Recommendation for small fixed blade

[hugofeynman]

Scott Gossman Mini Deer Creek, Survive knives gso 2.7 or Swamp Rat Rodent 3.

 

[The Zieg]

Buck 113?

Zieg

 

[AlwaysTomboy]

I'm probably on the wrong track but small fixed blade makes me think Spyderco Enuff. Too small?

 

[ThePeacent]

Another vote for the Minimalists!

Pick a shape, carry it with belt sheath or neck chain,

easy to sharpen, extremely low profile and weight, very inexpensive not to try

 

[herisson]

White River Caper all the way. It's the BackPacker but with G10 scales. A splendid little knife. Now, if you care to move over to the Exchange, you will find a gaggle of exquisitely crafted small knives at lower or same price as production models. Something to consider...

 

[CutThe Cheese]

What is your home state and while you're at it, tell us more about these strippers that you go fishing for?

I'm In Connecticut, some of the best stripper fishing in the world, and the world record stripper was caught right in my hometown! 81.88 LBS. I fish from shore with a 9" surf rod, throwing top water poppers and chunk bait ( bunker or shad). The blue fish are in heavy now too, which is a GREAT time.

 

[Sonnydaze]

It looks like the Guardian3 really got the folks' attention. Lots of pics of them. I got mine last Saturday and love it. The M390 is awfully hard to beat and it's a great steel choice. The jade G10 looks and feels good; I like the jimping and it's sharp enuf to work.
I also have Blind Horse fixed blade, 3", although that company split into L.T. Wright Knives and Battle Horse Knives. A SurviveKnive (GSO 3.5) in CPM 3V is also an excellent choice, but costs more than the others...in the $200 area.
The leather holster (Guardian3) is my first experience with horizontal (cross-draw) belt carry and I didn't think much of it...until I tried it. I love it. The leather sheath has a plastic insert in order that the holster doesn't get cut up from within. It disappears under my loose t-shirt (Florida), does NOT interfere with any hand or body movement, and is immediately at hand when/if you need it. This is a GREAT knife...costs about $159 on the web. The blade shape is large enough to work very well...without being too large.
And, BTW, I like the choil. Bradford can get a 3.5" blade with 3" cutting edge combined with a rather short grip...BECAUSE he has that finger choil that is designed to be used. Great idea.

Pic follows:
lt to rt: SurviveKnives GSO 3.5, Blind Horse Knives 3", Bradford Guardian3 3" in M390

 

[Ironbut]

It looks like the Guardian3 really got the folks' attention. Lots of pics of them. I got mine last Saturday and love it. The M390 is awfully hard to beat and it's a great steel choice. The jade G10 looks and feels good; I like the jimping and it's sharp enuf to work.
I also have Blind Horse fixed blade, 3", although that company split into L.T. Wright Knives and Battle Horse Knives. A SurviveKnive (GSO 3.5) in CPM 3V is also an excellent choice, but costs more than the others...in the $200 area.
The leather holster (Guardian3) is my first experience with horizontal (cross-draw) belt carry and I didn't think much of it...until I tried it. I love it. The leather sheath has a plastic insert in order that the holster doesn't get cut up from within. It disappears under my loose t-shirt (Florida), does NOT interfere with any hand or body movement, and is immediately at hand when/if you need it. This is a GREAT knife...costs about $159 on the web. The blade shape is large enough to work very well...without being too large.
I will put in a pic pretty soon, but it's no secret what it looks like.

Another thing I like about Bradford is customer service. I didn't see exactly what I wanted from any of the on-line knife stores, when I was ready to buy. I'm an old fart & like instant gratification, so I gave Bradford a call to see if they had what I was looking for. Brad Larkin answered the phone & I told him what I wanted in a G3. He took a 3V blade, with the finish I wanted, put the scales on it that I wanted that day & E-mailed me a USPS tracking number that night. You just can't beat that.

 

[Sonnydaze]

Ironbut is exactly right. Bradford Customer Service is great, in addition to their wide choice of products.

 

[craytab]

I'm In Connecticut, some of the best stripper fishing in the world, and the world record stripper was caught right in my hometown! 81.88 LBS. I fish from shore with a 9" surf rod, throwing top water poppers and chunk bait ( bunker or shad). The blue fish are in heavy now too, which is a GREAT time.

You should consider a Spyderco in H1 from the Salt line as a dedicated fishing knife. You can leave it with your gear and it will not rust. Lots of options fixed or folder. I recommend and aqua salt (fixed) or a pacific salt (solder). Both Serrated. H1 + Serrated = long edge holding.

 

[strategy9]

Model? Looks like something I would like.

The whole Boker Arbolito line is actually really nice.
They use n695 steel, which is pretty much just a nickel enhanced version of 440c, with a higher chromium threshold, so you get a more stain resistant 440c, (which is already pretty stain resistant stuff).


To the OP, whichever you decide on, you can certainly opt to have a custom sheath made up for you to go with it. A lot of great kydex and leather guys here on the forums who can make you something sweet.

You won't go wrong with either Bark River or Bradford, both solid companies, but just to throw a couple others out there worth looking at;

Arno Bernard from s. Africa makes a bunch of different small fixed blades of various sizes and styles. One of my favorite makers.

Karesuando from sweden and Kanetsune from Japan also make some sweet looking blades.

Just a few more to check out, broaden your search a bit.

 

[The Zieg]

Mora Eldris.

Cool sheath setup, too.

Zieg

 

[VanDammet]

OP - You already know about the G-3, & one of the page-1 posters added a great pic of his w the new/improved micarta scales....& that's my comment on the G-3, it's a fantastic blade - one of the very best geometries I've ever experienced, but I still sold mine, because the G10 scales were that bad. If you opt for the G-3, Do Not get the original G10 scales - they're painful!

Like Sonnydaze above, I too recommend the GSO 3.5, but I'd get it in CPM-20CV instead of 3V, since you're around water. The downside w this & all SK!s is that they can take forever & a day to get in hand.

I always recommend you snag a handmade knife in a CPM-154 or some other great stainless...a few overseas makers on the forum here use Elmax a lot - one of my favorite SS. Just yesterday, I saw too 7" OAL Shaerk knives in CPM-S30V for only $120 - one of many examples you can see daily here in the Fixed Blade exchange. My last bit of advice is to focus on the handle w a smaller fixed blade - for example, even w the Guardian-3's newer micarta hndles, I still think the overall shape & length of the handle are less than ideal...make sure your knife has a nice contoured comfortable handle that's around 4"-ish so you can actually hold it w all of your fingers - one of the most common mistakes in smaller fixed is handles that are too small &-or badly formed - best of luck!

 

[Davor]

For a small edc buy a busse active duty. It's done a great job on my fishing trips.