Steel Heart or Mistress?

[gk4ever]

I am looking for somewhat of a chopper, somewhat big, but I have never held either of these knives and dont know how to get ahold of one. I would have bought a steel heart a little while ago but held back because I have never held one. I like the steel hearts but not the e handles, same with the mistress not that big a fan of the e-handle, its a looks thing. any help?

The SHSHII and SHBM are both great knives, and do well at chopping. The SHSHII, with an 8 1/2" blade (tip to handle) and 13 5/8" OAL, is a little bigger than your SFNO, but the difference is probably not enough to notice unless you were doing heavy chopping for an extended period of time (a 5/16" thick SHSHII would add more chopping power over the standard 1/4" thickness).

Another possibility is a Basic 9; it has a 10" blade (tip to handle) and 15" OAL. At 14 oz. the Basic 9 is only 2/3 the weight of a SHBM, but with a partial-height tang the bulk of the weight in the Basic 9 is in the blade (which would help compensate for the lighter weight when it comes to chopping). The Basic 9 rubber handle is extremely comfortable, both the material and size/shape.

If the SFNO does not meet your chopping needs, you could also try a FSH or FBM.

I talked to a few people who are willing to sell steel hearts, what is a good price range estimate on them?

Assuming you mean the price for an INFI SHSHII, it could range from $300 for a well used one to as much as $600 for an absolutely mint one. The earlier SHSHII's were made from A2 steel, and this generally has somewhat of a negative impact on the price relative to the INFI ones (I'm not knocking the A2 Steel Hearts, I'm just stating what I have observed about their prices). All SHBM's were made with INFI. The SHSHII and SHBM have been discontinued for several years and both are collectible, so their current prices reflect this. Regarding where to find these discontinued models, either BladeForums or eBay would be the best place.

Gene

 

[Walking Man]

Another possibility is a Basic 9;

Or, since it's been mentioned, you could look at the current Swamp Rat incarnation of this knife, if you're interested.