Small footprint fixed blade for day hikes

mec003 said:
Hello everyone. ...............................
I usually take my izula (a bit small), a bk14 (hate the sheath), a mora companion, or a bk 16 (a little big for hiking).
.....................................
I'm currently considering an LT Wright bushcrafter, fallkniven F1, or an esee 3. Spending limit is around $125. Any suggestions would be great.
Click to expand...

BK14
I carry the BK24 with the handles cause I want the D2
The #5 Sheath from Battle Horse Knives transforms it into a field knife
I carry it on a dangler and you can get fire steel loop in it
It is is a great field knife for hiking


Battle Horse Knives makes excellent knives
For $130 you can get a huge assortments of styles of knives, and different handles
Every knife I have of theirs is very comfortable to use
Dan Coppins is is an out of the ball park designer of knives, and these are commercial produced knives at commercial prices
The F&F is superb
Their O1 steel is excellent
Saber, Flat or Scandi
The Scandi is convex the almost micro edge
I take them to my best waterstones and work the edge to close to zero
And a choice of three sheaths, dangler, belt and necker
So in a single knife design, you get to choose what you want
A lot of them are little thicker, so you have to search for the 1/8th
$130 will get you up to 3 1/2"

I got a TOPS CUB
I filed off the choil and fitted it into a sharpshooter sheath
Then convexed the whole scandivex into a very shallow convex
Excellent knife
But not worth the pain if you can get a BHK



A Mora #2 is a wonderful light hiking knife
I love them in their utter simplicity, down to the plastic sheath
An object of beauty
I sand down the handle so it fits very snugly and safely into the plastic sheath
I sand the middle of the handle, leaving the paint into the ferrule and from the top
I rub in beeswax into the handle to seal the open wood and to make it more grippy
It weighs nothing and costs nothing
I take the Scandi edges to my waterstones
Then I take a purple ID Card lanyard and hang the mean boy from it

The Mora 2000
I am suggesting it because it is an iconic Swedish Design
I think MOM in NY has it on show
It is a tough working very well design knife with scandi in the straight of the blade and a thin flat ground tip (not for digging worms out of a trunk)
A solid dangler plastic sheath
Clearly a today's take on an traditional knife
And it works


And my last suggestion
ENZO Trapper in O1 or D2
Zero grind
A solid hiking field knife
And incredible woodworkers knife
Well worth the look
A good competitor to BHK

Enjoy the search
 
Last edited:
neeman said:
BK14
I carry the BK24 with the handles cause I want the D2
The #5 Sheath from Battle Horse Knives transforms it into a field knife
I carry it on a dangler and you can get fire steel loop in it
It is is a great field knife for hiking


Battle Horse Knives makes excellent knives
For $130 you can get a huge assortments of styles of knives, and different handles
Every knife I have of theirs is very comfortable to use
Dan Coppins is is an out of the ball park designer of knives, and these are commercial produced knives at commercial prices
The F&F is superb
Their O1 steel is excellent
Saber, Flat or Scandi
The Scandi is convex the almost micro edge
I take them to my best waterstones and work the edge to close to zero
And a choice of three sheaths, dangler, belt and necker
So in a single knife design, you get to choose what you want
A lot of them are little thicker, so you have to search for the 1/8th
$130 will get you up to 3 1/2"

I got a TOPS CUB
I filed off the choil and fitted it into a sharpshooter sheath
Then convexed the whole scandivex into a very shallow convex
Excellent knife
But not worth the pain if you can get a BHK



A Mora #2 is a wonderful light hiking knife
I love them in their utter simplicity, down to the plastic sheath
An object of beauty
I sand down the handle so it fits very snugly and safely into the plastic sheath
I sand the middle of the handle, leaving the paint into the ferrule and from the top
I rub in beeswax into the handle to seal the open wood and to make it more grippy
It weighs nothing and costs nothing
I take the Scandi edges to my waterstones
Then I take a purple ID Card lanyard and hang the mean boy from it

The Mora 2000
I am suggesting it because it is an iconic Swedish Design
I think MOM in NY has it on show
It is a tough working very well design knife with scandi in the straight of the blade and a thin flat ground tip (not for digging worms out of a trunk)
A solid dangler plastic sheath
Clearly a today's take on an traditional knife
And it works


And my last suggestion
ENZO Trapper in O1 or D2
Zero grind
A solid hiking field knife
And incredible woodworkers knife
Well worth the look
A good competitor to BHK

Enjoy the search
Click to expand...

