starting to think about things a little differently

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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I've been searching around puttting up posts, yada yada yada looking for the perfect woods knife to meet my needs I was looking for something at least 3/16 inch thick in a decent stainless with a 4-5 inch blade that could stand up to heavy use but the more I think about it....I'll probably find a smaller thinner blade mre usefull (I'm still not ready for a mora but perhaps a buck woodsman or a field pup, or even something smaller) I could see being on a hike with some of my less woods oriented friends, and pulling out the seal pup to cut some cheese and having someone freak, not that thats the end of the world but it's an excuse to start looking at other knives, I figure the saw on my sak and a small axe in a backpack will easily make up for a larger knife, where as a larger klnife might not cleanly fill the bill of a smaller one, I don't know I'm just thinking outloud...as always I', open to feed back
 
Try a Mora. I have read, and posted in some of your other posts. You are doing the right thing (asking ??? before you buy). At any rate, buy a Mora. It won't cost you much and will give you a good blade to try out. Even if you hate it, just stick it in your Truck/car for emergency and try another. The Fallkniven F1 is also a very good performer (at a extra cost).

You can't go wrong with giving a Mora a chance:thumbup:
 
Almost any lightweight knife is better than the Boat Anchor I used to carry in the woods! A small sturdy pocket knife & a small light hand axe will get you by in style. IMHO
 
Try a Mora. I like them for gardening, don't like them for the woods. You might, YMMV, all that stuff. And that's ok.

Regardless of whether you like them or not, Ragnar is a fantastic resource with loooow prices. I can't recommend him enough.
 
the light goes on-- to get by in the woods you need something sharp, a mora is a great knife for a low profile not tactical looking blade. you can get a buck or other small knife, even a nice folder,swiss army knife, they will all get you by. the idea is to have a sharp thing at your disposal. many have gotten by with less.

alex
 
I got a Buck 105 Pathfinder over Christmas. It has a 5" blade nice leather sheath. I love it. Very sharp not to big or to small. A very tough knife.
BB
 
I personally don't get all hung up on the tactical knives. A thinner blade allows makes the knife lighter and easier to use for small game or around the camp site (or at home). I don't own a Mora knife, maybe I need to try one out. I do have the SOG Field Pup and really like the knife. The sheath is not as nice as some, but it is very functional. The SOG is right at home in the kitchen, on a picnic, or slicing a steak at the dinner table. It does not scare anyone not that any knife frightens me. It more like.... ooh, nice, I want one.
 
I agree that a small light knife is usually enough in the field, especially backed up with a hatchet. I oflten carry a single blade lock back or a Phuko Day hikes.


Don't let your non knife loving freinds reaction be a deciding factor, you may be surprised to see that if you take a moment to explain the virtues of a particular knife they may become curious and an addict like the rest of us. and if they are going to flip out at the site of a seal pup they will probably flip out at any thing other than a Sak or Old Timer :eek:

But I suspect that is not your only reason. I think you are just having a steel Jones and want a fix. ;)
 
yeah I'm on a buying spree....just wait till the wife sees the credit card...EMS rescue guy NYCEMS sends its regards,,,
 
BigBelly said:
I got a Buck 105 Pathfinder over Christmas. It has a 5" blade nice leather sheath. I love it. Very sharp not to big or to small. A very tough knife.
BB
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The Buck 105 is my favorite deer hunting knife. Perfect size for field dressing whitetails.

I agree with what everyone is saying, big brawny knives are over rated. I have never felt the need to baton or chop through wood, and a Mora could very well handle all my survival needs. If I do need a chopper my Estwing hatchet will work perfectly.
 
I was a little concerned about the moraas because the blades are so thin the clipper ( the 1 I just ordered has a thickness of .078 which seems thin but according to my measurements and i could be wrong it's apprx. the same thickness as my edc folder a crkt mt shasta while this is a small knife it is sturdy and Ive (atleast in my everyday life) have been left wanting for a thicker blade. Obviously in a survival sit this may vary, I plan on putting the moras through there paces when they arrive I'll let you know how they fare
 
I think I've gone through the same sort of thinking as you. I got that Becker Crewman awhile back because I wanted to have a robust survival-type knife. It's a good tool and I don't regret getting it at all, but most of the time something smaller will do what I want. Plus, the Crewman is big and heavy so I tend not to reach for it unless I have some tough, big knife tasks specifically in mind. It is also very . . . military looking, so I do feel a bit hesitatant to yank that one out if I'm at a campground or something.

