New here looking for input on small EDC fixed blade...Thanks

A

AdrianJ

Joined
Jun 20, 2013
Messages
5
So I am looking for an EDC small fixed blade that is inexpensive. My wife got me a mora companion for father's day, but they ended up sending me SS instead of carbon. So I am sending it back, however in having it that short time, I realized it's pretty much too big to EDC for me. I have narrowed it down to two choices that seem to be a great size for what I want. First is the Condor Sub Tavian and the second is the AG Russell woodswalker. I don't have any experience with condor, and the only thing AG Russell I have is the CRKT Sting, which I wasn't impressed with.

The main uses of this knife will be: Around the house use (boxes, mail, food prep), general outdoor cutting (rope, wittling, etc) and cleaning small game and fish.

I have heard condor can be hit or miss, where as I don't see the woodswalker being anything other than ready to carry out of the box. I would like to have carbon for edge retention and ease of sharpening, but the SS is obviously less care.

I have heard nothing but great things about the woodswalker and absolutely nothing about the sub tavian.

Does anybody have any first hand experience with the sub tavian?
 
The Woodswalker makes a good small game & fish and edc utility use knife. It also makes a pretty good paring knife as well and is hard to beat for the price. My experiences with Condor have also been hit and miss and unfortunately all of my experiences with CRKT have been misses.

Here is one of my Woodswalker's on the far left so you can see a size comparison. They are from left to right:

A.G. Russell Woodswalker
Fallkniven WM1 3V
ESEE Izula
BRKT Bravo Necker
SYKCO Scrapivore
BRKT North Star EDC

Knives104_zps1a7886d0.jpg
 
Thanks for the input. Actually, I recognize that photo. It seems your post about the woodswalker was the one that introduced me to the knife! What I like about it the most is the full grip. I think the sub tavians is slightly shorter, but the blade is longer.

Brisket said:
The Woodswalker makes a good small game & fish and edc utility use knife. It also makes a pretty good paring knife as well and is hard to beat for the price. My experiences with Condor have also been hit and miss and unfortunately all of my experiences with CRKT have been misses.

Here is one of my Woodswalker's on the far left so you can see a size comparison. They are from left to right:

A.G. Russell Woodswalker
Fallkniven WM1 3V
ESEE Izula
BRKT Bravo Necker
SYKCO Scrapivore
BRKT North Star EDC

Knives104_zps1a7886d0.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I'm a big fan of the Woodswalker after seeing one in person at a gun show years ago. I had seen them in the AG Russell catalog but for some reason that just didn't excite me much. It may have had something to do with it looking more like a kitchen paring knife than a sporting knife and/or it might have been the low price point as I had not found many knives worth owning in the $20 and under range. The Woodwalker along with some Opinel's, Mora's and Svord's are certainly exceptions to that rule.

It's a 3 sausage finger handle for me, but the cant on the butt makes a nice resting place for the 4th finger. It's sports one of the most useful small blade shapes that lends itself to many purposes. The thin Aus 8 blade takes a nice edge and is easy to maintain in the field and I typically use a pocket size strop and a Fallkniven DC stone to keep them sharp. I keep one in a bag paired with game shears for bird & small game hunting another in my large game bag and a third in my EDC bag. I've got a couple of dozen small fixed blades, but these guys are some of the most used.

Excuse the poor quality, but here is the one with me today. The paring knife look makes it very office and public friendly.

Woodswalker_zps404a2cab.jpg
 
What kind of fishing do you do, the one on the far left looks a little short to filet a fish.
 
Hi AJ,

While I don't own one (yet) yesterday while at a Flea Market, I handled a vintage (German made) copy of the Grohmann #1 Canadian Belt knife. I LOVE it! I HAVE to buy one in the future if I can find a CARBON steel blade. Check out the Grohmann #1.

HARDBALL
 
Woodswalker is a great knife. I've been able to skin everything from deer and hogs on down with it. For the $$$ it cannot be beat.

Blind Horse Knives have some fine models as well, though the cost a bit more. I have a BHK Colt Maverick in my pocket as I type this.
 
cchu518 said:
What kind of fishing do you do, the one on the far left looks a little short to filet a fish.
Click to expand...

I don't know if yours was a serious question or if you were being flip, but I will answer anyway. The majority of my fishing is for bass, trout, redfish and flounder and would agree that it would be far too short to be a practical filet knife. It is not necessary to filet a fish to eat it and although I don't generally use it for fish, I have gutted some bass and sunfish with one and it was more than capable of performing that task. I stated it my 2nd post how I use mine and I tend to have other knives with me when fishing.
 
That sheath looks good like that. Do you carry it in your pocket or is it modded for a belt too? Did you use the leather flap that you cut off for your pocket strop? Also, nice dog. We got our kids a great pyr for christmas this year. His name is Yeti and he is getting HUGE!

Brisket said:
Yeah I'm a big fan of the Woodswalker after seeing one in person at a gun show years ago. I had seen them in the AG Russell catalog but for some reason that just didn't excite me much. It may have had something to do with it looking more like a kitchen paring knife than a sporting knife and/or it might have been the low price point as I had not found many knives worth owning in the $20 and under range. The Woodwalker along with some Opinel's, Mora's and Svord's are certainly exceptions to that rule.

It's a 3 sausage finger handle for me, but the cant on the butt makes a nice resting place for the 4th finger. It's sports one of the most useful small blade shapes that lends itself to many purposes. The thin Aus 8 blade takes a nice edge and is easy to maintain in the field and I typically use a pocket size strop and a Fallkniven DC stone to keep them sharp. I keep one in a bag paired with game shears for bird & small game hunting another in my large game bag and a third in my EDC bag. I've got a couple of dozen small fixed blades, but these guys are some of the most used.

Excuse the poor quality, but here is the one with me today. The paring knife look makes it very office and public friendly.

Woodswalker_zps404a2cab.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Brisket said:
I think the BK11 & BK14 as well as the ESEE Izula are all excellent values in a small fixed blade.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And the best part about them is they don't look like scary "hack you up in the desert" knives. I love my Beckers and I would like the Izula more if it had a slightly longer blade. Nothing like getting small, thick slabs of 1095 that has been made sharp and for cheap! Nearly indestructible IMHO.
 
For me, I mainly just fish for bream fish types near my home. Not really anything I am going to "filet" just gut and maybe descale. Small game use will be primarily rabbits. I have always liked the look of beckers, but have never been keen on paracord wrapped or exposed tang knives. I know I can buy or make handles for them, but this is more of a budget knife that I can use out of the box.
 
The only thing I have done to my BK11 was wrap the handle. Even without the wrap, it is definitely usable right out of the box. I would assume the BK14 is as well, especially if the Izula is. Same handle different blade.
 
One of the things to consider with many of the popular small fixed blades such as the Izula, BK11, BK14, BRKT Bravo Necker and Blackjack 155 is that by the time you outfit them with a decent handle and/or sheath they are not quite the bang for the buck they first appeared to be. Many of the custom makers on the forum make excellent small knives that can certainly compete in value with production models.
 
This is the thought I had. And I am not really in the market to spend 50+ on a knife right now. Just need something small and versatile.

Brisket said:
One of the things to consider with many of the popular small fixed blades such as the Izula, BK11, BK14, BRKT Bravo Necker and Blackjack 155 is that by the time you outfit them with a decent handle and/or sheath they are not quite the bang for the buck they first appeared to be. Many of the custom makers on the forum make excellent small knives that can certainly compete in value with production models.
Click to expand...
 
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