One Large Fehrman Knife

J

John Frankl

Joined
Oct 16, 2001
Messages
1,917
Hello,

If you were going to purchase only one of the larger Fehrman knives--and you already had a Thru Hiker--would you go with the Last Chance, First Strike, or Final Judgement? And a few reasons behind your choice?

Thanks.
 
i have the final judgment ,an impressive blade that cuts forever. this is a big knife which i desired because i wanted a chopper which it certainly is. unless a person has handled a truly big knife they may be surprised at the size. if one is actually going to carry or pack the knife then i would opt for the 1st strike.my own personal choice for a large carry or packer is the shadow scout. i do'nt understand the mania desiring 1/4 in. steel. it's virtually impossible to break 3/16s metal & the weight reduction is significant.tests on the ferhman & busses have shown impressive batoning results with blades less than 1/4 in. be that as it may i certainly welcome the enthusisum & desire for large knives.my next one will probably be the shadow scout.
 
Thank you.

I totally agree with you about blade thickness. I would love to see Fehrman make something like the Final Judgement in 3/16" steel, and even a bit wider than the current 1.68". I think a 10" x 2' blade, ala the cutting comp. specs would be pretty cool.
 
John Frankl said:
Hello,

If you were going to purchase only one of the larger Fehrman knives--and you already had a Thru Hiker--would you go with the Last Chance, First Strike, or Final Judgement? And a few reasons behind your choice?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

What are you planning on using the knife for? Chopper??? If so, go with the longer blade in the final judgement. :thumbup: I have a last chance,a first strike and a shadow scout and like them all very much. The shadow scout may be may favorite based on the ergonomics of the knife. You may also want to look at Busse's current offering, the Bushwhacker Battle Mistress. It sports a 10.25" blade @ 3/16ths thickness. I assure you that it is as indestructible as any knife you can buy, even at its thickness/thinness. http://www.bussecombat.com/home/index.shtml. The performance of both steels is comparable, although Busse's INFI is more stain resistant.
 
Thank you for the Busse heads-up.

I do like the overall specs, but would rather have something satin finished with a full, high flat (or convex) grind. The site says "convex," but through all that coating I have a hard time seeing the actual height of the grind. Any ideas?

The satin version, of course, has a saber grind, and is thicker and more expensive.

Back to the Fehrmans, yes, chopping is a concern, but not the only one. I am looking for sort of a "do all" big knife, even as I know that every choice is a compromise. And, as mentioned, would likely carry either a folder, a Thru Hiker, or both together with whatever I choose.

Thanks again for the input/help.
 
John Frankl said:
Thank you for the Busse heads-up.

I do like the overall specs, but would rather have something satin finished with a full, high flat (or convex) grind. The site says "convex," but through all that coating I have a hard time seeing the actual height of the grind. Any ideas?

The satin version, of course, has a saber grind, and is thicker and more expensive.

Back to the Fehrmans, yes, chopping is a concern, but not the only one. I am looking for sort of a "do all" big knife, even as I know that every choice is a compromise. And, as mentioned, would likely carry either a folder, a Thru Hiker, or both together with whatever I choose.

Thanks again for the input/help.
Click to expand...

I'd grab the Extreme Judgment. You already got the small one for small stuff. And, you might as well get the biggest one of 'em big ones. ;)

You could always "kit-up" like so...

67426fb0.jpg
 
John Frankl said:
Thank you for the Busse heads-up.

I do like the overall specs, but would rather have something satin finished with a full, high flat (or convex) grind. The site says "convex," but through all that coating I have a hard time seeing the actual height of the grind. Any ideas?

The satin version, of course, has a saber grind, and is thicker and more expensive.

Back to the Fehrmans, yes, chopping is a concern, but not the only one. I am looking for sort of a "do all" big knife, even as I know that every choice is a compromise. And, as mentioned, would likely carry either a folder, a Thru Hiker, or both together with whatever I choose.

Thanks again for the input/help.
Click to expand...


The coating on the Busse is easily removed with paint stripper if you don't care for it. I've done it to a couple of mine... I don't care for the coating since it serves no purpose, really. Infi is about as 'stainless' as it comes without being 'stainless'. ;)

With regard to the Fehrman's... I may recommend the final judgment for your use. Here is a pic of mine....

IMG_0432.jpg


The 7.5" blade does not necessarily excel at chopping, but it will work fine if need be. Hint... wear gloves lest your pinky suffer. ;) (see the blood?)

It is a compromise, as you suggested, with regard to blade size. I have a difficult time when asked which Fehrman is my 'favorite'... but today it is the 'Shadow Scout'. Great ergo's. This scaled down model isn't ideal for chopping, but I can assure you it will take anything you can throw at it. :thumbup: I've been beating it into mesquite wood for two days with no noticeable wear on the edge (still shaves arm hair). It certainly compares with INFI in that regard. Amazingly tough stuff... even at 3/16ths stock. :cool:

IMG_0405.jpg
 
Sufler said:
I'd grab the Extreme Judgment. You already got the small one for small stuff. And, you might as well get the biggest one of 'em big ones. ;)

You could always "kit-up" like so...

