New Field Knife..

A

andrewfromsocal

Joined
Aug 27, 2015
Messages
2
Hey guys, long time stalker, first time poster. I'll get to the cut and short of it.

I do a lot of field tech stuff. I backpack a lot. I want a knife that will be able to hold an edge, not be brittle, and is a decent full tang with some heft. My field knife uses range from splitting wood to skinning deer. In a given situation, would would be your best choice?
 
Puukko for cleaning fish and game, making feather sticks, tent stakes, etc.
Axe or hatchet for splitting wood.
 
The Carothers Performance Knives (CPK) Field Knife. Nathan Carothers (aka Nathan the Machinist) is a member here and really knows his stuff. His knives aren't cheap but they are most likely setting a new, very high standard.

Also Busse and their sister company, Swamp Rat.

Also keep an eye on our knifemakers market in the forum Exchange area. The member knife makers often do some very interesting things.

Edit: splitting wood is an inherently risky activity. Hit a hardwood knot and you risk chipping any edge.
 
You might want to take a look at the knifemaker's forums section, they have a for sale section. There are a ton of great field knives out there!!

I just put an order in for a Bradford Guardian6 with 3V steel. I have heard good things about his blades. Kind of a big blade, but I already have a good 4.5 inch 3v field knives from C3 knives. Got a 3V machete from his too.
 
andrewfromsocal said:
Hey guys, long time stalker, first time poster. I'll get to the cut and short of it.

I do a lot of field tech stuff. I backpack a lot. I want a knife that will be able to hold an edge, not be brittle, and is a decent full tang with some heft. My field knife uses range from splitting wood to skinning deer. In a given situation, would would be your best choice?
Click to expand...

Any one tool that can do it all isn't gonna do everything all that well.
I suggest getting a Mora and a hatchet, that should cover all of the bases.
 
Or a Skrama and Terävä Jääkäripuukko, the latter you can get different lengths. All the range back in stock shortly I believe. Get them anyway as they are a bit of a bargain, then use them to decide what custom you really want sometime in the future. You might find you don't actually need more. Invest in some knife sharpening kit as all knives need some maintenance whatever the cost/quality.
https://www.varusteleka.com/en/group/knives/1197

I have a good few sexier knives but when venturing out to do some real work these are what I grab.
 
Last edited:
Splitting wood and skinning both have specialized knives, so you're asking for a compromise design. There are a lot of knives in the middle, and it's hard to know which compromise you're going to like.

Since many of the usual suspects have been mentioned, I'll add in a great stainless option: Fallkniven. Choose your length, F1 is 4", S1 is 5", and the A1 is 6". Practical, stainless, tough, versatile.
 
andrewfromsocal said:
Hey guys, long time stalker, first time poster. I'll get to the cut and short of it.
Click to expand...
Brrrr ...., thats abhorrent.

Ill give you the benefit of the doubt and assume, that you mean 'lurker' instead of 'stalker.'

As for blade suggestions, Ill second Greenjackets post. A Skrama and a smaller blade from those guys will serve you well. Cheap and robust choppers and knives.
Ive dealt with the company in question and they are a pleasure to do business with.

Not only do they ship nice gear fast - their newsletter is a hoot.
 
Esee 4 , trc k1 , barkriver bravo 1 , and that's in no particular order my choice would be a survive 4.7 but they are tricky to find good luck 👍
 
andrewfromsocal said:
... long time stalker ...
Click to expand...

This made me also smile :D

Hi and welcome! What do you mean exactly with “field tech stuff”? If it’s prospecting, exploration, etc. you probably know much better which tools are needed, but, as an amateur geologist I carry sometimes a pickaxes (an Estwing), mainly when we play :) searching fossils during our mountain hikes in the Alps.

For regular hiking/camping tasks my preferred fixed blade it’s the Fallkniven F1 (the old one, before Pro series) which I couple with a compact axe (today a Fiskars X5) or a folding saw (Felco 600) if/when I plan to process significant amount of wood (occasionally and according to regulations). The F1 it’s a proven camp knife and it’s tons of reviews out there. With me since years, I find it’s a great outdoor tool.

Hunting unfortunately I don’t do that often nowadays and it’s mainly small games so I use folders, I have a couple of “dedicated” ones (which I don’t care so much to get dirty with gunk and blood and stuff), nothing fancy, an old Antonini and a wooden handle Viper (actually a Tedcnocut) from decades ago.

If I really have/want to go for one knife only and no other tools, I’d likely pick my Fallkniven A1 (also old one, before Pro series); it would be a compromise: I know it can do with splitting woods (done many times, it’s OK and doable but never comparable in efficiency and practicality to a saw or an axe) and it can surely manage some finer tasks, like carving and food prep (though filleting a trout or just slicing soft bread for a sandwich it’s quite a PITA).

2vmhl60.jpg


Have fun in your choice and out in the fields!
 
Sounds like the WSK would be perfect for you, it was designed to perform multiple functions such as chopping, skinning, sawing and notching, as well as small cutting tasks. The WSK is also called the Tracker.
I am not sure on your budget but they will range from $1500 for a custom to $130 for a production model from Tops knives.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
ESEE 6. This will easily skin a deer or split wood. I have batoned with mine many times. 1095 will sharpen nicely in the field. I bought the Mille sheath to go with it but I like the large Teklok better.
image_zps98n36rgm.jpeg
[/URL][/IMG]
I took the black coating off because it makes batoning much easier
 
Last edited:
How big of wood are you wanting to split, and do you have any other tools when you're out and about?

Most hunting knives are in the ~3-4 in blade range. Most "camp"/wood processing knives are ~7-9 in. So trying to do it all in one blade might be harder to do, or you just might have to make some concessions in some areas.

Have you looked at the Becker bk16? It's about as small as I'd feel comfortable with consistent reasonable wood processing tasks, while retaining a fairly light weight and being good for the small stuff.

Then you have knives in the middle ground, like the Becker bk10, bk12, esee 6, and cold steel srk. All of those are roughly 5-6in in blade length, and are stout enough to baton anything within reason.

Then on the larger side, you have more chopping type tools, like a hatchet, Becker BK9, esee junglas, and any number of folding saws.

If it were me, I'd be looking at some sort of two or three tool combo. Many times you get much better performance out of the specialized tools, and can even save weight at times as well. I'd probably start off with a folding saw, and a Mora or BK16. You can do a lot with either of those combos.

Good luck on your search :).
 
As above these two, a Silky Saw and a 4.5" - 6" fixed blade (here a Survive Knives but there are heaps in this category at every price) will do most things in the woods hunting and backpacking.
The One Tool option really isn't very clever a concept, better are several specialised tools designed for the job.
You can do it with a SAK Huntsman or Leatherman Charge TTi, I have in the past, but better full sized items. Classic designs tend to work well. No need to spend a bomb until you know your style and what you like. Lots to choose so don't be in a hurry, they all want to take your money and quite a lot are expensive for the job they are going to do.
Lastly, don't go heavy, overbuild, too large. Really, not necessary. Most really inefficient and not very good. There is a lot of hype and no pants out there.

IMGP7747_1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'll suggest checking out the RatManDu from Swamp Rat as a light weight one tool solution for the belt. Great knives and the best no bs warranty in the business. However, I'll agree with other's suggestions of considering a couple more specialized tools for tasks you know you'll need to be doing in the outdoors. A midsized fixed is great at improvisation for a lot of things you didn't plan for, but a tool built for the task at hand will always be better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top