Which fixed blade for this application? (Farming)

W

Wrace

Joined
Sep 29, 2005
Messages
60
We have several barn locations that we store hay-bales in and we pick and transport said hay to the cow feeders in the fields from these locations. Daily during much of the year there is knife work needed at these locations to maintain, re-string, or cut the bale string (which is pretty stout stuff). I would like to station a fixed blade knife at these locations and am wondering what fixed blade would be good for this duty. In Western WA things are wet much of the time either directly from rain or from moisture in the air, so the knife will need good corrosion resistance. I don't know if I will try to mount a sheath to the post at these locations or just jamb the knife into the post for storage. I can use my edc for this task but I'm not the only one who does this chore and not everybody carries a knife larger than one of the small SAK's.

Also, I would like to mount a fixed blade knife on the ATV for immediate access/use. Currently I have a knife on most of our equipment which is stored in a mounted ammo box, but this is not optimal for a frequently used knife as the knife usually vibrates to the bottom of the tool pile and is not always easy to extract quickly. It would need to have a sheath that drains water and securely snaps the knife in place to deal with the roughness of travel on the ATV and not vibrate out. It would be really nice if the retention system were such that a strap is not needed to hold the knife in place. I'm envisioning the knife/sheath mounted vertically on the ATV.

A couple of ideas that come to mind is possibly an Opinel or a Mora in stainless. I have a #8 folding Opinel but I assume they make fixed blades as well. The other idea is may be one of the Mora models with the plastic sheath. I have a Mora craftline which snaps into the plastic sheath pretty well and the sheath already has a drain hole. I'm a bit worried about the wood handle on the Opinel and how well it would stand up to the wet weather and humidity. Also the plastic handle on the Mora seems to provide good grip which will be helpful as this knife will be used while wearing gloves or with wet hands at times.

What would be a good knife for this application? Are the Opinel and Mora SS pretty good at corrosion resistance? What other knives might fill this role?

Thanks
 
I think you're on the right track with the Mora idea. You could pick up a bunch of 'em to stash in various locations and not have to shell out a fortune.

But have you also considered just using old kitchen knives? You wouldn't need anything spectacular to use as a 'barn-beater' knife for twine and such. Plus, you'd be re-purposing old knives that might be otherwise destined for the trash. Just a thought...
 
A stainless Mora seems custom-tailored for cutting bailing twine, one of the bright colored handles that won't get lost so easily in the barn.

Guess I mostly used a folding Opinel when I was living on a farm last. A folding knife isn't ideal though since I often had work gloves. An Opinel Paring knife is right on track, but you'd have to come up with some sort of sheath.

But have you also considered just using old kitchen knives? You wouldn't need anything spectacular to use as a 'barn-beater' knife for twine and such. Plus, you'd be re-purposing old knives that might be otherwise destined for the trash. Just a thought...
Click to expand...

I use some old USA-made Chicago Cutlery knives in the shop that would be great for bails of hay. "High carbon stainless." You'd still have to make some sort of sheath.
 
I second Chicago Cutlery "High Carbon Stainless." My brother keeps one in his shed to cut hay bales. It has done the job for years. That said, a stainless Mora would also work great.

Joe
 
The Spyderco Jumpmaster sounds absolutely perfect, but I don't think you want to pay $160+ for one or more of them. I think you're on track with cheaper stainless (possibly serrated) knives.
 
What about a Victorinox serrated paring knife? I saw one recently at a sporting goods store that had a basic nylon sheath with it. IIRC it was less than $10.00 and had a bright red handle.

Bruceter
 
MORA is very good, but as I live in Finland i'd suggest a Marttiini Puuko. You can get smaller bladed stainless ones with a rubberized handle. Superb in wet or cold conditions and their stainless is very fair stuff easy to touch up too. I know these knives can be got in the US and are inexpensive. Good luck!
 
You might look at scuba knives as well (something like a Benchmade 110H20 or Kershaw Sea Hunter). They tend to use very corrosion-resistant steels and grippy handles, as they are designed to be submerged in salt water with gloves. Most are serrated (for cutting rope, BC's, wetsuits, hoses, other lines), and some even have a specific cord cutting notch. The blunt-tip ones are also good for some amount of prying as well.
 
I was in the same boat with cutting bale twine for round bales. We ended up buying these and have them scattered between the barns, tractors, and ranch truck. We have 8 total with two as extras. In the barns I keep them wedged between the door latch and the wall. They work great and keep an edge. After 16 months only the spine shows any signs of wear. The wear appears to to be pitting or nicks in the edge. Either way they still work fine.

http://www.baryonyxknife.com/cofst.html

I resharpen them all at once about twice a year. Also the same for the ATV, a couple of hose clamps on a piece of 1x2 and I screwed the sheath to the wood then hose clamped all of it vertically to the frame of the racks. I also drilled a small hole in the handle of one of the knives and ran 16" of cord through it with a dog clip on one end. This will keep the knife attached to the ATV even if it bounces out of the sheath. The clip allows for the knife to stay attached but also be removed very easily even with gloves.
 
Last edited:
Mora rope knife. You could buy 10 for the price of one Spyderco Jumpmaster...the the Jumpmaster is in no way 10x better. The Rope knife is made of very good stainless steel (12c27 Sandvik), has a rubberized handle, and may come with an orange plastic sheath and handle. It would be the perfect knife for rope cuttin chores around the hay farm (on which I grew up) or on a boat where lines need to be cleared in a hurry sometime. I can remember as a kid cutting bailing twine with a sodbuster. Some times the thing would slip right out, cutting just a few fibers. I don't know what bailing twine is like these days but it was tough, rather loosely assembled jute or sisal or something with lots of individual fibers...tough stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top