One and only Fixed blade

wuyeah

wuyeah

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
1,665
Hi, I dont' have a fixed blade tactical knife. And lack of knowledge of. would like to have one. i feel fixed blade materials are concern differently than folders because of their heavy duty matter. All I know are names, Blackwater, MOD, strider....etc. Price is 300 under. 4" above is ideal. I think that is a very flexible range since most of production fixed blade tactical are around $180. I only plan to buy one, so try to buy the best possible in the price range. what do you recommand?

or you can tell me what steel will be ideal. 154CM? 420HC? or S30V is still the best in fixed world as well?
 
If this is for real use, carbon steel might be best, for sharpness and toughness. if you want stainless, any of the high-end steels are OK, from AUS-8 and 440C through ATS-34/154CM, VG-10 and S30V. (And others.)

Take a look at the Chris Reeve One-Piece line in A2, and his new military fixed blades in S30V.
 
Ka-Bar Next Generation uses D2 steel is very good and is about half what you want to spend.It may be too large,don't know exactly what you want. :)
 
:p i don't know what i want too.....i just want a good fix blade for the sak of wanting for now. But you never know what or when you will pull out an use it.

You guys must have idea of your dream fixed! what is it? what is it? Tell me, Tell me.
 
You remind me of me some time back. I felt the same way. I wanted an excellent blade that was big enough to tackle heavy duty work and small enough to carry....I never use it. :(

It would be good to use camping I suppose (out of a car), but way to clumsy for food prep and quite honestly if I'm car camping, chopping wood would be easier with an axe/hatchet.

I do believe that fixed blades are an excellent choice however, I would caution you on getting a big, tactical monster if you can't identify a real need for it. You would get more use/pleasure out of a nice fixed blade that you can use more readily...

My Bark River Knife and Tool Fox River gets way more use and is quite a bit easier to carry. Looks nicer too. A2 steel is nice and the convex edge is a breeze to maintain.

A dream fixed blade would be a smaller one from Busse (Badger Attack maybe), maybe a Graham Brothers knife, a Jerry Hossom blade. Again, nothing too big that I can't use it around the house.

Also check out Charles May Knives. He sells in the for sale forum. He makes some very good looking stuff!
 
If you go stainless I'd probably look at the Fallkniven line up. For high carbon look seriously at the Beckers, and the Swamp Rat selection of fixed blades. The Swamp Rat knives are great IMO and tough as nails. I hear that Ranger is making some really good ones too though.

Some of the toughest looking thickest users I've ever handled were from a couple of ole boys over at Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works. I have not read a lot about these knives but must say that after seeing and handling them that they sure look like they are up there with some of the toughest made. Notice how thick these things are? And they are not dull or easily left behind in cutting prowess due to that thickness either.

http://www.plan-a.org/mmhw/jg.htm

http://www.plan-a.org/mmhw/skull.htm

http://www.plan-a.org/mmhw/tanto.htm

http://www.plan-a.org/mmhw/obp.htm
 
I was just looking for some specs comparing fixed knife and folded knife. The thickness of the blade is not always wider than folders. I always thought they are, that is why i always thought they are more sturdy. now i feel a Folder with AXIS lock might be as sturdy as a fixed blade and can be carry everywhere any time. Now really sounds in my head, besides fighting wild animail at emergency, a fixed blade is not the best idea to have. Is my statement correct?
 
I would disagree with that statement directly. I don't care what kind of lock a folder has on it - it won't be as strong as a comparable (length, steel, thickness etc...)fixed blade.

If you want a knife you can carry anywhere at any time, then a folder may be right for you. Just remember, it is designed to break in the middle...
 
Thanks Kbog for clearing up my clouds......! Now I must back on my fixed searching.
 
If I were in any kind of a situation where the chance of coming across a wild predator type animal was a possibility I don't think a folder is going to be my first choice. A 12 Gauge slug gun comes to mind, maybe a 450 Marlin or a 44 Magnum Revolver at the least. But if none of those are an option a good fixed blade is the next obvious choice in my mind.

The Axis lock by BenchMade, the Nested Compression lock by Spyderco and the Ultra Lock by Cold Steel are perhaps the three strongest locks on the market today.
 
