What fixed blade knife do you carry with you?

S

Shaggy DA

Joined
Aug 16, 2014
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113
This is a pretty broad question so I'm going to break it down a bit further. I'm asking what fixed blade do you trust to get you through a wilderness excursion, bush craft, hunting, camping, backpacking, etc. I'd also like to hear of maker, blade steel, handle material, and sheath material.

I'm asking this because I currently have a strange survival knife called The Hellion by Tops. I love this knife and is still currently my favorite knife I've owned (most expensive as well) but I'd like to add a few more knives to my current collection of 3 knives...Yes, it's not really a collection but you've got to start somewhere, right? It's a VERY large knife at 14.75" long with a 9" blade. It's size (for me) makes it a superb knife for our family when we go camping but not very practical when hunting, fishing, or trail rides.

With all this said, I'd like to know absolutely everything about your favorite fixed blade knife/knives so I can make a very educated decision when purchasing my next knife. Currently thinking of something in a 'Tool' steel such as D-2 or maybe a stainless such as S30V. I've been hearing bad things about VG-10 on medium sized and large fixed blade knives because of it being brittle the edge is prone to chipping. Do the tool steels like D-2, O-1, A-1, or W-1 have the same problems as a really hard stainless?

Please feel free to leave as much information as you can. I've just started getting into all this blade technology and since I plan on buying a higher end knife in the $100-$400 price range I REALLY want to make a decision I won't be disappointed in. Thank you all very much for entertaining this question.
 
I'm in VA so I carry whatever I want as long as it's not concealed. I carry Busse's andKin, Bark River, and omnivore americana, Blackjack Lite Hawk (made by bark river)....I'd go with a Busse if I were you! You won't be dissapointed !
 
I often carry a Bark River Gunny, and I find it a great little fixed blade that is just about the perfect size for hiking, and camping. Along with my Bravo 1, it is my "go to" fixed blade knife.
 
Dozier Pro Guides Knife is my current favorite (D-2 and their standard micarta handles). I also really like the Blackjack 125 (again standard linen micarta handles). Micarta is very strong and grippy in the field. I seldom carry a larger knife in the woods unless I know I will be chopping. I prefer a medium sized (4"-5") blade for general use in the woods.
 
You can never ever go wrong with a Busse. And their warranty has your back pretty much every time. I'll carry a TGLB because I think the knife just looks so amazing.
 
At the hunting camp or in the boat I always have a Mora on me. Either a Companion or No 1. I carry it around my neck and find that comfortable and always close at hand.

My main reason for loving Moras is they are cheap enough to have one on you, one in the truck, the boat, a spare or two at home, and a backup in your pack. They also cut very well and are super easy to resharpen even in the field.

I do not baton with my knives and the Mora has always done everything I need so I stick with them. A no 2/0 is the perfect size for dressing deer and the no 1 with it's long and thin blade being somewhat flexible works for filleting fish if you don't have a fillet knife.
 
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I really liked my ESEE 3 and ESEE 4 for hunting / camping / hiking. They come with very good sheaths that can be carried in almost any way that you can conceive. They have great carbon steel 1095 blades that stay sharp forever, both of mine have G10 handles( almost indestructible ), they have an awesome warranty, and are fairly priced for what you get.
Their only downside, which can be remedied, is that the handles are too short FOR ME. aftermarket handles that are longer and very well made are available to fix that problem.
The blade shape is very good for use as a woods/hunting/camping/hiking knife- it's a great jack of all trades, master of some design.

I now carry a Chris Reeve Nyala, it has Micarta handles and an S35VN blade.
Although I used to stay away from micarta because it can absorb certain liquids I've grown to really like the grip it provides on the 3 Nyala's that I have. I still love G10 because it's just about impervious to chemicals and such and it feels great to me but the micarta feels "warmer" to me.
The S35VN blade has proven to be supremely rust resistant, has held a very keen edge for a very long time, and is the only knife I've ever used that cut an entire whitetail ribcage from the bottom all the way up into the neck in one pull; it was amazing, like the deer had a zipper !
I'm not a fan of the very well made leather sheath that it comes with but the Kydex I picked up here from a fellow member carries nice and flat with a TEK-LOK.
It's blade shape may be the best that I have found for an all around knife and slightly edges out the ESEE design because of its taller belly or upsweep at the tip.
Both the CRK and the ESEE have very good choils to keep your hand from slipping forward while working, both have decent jimping on the spine( I like the larger CRK jimping better ), and both have a handle that thins out or tapers at the front to allow a comfortable " pinch grip " that I find myself using often when field dressing game.

I've also had good luck with some benchmades.

I hear nothing but positive things about Busse and Busse kin knives, one of them will most likely be my next fixed blade


My experience with a Becker BK2 Campanion was that it's too thick and heavy to be very good at anything I use a knife for. It was not only poor in the camp kitchen but it was miserable to field dress a deer with- I know I'll get flamed for saying that but that was my experience with it.

Let us all know what you decide to pick up.
 
I hunt everything from small game through to moose and elk. I carry a custom from Dan Crotts, actually a set of three but they aren't always all in my pack. I've got a bird/ trout I use for a caper and small game, A drop point I use for field dressing and a custom skinner I use for skinning big game. I had them built with D2, mammoth ivory, red liners, tapered tang, mosaic pins and thumb notches on the spine. The steel and heat treat are excellent for skinning and cutting flesh, the mammoth ivory gets tacky when wet with blood and provides a very sure grip, the tapered tang shifts the balance point forward and reduces fatigue and Dan's knives are extremely well built. The fit and finish are perfect and the little touches like mosaic pins make me happy. IMO they're a very classy set of functional blades I'll be happy to use for a lifetime and pass down to my son.
 
