I tried some of those scalpel replicable blade knives a couple months ago on that caribou I mentioned. Snapped one of the scalpel blades in half and lost the tip in the abdominal cavity... my son was mad as could be at me! Talk about focus when feeling around in there afterwards!
What’s your favorite large folder with 4 inch or greater blade?
- Thread starter ChrisO
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The 4 Max MSRP may be close to $600, but can usually get them in the $250-300 range.
I’ve got one of them Emerson’s and love it, just didn’t know they made a 4” plus one!
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The Rukus 610 would be right up your alley. The blade is a bit more than 4 inches. Soild as a rock, but with a blade geometry that is actually useful. The big, heavy blade snaps into place and locks up tight. And yet, if you polish the washers and adjust everything right, the blade will swing freely like a pendulum when you hold the Axis lock back.
It carries better than the Cold Steel 4 Max. The Military is thinner, but the blade is more fragile for actual use. The Rukus has a handle you can actually hold easily and use without fatigue.
It's a discontinued knife, but you can find them in excellent condition once in a while on this forum for about $300. They tend to be more expensive on Ebay, but you can still find deals there if you're patient.
It's a hall of fame knife. That one below has a custom reblade of A8(mod) by Josh at REK and custom heat treated by Fredrik Haakonsen, which is pretty much the toughest steel around.
It carries better than the Cold Steel 4 Max. The Military is thinner, but the blade is more fragile for actual use. The Rukus has a handle you can actually hold easily and use without fatigue.
It's a discontinued knife, but you can find them in excellent condition once in a while on this forum for about $300. They tend to be more expensive on Ebay, but you can still find deals there if you're patient.
It's a hall of fame knife. That one below has a custom reblade of A8(mod) by Josh at REK and custom heat treated by Fredrik Haakonsen, which is pretty much the toughest steel around.
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The Rukus 610 would be right up your alley. The blade is a bit more than 4 inches. Soild as a rock, but with a blade geometry that is actually useful. The big, heavy blade snaps into place and locks up tight. And yet, if you polish the washers and adjust everything right, the blade will swing freely like a pendulum when you hold the Axis lock back.
It carries better than the Cold Steel 4 Max. The Military is thinner, but the blade is more fragile for actual use. The Rukus has a handle you can actually hold easily and use without fatigue.
It's a discontinued knife, but you can find them in excellent condition once in a while on this forum for about $300. They tend to be more expensive on Ebay, but you can still find deals there if you're patient.
It's a hall of fame knife. That one below has a custom reblade of A8(mod) by Josh at REK and custom heat treated by Fredrik Haakonsen, which is pretty much the toughest steel around.
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That’s awesome! It’s the one my son prefers most thus far. (He still cringes when I show him the scars from that one closing on me and trusts this axis lock way more than the others) Do I dare ask what Josh charges for the re-blade?
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I love my 4 in. tanto blade Recon 1 in S35VN. Perfect mix of quality, ergonomics, and value. She may not be the most popular knife around, but I’m sure glad to have her.
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The Shiro 111 is my favorite, but the price is painful and I wouldn’t carry anything that costly on an Alaskan hunting trip. I also have a Real Steel Megalodon (just under 4”), a WE 614 (discontinued) and a ZT 0452 (also discontinued). I’d recommend any of them.
I actually tried one of them, and also bought a few of those Spyderco Tatankas too, them and the Lone Wolf T3’s (shown below) are all just a bit too large for my hands, and wound up just getting carried in the packs, not our pockets.
I think I’ve proved to myself that for our purposes the 5” knives we’ve been able to find are a bit too much, I think our best answer lies in the range between 4 and 5”. We have quite a few 4” folders, but I’m sure willing to look at and try others, especially if they are lighter, or easier to carry, or have a better locking mechanism. I’m really intrigued by the Patriot Bladewerx Lincoln right now, and that Shirogorov 111 I’m carrying right now is a pretty nice solution too, plus they make them in orange, which makes me feel better about not loosing an expensive knife when I set it down beside a carcass to rest myself
You should probably ask Josh. It's definitely expensive -- more than the knife cost. I had him do two Rukus 610s for me, one in A8(mod) the wood-chipper steel at 60-61 Rc for super tough tasks and one in Vanax SuperClean for EDC at 60 Rc. Vanax holds an edge almost as well as M390, but is tougher and more stain resistant. It also is easier to sharpen and takes a clean, aggressive edge. I recently refitted a door for a new lock, and I had to chisel out some of the door-frame wood to make everything fit. I did some prying with the point to get into corners of the hole I had to carve (rather than walk a mile through the woods to get a more appropriate tool). I was worried and careful, but the blade took it in stride.
By having the reblade done, I got the heat treat I wanted and the blade geometry that works for me (15 dps with a 0.015 inch edge thickness). That geometry in those steels with those heat treats makes the knife cut much better than regular production knives and puts them right up there with the best custom knives. Plus, with that thin edge, the blades are a breeze to keep sharp.
A well-designed knife with a top-end steel with top-end heat treat and high-performance blade geometry is really where it's at in my experience.
I’ll Definitely have to go with an orange one if I go that way again. I remember the day when I scoffed at the idea anyone would carry a handgun in the woods as expensive as a Shiro 111 is, but have you priced handguns large enough to confront a grizzly lately? .
I ain’t just chomping at the bit to throw money away... but cleaning a whole caribou with one knife and not having to stop to resharpen, plus having that same knife handy the whole trip for everything from opening a pack or hotdogs, to carving a roasting stick is sure worth a lot in my book! (Of course, I’m realizing here that I just described that Spyderco military I was carrying, so maybe I am just looking to throw away some more money)
I’ll reach out to him then! Thanks!