS still uses the codura sheath that came with my Master Hunter but if so the Fallkniven wins hands down. The one area based on your criteria where you may have a problem is that both of these blades have soft rubber handles which I have personally found very comfortable.

phantom4

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who dares, wins


 
Between the Cold Steel Master Hunter and the Fallkniven F1, which look quite similar in terms of shape and size, I recommend the F1. It has a kraton-like handle, with a bit of the metal tang protruding out the butt end for pounding. It's very strong knife, with very good steel (VG-10).

David Rock
 
Chalk up another vote for the Fallkniven line. I would probably go with the A-1 or
S-1.

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Dennis Bible

mylogosmall.gif
 
Reading the description it sounds like you will be using the knife for some type of Survival Training.

In addition to the Fallkniven you might want to consider the Becker Companion. It is not stainless but seems well suited to the rest of the criteria.


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AKTI Member No. A000370
 
IF you can find a Fallkniven for the $50-$75 that you are looking to spend, by ALL MEANS buy one. (I have a Satin A1, and that is one EXCELLENT knife!). If you can't find a Fallkniven in your price-range, and you don't have time to save-up some $ to buy one, the Cold Steel Master Hunter, or SRK are pretty good knives.

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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
I highly recommend the Fallkniven. The Knife Outlet has them in your price range. The only other consideration here may be the Spyderco Moran. The Spyderco is lighter, but the Fallkniven is a true full tang. I've had all three and the Fallkniven is my pick.

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It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.
 
The Fallknivens are good knives. Finding them in your price range could be hard.

IMHO, you'll want to stretch your budget some to really satisfy yourself, particularly as you'll probably want a different sheath than comes with the knife in that price range.

Phil
 
What are you planning to do with the knife?

It sounds like a wood carving class.

****Some Comments****

"If feasible for you, avoid lock backs. Techniques for splitting wood with your knife will destroy a lock back."

- I presume this means avoid folding knives of all types, I otherwise see no reason to single out lockbacks.

"Avoid hollow handle survival knives. Navy SEALS that have gone through said they were useless."

- The US navy seals briefly tested the Buck model 184 Buckmaster survival knife. This model knife was found to have problems with blade brittleness, and some of the features (sawback, anchors) did not work. The issues had absolutely nothing to do with a difficiency in the hollow handle, although the mod 184 happened to have a hollow handle.
BTW: it sounds like a perferct job for a Scharade Sharpfinger.

N2S
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by not2sharp:
What are you planning to do with the knife?

It sounds like a wood carving class.
</font>

Its a survival course that teaches the bare essential plus some. It's through http://www.trackerschool.com if anyone is interested. But after the course I was going to use the knife for carving, filleting, skinning, etc.

BTW I know I can get the Fallkniven F1 through the Knifeoulet like some said and it's only 69 or 75 with black coating plus kydex sheath.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions so far,
Derek

 
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