UK knives

Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
9
Hi.

I'm in the process of gathering together information to help me decide on a purchase. I plan to buy 2 knives, yes I am quite new to this game :)

I am looking at buying a medium 4-6ish " fixed blade and a smaller lock knife both to be hard wearing and to be used daily.

I've had a good look through this forum and seen some fabulous blades but I'd really like to have a feel of some in person before buying so my first question is:

Can anyone from the UK recommend a good shop, preferably Manchester- Nottingham - Sheffield area but I am willing to travel.

Second, again quite specific to UK. I have seen on a UK www site the Fallkniven A1/S1 and the SOG Government. These 'look' like the sort of fixed blade I'm after, I have heard lots of the A1/S1/F1 on the forum but not a lot, if anything on the 'Government'- any comments and does anyone know of a place in the UK that I might be able to view them. Any other recommendations of knives (general workhorse for similar task as you'd use an A1/S1) that I can view in the UK would be great.

Sorry if I have not provided enough specific information on what I'm after.

Many thanks, Phil
 
Phil
Welcome to the forums. You may be best served posting this question in the community area under Europe knife nuts.
I know the UK laws are nuts. I have to really watch the wording of customs paperwork I send with packages to the UK.
 
Robert, I have posted in the Europe knife nuts section as you suggest but it seems quite rather quiet!

I'd still be most grateful for any recommendations to a knife like the Fallkniven A1 or S1. It's to be used for general outdoor use and on camping trips (food prep, a little chopping etc). As I'm in the UK it doesn't quite need the requirements that perhaps a knife would need on a camping trip in the US but I want it to last. Also I still can't find much information on the SOG Government, has anyone owned one of these, or would anyone recommend it for the sort of things I've mentioned.

Paul, I'll drop you an email, thanks for the reply.

Cheers, Phil
 
Not taking those laws into consideration, you have many options. The Fallknivens are probably some of the best options (especially considering price). You mention chopping in your needs, but the Fallkniven A1, which is the largest knife you mentioned, won't be an efficient chopper (except for tiny chopping chores of course). I suggest getting the S1 (or F1, if you like them smaller) and a hatchet/axe/machete/large knife to compliment it.

About the government from SOG. I'm sure it's a nice blade too, but I think the VG-10 of the Fallknivens outclasses the 440-A that they use (however, they do heat-treat that 440-A excellently I've heard).

I'm not sure if you wanted commentary from only UK guys on knives as well as laws...if so, I apologise.
 
Hi.



Andrew thanks for the reply.

I wasn't after opinions from only UK knife owners, sorry if my title was misleading. My concern was there are so many great knives out there and I was a little worried about people outside the UK suggesting knives that I simply could not get to see before I buy as I consider the seeing part necessary. That said it seems there are some good knife shops in the UK so I 'should' be able to get a view of most of what people suggest.

The UK knife laws are very strict for carrying in a public place (< 3" no locking facility folder is all your limit) but this is not for carrying around town but for halfway up a mountain to help preparation of food etc while on camps. Yes I suppose again this is a public place and I should restrict myself to a 3" folder but I doubt there will be many police to search me and I'm using the knife in an evironment where it is required so probably have intent for use, making it legal.

So that said I should be safe with any fixed blade you care to mention (within reason!).

I'd like to expand a little further on what I first wrote. Thinking harder there will be very few times where this knife will be required for any significant chopping duties, as for most of my treks I'll not be 'hunter gatherer' but using a fuel stove :)

So to refine my requirements it's an all rounder ~ 4" + in length as before but not for chopping. When I ever want to do any chopping I'll be sure to take a small axe.

As you know I'm quite new to this game so could someone possibly point me to a good resource on the pros and cons of different types of blade steel as I realise this is obviously an important part of my knife to be, but something I know very little about.

Thanks you, Phil
 
If the knife is to be used for camping, then anything that is not banned is legal, that means a 50 inch sword if you want, but not a gravity, butterfly or swichblade/auto.

For what you want, I would recommend the following.

Falkavian A1 6" VG-10 steel. Great steel, holds a great edge and is very tough. Very good rust resistance.

Ka Bar 7" D2 Next Generation Fighting knife. D2 Tool steel, holds an amazing edge, quite tough and with fair rust resistance. The advantage of this knife is it has 2" of serrations that are great round the camp for fibreous materials. I have used this knife to great effect and recommend it HIGHLY

Benchmade Nimravious 4.5" M2 Tool steel. Amazingly tough, very good edge holding, but poor rust resistance. However a black Teflon coating called BT2 will protect the steel and it comes as standard. I have used this knife to great effect and recommend it HIGHLY


Camillus x-42 field knife 5" BG-42. Very very good steel, very good edge holding and good toughness. Very rust resistant. NOT OUT TILL AUTUM!

My typical camp outfit is as follows.

1. Gerber Sports Axe
2. D2 Ka Bar
3. M2 Nimravious
4. Spyderco Military
5. Spyderco Starmate
6. SAK Adventurer
7. Leatherman Super Tool
8. A back up folder...:rolleyes:

I have a custom knife on the way however to replace the Ka Bar. It is a Doug Mondt 10" (15" OA)spearpoint in CPM 10V heat treated by Paul Boss of Buck knives. G10 scales and a leather sheath. The stock is slighty more than 1/4. This will be my main camp knife. I will also use the Gerber axe for the chopping, an axe is a better chopper than any knife anyway.

You need to ask yourself just how big a knife you need to carry and how much you want to spend. I found the 4.5" Nimravious very good, but a little small for my taste. The Ka Bar is amazing, but I don't like the Parkerised finish. 7" is also a little small if like me you like to chop wood from time to time;) . Hey i'm to lasy to get the axe:o !

