Sog Northwest Ranger or Karbar Mark 1

M

mlb2358

Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Messages
2
Hi Everyone,
I am starting to get into the whole bushcraft culture and am looking for my first knife. After looking around and reading/watching various reviews, I have found 2 knives that I like very much, but I am having a hard time deciding between them. The Sog northwest ranger and the kabar mark 1 are the two I am deciding between. I want a knife that would perform well at general camp tasks, but one that is also durable enough to baton with. I like the general look of the mark 1 more, but I am concerned about the durability of the knife due to the lack of a real full tang. I have seen some x-ray pictures of the northwest ranger and it seems to have a very substantial tang. How much of a difference would this actually realistically make? Also, I am not too familiar with different steels yet, so I don't know which knife would retain an edge better. I am a complete novice at sharpening so better edge retention (and I guess a better factory edge) are crucial for me. The maximum I am willing to pay is about $50 just in case there are any other suggestions.
Thanks!
 
Welcome.

Don't worry about "full tang". You can baton with anything (even a folder) if your technique is correct. The Mark I will be fine.

As a novice sharpener, edge retention and factory edge should not be important to you, in my opinion. What should be important is ease of sharpening...that factory edge ain't gonna last forever regardless of the steels edge retention.

It appears that the Mark 1 and NW Ranger are 1095 Cro-Van (whatever that is...) and AUS-8, respecticvely. Both easy to sharpen...so you are good to go.

Both knives are full flat ground, which I think is an excellent choice. That said, the "bushcraft community" seems to be really into scandi ground knives like Moras. Any reason you are avoiding that route and going with these flat ground "military-style" knives? (Don't get me wrong...it think the Mark I is a great choice...I'd get the stacked leather handle, myself.)
 
I have 2 Sog NWR's newer models. They are a very good bush knife for the money. The sheath works , but retention is not the greatest if it gets inverted. I made my own pouch style sheath for it out of heavy leather. The small leather Kabar sheaths fit it as well , and even better , the Nylon sheath for the seal pup is another option that works great.

The only mod I did on the NWR was to take a dremel and smooth out the sharp edges on the inside of the finger guard where the grooves are ( easily done with a file and sandpaper also.) A lot of people overlook this knife because of their disstain towards Sog , but I think they're missing out on a very good bushknife at a reasonable price. I wanted this knife for a long time , but never wanted the serrations , so when Sog released it again without them , I jumped on it. I was not dissapointed and even bought a spare for my other pack.

I've been looking at reviews for the Kabar Mk 1 lately , and am highly intrigued by this knife as well. As the whole knife/sheath package comes , I think it's a very good deal and doesn't have any sheath retention issues as well.

Being very similar in design , I don't think you could go wrong with either knife ; just a decision whether to go carbon or stainless and which grip would suit you more. Not having the Kabar yet , I can only comment on the Sog handle which fits my medium hands just great in all grips. Very comfortable , no hot spots and the balance on the knife is very neutral. I think the Kabars is more handle-heavy from what I've read in reviews.

I may just yet put the Kabar in the cart anyways , as I think it is a great design brought back into production and requires very little if any modifications other than possible stripping if you don't like coatings on your blade.

Hmm..tough decision..both are very nice knives.

SOGsheathsandknives006-2.jpg
 
Between those two I would go with the MK1, I'm not a fan of stainless steel for anything but kitchen knives, if you think it will see any kind of hard use go with carbon.
 
A guy did a video review of 5 bushcraft knives, including these two and the SOG won out. Even beat the Fallkniven F1 at most cutting tasks. However, nobody likes its sheath. I had it narrowed down to the Mark 1 and SOG too, but I ended up deciding the Buck Vanguard is a better knife for me, as I mainly wanted a deer skinner that could easily handle light bush work when needed.

Joe
 
Thanks for the responses, everyone. I decided to go with the MK1. No one seems to express any worry over the durability of the blade, which was one of the main things holding me back. Also, the sheath for the Sog really is sub-par. I wouldn't know where to begin with making a sheath and buying a separate one seems counter intuitive after having just bought a brand new knife.
 
I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Let us know how it works out for you.

Welcome to Bladeforums !
 
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