Tough Choice to make. Any suggestions?

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mthall47

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Still trying to make up my mind. Here are the finalists. What do you think?
What would you get of the following? (Only one due to budget :)

The purpose is light to medium duty use, with the qualities of a survival, utility, and a dose of fighting profile thrown in.

Becker BK 9
Ranger RD 7 or RD 9
Cold Steel Recon Scout
Ka Bar (Bob Dozier design) #1273
Ka Bar Next Generation # 1222 High Carbon High Chromium SS
Ka-Bar 1213

Thanks all -- you have been very helpful and patient with this newbie.
 
I had a Recon Scout that I really liked but it seems like Cliff Stamp did a review on them and mentioned another knife during that review that was about the same size as the RS but out cut it and was a better value. I fail to remember what that knife model was now. Might have been some kind of Swamp Rat for about the same money, I just can't remember. If I think of it later I'll try to post it.

My experiences with anything with Bob Dozier's name on it has been pretty good but I really am not familar with any of the other choices on your list except the RS. I gave that RS to my son to take with him to Iraq. He and the knife both survived 14 months there and he still has it so I guess it did alright performance wise. I have not really spoken to him about it that much..
 
The Recon Scout is a solid knife, but the handle is something that just never jived with my hand when I owned a trailmaster (identical knife, just a bit more blade length than the RS) The beckers are all solid knives, I love mine, great solid knife for the price, the handles while more agreeable from a comfort perspective than the Recon Scout also tend to be a bit slippery when wet, this is easily remedied by roughing the scales up with sandpaper or cordwrapping. I've never held or used one of the Ranger knives, but they've gotten lots of good remarks in here, and from what I've read might just be your best bet. The Kabar 1213 (and to some extent the next-gen as well) is a solid knife, but quite handle heavy, to the point where the balance makes it difficult to use as a chopper, and to me when you get into the 7in+ range you want some mass out in front for chopping. The saber grind isn't the most optimal for cutting, and mine was rather thick at the edge as well. The tang on the Kabar is probably one of its weakest points, it's quite narrow, and hand leverage can bend/break it if it's pushed hard enough. That being said it's not something you'd see in normal use, but if you're gonna abuse the thing and expect it to not break get something a bit heavier duty.

You say light to medium duty though, and for that I'd probably pick a becker (but not the BK-9, that's a really big knife unless you're doing lots of chopping, maybe something like a BK7) or the Ka-bar. My preference would be for the becker, but if you want classic lines the Ka-bar has it in spades. The Dozier Ka-Bar's I'm not familiar with at all.
 
STR said:
...about the same size as the RS but out cut it and was a better value.
Click to expand...
Camp Tramp. I like the profile of the Recon Scout and Trailmaster, the edges vary wildly though, my Trailmaster was 0.045" and ~18 degrees per side while the Recon Scout was a masside 0.060" and ~22 degrees per side. Thus the cutting ability is very different.

Similar with the steel, the ones I had were very brittle and chipped readily, I saw light blowouts on the Trailmaster and huge ones on the thicker Scout. I have talked to lots of other people though with much better ones so it depends on what exact "Carbon V" you get.

For light to medium utility use the Becker is a really nice design assuming you get one with a decent edge profile and you can stand the handles, some like them and some really don't.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff. I don't know why I couldn't remember that. I even like that knife. Brain dead today I guess.
 
I probably shouldn't throw another knife in the mix, but have you looked at the new KaBar heavy Bowie? Model numbers are 1276 and 1277.
 
RD7, unless you are looking to do lots of chopping I would avoid the largere 9 inch bladed knives, becker etc. Regarding handles, which are pretty much a personal thing all the way around. I love the trailmaster handle but really don't find my bk9 very comfortable. I do have fairly small hands though.
Everything I know about Ranger Knives is good. My comunications with Justin, his posts on this forum and all of the feedback I have read on his knives. Get one, hell get two.
 
I'm on the swamp Rat Camp Tramp band wagon, too. It inspired me to start making knives in 52100. I have a Carbon V blade, and I like it. No chips, cuts great. If the QC is there, I like the Cold Steel Bowies, too. But they are heavy.

WYK
 
Yep... watch the weight. I know from experience that you will not enjoy walking in the woods carring a 1-3 pound boat anchor on your belt! :eek:
WYK said:
I'm on the swamp Rat Camp Tramp band wagon, too. It inspired me to start making knives in 52100. I have a Carbon V blade, and I like it. No chips, cuts great. If the QC is there, I like the Cold Steel Bowies, too. But they are heavy.

WYK
Click to expand...
 
pogo said:
Yep... watch the weight. I know from experience that you will not enjoy walking in the woods carring a 1-3 pound boat anchor on your belt! :eek:
Click to expand...

True. But I gotta admit those Cold Steel Bowies sure can chop.

WYK
 
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