This indecsion's killing me...

J

jeswa

Joined
May 2, 2006
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47
I wanted a good fixed, thick blade
3.5-4-5 inches (give or take a few cm's)
Not too expensive (I don't have a ton of money) that you couldn't afford to replace it, but with a great warranty.
Good in the kitchen, good in the woods - The one to take if you could only take one.
Good looking but not too nice that you wouldn't dig a hole in the ground or chop wood with it if you had to.

I had my heart set on an Entrek Jag
http://www.discountsupplyunlimited.com/entrek_jag_...

The others I was considering were the Extrema Ratio Shrapnel
http://xtremeknives.com/eq160shrtes.html

and the Trident TCFM 02
http://www.tridentknives.com/TCFMKNIVES.htm

or Oberland 02
http://www.tridentknives.com/OBERLANDKNIVES.htm

Obviously I opted for the Entrek because of price and ease of replacement.
Since looking around I've heard lots of complaints about the Entrek sheaths.
If I'm looking for a bulletproof knife, I want a decent sheath, right? At least one that matches the fit and toughness of the knife and considering a custom kydex sheath will run me $50+, plus shipping the knife to and from the sheath maker, the Entrek will end up in the $150 range.

So now that Shrapnel's looking pretty nice for an extra $50.
And while I'm at it, the Trident knives (with my LE discount) are coming into the $275 range.

Am I getting off course? Is this knife lust getting the better of my judgement?
Would you dig a hole with an Extrema Ratio?
Should I just stick with the Entrek?

Someone please knock some sense into me.

(Oh, and BTW, I don't want a Swamp Rat or a Busse or a Mora.)
 
I'd go with the Entrek still. There are a lot of good fixed blades that come with very adequate sheaths that just may not fit you for some reason or other. The Entrek is made from a very good steel that performs well all around. Their knives are very well put together, and to be honest, the other knives referenced don't look that comfortable to use at all. I know I wouldn't want to use the Trident knives very long just based on all the grooves and such they put into their grips. To me they just say "hot spots." As to Kitchen duty, I think all those knives are a bit too thick to be good slicers, though they'll work. At least with the Entrek, if you get a custom sheath, you can use it if you break the knife.

I dunno, but I think I'd look at it as saving $50 over the next option- AND getting a custom sheath. Would I dig or chop with the Entrek? Yup. Why? Because I wouldn't care if I ruined the finish or broke it. Just get another one.

Oh, and if you're looking for just a knife to cut things with, may I suggest the Frosts Mora knives? They run about $10 at most places and are just FANTASTIC fixed blades. They won't chop, pry, or dig- well I suppose they might, but they'd break sooner-, but for pure cutting they're hard to beat in a fixed blade.
 
I would also recommend the Entrek. I just purchased a Badger and Javalina (the Jag is next) and I can tell you these are incredible knives for the money. Built like tanks (someone describe them as sharpened crowbars, that isn't too far off). I also love the looks of these knives. Most of the pictures I've seen of them don't really do them justice.
 
You could ask Justin at Ranger knives to make you an RD 4! It is a GREAT knife, I know, as he made one for me. And then I would also suggest looking at Bark River knives as well.
 
personally, I'd eliminate the Trident and ER because of the guard, gets in the way for kitchen work.
 
I have an Entrek Companion and I am amazed with the quality of it every time I pick it up. Go with the Jav.
 
Someone measured a similar Entrek (not a 1/4" model) and it came out to .200 instead of 3/16, which is quite beefy. Now I'm not planning on killing zombies all day with this knife, but I wanted a tough knife, and the 1/4" blades on the ER and Trident were the reason I was looking. I know it makes for more difficult slicing, but the ER supposedly has a nice angle on it. Should I care so much about the thickness?

Also, I've heard that convex grinds such as the Entrek's are harder to sharpen and near impossible to reprofile. Is this something I should care about?

Thanks for all the input!
 
Well, you can always reprofile a knife to do a specific job, so that's not necessarily an issue. I've had a couple of 1/4" knives, and they weren't that great for delicate work, but again the angle can be adjusted to compensate for that. As far as the grind on the Entrek's, I don't think they're convex ground. They look more hollow-ground to me, with a regular final edge bevel. Far as convex edges go, there REALLY not that hard to sharpen. Matter of fact, I'd say they're easier to sharpen than hollow-ground knives because you just sharpen the whole side of the knife. There are a couple of FAQs on that too!
 
SpyderJon said:
As far as the grind on the Entrek's, I don't think they're convex ground. They look more hollow-ground to me, with a regular final edge
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That is correct. Very easy to sharpen.
 
rifon2 said:
Keeping it short, I'll just say I "third" them.
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Is there room for a fourth? ;)

I grabbed a Fox River about a month ago, and it's blown me away. Light enough that I forget it's on my belt, but feels like a solid tool; cuts like there's no tomorrow, and the edge touches up easily with 600-grit paper and a mousepad. No guard to get in the way when cutting on a board, either; heck, I'm using mine more these days than my Wustof 6" chef's knife.
 
..."Good in the Kitchen"?...How about a Spyderco Temperance FB? I have one, and it's an EXCELLENT knife...Maybe not one with a THICK blade, but you can always buy a crowbar if you need something to pry or dig with, or an axe if you need to chop something.:).
 
Check out Charles May's Knives, I have a Holt Collier on order due to arrive soon. I really like the look of his other models as well and I think the price is pretty reasonable for a custom fixed blade.nIf you cant stand the wait for a custom, you might check the F/S forums, I've seen a few of his there lately.

http://charlesmayknives.blademakers.com/

Good luck on your quest!
 
Becker Campanion. A couple of years ago an EMT posted that he had used one to cut through a car top to rescue an accident victim. They are very reasonably priced and have a good kydex sheath.
 
whitedoor said:
Becker Campanion. A couple of years ago an EMT posted that he had used one to cut through a car top to rescue an accident victim. They are very reasonably priced and have a good kydex sheath.
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That was going to be my suggestion also, but not what I would be slicing vegetables with.
 
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