I've noticed lately some nice quality new production full-tang fixed blades coming on the market, and a couple of these are by a maker I haven't heard as much about in the past, LionSteel. Curious if anyone has tried any of these, has more information on them, or in general, if you find any of these as appealing as I do.
The Buck Hood Punk knife.
- Blade: 5.625" 5160 carbon steel, 0.175" thick, flat ground drop point, black coated, finger choil, thumb ramp.
- Weight: 7.4oz
- OAL: 11"
- Handle: textured micarta, removable, lanyard hole.
- Sheath: nice molle sheath with front pouch
- Street price: $115
- Maker: Buck, USA.
Comments: Like the steel choice, and the thoughtful design on this one. Really up there and competing with the full-size offerings from ESEE in price and features. Very smart move, glad to see Buck making a strong entry in this field of knives, and I'm halfway tempted to buy one. Only thing I might have changed would be to go for a slightly thicker blade stock, at least 0.190". However, the Punk is much lighter than the similar-sized ESEE offerings in 5" and 6" blades, so that's an advantage for the Punk. Way to go Buck!
The Spyderco Southfork.
- 4.8" CPM S90v, [thickness not known yet], flat ground satin blade, finger choil, no ramp.
- Weight: 5.3oz
- OAL: 9.56"
- Handle: G10, non-removable, lanyard, textured finger guard.
- Sheath: Spyderco Boltaron with G-clip.
- Street price: $255
- Maker: Spyderco, USA. Collaboration with Phil Wilson.
Comments: This is a different take on a field utility knife. Like other Wilson knives, this will be a thinner blade, some estimate around 0.118", but it uses the CPM S90v super-steel and should be an incredible all around slicer and performer. Probably not an all-purpose "survival" or tactical blade, but for those who need a real field knife that can work for everything from fishing, to hunting, to camp chores, this will be a premium production knife that can fill the bill. Very tempting!
The Knife Research Rasul.
- Blade: 4.14" Vanadis 23 super-hard stainless (RC 63), 0.150" thick, flat ground, satin, small sharpening choil, no ramp.
- Weight: 7.2oz
- OAL: 8.8"
- Handle: black G10, removable, lanyard hole
- Sheath: classy looking fitted leather
- Street price: $305
- Maker: LionSteel, Italy
Comments: This is one impressive looking small utility/field/survival knife. Check out the video in the Rasul thread in the LionSteel forum, they've got this thing being batoned through BOLTS, with no blade damage! Very impressive, and the overall traditional drop point blade and grips give this knife an elegance, plus a super-tough, super-light stainless blade. If I read just a few more great reviews on this thing, I may have to take the plunge. They also offer a similar profiled but larger, 6.5" blade.
The new DPX Heft 4 (and 6) blades.
- Blade: 4" Sleipner tool steel, 0.190" thick, flat ground drop point, black coated, sharpening choil, thumb ramp with jimping.
- 7.05oz
- OAL: 9"
- Handle: black G10, removable, lanyard hole, extended tang and pry bar
- Sheath: black Cordura
- Stree price: $180
- Maker: LionSteel, Italy
Comments: Similar to the Rasul, but less elegant and more tactical. This is a thicker blade, seems extremely well thought-out. In fact at this size, this is probably the number one production knife I've seen lately. Don't know much about the Sleipner tool steel, all reports are it's excellent.
The Buck Hood Punk knife.
- Blade: 5.625" 5160 carbon steel, 0.175" thick, flat ground drop point, black coated, finger choil, thumb ramp.
- Weight: 7.4oz
- OAL: 11"
- Handle: textured micarta, removable, lanyard hole.
- Sheath: nice molle sheath with front pouch
- Street price: $115
- Maker: Buck, USA.
Comments: Like the steel choice, and the thoughtful design on this one. Really up there and competing with the full-size offerings from ESEE in price and features. Very smart move, glad to see Buck making a strong entry in this field of knives, and I'm halfway tempted to buy one. Only thing I might have changed would be to go for a slightly thicker blade stock, at least 0.190". However, the Punk is much lighter than the similar-sized ESEE offerings in 5" and 6" blades, so that's an advantage for the Punk. Way to go Buck!
The Spyderco Southfork.
- 4.8" CPM S90v, [thickness not known yet], flat ground satin blade, finger choil, no ramp.
- Weight: 5.3oz
- OAL: 9.56"
- Handle: G10, non-removable, lanyard, textured finger guard.
- Sheath: Spyderco Boltaron with G-clip.
- Street price: $255
- Maker: Spyderco, USA. Collaboration with Phil Wilson.
Comments: This is a different take on a field utility knife. Like other Wilson knives, this will be a thinner blade, some estimate around 0.118", but it uses the CPM S90v super-steel and should be an incredible all around slicer and performer. Probably not an all-purpose "survival" or tactical blade, but for those who need a real field knife that can work for everything from fishing, to hunting, to camp chores, this will be a premium production knife that can fill the bill. Very tempting!
The Knife Research Rasul.
- Blade: 4.14" Vanadis 23 super-hard stainless (RC 63), 0.150" thick, flat ground, satin, small sharpening choil, no ramp.
- Weight: 7.2oz
- OAL: 8.8"
- Handle: black G10, removable, lanyard hole
- Sheath: classy looking fitted leather
- Street price: $305
- Maker: LionSteel, Italy
Comments: This is one impressive looking small utility/field/survival knife. Check out the video in the Rasul thread in the LionSteel forum, they've got this thing being batoned through BOLTS, with no blade damage! Very impressive, and the overall traditional drop point blade and grips give this knife an elegance, plus a super-tough, super-light stainless blade. If I read just a few more great reviews on this thing, I may have to take the plunge. They also offer a similar profiled but larger, 6.5" blade.
The new DPX Heft 4 (and 6) blades.
- Blade: 4" Sleipner tool steel, 0.190" thick, flat ground drop point, black coated, sharpening choil, thumb ramp with jimping.
- 7.05oz
- OAL: 9"
- Handle: black G10, removable, lanyard hole, extended tang and pry bar
- Sheath: black Cordura
- Stree price: $180
- Maker: LionSteel, Italy
Comments: Similar to the Rasul, but less elegant and more tactical. This is a thicker blade, seems extremely well thought-out. In fact at this size, this is probably the number one production knife I've seen lately. Don't know much about the Sleipner tool steel, all reports are it's excellent.
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