I recently read through a number of discussions here on small, "pocketable" fixed blades. I figured that something that compact will actually be carried more and will do most of the knife jobs I require. I decided on a Bark River Mini Canadian because of its reputation for high quality, plus I find it aesthetically pleasing. It is also unlikely to attract negative attention. I know I keep mentioning this knife in my posts lately, I'm just excited because it should arrive in the mail any day now!

So now I have a big fixed blade, a small fixed blade, a couple of multitools, a SAK, a hatchet, and two decent folders in my "edged tool chest" that get used. There are also a couple of things floating around that I don't use anymore that are gathering dust.
 
Foilist said:
I think I've gone through the same sort of thinking as you. I got that Becker Crewman awhile back because I wanted to have a robust survival-type knife. It's a good tool and I don't regret getting it at all, but most of the time something smaller will do what I want. Plus, the Crewman is big and heavy so I tend not to reach for it unless I have some tough, big knife tasks specifically in mind. It is also very . . . military looking, so I do feel a bit hesitatant to yank that one out if I'm at a campground or something.....
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Affect an Australian accent, wear khaki shorts and shirts 365/year and mumble about crocs and gators. They'll love ya, Mate. :cool:
 
RescueRiley said:
I've been searching around puttting up posts, yada yada yada looking for the perfect woods knife to meet my needs I was looking for something at least 3/16 inch thick in a decent stainless with a 4-5 inch blade that could stand up to heavy use but the more I think about it....I'll probably find a smaller thinner blade mre usefull (I'm still not ready for a mora but perhaps a buck woodsman or a field pup, or even something smaller) I could see being on a hike with some of my less woods oriented friends, and pulling out the seal pup to cut some cheese and having someone freak, not that thats the end of the world but it's an excuse to start looking at other knives, I figure the saw on my sak and a small axe in a backpack will easily make up for a larger knife, where as a larger klnife might not cleanly fill the bill of a smaller one, I don't know I'm just thinking outloud...as always I', open to feed back
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I've been riding the same fence. Getting a mora is easy and cheap-- every woodsman should have one kicking around. More to the point of your question, an Entrek Javalina fits your criteria exactly: 3/16" thick, 4.25" blade, 440c stainless, good flat spine for batoning (if needed). It is bead blasted and doesn't have a real military look to it. Reasonably priced too, IMHO ($85-$99 on the web).

If a seal pup is scary, just about anything that is bigger than a mid-sized SAK will probably scare them. I reckon an adult handling a large-ish knife in a responsible manner may be good PR for the genre. Consider that a 4" knife in the kitchen is rather small-- most paring knives are aound 3.5". Serrations and saw backs seem to get people going and black or OD blades raise the emitional effect. I could see it if you whipped out an SOG Jungle Primative to slice the cheese, but a 4" blade in the woods or the kitchen is a very reasonable tool. Hehehe-- I was reading a copy of Blade magazine with a cover shot of the Jungle Primative on it and the guy sitting next to me got this weird look on his face and moved to another seat. I wasn't talking to myself or anything! :rolleyes:

I like SOG stuff and the Field Pup would make a nice thinner blade option and has a sheeple friendly profile. The Benchmade Fixed Griptilian fits your list pretty close too and I think they have a very benign look to them too.
 
Riley, you haven't seemed to mention Bark River. I'd look at a Wolf River if you wanna go thin. Maybe a Northstar for a little thicker.

Bark River makes a fine knife.
 
i've gone into the woods with just a gerber fatty and held up fine. there were moments when i wished i had a larger heavy bowie in the 7"-9" range but i got past em.

on another planet with a consumer economy fixed on the results yielded by a product rather than labor and material costs, the smaller, thinner, lightweight knives like mora would be for the rich guys and we'd all be complaining on this forum looking for lighter, smaller bowies.

don't mistake me for a guy without an appreciation for choppers, i've got a couple HI's that are 16"+.
 
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