Newbie to the idea of a small fixed blade for pocket carry - your thoughts please!

OP here with an update ….. I rec'd the Bark River Pro Scalpel as referenced in my opening post, and thought I'd give my impressions of the knife.

There's definitely a small Bark River fixed blade in my future, but I don't think it's this one. The handle just doesn't have the grip or feel in hand that I'm looking for. I'm fine with the relatively short blade, but will want something more substantial in the handle department. Also, while the sheath that comes with the knife is pretty darn nice, I'll be wanting one that won't let whatever knife I end up with "fall over" in the pocket. Probably the Adirondack or Pocono or something similar.

Since catching Bark River fever I've looked at many models that I think would do a better job for me - City Knife being at the forefront. But I'm also considering, among others: Little Creek, Mini Fox River, Bark River Essential, PSK Elmax, Bravo Micro, Bravo Necker.

Fellow forum member Tom - Whetstone39 - has graciously offered to send me one of his City Knives & sheath to try out for a few days! :) Thank you, Tom! :thumbup: This should give me a fair test of what it's like to pocket and use a slightly larger fixed blade knife.

There are fine differences in blade and handle length between the City Knife and the others I've listed, but this test should allow me to see if the City Knife is the one, or if I need to fine tune it a bit with the features offered on the other knives in the same category.

And again, a special "Thank You" to Tom for his generous offer of a test drive of the City Knife. :thumbup:


With Vic Farmer for size comparison:
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"Three finger" grip: ;)
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Nice gesture, Tom! :thumbup:

Keith,
Sounds like you have at least determined that fixed blade carry appeals to you. Congrats on getting past the first step. Hope you find the right knife. Bark River sure does make some attractive options.
 
Railsplitter said:
Nice gesture, Tom! :thumbup:

Keith,
Sounds like you have at least determined that fixed blade carry appeals to you. Congrats on getting past the first step. Hope you find the right knife. Bark River sure does make some attractive options.
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Thanks for the comments, Rick. At this point I'm probably still more in the may appeal to me category. I think the City Knife test will push me one way or the other. Since we're old friends and share a lot of likes & dislikes when it comes to knives, I haven't taken lightly your comments on the first page of this thread. Of course everyone's "mileage may vary", so we'll see. ;)

It was encouraging to hear that if you ever went back to fixed blade pocket carry it would be with the City Knife. The knife itself really appeals to me - it's the pocket carry I'm still not sure about. :confused:
 
coyote711 said:
Thanks for the comments, Rick. At this point I'm probably still more in the may appeal to me category. I think the City Knife test will push me one way or the other. Since we're old friends and share a lot of likes & dislikes when it comes to knives, I haven't taken lightly your comments on the first page of this thread. Of course everyone's "mileage may vary", so we'll see. ;)

It was encouraging to hear that if you ever went back to fixed blade pocket carry it would be with the City Knife. The knife itself really appeals to me - it's the pocket carry I'm still not sure about. :confused:
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I'm in the same boat/ newbie to fixed blades as an edc as well and after reading this thread I was tempted to try it out/jumped on a Battle Horse Knives North River in the exchange. I realised the need for a edc fixed after working on the lawn all week and having to open and close a pocket knife every time you had to open up a bag of top soil got to be cumbersome with leather work gloves. (I ended up using a machete instead) At 'flat ground 1/8" O1 tool steel 5" OAL 2 1/4" Cutting edge 9/16" OAH'. Couldn't justify spending more on a Bark River Knife that would be the in between a camping fixed blade/using it unless I grew comfortable with having a fixed in my pocket.

I do fear I may come to the same conclusion with the North River as Keith but I'm definitely a fan as well of the Little Creek, Mini Fox River, Bark River Essential, Bravo Micro, Bravo Necker, the list goes on and on but I'll just have to see where I'm at with a fixed edc when it arrives

North River 2nd from the top

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Keith -

If you want something "more substantial in the handle dept" then I would not suggest a Little Creek. It's a great knife, but a quite small knife - definitely another 3-finger grip.

I don't have a City Knife, but I really like the Mini-Fox River. It has enough handle for real work, imo. However for me, once I start getting up to 6" or more in overall length, I would much rather carry the knife in a belt sheath than in my pocket. However, some folks seem to be more comfortable with larger knives carried in a pocket than I do.
 
Tim, looks like a nice little knife you have coming - let us know what you think of it when you get it! I've been working in the yard a bunch lately too, and a little fixed blade would've worked great for cutting open bags of mulch & various soil amendments. (I didn't want to use the Pro Scalpel because I'm pretty sure I'll be returning it in exchange for something else).