נימהן
זה כמו שיר על סכינים! תודה רבה

זיג
 
The Zieg said:
נאמן
זה כמו שיר על סכינים! תודה רבה

זיג
Click to expand...
Translation is
It's like a song on knives! Thank you very much
 
Have you considered an Enzo Trapper? The blade on the Enzo Trapper measures 3 7/8". They come in a variety of steels including O1, D2, N690Co, and a few others. The Trapper offers you a choice of a flat or scandi grind. They can be purchased a little under $125 as a finished knife. Or you can just buy a blank which runs $40 to $60 depending on your choice of steel and make the scales yourself. They are also offered in a kit form which all you have to do is finish the scales and you are good to go.

I have over a dozen Enzo's and highly recommend them.

From the top down, an Ontario RAT3 (for reference purposes), Enzo Trapper O1 scandi grind with birch scales, Enzo Trapper O1 scandi grind with black canvas micarta scales, and Enzo Trapper N690Co flat grind with green canvas micarta scales.
IMG_0984_zps7uwujthk.jpg
 
Wow, there's a lot of great suggestions here! I will probably end up shopping around to see if I can find the BR ultralight. I hadn't considered the enzo, but will now.
 
mec003 said:
Hello everyone. I'm thinking of purchasing a new knife after Christmas. I'm looking for suggestions. My main purpose is for relatively short day hikes (5-12 miles round trip). I really don't need a new knife for any practical reason, but I love knives and want to try something new.

First off, I hate carrying large knives, so anything with more than a 4.5 inch blade is out. Second, I'm looking for something that doesn't take up much space when wearing on a belt.

I usually have a larger folder and a multi tool with me. But I prefer to always have a fixed blade when in the woods. I usually take my izula (a bit small), a bk14 (hate the sheath), a mora companion, or a bk 16 (a little big for hiking).

I will be using it mostly for small food prep when making lunch and for general cutting tasks. I'm not going to baton with it or attempt to fell a sequioa.

I'm currently considering an LT Wright bushcrafter, fallkniven F1, or an esee 3. Spending limit is around $125. Any suggestions would be great.
Click to expand...

Maybe upgrade your BK14. It's almost Rat 3 blade size as is, but smaller in the handle, so more compact overall. Just get yourself a custom sheath for it and maybe custom scales if you don't have a good handle solution already.

Unless you just want a new blade, in which case, lots of good options out there.
 
storyville said:
Well within your price range, you could also go with an Enzo Necker in 12C27, D2, or even Damascus; in full flat or Scandi grind; and in micarta, curly birch, or skeletonized (no handle). Could add it to any list of underrated knives.
Click to expand...

Very good recommendation. I was not aware of this knife until you posted about it. After some more research I ordered a black micarta, full flat grind with the kydex neck sheath. Got it for 55 bucks shipped, an amazing value. 12c27 is a favorite of mine, holds a fine edge through hard seasoned wood carving and this one comes ground to a very near zero edge, just super sharp after some very fine edge convexing. This little piece of Finnish art is going along in my day pack and my backpacking trips. It is a super slicer that has a bit of stoutness to it. I'll use it for a lot of food prep and the occasional wood carving when needed.

It is very light weight at 3 ounces and that includes the sheath, which is the only way to really report a hiking knife imo unless you are going to carry it in your teeth... LOL
 
I love this knife and my wife even said its the best in my collection for fuzz sticks. ML knives made me the blank and I did the handle, looks great and ' old timey ' !

 
If you like the Enzo offering also consider the smaller brother, the Enzo Elver.
Mine's in O1, and custom handles (orange G10, natural canvas micarta, carbon fiber pins).
Love this little fella, get sharp as a scalpel.

Enzo_22.jpg


Enzo_20.JPG
 
pitdog said:
I love this knife and my wife even said its the best in my collection for fuzz sticks. ML knives made me the blank and I did the handle, looks great and ' old timey ' !

Click to expand...
Now that appears to be one handy knife.
 
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I know this is an old post, but just wanted to thank everyone again. I finally ordered an enzo trapper in O1. Should arrive this week.
 
I've been heavily considering picking up a Real Steal Bushcraft 2. Seems to fit your criteria as well.

Just over 4" D2 scandi blade with g10 handles (with colored liners) and kydex sheath for less than half of your budget.
 
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