Hope it helps, BTW e-mail me if you need to find out the 'places' and the 'people' who get get you what you want at great prices;) . I would NOT recommend buying from the UK high street any more. It is VERY expensive.
 
Hi Pippyd.

I have to agree with the General about buying knives in the UK. If you can afford it, fine. However, prices from UK suppiers like Framar (Tel# 01254-264486 methinks)are usually the dollar prices in pounds. Given that internet suppliers like knifecenter.com further discount the dollar price by up to 40% or more, you can add express postage and tax to that (if it gets stopped) and still make a worthwhile saving.

This is how I get all pretty much all my knives, and I've never had a problem from knifecenter.com (some more custom items have caused headaches though!). I find I can get very acurate appraisals from info on knife selling sites coupled with bladeforums. I got an item from the European knifeshop.com (advantage: non existant customs in theory) but found the postage and tax added quite expensive too. Actually handling the item is preferable, but I am just not prepared to pay UK prices.


Happy hunting!

Kallisti
 
Welcome to Blade Forums, pippyd! I'm always pleased to see a new member from outside the US. It provides us Americans a wider perspective on many things, not just knives.

I would say that you've had a good percentage of the fixed blade knives in your category suggested to you already. However there are a couple others you might wish to consider: The REKAT Talon, in 154-CM steel. 1SKS sells it for $100. Also, for at least a bit lighter use, Spyderco has 2 fixed bladed knives. One has an upswept point, which to me would limit it's usefulness. The other has a drop point, which is probably the most flexible/utilitarian shape of all. Both are called Moran Ltwts. They sell for a bit less than most of the other knives which have been suggested.

So far as folding knives, your specifications were a bit vague, I fear. Do you mean you want a blade smaller than 6" or 4"? Few of the folders in common use here have more than a 4" blade, excepting the REKAT SIFU, which has a 5.5" blade.

You didn't specify a price range, as I recall. So, will make a couple recommendations with roughly accurate web prices: Spyderco Wegner $95-$100; Outdoor Edge Magna $40-$65, depending upon handle material; OE Paragee $35-$40; Benchmade 710 $110??; REKAT Carnivore $120???; CRKT M-16 $35 - $60, depending upon blade shape/size and handle material; Camillus EDC $40-$65, depending upon blade steel -- WOW Inc had them on sale, last I looked. I could go on and on. If you have money to burn, then consider the Chris Reeve Sebenza for a folder. Used, $225 and up. New, about $350.

I strongly suggest that you take some time to read about the suggested knives and others not mentioned. There are many more which nobody has mentioned that a lot of folks swear by. Both this forum, and the Review Forum contain a wealth of discussion about different knives. Because of new software, and an apparently surprise archive in April, don't overlook the archives.

Hope you'll let us know as to your choices, and how happy you are, or are not, with them. And, in general, hope to see you posting regularly.
 
Cheers for the replies guys, you've been most helpful.

The fixed was to be 4"+ price range, well I'd pay £100 in the UK but if there was something extra extra nice for say £150 I could stretch. I'd again spend similar money in the US (inc packaging).

The folder. < 3" blade as I want it to be multipurpose and attract as little attention as possible from the police. I don't plan to carry it in cities or anything but I'm likely to use it in rural places. Something that just goes nicely in the pocket but has a good lock on it as it's going to get a good bit of wear.

I'm off now to research all those excellent suggestions and have a look through the archives. The search facility was down when I first signed up so I could not easily narrow down those thousands to something readable.

Thanks, Phil

Oh I forgot, folder prices. Well I'm not too sure how much I can justify spending on a folder at the moment but as it's going to be used a fair bit I'm after something with a good blade and hard wearing build. What sort of price do I need to pay to get me that? I'd want to pay quite a bit less than my fixed blade price.
 
Just to let you all know I've gone and got my knife. It's a beautiful Alan Wood with ~4" blade, nice and slim but with enough weight to do all I need on UK camping trips and a lovely green tint to the handle. I'll be looking for a nice little folder and a large meatier knife in the near future.

I had a play with a Al Mar Falcon and am considering that as a folder to carry around, nice and slim, good blade and nice feel to it.

Thanks for all your help. I'll be looking at the knives suggest by all you people in response to my reply as I still plan to buy a chunkier knife than the Alan Wood, one I'd not mind abusing!

Cheers, Phil
 
For your folder I can thoroughly recommend the Calypso Jr Lightweight from Spyderco.

It is robust, ergonomic, inexpensive (NOT CHEAP!), very light, and the 2.5" flat ground VG10 blade cuts like lightning and doesn't scare too many people. It has been my sole EDC for 18 mths now and is still going strong. For six of those I used it at work to cut several kilos of citrus fruit daily and for cutting up tons of boxes, both tough on edges. Even with this level of use in any given day I could still use it as a cigar cutter (without touching up the edge) when we lost our real one! :D . In fact the only problem I've had is that when I've lent it to people they always try to cut things with the spine!!! Edgar Bros is the UK distributor for Spyderco, and they will give you a list of retailers on request.

If you'd like a more robust blade, consider the Spyderco Delica or Native, or the Benchmade 705 if you want to go for higher quality. All are good sub 3" choices. As to the "no-lock" rule, let's just say that while I have every respect for law & order, I choose not to compromise my safety for the sake of a bullsh*t legal precedent. I do not know of any non-locking knives to recommend.

If you choose to order from abroad, be prepared to pay about 30% of the cost in Duty and VAT, which is charged against the value of the item AND postage. Although if you persuade the sender to list the item as a 'gift' you may avoid this altogether. Also, make sure the sender clearly marks the currency of the value, or HM Customs will assume that the $xxx value is actually £xxx and calculate the tax accordingly. :mad: I speak from experience.

Hope this helps.
 
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