New to knives. need advise please

EChoil said:
A 5-7" knife can quickly become a pain in the butt to carry daily and at work. Just be sure that's what you really need. Now it sounds like you're wanting to EDC a hunting knife.
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I agree. As a frequent carrier of FBs for everyday use, I've found a 3"-3.5" blade and an OAL of 7"-7.25" to be my sweet spot. They go to work, camping, do chores around the house, and they even go out on the town riding either horizontal on my belt or in a pocket sheath in a pants pocket or coat pocket. I haven't run into anything they wouldn't handle.

As far as steels go, if you buy the knife you like from a reputable maker (custom or prod), you can trust their steel choice for the knife you're buying. The biggest choice would be SS vs. non-SS. Don't write off SS because of ancient history. In the early days it was considered inferior to carbon steels. It has since caught up. It's an excellent choice for knives that are going into certain environments. Many of the SS used take a bit more sharpening to keep them in top shape than non-SS, but they have excellent toughness and edge-holding properties. Non-SS tend to be a bit easer to sharpen and they get extremely sharp. They do take a bit more care when used in damp or wet environments. A lot of makers coat ther non-SS blades to help with corrosion protection. You may or may not like coated blades.

If I were you, with limited experience choosing, maintaining, carrying, and using a FB on a daily basis, I'd go simple to start with. ESEE, Becker, Bradford, Buck, and even Benchmade and Spyderco make small FBs designed for everyday carry and use, and they won't cost an arm and a leg. Start there. Live with the knife for a while... figure out what you like and what you don't... and then start looking for something that keeps what you like about the first knife and also fills in the gaps for you.

Our charge for giving you all this help is for you to let us know what you get and post pics when you get it.
 
dalefuller said:
Our charge for giving you all this help is for you to let us know what you get and post pics when you get it.
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Honestly, the number of times advice threads that come up, receive lots of help, then die off without a word from OP is a bit much.
Frustrating when you see everybody really trying to help.
 
I agree. Show us what you snag.

But.

Don't get a friggin Rambo bowie dude. :rolleyes:

These guys are right. I'm a fan of the Becker bk17. Nuff said.
 
n7titan said:
Honestly, the number of times advice threads that come up, receive lots of help, then die off without a word from OP is a bit much.
Frustrating when you see everybody really trying to help.
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True. But it's the thought that counts. :)
 
Tyler Durden said:
I'm guessing that this falls I to the .25"thick blade range.
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Shoot for something in the 4" range instead, much easier to handle day in and day out for what you're looking for. And 0.25" is extremely thick, I'd avoid knives that thick for typical tasks.

Look into the Becker BK16 - it's affordable, it's functional, and 1095 is a good steel for beginner sharpeners.
 
ESEE fixed blade for hard use and they come in a variety of sizes. The folding knives these days are extremely strong so don't stray from them because you think they will break on you. Benchmade Contego in m4 steel is very strong with a great locking system called the Axis lock.
 
Welcome to BF, and welcome to the wonderful world of knives!

A few thoughts:

Regarding steels - there are SO MANY good steels out there, I would recommend that you avoid getting caught in the "this steel is best" arguments. While there are definitely a lot of steels that you should avoid, it's much more important to choose a reputable maker, and trust that they're using the right steel for the job. For example, you're not going to get bad steel in a Busse or Falkniven (or something made by me or many of the other custom makers on BF). Good companies that focus on quality knives (and charge accordingly) just don't use anything bad and have put a lot of time into figuring out which steel performs best in which knife. You're only going to run into bad steels when you try to go cheap. So, don't worry about that too much. If you buy a good knife and take care of it, you're going to be fine.

Regarding grind profiles - my recommendation would be a saber or convex grind, based on your projected usage. Once you start talking about prying, you need a blade with a lot of steel behind it. You also should avoid something with a super thin tip. These excel at slicing, but would break under hard prying.

Regarding length - as many of the posters have said, typically 3.5" to 4.5" is the sweet spot for a do-everything utility blade. However, if you feel safer with a 6"-7" blade, don't let anyone stop you. The biggest trade off is size. A knife with a 7" blade is going to be almost a foot long in total length, which is going to be hard to carry.

Regarding thickness - I've found that 3/16" thickness is my personal favorite, and is a nice balance between beefiness and portability.

Regarding handle material - horse stall mat is actually a decent option. It won't win any beauty contests, but it's tough stuff. My number one recommendation, however, would be canvas micarta. It's super durable, impervious to acids and solvents, and is great looking stuff with lots of grip. Just something to consider.

Regarding makers - this is where you should focus (in my opinion). Find someone (or a company) that has dedicated themselves to making high quality user knives. This way, you don't have to make all the "right" decisions in order to get something useful. You can benefit from their experience.

So, hopefully that gives you a bit to chew on. Have fun with the process!! :)
 
hhmoore said:
Sounds like ResC...ScrapYard, a few from SwampRat, and the Basic series from Busse. Depending on what size blade you want, the selection gets limited pretty fast.
There are also some makers that use horse stall mats for handle material (I forget what the stuff is called).

