What is the most important aspect of your Go-To blade?

mountainmist

mountainmist

Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
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There are tons of threads about the "Best Bushcraft Knife" and all that, but if you could only have one part of a knife, what would it be.

For example: lets say my favorite knife had these features:

Blade length :4"
Handle material: G-10
Steel: 3V
Blade grind: Convex
Choil: none
Blade profile: Drop point with a sharp tip
Sheath: Leather

Now lets say it had a 6" blade, wood handle, 154cm, scandi, yeah you get the point. but if you could have on feature while everything else in your favorite knife changed, what would it be and why?
 
Yep, the handle.

My BBT and Tusker companion are extremely comfortable.

After that is heat treat

After that is a pointy point
 
Go on then, I'll play... but I think really this is even worse than the 'what one knife' threads.

My favourite knife (my 'precious', lol) is a Busse HHFSH (original Heavy Heart version of the Fusion Steel Heart).

If I had to pick the best feature, I would have to agree with the posters above and say the handle. In my case, the magnum fusion handle on this knife just works perfectly for me. As long as nothing changed too stupidly, the knife would still probably be the best I could ever hope for. (assuming I didn't then find the original HHFSH, lol). The handle makes the knife work so well in my hand that I don't want to put it down.


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It's not that I don't want to answer, It's just that in answering it my appear that I'm hiding behind cliché.

The truth of it for me is that there is no rule I can generate that I cannot violate. The whole knife is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

As a gist:

I tend to like drop points. There are other blade shapes that I would move to rather than preserve that at all costs.

Similarly, there are certain handle shapes that I prefer. I like others well enough to move to those rather than have a .25” thick blade.

I gravitate towards a knives with a good choil. Some knives are shaped in such a way as that the dominant hand position is the cock-holder's grip, and choils are wasted on those. In fact they can be obstructive. Accordingly, I wouldn't preserve the choil at all costs 'cos someone cold change the rest of the shape to be one of those.

The pattern repeats down the list. Whilst there are attributes I like, there is no single one that is strong enough do defend against all possible insults that can be done to the rest of the design. There is no “one” that can ever be sufficient compensation.
 
One feature only? ....ok then...... Let it be whatever you like, but make it sharp

Fwiw :

Favorite knife= Spyderco Street Beat
Favorite knife maker/ group of knives= Busse
 
Useable length for most tasks - 4" - 5".

Premium steel that I can touch up in the field.

Comfortable handle.

Durability, and toughness that I don't have to worry about breaking although I use my knives to cut, and leave my saws, and axes for other uses.
 
I designed it so the handle fits my hand perfectly. I can use it all day long and never have any discomfort. Add to that O1 with a great heat treat and you get a pretty darned good knife.


I haven't gotten this one in my hands yet but I think when I do it might replace my others. The shape of the handle and the angle of the blade make this design a dream to cut with.
 
For me, it would be a 5 inch blade with a 5 inch handle that's comfortable. Wood, micarta, or bone, 01 tool steel 5/32 thick full flat grind with a sharp spine and a drop/spear point. Nice leather sheath.......and around the 180.00-200.00 mark. The pathfinder scout is close as well as a forest trail but way over my price range. Other than that, I'm flexible.....
 
My go to blade- full convex grind, full tang,about 4-5" blade length, comfortable grip/handles, easy of sharpening- BRKT Aurora in A2. Those are the 5 most important aspects of why this is my favorite overall knife.
 
My one knife to do it all is not my go to blade or my favorite blade. My go to is a custom skinner that I designed and Mark Hill made but my best knife as my only tool would be my Koster Bushmaster. The two vary greatly in design, size, and materials. My Skinner is optimized for precision work and to fit my hands. It's a master skinner and food prep knife with the ability to withstand woodwork and camp chores. The Bushmaster is optimized to do everything from splitting wood to kitchen work reasonably well. It's a jack of all trades, master of none, tough as nails warhorse.

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These are my favorites and all get used regularly. How I am going to use them depends on which I take.

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The steel.
5" blade of Saber ground O1 steel for toughness & edge holding.
I know what it can take so I have confidence in it.

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Rules were made to be broken

About a 4" blade (3 1/2 to 4 1/2)
Full tang
Balance point under my first finger
A finger indent just there
No blade choil, or I file it off
A full 4 1/2" handle
1/8"
Drop point or spear
1095 or O1 is fine
Zero scandi or flat, not a full convex but a scandi-vex gets a very acute convex
A good leather dangler sheath (I will buy one)

Examples:
Becker BK16
Enzo Trapper
Tops CUB
Grey Wolf #5
 
9 3/4" OL --3/16" A2--the micarta grip is fantastic- nice and deep choil. Only thing I would change is adding some jimping.

Knife1025.jpg
 
5.25 inch blade made out of 52100 with a useable choil
Micarta scales
3/16 inch thick full tang blade
Balance point under my first finger
Straight clip point blade
Saber grind with a convex edge
Leather sheath
 
BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Chris Trailing Point

5.5 in blade
10in ov
Handle is super comfortable
Z wear steel stays sharp forever
.160 thick blade.
The more is use it the less I need to use a knife with thicker steel!
 

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the single most important feature of my go to knife ..

is it be with me

pretty much everything else I can work with or around .. but to not have it is just a pain .
 
Being a knife maker my "Go To Knife" changes fairly regularly, but they all seem to have a couple features in common.
My Neck Knife has to be thin, light and stainless, my current one is .070" S30V. A 4 to 4.5 ounce total weight in the sheath seems to be about perfect.
A 4" blade is what I prefer with an OAL just over 8". Very well contoured handle, no flats all curves.

My belt knives for the heavier jobs have been exhibiting similar qualities as well.
Blade is about 1.25" to 1.31" wide, this seems to give me the best control for any task. If the blades gets much wider there is an increase in torsional force when cutting that creates a lack of control of what the edge is doing. To help here I like a wide, but not too wide, handle that tells me where the edge is indexed in the medium being cut.
The width of the blade is most important to me. That width is about the middle of my index finger when holding the knife in a saber grip.
Again, I want a very nicely contoured handle with no flat spots. Good contouring will make the knife comfortable to use and it will keep it placed in the hand.
A very good high wear steel. My previous one was CPM 4V and my current one is CPM S110V. A moderately thin edge for efficient cutting, but able to be used hard if needed.

I use my knives for home repair, shop repair, food prep (my neck knife is the best parer and steak knife I have ever owned), cleaning flash or tear out from holes in wood, micarta, and G10, yard work and tree trimming, and any and all camping and outdoor activities. I do not loan my knives to people, I carry a leatherman with a DULL sacrificial blade for people not smart enough to carry their own knife.
 
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