Smithhammer, thanks for your thoughts. I have the Mini Fox River on my "watch list", but at 6.65" OAL it's definitely at, or probably above, the length I'd be comfortable pocket carrying. Four finger grip is of course preferable in use, but maybe not realistic for pocket carry. It sounds like I may have to compromise somewhere. :rolleyes: Thanks again for your thoughts and comparison with the Little Creek. :thumbup:

Sidenote: The only knife I have a lanyard on is a GEC 73 and it's a real tight four finger grip, but more realistically a very comfortable three finger knife. The lanyard does help though - I wrap my little finger around the lanyard between the butt of the knife and the knot in the lanyard, and it does impersonate a four finger grip in some ways. That may be something I'll have to add, whatever I end up with.

I'm looking forward to trying the 6.125" City Knife and hoping it will hit my sweet spot! :)
 
coyote711 said:
Tim, looks like a nice little knife you have coming - let us know what you think of it when you get it! I've been working in the yard a bunch lately too, and a little fixed blade would've worked great for cutting open bags of mulch & various soil amendments. (I didn't want to use the Pro Scalpel because I'm pretty sure I'll be returning it in exchange for something else).
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Mhm that was my concern if I bought a BRK/actually used it instead of just seeing how it felt I would realise it was a tad small. Hope you find the perfect fit for you and I'll definitely let you know my impressions of the knife/how it carries when it arrives to me
 
I was listening to some of you in earlier posts and thought ' I think a little fixed blade might be really handy'. I had a Buck Hartsook, so I added a small leather belt sheath and put some deer antler scales on the sides to give it a little more grip. It was OK, but I had a hard time putting it back in the sheath. (Body parts getting stiff and in the way, as I get older.) And with a sharp edge I was cutting up the sheath, not to mention one shirt. Maybe one a hair larger than the 41/4 in Hartshook would work better......I think these FBs may be more of a skinny mans knife in the end........300Bucks





 
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I'm a fan of EDC'n a small fixed blade. My two favorites being a Bark River PSK and ESEE Candiru. Occasionally a BRK Bravo Micro and BRK Adventurer make it into the rotation, but the PSK and Candiru get the most pocket time. The Adventurer is a little big, for my tastes, for pocket carry and the Bravo micro, while very pocketable, is a large knife design shrunken down so The ergos and blade capabilities don't translate. The PSK and the Candiru were designed as small knives. A few photos below along side GEC #15's for scale...

PSK
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Bravo Micro
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ESEE Candiru & Bravo Micro
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PSK
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Top to Bottom: Adventurer - PSK - PSK - Bravo Micro - Bravo Micro
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Boker has some nice small fixed blades that are actually made to be carried in the pocket.
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I modified the tip of this one slightly.

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sugarleaf said:
ESEE Candiru & Bravo Micro
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Hi Al. I'm thinking my next BRKT is going to be the PSK or Bravo Micro. I do have a question regarding your ESEE Candiru; The blade finish on yours appears to be different than all the ones I see online. Everything I've seen is powder coated blades. Yours appears to be acid washed. Can you shed light on that?
 
Here's a little one I had Josh Gollardo (JoshRG) make for me. It's AEB-L steel, cocobolo scales with brass pins and lanyard tube. It came with a kydex sheath set up for neck carry or a tec-lock but it would be perfect in a pocket sheath or a sheath set up for horizontal belt carry. Not sure I'm warming up to the idea of carrying such a small fixed blade though. For my daily needs, it doesn't really bother me to open a traditional folder. When I truly need a fixed blade (outdoors activities, especially hunting) I have several in the perfect size range of about 8" OAL.





 
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BigBiscuit said:
Hi Al. I'm thinking my next BRKT is going to be the PSK or Bravo Micro. I do have a question regarding your ESEE Candiru; The blade finish on yours appears to be different than all the ones I see online. Everything I've seen is powder coated blades. Yours appears to be acid washed. Can you shed light on that?
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Bob, the Candiru was modified. The logos were etched and blued and the coating was stripped.
 
sugarleaf said:
Bob, the Candiru was modified. The logos were etched and blued and the coating was stripped.
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I thought maybe it was modified. I'm on the fence about the powder coating. Not sure if i really like it or not. I'm leaning towards not. I like the size of it though and the price is right. Very tempting and if there was an option without the powder coating, I would have already jumped on one.
 
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