Your favourite 6" knives

timichango

timichango

Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
771
I don't (yet) have any 6" knives, so show me your favourite 6" blades! Choppers, slicers, hunters, survival knives, whatever. Just want to get better acquainted with what's out there in and around the 6" blade size :)


I ordered this one yesterday, off of the exchange, and it'll be my first knife in this size.

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*edited to add maker info for the above knife*

It's a 'Gollik'. Guy named Jakub Golla. Never heard of the maker before, but after a bunch of googling around and checking out his previous sales on the forum, and his facebook, it seems like he's a young maker in Prague. Steel's Sleipner (bohler/uddeholm), and it looks like he's having his blades professionally heat-treated. Can't wait to test it out and see what it can do.
 
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Nice knife!

I only have one in that size range and it's nothing special. It's a Ontario RAT 7, my affordable lightweight wood-processing tool:

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It's been recently replaced in that role by my latest toy though :rolleyes:

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Nice Gransfors! I have the same axe sitting behind the driver's seat in my Westfalia! Use it all the time for breaking down firewood for kindling when we go camping. Bought it a few years back in Seattle when we were on a 5-month long road-trip in the USA while my wife was on maternity leave for a year, and we had a lot of nice mornings sitting 'round the campfire making coffee with our little guy.

I more recently succumbed to poor impulse control and wound up with a winkler combat axe (the older TAD version with the hammer poll instead of the spike, and the tapered tang), and that's been getting used more than the gransfors on account of novelty. Great axe too, but for wood processing the Gransfors still has the edge (figuratively and proverbially). Super efficient once you get the hang of its handling.

How do you like the ergos on the Rat 7? Was thinking about those too, but at an inch longer, seemed a bit too close to my bk9 to make much difference.
 
Oddly enough, I've considered that I don't have anything in this size either.

Was looking at picking up the Benchmade Arvensis. Take a look, it's a pretty cool piece.

I wander into the KnifeMaker's section of the exchange too. Always an attractive looker in this size range.
 
Cool, you don't see the Outdoor Axe that often, it is a highly underestimated tool imo. I initially bought the GB mini hatchet for this role but while it's a nice tool for carving and wood-sculpting it isn't quite heavy enough to do actual fire-wood processing imo. I find a regular hatchet a bit too heavy for hiking/backpacking but this one is just perfect for me. I haven't even used my beloved folding saw since I got it!

The stock RAT scales aren't all that comfortable to me with prolonged use , but I have small hands. The handle feels a bit blocky, I would round off the scales a bit more if I were planning on using it more. TKC was suppose to get some nice G10 scales for the RAT knives, similar to the ones they sell for the Esee 6, but it's been a while since I was told that and they still haven't got them in stock yet so not sure what's up with those.

The wooden scales in the first pic never made it on to the knife by the way, they were made for a Esee 6 and I thought they would fit but they didn't unfortunately.
 
This started out as an old 16" chef's knife that my dad had got from the army when wood and carbon steel was getting fazed out. It hung on the wall rusty and with a broken tip for as long as I can remember until my he gave it to me a few years ago.
 
GooberBoober said:
Cool, you don't see the Outdoor Axe that often, it is a highly underestimated tool imo. I initially bought the GB mini hatchet for this role but while it's a nice tool for carving and wood-sculpting it isn't quite heavy enough to do actual fire-wood processing imo. I find a regular hatchet a bit too heavy for hiking/backpacking but this one is just perfect for me. I haven't even used my beloved folding saw since I got it!

The stock RAT scales aren't all that comfortable to me with prolonged use , but I have small hands. The handle feels a bit blocky, I would round off the scales a bit more if I were planning on using it more. TKC was suppose to get some nice G10 scales for the RAT knives, similar to the ones they sell for the Esee 6, but it's been a while since I was told that and they still haven't got them in stock yet so not sure what's up with those.