67426fb0.jpg
Click to expand...

This is the way to go. If you already have a smaller knife, definitely go for the bigger one. I just bought a Last Chance recently, but I only bought that because I ended up having some surprise expenses that put the extreme judgment out of my price range. I will definitely be picking one of those up next... My Last Chance is my do-it all knife, because it can handle processing wood if you need to, is small enough to pack and carry anywhere, and has great edge geometry for it's size and a great sized handle. It CAN do anything well, although the bigger knives like the Extreme Judgment definitely have a more specialized use. The big chopper blades are fun, but are mostly designed for those very specific, heavy, hard use tasks... They aren't ideal for everything, but who doesn't love swinging a big, heavy blade around in the woods?
 
I’ve been using my Thru-Hiker alongside my Final Judgment for a few days now.
I like being able to process larger pieces of wood with the FJ (chopping, de-limbing). Once those pieces are cut, I can use the small blade for more intricate work on them (notches, grooves). The larger blade functions more like a machete/ax, which saves time and strength. I would have to work harder with a smaller blade doing the larger blades chores.

It’s all a trade-off though. Big knives are harder to carry. The great thing about the Fehrman FJ is the weight. It’s only 19oz. To me, that makes it worth carrying. I can attach the small knife and a survival pouch, and still be carrying less weight on my belt than the weight of some other choppers alone.
 
I would team the Thru Hiker with the Extreme Judgement.

Little knife does the fine work. Big knife does the rough stuff. I also ,ake sure the knives are carried on my person NOT in or on a pack.
 
wildmike said:
I would team the Thru Hiker with the Extreme Judgement.

Little knife does the fine work. Big knife does the rough stuff. I also ,ake sure the knives are carried on my person NOT in or on a pack.
Click to expand...

You know what? After looking closely at the Fehrman website, it does not look like the Thru Hiker can be mounted to the Extreme Judgment, because it's a different blade size and they don't fit correctly. It likes like it has to be paired with one of the survival series knives, which are the Final Judgment, First Strike, and Last Chance. That's a bummer, they would make a nice pair. You can always get the Thru-Hiker and use it as a neck knife. I was thinking about doing that.

I was debating getting the Extreme Judgment or a Monster Nessie by Daniel Koster, but after reading some reviews on the two, I think I'm going to be a proud owner of an Extreme Judgment in addition to my Last Chance, which I love.
 
I'm sure the Extreme Judgment is an awesome knife. I just didn't want a recurve. Now if Fehrman comes out with a 2" wide straight blade, I'm all over it.
 
John Frankl said:
I'm sure the Extreme Judgment is an awesome knife. I just didn't want a recurve. Now if Fehrman comes out with a 2" wide straight blade, I'm all over it.
Click to expand...

^ My thoughts exactly. Great knife:thumbup:, I just don't want the added hassle of sharpening a recurve.
 
Recurves are easy to sharpen with a loaded strop.

But then I'm used to sharpening kukri's so Fehrmans recurves barely qualify as a recurve to me.
 
A strop is really only good for touching up or finishing off an edge that is already sharp. The tricky part is sharpening a dull or damaged recurve.

For my Kukri's I use sandpaper/leather wrapped around a cardboard cylinder. The resulting edge is great! ....but it is more of a hassle to pull off than a straight or outwardly curving edge.

I do think it is a nice knife though.:)
 
John Frankl said:
I'm sure the Extreme Judgment is an awesome knife. I just didn't want a recurve. Now if Fehrman comes out with a 2" wide straight blade, I'm all over it.
Click to expand...

That's been the main thing stopping me from getting one as well.

I would love to see an 11.5" Judgment. *drools*
I have too many 9" knives as is, and quite frankly the BK-9 is very hard to beat, not only in price, but the design is very well done.

Right now I'm most likely to get a Last Chance or First Strike, and maybe the EJ just because it's so cool.
 
I have no problem sharpening my ZT0300 with my Fallkniven DC4 hone. And that is a much tighter recurve than the Extreme Judgement or a kukri has. I don't think there would be any problem at all sharpening the Extreme judgement with a standard diamond hone, or a good stone.
 
wildmike said:
I have no problem sharpening my ZT0300 with my Fallkniven DC4 hone. And that is a much tighter recurve than the Extreme Judgement or a kukri has. I don't think there would be any problem at all sharpening the Extreme judgement with a standard diamond hone, or a good stone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you may be right. I'd be interested in hearing from someone who has the X-judgement to see how they have faired with it. :)
 
I sure hope Eric is reading these threads. He seemed ready to make something long, wide, and straight, but he was worried about lack of demand. I think if he makes it, lots of people will buy it.
 
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