What do you look for in a B&T or EDC fixed blade?

[bikerector]

I've recently started getting a little bit of an itch to try and design something a little different but still functional in a smaller size. It may just be for me but might be something I try to sell or give away for some testing, or just as gifts. I'm going to have one of the BF knifemaker's make it so it's probably not going to be something cheap. Part of it is just for a joy of the process of product development. The title pretty much says the rest.

Some basic criteria:
Blade length 3.5" or less
Blade thickness 1/8" or less
Handle length 4.5" or less
Weight around 5oz or less (arbitrary number, basically it shouldn't be a wide blade or thick handle)

Specific things I'm interested in:
Preferred Grind
Blade shape (straight edge to tip, big belly, recurve, etc.)
Tip shape preference
Steel choice (carbon, stainless, or more specific)
Aesthetic aspect you like (handle materials, blade finish, fancy pins, utilitarian look, pretty much anything here)
Any other aspects I'm missing.

 

[Danke42]

This one does it all for me but if you want something "different" why not talk to the person who's going to make it?

 

[orangejoe35]

This one was exactly what I wanted. I really like Daado's style. I wanted walnut handles, a good carbon steel, and a means to carry it on a static cord. I lucked out.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...nd-vertical-carry-sold.1683347/#post-19252395

 

[hhmoore]

I was going to recommend a particular maker, until I reread your post & saw that you want to have your design made (I recently contacted him about a knife that was only slightly different than his regular models & he didn't seem interested in making it).
Maybe try samuraistuart?

For a small fixed blade, I tend to lean toward full flat grind; but I've got nothing against a high saber or hollow ground. I don't really worry about carbon vs stainless. Handle material should suit the knife - I've got them in micarta, g10, wood, and bone

 

[Horsewright]

As a user I prefer a full flat grind. As a maker a hollowgrind is much easier to do well. A small drop point works very well for me. Huge on cross draw horizontal sheath. These two blade styles have been my personal EDCs for some years now. Both knife styles are a little over 5.25" oal.

I'm huge on natural materials for handles going with horn or stag but have also carried wood handled knives. I do like a bolster. The front part of the handle is your weak link in knife construction. A bolster allows this area to be sealed better. Bout it I guess.

 

[bikerector]

I was going to recommend a particular maker, until I reread your post & saw that you want to have your design made (I recently contacted him about a knife that was only slightly different than his regular models & he didn't seem interested in making it).
Maybe try samuraistuart?

For a small fixed blade, I tend to lean toward full flat grind; but I've got nothing against a high saber or hollow ground. I don't really worry about carbon vs stainless. Handle material should suit the knife - I've got them in micarta, g10, wood, and bone

Thanks for the input. I have two makers in mind already. One I've worked with with slight alterations to his current designs and liked how they turned out but he limits his steel and handle options quite a bit. I forgot to add steel choice in there, will have to edit my original post.

 

[bikerector]

As a user I prefer a full flat grind. As a maker a hollowgrind is much easier to do well. A small drop point works very well for me. Huge on cross draw horizontal sheath. These two blade styles have been my personal EDCs for some years now. Both knife styles are a little over 5.25" oal.

I'm huge on natural materials for handles going with horn or stag but have also carried wood handled knives. I do like a bolster. The front part of the handle is your weak link in knife construction. A bolster allows this area to be sealed better. Bout it I guess.

I hadn't even considered bolsters, but I do love he look of them on my hunters. I've always admired your little blades Dave and appreciate your comments. That copper bolster is a hotty.

 

[22-rimfire]

I tend to kind of flexible as far as what suits me. I prefer a full flat grind (FFG), but convex is okay. I notice I maintain the edge better with a FFG as I am more likely to just touch it up a bit. I think weight is important and the knife should have a thin blade steel (< 1/8") with a handle material that is durable and fairly light. The steel stock thickness is crucial to the knife being more functional. I have purchased too many knives only to decide the steel is too thick and they don't cut as well as I hoped they would.

I prefer a cross draw type sheath, but I wear regular leather belt sheaths too. The vertical belt sheaths don't pose a problem for me if I want to carry one as long as the overall length is not more than about 7.5". For the most part, I seldom really need to use a fixed blade knife over 3-3.5" blade.

The handle (or some sort of guard) needs to be designed so that I have no concerns of putting my hands on the sharp edge when using.

The carry approaches that I know I won't carry often are neck and just slide into my pocket such as folks do with stuff like the BK-14 and so forth.

It is very hard for me to consistently choose to wear a small fixed blade over a folder that I like. For me, it depends on where you live and your typical daily routines.

I don't need a handmade knife, but I notice my trend is buying more handmade stuff over factory fixed blades.

 

[RoachBelly44]

I'm certainly in the minority anymore, because I love Sabre and Scandi ground blades.
If I could have my perfect knife commissioned, it would look just like a L.T. Wright "small workhorse", sabre ground, in a Scandi steel, heavy linen or burlap micarta...in a Bradford style cross draw sheath.
Yeah.......that would just tickle all the right spots!