The wooden scales in the first pic never made it on to the knife by the way, they were made for a Esee 6 and I thought they would fit but they didn't unfortunately.
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I was unaware that GB existed. At 14.5" and 1# head it's much smaller than I would've guessed.
 
trevitrace said:
I was unaware that GB existed. At 14.5" and 1# head it's much smaller than I would've guessed.
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Yeah, it isn't much larger than the min hatchet, almost identical cutting edge. The Outdoors Axe does feel much heavier than the mini hatchet though.

I don't want to turn this in to a hatchet thread but I have some comparison pics up here if you're interested.


I just googled that winkler combat axy @timichango, that's just gorgeous! A little out of my price range I'm afraid though :)

Is that a VW Westfalia by the way? We have a T3 over here!
 
trevitrace said:
I was unaware that GB existed. At 14.5" and 1# head it's much smaller than I would've guessed.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's pretty small. Carries well on the belt or in a pack. The head's ground a bit thicker (ie. not hollow) than their other small axes, and while it's still a great cutter, it's also a pretty decent splitter for smaller stuff too, with good technique. Took a bit of practice to get to grips with it, but once I did it started paying dividends in effort saved getting fires going. I don't baton as much anymore, as a result, unless I don't have it (or the Winkler) around.
 
GooberBoober said:
Yeah, it isn't much larger than the min hatchet, almost identical cutting edge. The Outdoors Axe does feel much heavier than the mini hatchet though.

I don't want to turn this in to a hatchet thread but I have some comparison pics up here if you're interested.


I just googled that winkler combat axy @timichango, that's just gorgeous! A little out of my price range I'm afraid though :)

Is that a VW Westfalia by the way? We have a T3 over here!
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I found a screaming deal on the winkler on fleabay (close to half price), otherwise I never would've been able to afford it either. I'd just sold a vintage camera lens for around the same price and it was burning a hole in my pocket ;)

And yeah — 1991 T3 over here too!
 
timichango,
Great looking blade my friend.
I only have one in that range: RAT RC6(now ESEE)
My wife surprised me with it for our 10yr anniversary. I bought the molle sheath to go with it but I have come to prefer the tek lok.
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This old skinner I put together some 20 years ago, the blade was made locally and I put the handle on it.
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GB940Rookie said:
timichango,
Great looking blade my friend.
I only have one in that range: RAT RC6(now ESEE)
My wife surprised me with it for our 10yr anniversary. I bought the molle sheath to go with it but I have come to prefer the tek lok.
Click to expand...

Nice :) I've read that the ESEE 6 is a pretty good slicer, on account of being relatively thin (compared to some of the other ESEE knives at least, or comparable RAT models) — does the pre-ESEE variant have the same thickness as the current one?
 
Yes the RAT and ESEE models are the same. Same specs, same manufacturer(Rowen). I'm unsure about the Ontario Knives variants.
The blade thickness on the RC6 is 3/16". The RC3 is 1/8"
I removed the blade coating on the 6 to improve batoning. Much better.
 
I'm really happy with the Swamp Rat Jackmandu. Recently recieved the new 6" Busse small choil BOSS Jack in SR-101 as well, but it was a catch and release for me. Preferred the grip and full choil on the JMD.

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I routinely carry a 4-6" fixed blade in the woods (generally in the 5" area vs 4"). I choose a slightly larger knife for the woods because I also carry a folder without fail. My current favorites are the Blackjack 125, Kabar Becker BK-15, and Dozier Pro Guide's knife. I keep wanting to choose another knife similar to the BK-15 as an upgrade, but I am pretty satisfied with it. That will happen eventually.
 
22-rimfire said:
I routinely carry a 4-6" fixed blade in the woods (generally in the 5" area vs 4"). I choose a slightly larger knife for the woods because I also carry a folder without fail. My current favorites are the Blackjack 125, Kabar Becker BK-15, and Dozier Pro Guide's knife. I keep wanting to choose another knife similar to the BK-15 as an upgrade, but I am pretty satisfied with it. That will happen eventually.
Click to expand...

Given that the BK15 was recently discontinued, I've been thinking of snapping one up while they're still around at retailers, actually... hmm...
 
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