Small bushcraft knife?

Indoril

Indoril

Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
130
Hey everyone. In my research of knives I've always been directed to this forum, so I figured it's about time that I join. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your community.

I have a few middle of the road folders and an Izula, however I'm looking for something a bit more to perform as my primary backpacking/bushcraft knife. In my research and handling of various knives, here is some criteria I collected for an ideal knife for me:

  • 3 - 4 inch blade + full tang
  • stainless steel
  • on the thicker side, 3 - 4 mm at least
  • weighs no more than 5.5 ounces, lighter is better
  • deep, prominent finger choil
  • max budget is $150
Basically I need a smaller, lightweight knife that's also stainless since I'm in a wet environment a lot and may also not use the knife for months at a time. The trick is to find a knife that balances all the above properties, and I haven't found any yet that fulfill all of these. I really like the design of the izula, however the blade is a bit small for me and also it's 1095, so I may give it to a friend. I looked at the Fallkniven F1 also which I know is a highly capable knife, but the grip just felt off for me as I'm used to the pronounced choil. For this reason I absolutely loved the grip and design on the Spyderco Street Beat, but sadly it is probably too thin and delicate to fulfill the role of hard use bush knife. Do you guys know of any knives that would work for me? Thanks for any suggestions
 
The stainless steel makes things a little trickier. One knife that comes to mind is the Blind Horse knives Bushcrafter, they can be had for around $145 but they come in 01 tool steel which is a very good steel but not stainless. Blind Horse Knives has a custom shop and I am sure you could get them to make a stainless version but I am not sure what the price would end up being on it.
 
Sounds like the 440C Esee 4 is what you want, if only they were out. A nice little option is the Boker Arbolito Pine Creek. It's a nice knife, and 1/3 of your budget. You could save the rest for the Esee when it finally comes out.

Another option is the Buck Paklite. A little bigger than the Izula, stainless, really comfortable with a paracord wrap, as thick as the izula, and $20. I actually just bought another one. It's a hollow grind, which is not my favorite, but it's a surprisingly good knife. Lots of good youtube reviews on it.
 
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I am in a wet humid environment also I don't worry about it. You can put a patina on a knife and it will help out a lot. I have both SS and hi carbon steel.
 
Welcome to the forum!!

Perhaps you can check out the Benchmade 162 Bushcrafter.
Have had a chance to handle it, and in my opinion looks & feels great in hand.
Although it is just over 4" blade length, it is a thick piece of S30V, with G10 handles.
Comes with a very nice leather sheath, only concern with too much water...
According to BM:
"S30V: An American made and developed premium grade stainless steel created especially for knives. It is a powder made steel with a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. As a blade material it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities."

BM put up a video test of it on YT, check it out for sure..

As for the price, there are some dealers selling them under your budget...

Best with your knife search!! Let us know what you end up with..
 
Creaky Bones said:
Sounds like the 440C Esee 4 is what you want, if only they were out. A nice little option is the Boker Arbolito Pine Creek. It's a nice knife, and 1/3 of your budget. You could save the rest for the Esee when it finally comes out.

Another option is the Buck Paklite. A little bigger than the Izula, stainless, really comfortable with a paracord wrap, as thick as the izula, and $20. I actually just bought another one. It's a hollow grind, which is not my favorite, but it's a surprisingly good knife. Lots of good youtube reviews on it.
Click to expand...

I know the ESEE 4 is pretty much the industry standard for this application, but I'm afraid it's too heavy. I'm pretty adamant about the weight limit - the knife cannot be above 5 or 6 ounces at most. I'm trying to keep it as light as I can. The Paklite looks interesting, and ergonomic too. I would consider it if there is a way to get proper scales for it. I heard rumors of a stainless izula also. While still kind of small, I'd definitely be interested in a look at that also, if they ever come out, that is.

416isToronto said:
Welcome to the forum!!

Perhaps you can check out the Benchmade 162 Bushcrafter.
Have had a chance to handle it, and in my opinion looks & feels great in hand.
Although it is just over 4" blade length, it is a thick piece of S30V, with G10 handles.
Comes with a very nice leather sheath, only concern with too much water...
According to BM:
"S30V: An American made and developed premium grade stainless steel created especially for knives. It is a powder made steel with a uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. As a blade material it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities."

BM put up a video test of it on YT, check it out for sure..

As for the price, there are some dealers selling them under your budget...

