Thoughts on the SRK Compact?

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DangerZone98

Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Messages
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Thought it was a great move offering a time-tested design in a more compact package, filling the niche of a camp knife more efficiently. I would have preferred a 4-4.5 inch blade length, but that’s just me.

That being said, has anyone picked it up? How does the knife handle and perform?
 
There has been a review of the knife somewhere on this forum, and the gentleman was very pleased with his purchase.

If you want something as tough but with a 4 inch blade, you might want to look at Drop Forged Hunter. I personally have that knife and I just love it. I definitley reccomend since that knife is a tank.
 
Smiling said:
There has been a review of the knife somewhere on this forum, and the gentleman was very pleased with his purchase.

If you want something as tough but with a 4 inch blade, you might want to look at Drop Forged Hunter. I personally have that knife and I just love it. I definitley reccomend since that knife is a tank.
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Thanks Smiling. I’ll check out that review and that Hunter. My local dealer has the latter.
 
Good handy little unit. I got one several weeks ago out of curiosity. I have an xl hand and the grip is long enough for comfort. I took an axe file and scraped a
Little of the blade coating off on the spine, and adjacent side. It tosses sparks off a fero rod nicely. It's a useful size for a grown man, but my wife prefers it's size over the regular version. So it may be a piece to consider for younger or smaller folk also.
 
upnorth said:
Good handy little unit. I got one several weeks ago out of curiosity. I have an xl hand and the grip is long enough for comfort. I took an axe file and scraped a
Little of the blade coating off on the spine, and adjacent side. It tosses sparks off a fero rod nicely. It's a useful size for a grown man, but my wife prefers it's size over the regular version. So it may be a piece to consider for younger or smaller folk also.
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Looks like a solid choice, but I might opt for the Drop Forged Hunter for small knife tasks after the pandemic blows over. Right now, I’m just having a blast with my Recon Tanto. Mostly just carrying it around the house hehe.
 
DangerZone98 said:
Looks like a solid choice, but I might opt for the Drop Forged Hunter for small knife tasks after the pandemic blows over. Right now, I’m just having a blast with my Recon Tanto. Mostly just carrying it around the house hehe.
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Recon Tanto is awesome, one of my favourite knives, I have the SK-5 version tho, and it went through lots of abuse without any issues.
I use Drop Forged Hunter for EDC, and it can definitley take lots of abuse (tested), I also love the handle which you can use as a pommel (also tested, I used it to break some trash so it can fit the trash can).
One more thing I really like is the edge retention of 52100 steel, it outperforms SK-5 by a huge margin here, while not being much more difficult to sharpen.
 
Smiling said:
Recon Tanto is awesome, one of my favourite knives, I have the SK-5 version tho, and it went through lots of abuse without any issues.
I use Drop Forged Hunter for EDC, and it can definitley take lots of abuse (tested), I also love the handle which you can use as a pommel (also tested, I used it to break some trash so it can fit the trash can).
One more thing I really like is the edge retention of 52100 steel, it outperforms SK-5 by a huge margin here, while not being much more difficult to sharpen.
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I don’t plan on skinning game anytime soon, so the tanto tip doesn’t really bother me. I don’t know man, I just really dig the design of the Recon Tanto. Not disappointed it’s the last fixed blade I got before the pandemic hit, lol.

I’ll seriously check out the Hunter when the quarantine stops. For the “little tank” archetype, it seems to be a more affordable deal than the Becker BK-2.
 
DangerZone98 said:
I don’t plan on skinning game anytime soon, so the tanto tip doesn’t really bother me. I don’t know man, I just really dig the design of the Recon Tanto. Not disappointed it’s the last fixed blade I got before the pandemic hit, lol.

I’ll seriously check out the Hunter when the quarantine stops. For the “little tank” archetype, it seems to be a more affordable deal than the Becker BK-2.
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I'm not a hunter either, and tanto tip is great for industrial applications and was pretty much ideal choice for me on construction site.

And yeah, the Hunter is affordable tank in high end steel.
 
+1 on 52100 and the Drop Forged Hunter.
I actually use mine for hunting where it performs great but plan on pressing into service for other uses as well because it really is such a great knife.
It is just the right size and shape for so many things. Monolithic drop forged is the strongest way to make something.
 
Any thoughts as far as the comparison between the new/compact SRK and Master Hunter is concerned?

MASTER HUNTER Specifications
Blade Length: 4 1/2"
Overall Length: 9 1/4"
Steel: VG-1 San Mai III®
Weight: 6.6 oz
Blade Thickness: 3/16" = 4.76 mm
Handle:4 3/4" Long Kray-Ex™
Made in Japan

SRK COMPACT Specifications
Blade Length: 5.0"
Overall Length: 9.50"
Steel: SK-5 Carbon Steel with Black Tuff-Ex Finish
Weight: 5.1 oz.
Blade Thickness: 4.0 mm
Handle: 4.50" Long. Kray-Ex
Made in Taiwan

I can see substantial differences in steel, in price.

Your opinion?
Slightly different products to different markets ?
 
hunter55 said:
Any thoughts as far as the comparison between the new/compact SRK and Master Hunter is concerned?

MASTER HUNTER Specifications
Blade Length: 4 1/2"
Overall Length: 9 1/4"
Steel: VG-1 San Mai III®
Weight: 6.6 oz
Blade Thickness: 3/16" = 4.76 mm
Handle:4 3/4" Long Kray-Ex™
Made in Japan

SRK COMPACT Specifications
Blade Length: 5.0"
Overall Length: 9.50"
Steel: SK-5 Carbon Steel with Black Tuff-Ex Finish
Weight: 5.1 oz.
Blade Thickness: 4.0 mm
Handle: 4.50" Long. Kray-Ex
Made in Taiwan

I can see substantial differences in steel, in price.

Your opinion?
Slightly different products to different markets ?
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I bet you that performance-wise, they are very similar. Two big differences are steel for discerning palates, and FFG vs Saber grind.
 
hunter55 said:
Thank you for the reply. Deserves the steel the (approximately) double price?
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In this case you're paying extra for the fact it requires a lot of work to laminate the steel. Other part is the fact VG-1 is stainless, while SK-5 isn't. And San Mai looks better visually.

From personal experience I can say that SK-5 is some very tough stuff. And I maintain my knives so I never had issues with corrosion. So given the option of the two - I'd go with SRK-C

That being said everyone is different and everyone has different needs. I'm not a hunter, I don't skin animals, I don't need some out of this world edge retention either - I just need a knife I can beat the hell out of and not worry about it breaking. So, my personal choice of smaller fixed blade was Drop Forged Hunter in 52100 steel. It's cheap, tough as hell and even has crazy edge retention which is a nice bonus, despite not being my primary need.

If I needed to skin animals I'f most likley option for Master Hunter in San Mai.
 
Fletcher.357 said:
I am going to buy the next one my lgs gets in. I missed the first one by 20 minutes. This is the edc version of the SRK. I was lucky enough to handle my buddy's.
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This looks like a good contender for fixed blade EDC, sure. Might have to dress around it a bit though. :D I’m also considering the Kobun. I’m also a tanto kind of guy.
 
DangerZone98 said:
I’m also a tanto kind of guy.
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Same here. I like tanto blades.
My dream knife would be Drop Forged Tanto :D

I love tanto knives and I also really really love the construction and sturdiness of Drop Forged Hunter. That thing is a tank, it's actually a level above full tang knife and very simple. Only way how it could get even better would be a tanto tip.
 
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