I would suggest a good neck knife. Its stronger than a folder, yet can be carried almost anywhere. My Becker Necker has served well...havn't carried a folder in over a year. I have a D2 Arclite as well. Its a sweet little knife but the sheath only allows for handle down carry. Carrying the Becker with the handle up allows for reaching 1 - 2 inches down the neckline, grab handle, pull up and out yanking knife free from sheath. I can do this by the time I've located the thumbstud on my folder. I need to get a better sheath made for the Arclite.
 
You could get close to a Busse NO or Satin Jack for $300, big enough to do real work but not so large as to be cumbersome.

For a bit less, the SRK Howling Rat and Bandicoot are first rate knives, not decorative but purposeful, sturdy and considerably less than $300.

CRK Neil Roberts Warrior is right at $300, S30V and a good candidate for a multipurpose fixed blade.

My personal choice, if I could only have one, would likely be the Busse SJ or maybe a Randall 1-6, in micarta/01. Both slightly more than $300 maybe but tough to improve upon.
 
I carry a Busse FB EDC. The most carried and the largest I can get away with is an older straight handled Badger Attack. 4 1/2 or 5" blade IIRC. I'm wearing it, just don't have a ruler handy. The others are a Mean Street and Active duty, both smaller.

When I say the largest I can get away with concerns comfort AND ease of concealment. With our CCW laws I can carry a Battle Mistress if I wanted and could conceal it. The comfort level would be next to zero though. LOL It's on my belt for 12/14 hrs/day so comfort is about my #1 priority.

If you want 'tactical', the Mean Street would be a good choice. The blade shape is more of a SD thing than the BA or AD. The Swamp Rat Bandicoot is on the same order as the MS and there are a few that were made from INFI (INFIcoots), that were done due to a mix up at the shop. About twice the cost of a regular coot, but still way below the cost of a similar Busse. They pop up now and then on the exchange.

As far as strength goes, and this is entirely subjective on my part, I also carry a large Classic Sebbie so I don't freak out the sheeple pulling a FB that they didn't even know was there. The blade of the Sebbie and the Active Duty are almost identical in shape/length and whatever. You can lay one on top of the other and they look like one. The AD is slightly thicker, but not by a lot. The Sebbie is no slouch in terms of anything, but still, the AD just feels like it would handle more stress and strain. Can't back that up with any sort of hard facts, it's just the way it feels to me. Could be bias, the Sebbie is the only folder I own, but I'm just not wild about knives designed to break in the middle, no matter how well made.

Rob
 
Firstly, carbon steels are usually better however there are some good ones like one of my favorites, s30v. Since it's your first fixed balde my first recomendation is any of the ka-bar combat knives, relatively cheap with good steel whether or not it's D2 or 1095, personally I prefer 1095, anyway that's the knife I use for really serious abuse when im close to home. If not I also think you might like the Busse's or Becker's knives.
 
I dont know if Cold Steel still makes the SRK like they used to. I bought one more than 10 years ago as a factory second to use and not to admire like most of the knives I get. I have beat the HE#$ out of that knife...and it has never been anything but rock solid.

It is my oppinion that CS went through some drastic changes since then, and reading some of these forums it is funny to see the oppinions of CS.

If they still make the SRK and it is still made with the quality mine was (It was a second because of scratches in the powder coat ... go figure) then I highly recommend it as a frequent use fixed blade for just about anything around the house, camp or whatever, and when it comes down to it I am sure it can be as "tactical" as you want it to be, and for the price you quote, you can get three.
 
I would definetley look at the Ka-Bar line for a first fixed blade If you decide that isnt good enough for you then you can always say you had one. There is no one knife that fits the bill for every job you may ask it to do just look for the knife that will fit the bill for the majority of the tasks you expect to be doing with it. An example is my carving knife kit has 20 knives ,goudges and chisels and that is only a beginners kit intended to work at one task Carving. I wouldnt think of using any of them for other jobs that is why I have other tools. Think of a knife as a tool.
 
Just check out the Extrema Ratio Fulcrum/or FulcrumS. Man, have to say that is some knife!! Just from looking i can imagine feeling like Rambo reborn. ER is not so much of a talk about! i try to see people's reaction, hard to find people's response. Most their knives are using N690 SS. Not sure how good are they :confused: Just know they made those steel thick and sturdy.
 
I'll second the Cold Steel SRK. I own a lot of fixed blades and this one is my consistant go too knife for just about everything. This pattern is just plain tough and versatile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top