Best with your knife search!! Let us know what you end up with..
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warm welcome. I like the quality of BM products and the Bushcrafter seems like one serious knife, but I'm afraid it breaks the weight limit too. I think it and the ESEE 4 are both like 7 - 8 ounces. Thanks for the suggestions though
 
Check out the Spyderco Bill Moran. 3.75" VG-10 blade and only weighs 3 oz. (3mm blade width) It's also reasonably priced for a quality fixed blade knife.

fb01billmoran102customln5.jpg
 
Becker BK24 D2, its semi stainless. I love mine and I live on the west coast. No choil though. I also looked at the White river knife and tool Backpacker. They have other models 440 and S30v, and a choil.
 
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I got this! Check out the D'Eskabar (Becker BK-24). It's an Eskabar (Joint venture between Ka-Bar/Becker and ESEE with a Becker style blade and an Izula handle) that happens to be made of D2 steel.

As for your requirements:

3 - 4 inch blade + full tang (3.25 inches)
stainless steel (D2 is sometimes called a semi-stainless steel. It's not truly a stainless steel but will resist rusting much more than a lot of the other high carbon steels used in common bush knives)
on the thicker side, 3 - 4 mm at least (4.19mm)
weighs no more than 5.5 ounces, lighter is better (weighs 3 ounces)
deep, prominent finger choil (the Izula style handle has a natural "choil")
max budget is $150 ($50 on Amazon)

To really round it out, you may want to consider adding some of the zytel or micarta handles but you will still be way inside your cost and weight envelopes. The blade is very similar to the Becker BK-16 which is my go to bushcraft blade. It should serve you well.
 
The new Bark River Ultra Light Bushcraft looks like a real winner, although it is 3V (not stainless) and has no choil.
 
You could try an Enzo Necker: it's very similar to the Izula but in stainless. It's cheap too, so you can afford to keep it as a backup knife.

Have you considered a Mora Black Carbon? It's a perfect match for your spec except for being carbon, but the blade is covered in Diamond Like Coating to prevent rust. Remember that even stainless isn't rust proof, and that the Scandanvians take rust resistance very seriously - this is probably as good or better than most stainless, especially if you use a Tuf cloth or whatever.

9409.jpg


..You could get this and the Necker inside your budget, and both makers have unimpeachable reputations.
 
Boozoo Chavis said:
Check out the Spyderco Bill Moran. 3.75" VG-10 blade and only weighs 3 oz. (3mm blade width) It's also reasonably priced for a quality fixed blade knife.

fb01billmoran102customln5.jpg
Click to expand...

That grip looks pretty comfortable, but I would prefer a deeper choil. Also I'm not so sure about the blade shape

GeoBruin said:
I got this! Check out the D'Eskabar (Becker BK-24). It's an Eskabar (Joint venture between Ka-Bar/Becker and ESEE with a Becker style blade and an Izula handle) that happens to be made of D2 steel.

As for your requirements:

3 - 4 inch blade + full tang (3.25 inches)
stainless steel (D2 is sometimes called a semi-stainless steel. It's not truly a stainless steel but will resist rusting much more than a lot of the other high carbon steels used in common bush knives)
on the thicker side, 3 - 4 mm at least (4.19mm)
weighs no more than 5.5 ounces, lighter is better (weighs 3 ounces)
deep, prominent finger choil (the Izula style handle has a natural "choil")
max budget is $150 ($50 on Amazon)

To really round it out, you may want to consider adding some of the zytel or micarta handles but you will still be way inside your cost and weight envelopes. The blade is very similar to the Becker BK-16 which is my go to bushcraft blade. It should serve you well.
Click to expand...

I was actually looking at the Eskabar and it seemed really good, but after handling one and giving it some thought, I concluded that I'd rather get an Izula in 440c. The knives are very similar, except the izula comes with ESEE's warranty and also a better sheath that wouldn't need to be replaced. I think those things outweigh the slight length advantage the Eskabar has. Only problem is waiting for the stainless Izula though.

Campbell Bushcraft Knives said:
Hi Indoril,

I would willing to work with you on a knife to these specs, shoot me an email at jed.oliver.campbell@gmail.com if you're interested. Here's an example of my previous work: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...le-English-Bushcraft-Knife?highlight=campbell.

Cheers,
Jed Campbell
Click to expand...

Thank you sir. I don't know why, but that seems crazy and kind of cool that someone would just offer to make a knife for me. I guess that's a part of being part of this community. I will explore all my options and may consider a custom made if it comes to that. Very nice work by the way, it looks great!
 
Try one of Big Chris knives, he uses many of the new stainless steels and his handles are great on the hands.
 
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