 

[onekerf]

Take a look at some of the Roselli offerings over at Ragnar's Ragweed Forge. I have the UHC "carpenter's" knife @ .122" thick, and the "Minnow" @ .039" thick.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Brazilian cutliero Ivan Campos does some really innovative stuff -- contact him and see what he suggests. I won one of his massive American Standard Tanto chisel grinds a few years back --1/4" D3 that can hack through armored plating and bought one of his Scandi grinds in 1070 (handle of ivory ebony by Kris Klammer of Edmonton) -- both are among the sharpest knives I own. Highly recommended.

 

[dirc]

I like your idea a lot : ) please post sketches etc when you get it more developed

 

[bikerector]

I like your idea a lot : ) please post sketches etc when you get it more developed

So this one is more for me and something I've been pondering for a few weeks, getting a B&T/EDC/skinner with a lot more belly. This is kind of taking what I liked about a blind horse mini drover I have been using for about a year and adding some things I like more and removing some things I didn't primarily adding a little more point to it.

I have one of JK's knives in it for reference and probably who I'll have make this one if we settle on something that seems good and he can make reliably. The first picture, which I called the snaggle tooth, may be impractical as the tip would be too thin once you add an edge to it so it would need some tinkering to get some steel up there and kind of where the other two came from. I'm liking the saber grind (2nd drawing), the most at the moment.

This will be on 3/32 S30V or 154cm steel, roughly a 3.8" handle and roughly a 2.75" blade. I'm completely using John's handle for this one as I work out a blade profile with a lot of belly that works well at this size.

Note: I'm not an artist... I can't draw a straight line or a continuous radius for the life of me. The last drawing needs a little fine tuning as the front edge is too flat I think, after looking at the picture. I made it a little more angled for a point and didn't re-radius the belly to make it flow nicer. Again, this is more for experimenting and not quite why I asked the original question, but it is an example of something a little different than what is traditionally seen with other B&T or EDC fixed blades. Whether that is actually desirable or useful is a different matter, and thus my questions.

 

[bikerector]

I should also add, the snaggle tooth was in part to be "cool" as I like the look of point trailing points like the kizer nomad and BM bedlam, and ZT 0460/0462 even though I find them a little less useful than other designs with the tip kind of feeling a bit wasted way out there and in a plane that isn't quite inline with stabbing. But, hits high marks in the hotty department and that's important sometimes too.

 

[cbach8tw]

Very interesting topic. Not sure I like the belly in the drawing, too much curve and an upswept clip, my likes are different. I think one of the upswept designs from a Spyderco Moran hunter is attractive and not too drastic. I do like the JK HCL handle. All too often a handle is too short, I like a four finger grip.

 

[cbach8tw]

Now to have it in cpm 154 or another stainless steel 1/8 or less, now we are talking. Just my two cents.

 

[bikerector]

Now to have it in cpm 154 or another stainless steel 1/8 or less, now we are talking. Just my two cents.

Both of my HCL's from John are in 3/32 S30V. One with the standard blade and one with the wharncliffe.

I'm also toying with the idea of just doing a straight back or slight upsweep, like the Moran, without the downswept belly, but part of the goal is trying to get a lot of belly into the sub 3" blade. I'm not sold on it in the looks department. My experience for such a design is with the LT jessmuk. I've also considered doing more of a recurve into the belly instead of starting right at the sharpening choil. These are my 1st 3 drawings after discussing the idea with John this week.

I will add, part of the sweep at the top is for placement of the thumb or forefinger, something I greatly enjoyed from the sheeps mini-grip. Their method of having that was different because of the low tip and thumb hole... it might also be more effective at it when all is said and done.

But again, this one is more "just because" where the one I want to consider designing as more well-rounded version with the input of the BF community will be a different.

 

[Pilsner]

I’m a big fan of the Fastpac by Rainier Knives. Never thought I’d dig a para wrap handle but it’s a perfect small fixed blade and surprisingly comfortable in hand. Elmax is a great steel, the sheath is designed for a belt loop. I got the sabre grind.

I actually bought it for my wife to take on our trip to the USA this summer. She ended up using what used to be my Manix 2 S110v, which is now hers, or so she tells me, so I ended up with the Rainier and it’s a super little knife.


Just my two cents.

 

[Henry Beige]

Not everyone’s cup of tea, perhaps, but these Anzas suit my purposes well for EDC. Short blades, plenty of handle. These are hand-made; every one is a little different. The one on the left I bought from the maker’s table at a motorcycle swap meet in the early ‘80s. The one on the right came from Anza’s site. He started making it when I placed my order. $38, plus nine bucks for the cross-draw sheath. Prices range from there up to around $200.

I do not care for a trailing point, but he has a lot of upswept designs. Handles are wood, micarta, bone or stag. Most of the blades are made from files, so the thickness varies depending on the startiing piece.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Here's one I made myself, it's just about perfect for my needs.


And here's a little 1920's Queen #85 that I just find to be a dandy little EDC fixed blade, a number of my slipjoints open up to about this size so it is kind of small and dainty for a belt knife but I just really love it.