who makes the best small fixed blade knives?

williamsld8

williamsld8

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Sep 19, 2010
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I'm looking for a fixed blade between 30 to 100 bucks and wondering who offers the best made in this price range? And the length should be no larger than 5 inches but not smaller than 4. I'm rally used to folders, and literally have no decent knowledge of fixed blades
 
ESEE Izula might fit your bill, but for a little more you can get the ESEE RC-3 which is a great knife.
 
I don't know if anyone's mentioned it or not but the Izula is a great all around pick. :D
 
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OK I guess I am going to be the odd ball here and suggest Bark River knives. If you watch the exchange, you can find some great Barkies around the $100 mark. I have a few of them and have nothing but good things to say.

John
 
Speaking of good things to say, I would be remiss in not mentioning the Swamp Rat Swamp Warden in SR101 (52100 with a Jerry Busse heat treat). How much longer they'll be available for sale from the factory is anybody's guess.

.
 
Did you mean blade length or overall length? If it's OAL your options are fewer. Buck Hartsook, Nemesis Hellion, TOPS Prairie Fox, Boker Vox Gnome, AG Russell Hunter's Scalpel, Emerson La Griffe come to mind.

If it's blade length you can get some great blades from makers here.

Frank
 
SRKW Swamp Warden ;)

or the Izula, i have them both and they are both very impressive.

-- Adam

EDIT: i see that bld522 beat me to the recommendation, so i figure I'll add a little.
Both the Izula and Warden have a NO QUESTIONS ASKED lifetime warranty. Both are coated, but the Warden has a very unique, textured finish on many of the colors, its extra grippy. The Warden fits in the Izula sheath so that should give you an idea of how similar these knives are in size. The Warden is closer to a spanto style blade than the Izula. The Warden has a larger handle by a decent margin, and therefore is a larger knife overall, blade is marginally longer on the Warden as well.

The Izula is less expensive, and comes with a sheath. If you go with a Warden then be aware it does not come with a sheath. I prefer the SR101 (52100 + busse heat treat and chryo) to the Izula's 1095, but the Rowen 1095 is excelent. I have not dealt with ESEE's customer service, i have heard its exceptional. The SRKW customer service blew my socks off.

I don't think you could go wrong either way.

Also a lot of people seem to like the Becker Necker, although i have never handled one.

Others to look out for would be the Izula II and Eskobar, both of which should be coming out soonish.
 
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williamsld8 said:
I'm looking for a fixed blade between 30 to 100 bucks and wondering who offers the best made in this price range? And the length should be no larger than 5 inches but not smaller than 4. I'm rally used to folders, and literally have no decent knowledge of fixed blades
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While I like the Izula, it is smaller than a 4 inch blade. Look at the ESEE-4, Fallkniven F1, and BRKT Bravo-1 (but that will blow your budget)
 
Fallkniven F1 at $105 is a great buy

IMG_0419.jpg
 
are esee knives the same as RAT cutlery? And I will look into the izula. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
SilverFoxKnows said:
Did you mean blade length or overall length? If it's OAL your options are fewer. Buck Hartsook, Nemesis Hellion, TOPS Prairie Fox, Boker Vox Gnome, AG Russell Hunter's Scalpel, Emerson La Griffe come to mind.

If it's blade length you can get some great blades from makers here.

Frank
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I agree. The suggestions confused me because they weren't in the range the OP stated. Does he want a 4-5" OAL FB or one with a blade that's 4-5"? Even so, the Izula nor the RC3 fit that criteria either way.

Becker's provide great value for the $ & are well within the OP's budget. There're also some Ka-Bars & Ontarios that would be within budget, too.
 
williamsld8 said:
are esee knives the same as RAT cutlery? And I will look into the izula. Thanks for the suggestions.
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Yes. ESEE knives (esee 3, esee 4, etc) were formerly known as RAT cutlery (RC 3, RC 4, etc), but not to be confused with Ontario who now make RAT knives (RAT 3, RAT 4, etc)
 
Beckers and ESEEs are always a good investment.ESEE and Becker have a collaberation,where they took a Becker Necker blade and mated it with an Izula handle.It looks really promising,you should check it out.
 
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