New farm knife ideas?

S

Sir Housecat

Joined
May 18, 2013
Messages
146
I have a buck bucklite 422 for farm duties (mostly cutting
hay twine). I have noticed that it is developing up and down
blade play. Does anyone have ideas for a basic farm knife?
I would prefer that it be made in USA. I was also leaning toward
a fixed blade. I am really considering a condor bushcraft basic 5".
It may also be a good time to pull the trigger on a spyderco
Pacific salt.

Again, any ideas?
 
I vote for a 4-6" fixed blade for a farm use knife. Can carry it on your belt, big enough blade for all your chores, and sturdy enough with a full tang you don't have to worry about breaking the thing, let alone blade play. Get an uncoated blade in stainless or a steel like CPM3v (more stain resistant that tool steel, not as stain resistant as stainless) for easy maintenance.

Fallkniven or Bark River are good brands if you go that route.
 
Danketch said:
I vote for a 4-6" fixed blade for a farm use knife. Can carry it on your belt, big enough blade for all your chores, and sturdy enough with a full tang you don't have to worry about breaking the thing, let alone blade play. Get an uncoated blade in stainless or a steel like CPM3v (more stain resistant that tool steel, not as stain resistant as stainless) for easy maintenance.

Fallkniven or Bark River are good brands if you go that route.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation, Danktech, but auctually,
I was digging the svord 350b and I like the patina carbon
steel develops.
 
Try carrying an OLFA for a while (preferably with Auto-Lock). The blade geometry is pretty close to ideal (very thin) and you don't have to worry about blunting the tip all the time (remember that you can sharpen the blades). I was cutting some hard plastic hose the other day and was surprised at how well it worked, other knives are difficult since they bind up in the material.

Carrying a fixed blade as well may be a good idea, but most of the time I'm looking for a scraping tool or cutting dirty stuff and potentially ruining the edge.
 
Been using a sod buster around the farm for a long time.

Usually have a neck knife of some kind cause it is often easier to reach than into a pocket while hunkered under a machine or some such.
 
A Case sodbuster seems to fit your needs.
If you're going towards fixed blades, how about a Buck 119?
 
Case Sodbuster, Svord Farmer's Knife, Cold Steel Pocket Bushman, Opinel No.8...
 
Hey guys, thanks for the recommendations. I am still thinking
about the bushcraft basic. Has condor fixed the grinds yet?
 
Being a kabar fan, my daily farm knife/knives of choice are the 1257/1259 and 1261 "short" USMC knives. They are 5.25", versatile and do everything I need to do on the farm. The 1261 is the traditional leather stacked handle with a brown leather sheath. The other 2 have black kraton handles. The 1257 is leather sheathed and the 1259 comes with a hard plastic sheath, and both are black. I use the 1259s on bad weather days and keep the leathers for non-rain days.

I like how easy the kraton cleans up when then get muddy/oily. And boy, do we have mud around here when it finally gets around to raining.

Actually, what I did was buy a pair of 1259s for the plastic sheaths and then made my own leather sheaths for edc junk use. I got official kabar black sheaths for off the farm carry.

I always have 2 fixed blades when working around the farm just in case which ever hand/arm gets stuck, the other one has access to cut yourself free. This goes back to when my grandfather got a sleeve caught in machinery, cut himself free with his 4 inch kabar and told me "That's why you carry a fixed blade." And I asked him, "what if your other arm had got caught." We immediately went to town, he bought a Western L46-5 as they were out of kabars (he got another kabar later) and then carried two around the farms, all machinery and down at the grain elevator until cancer got him. That's why I'm a two kabar guy.
 
Hey dude.
I would highly recommend getting a Condor Bushlore. It is a fixed blade and has a blade length of 4 5/16", and an overall length of 9 1/4". It is 3/16 thick, and made out of 1075 carbon steel. In my EDC of this blade, it has never failed me. I have put it through some hard use, and it always performs fantastically. It comes with a leather sheath, and it is probably the best knife i own in it's price range, about $30. I carry it every day, and it works perfectly for me. It is very plain, but that is what I love about it. It will never fail you, and I hope you love it man!
 
heck for $30 get a Glock 78. used it all the time on my grandfather's and uncle's farm and i was doing much more than cutting twine, but its made in Austria

stil use the same knife today when helping buddies out on their farm ( Most of my work be for shipping out) or going camping
 
Sir Housecat said:
Hey guys, thanks for the recommendations. I am still thinking
about the bushcraft basic. Has condor fixed the grinds yet?
Click to expand...

if you're looking at Condor, check out the Kephart as well.
On the US made side of things, the Becker BK16, BK17, or BK24 would all work well for under $100.
 
I'll submit the cold steel pocket bushman for your perusal. Just a tough old knife. It has farm knife in it's DNA.
 
For cutting twine, something with **good** serrations. I'd recommend a CRKT Marine Utility Knife:

images


They're being discontinued - not tacticool enough for most people - and you should be able to pick one up for about $15 on Amazon. You'll need to improvise a sheath, but it's worth it - these are great string and rope cutters.

Going up a jump in price, a Boker Cop Tool gives you serrations and a rescue cutter for twine, and it works as a scraper and a prybar:

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A good friend of mine I work with raises cattle, he uses a benchmade 707 sequel and swears by it. Hes had the same one for probably 5yrs now. Great little knife.
 
I was going to say esee too. I hauled hay for many years and always had a small fixed blade on me. I like the izula.
 
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