You can also add rubbery, grippy material to the handle yourself (grip tape or inner tube); so the options are wide open if you're open to that idea. Esee, Becker, Bark River, Survive, customs, etc.
There are a number of knives suited to cutting through/out of some heavy duty stuff...but as has been mentioned, they aren't necessarily the best at day to day stuff. There are always compromised. Let us know the blade length you want, and what you expect you'll really use it for...I'm sure specific recommendations will start flying.
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this... all of this.

also, "i know this because tyler knows this" ;-)
 
For your needs, you don't need something that expensive. I suggest getting a Mora. Either the companion heavy duty, the bushcraft black, or even the classic no 1 or no 2 depending on your size preference. Or if you're looking for a bit more knife, you can go with the Ontario rat series, 3 and 5 mostly. Carbon steel is and has been my go to. Tough as nails, and very easy to sharpen. If it has a black epoxy paint on the blade, leave it. If it has no coating, force a patina. There are many different options.I usually force my blades tthrough 2-4 lemons depending on size. Cut off the stumps on each side so they fut together evenly and don't leave any parts of the blade untreated.

There are other ways as I said, so ask around for different options. Anyways, you cab also look into kabar. The Mark 1 comes with a kraton wrapped handle. Its a rubber like material that is corrosion resistant and doesn't get worn much from the weather. But I has a rat tail tang. It goes through to the end of the knife, allowing the butt to be used as a hammer. But Its not as strong has their Becker line which has full tang designs. Bk10 and bk7 are your best bet. But it really depends on how you're dressing and where you're going. Because unless I'm camping, I just carry an edc blade which for me is the Kershaw Blur in s30v. Its not too expensive so I won't be worried if I lose it or break it. Which is a mist for an edc in my opinion. The s30v steel is adequate for every day tasks such as cutting through cardboard, fabrics, denim, mail, whatever I can use it for. It gets a sharp edge, has great edge retention. But will take a bit longer to sharpen than your aus 8 or 8cr13mov. The clip works well and the thumbstuds are perfect. Has a linerlock which is the downfall, but it's perfect for edc tasks.



The handle is aluminum which makes It lightweight. Again to my standards a must.
 
Wow. Just wow.

Thanks everyone! In the past few days since I've been here (work family etc) I've had a bit to think about while my Swiss lathes hummed away at work. SO MUCH INFO!

Thank You All!

Now. My brother happens to be a guy who buys knives. Quite frequently in fact. I asked him to read over this thread, and he agrees with each and every word. He and my wife suggested that I buy something a bit on the inexpensive side, NOT cheap. In my years on this earth I've found there to be a giant difference between the two. So. That being said,

"Find something inexpensive that you like, and go from there. If you want to spend more, be sure it's something that you LIKE and will USE."
- My Wife

I knew my wife was smart when she agreed to marry me.

I digress. I ended up ordering a BECKER BK 17.
- I liked the shape
- carbon steel is easy to sharpen
- the handles come off (hockey tape here I come!)
- it's coated
- once I make a sheath it won t be too big to carry

So once I get it. I'll post up some thank you pics.

Seriously fellas. Thanks a ton.
 
If you are looking for a super tough knife, Busse Combat, Swamp Rat Knives, and Scrap Yard knives are where I would start. Same parent company. BUSSE. Forever warranty, follows the knife. Covers any unintentional damage.


Top of the line tough steels.


ESSE has already been mentioned. Basic steel, 1095, which is a carbon steel. They have a fantastic warranty, and are much more cost effective than the Busse family knives.


Don't believe the old Carbon steel is better than stainless. Not true. Good stainless will do anything that carbon steel can do, and often much better. Good stainless can hold an edge longer than basic carbon steels. That opens a can of Super steels, which can be tool steel, or high speed steel, or impact steel, etc, or with high carbon, or stainless steels.

That is not to say I shy away from plain old Carbon steel. It sharpens easily, and holds an edge ok for my use. I just don't delude my self that it is better than a modern well heat treated steel. Even a basic stainless done well can be better at a lot of things, including edge retention, over basic carbon. When you start adding other elements to. Ake alloy steel, the equation changes again.


Read up. Do some research in here, and take everything with a grain of salt.


One thing I will say, is if you are spending $200 or more on a fixed blade, take a long hard look at the custom makers.

Hard use, tough, whiz bang knives are fun, and neat, but a well designed and made custom is even better, even if it is not in a super duper high tech steel.
 
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I received my becker bk 17 last week. What with a kid and work, I've been a bit busy. Forgive me. This is a great blade to help me get used to carrying every day. I like the blade shape!

Thanks again for everyone's advise! I can see how this could get to be a hobby. There's just too much good stuff out ghee to have ONLY one blade!

I have a bunch of homework to read up on before my next purchase.

Thanks again!
 
Tyler Durden said:
To answer your question, it will be a do all knife? Literally. from envelopes to car doors (?) Lord forbid I need to use the thing to pry a car apart.

Anyhow. Realistically I'd be using it as a "survival knife" should the need arise. I'd hope that there is a handle material out there that's both rubbery and trippy, but will hold up well to solvents and stuff like that.
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I too would recommend something from Survive! Knives in CPM 3V. CPM 3V is a very tough steel that holds a good edge and doesn't corrode as quickly as 1095 for example due to the 7.5% Chromium. The other reason why I would recommend you Survive! Knives is because of their somewhat thinner slicing grind, which makes them more suited for opening "envelopes" than most other survival fixed blades, while they're still incredibly tough due to the CPM 3V steel. GSO 3.5 as suggested before would be an awesome EDC fixed blade knife in my opinion as well. Only disadvantage is that they're made in small batches and you'll maybe have to wait a while before they're going to be in production again or scour the secondary market/exchange.

In good old 1095, ESEE knives including their awesome sheaths and No-questions-asked Life-time Warranty, are hard to beat.

EDIT: apologies, didn't look at your last post.
 
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