1AbominAble1 said:
I hear nothing but positive things about Busse and Busse kin knives, one of them will most likely be my next fixed blade


My experience with a Becker BK2 Campanion was that it's too thick and heavy to be very good at anything I use a knife for. It was not only poor in the camp kitchen but it was miserable to field dress a deer with- I know I'll get flamed for saying that but that was my experience with it.
Click to expand...

If you're considering any Busse or kin, pull the trigger with confidence. You will not be disappointed.

I'm going to have to look into that CRK. Sounds very nice!

You're not gonna get any flames from me on the BK2 comments. That was exactly my experience with it. It's a knife that tries really hard, but comes up short in all aspects except durability.
 
Your price range will let you choose from some REALLY nice knives. For even a general purpose wilderness knife though, I think there are a lot of variables to consider, i.e. is weight a concern, will you be near salt water or high humidity, is there a lot of dense vegetation, etc. My survival knives range from 2" blades all the way to 9", though I consider 4-5" a good compromise here in the western US. In a jungle environment, I would definitely go larger.

For handle material, I almost always prefer canvas micarta, with the only exception being when I have to clean fish. It can be very difficult to get fish smell out of micarta without a kitchen sink handy. Smooth G10 and softer polymers like Thermorum are my next favorite choices, but heavily textured G10 gives me hot spots after a while.

For blade material, I prefer carbon steels unless the knife will be wet a lot (cleaning a lot of fish, beach camping, snow camping). SR101 (aka 52100) and 1095 are some of my favorites, with 1095 being so easy to sharpen I could use a rock if I had to. SR101 is harder to sharpen, but not so hard that it becomes a pain when I'm camping, and it holds an edge wonderfully. Stainless steels in general tend to be more of a compromise IMHO--most of them are more brittle and harder to sharpen than carbon steels. I love D2, but I consider diamond stones a necessity for sharpening it. I like Fallkniven's laminated VG10 and Elmax, but even these I feel are best suited for smaller knives. I haven't used CPM S20V, but I hear great things about it except for when it comes time for sharpening. Unless you really need stainless, I would get a carbon blade. INFI would be a good compromise between stainless and carbon if you don't mind spending the cash, but it's still a compromise as other steels like SR101 will hold a better edge. For an actual survival situation, ease of sharpening is a top priority for me, which is why I tend to avoid a lot of the premium steels being offered.

Sheath material? Kydex or zytel. I love leather sheaths, but I want something I can get wet and toss around. Leather is too pretty and delicate for me to really use.

Great makers I have experience with are Busse, Swamp Rat, ESEE, Becker, and Fallkniven. I don't have much experience with customs unfortunately, but all these brands are top notch. My "survival" knife that sees the most use is actually an ESEE Izula because I usually hike very long distances and mostly just use it for fish and tinder/kindling for small fires. Other wilderness knives that I would recommend are the Swamp Rat Ratmandu (my favorite), Becker BK10, BK12 (Rowen), BK9, BK16, and Fallkniven F1. I hope to add a Busse TGLB to my arsenal eventually, but it's hard to justify when my other knives get the job done 100% of the time. I also find a simple Swiss Army Knife to be my most-used tool in the wilderness, and I carry a Huntsman on every trip. I don't consider it a survival knife though.
 
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I've got several knives, both production and custom, that have worked very well for me on different outdoors trips.

I've used a Fallkniven F1 (VG-10), Bark River Bravo 1 (A2), Bark River Fox River (A2), Bark River Canadian Special (A2). I like a knife with a blade around 4" and a convex grind. I tend to favour micarta handles, but I'll use stabilised wood or other materials if they feel comfortable and hold up well.

My most used knives are customs from local makers, which they designed with my input. I used to work as a guide, hunting and making long horseback trips through the mountains, that taught me a lot about the kind of knife that works best for me.

Here's one that's been with me in several countries. The maker calls it "Trueno" (Thunder), it's basically a beefed up Kephart. Blade steel is differentially heat treated 5160, it's about 5" long. I can't remember the thickness off the top of my head, but it's not a sharpened prybar (should be around 4,5mm or 5mm). The handle slabs are micarta.

trueno003.jpg
 
Again, it depends on what I'm doing.

Out in the woods - Mora, Bravo-1, BK7 or 9.
In town/other - BRKT Necker, Muela Colibri, Mora, Izula.
 
Blind horse knives woodsman pro. Micarta and O1. BHK split up but I'm pretty sure both LT wright and Battle horse knives offer the same design.
 
When I hit the woods I carry a custom Garrison (a BF member/maker) field knife in A2. . I chose A2 because it is a little more stain resistant than 01--and will not chip like D2. It carries a great edge with just a strop and green compound and is easy to maintain.
Knife1025.jpg


My wife has a Blind Horse Bushcrafter in 01. That knife is wonderful. Other than making sure to wipe it down after cutting potatoes it is the perfect camp knife.
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I also EDC a RAT/ESEE 3 or 4 and have good luck with those.

All that being said, your price range gives you a HUGE selection to choose from. I suggest you research blade steels and find a BF custom maker to create a one of a kind piece for your very own. Make it personal
 
Favorite Fixed blades....all fit my large hand great, which I find as important as the blade.

Busse Active Duty - Top of the list no question
Swamprat Ratmandu - Perfect medium size knife
Swamprat Rodent Solution - Also great, real good AD substitute
Bark River STS-4 - Great knife that gets overlooked
Any Mora - Craftsman/Bushcrafter/Companion etc. Find one you like the looks of, hard to go wrong
Honorable mention to the Shaerk Mook - Great knife, just didn't fit right for me, well worth looking into
 
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While I have recently started using an Enzo Trapper, I have a Morakiv Clipper in all of my packs and in both of our family vehicles. They are great knives that done break the bank.
 
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