Recommendations for a different fixed blade knife?

[Guest]

AKA Dammit Glenn.

OK, so I seriously need to re-think my fixed blade knife. I have a bunch of old sheath knives, some dating back to my childhood, but the only high quality rust-free fixed blade I own is a Spyderco H1 Salt with a serrated blade.

It is a big fixed blade fully serrated rescue knife. Too big, and completely inappropriate for most of the camp chores it sees. But I still tend to use it for everything I do in camp, from cutting line to slicing cheese. I can now better understand issues of balance and handle shape, but I’m lost in scandi edges and micro bevels, at least for my simplistic fixed blade purposes. I do know I much prefer a fixed blade as an at-hand general purpose camp knife.

Using Glenn’s criteria as a baseline

My applications do not include any fishing, hunting or food preparation, or any sophisticated whittling or woodworking.

My applications and needs would mainly be:

1. Occasional splitting of small diameter wood, as I carry a folding saw but no axe.
2. Occasional stripping and shaving of branches or small trunks into tarp poles.
3. Self-defense against man and beast. (Paranoid, yes, but I'm getting old.) So the knife should be a reasonable stabber.
4. Low maintenance, especially around water. I have little interest and great neglect for cleaning, sharpening and polishing.
5. Long enough to do the job but short enough that I can comfortably wear it. If I get a fixed blade, I would want to wear it in and out of the canoe.
6. Reasonable price. Fixed income here. I don't want junk but don't need a Rolls Royce.

OK, no fishing, no hunting either, maybe some food prep if it is the knife most conveniently at hand.
1.No. I foresee no need to split wood using this knife.
2.Maybe some minor use for stick whittling or shaving. S’mores perhaps.
3.Self-defense, sure. I’ll poke them with a flaming marshmallow on the end of my whittled stick. Or not, I carry other things in areas where I think man or beast might be a problem.
4.Yes, absolutely low maintainence . Salt water low maintainence. But as my go-to minor camp chore knife I’d like it to hold an edge. And be easily sharpened, which for me leaves out serrations.
5.Now it gets peculiar. Yes, short. But I won’t be wearing it in the canoe. Actually I don’t intend to “wear” it in camp. I detest things hanging off my hip. Maybe if I wore a shoulder holster, which is the only thing that keeps me from wearing a sidearm where that is legal.

I’m an endomprph, and perhaps lacking in proprioceptive senses, but something hip hung just doesn’t work for me, I’ll bang into things with it or get caught brushing past in some tight area. I know I’d get it hung up on a gunwale clambering in or out of the boat. I carry a knife, but tucked away in a deep pocket (or in a day pack while wandering).

So a pocket short, maybe 4 or 5 inches total length, but I’d still prefer still a fixed blade. And, just as important since it will be sagging my pocket, a lightweight handle and sheath.

Oh yeah, 6. Reasonable price. Fixed income here too. Maybe Glenn can find another astonishing discount.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Maybe Glenn can find another astonishing discount.

Maybe I can, Mike. Perhaps we should team up on gear. You manage the DIY innovation and repair department, and I'll manage research and buying.

Actually, I'm a little concerned that you worded your thread title so closely to my thread, into which I've put a lot of time and effort and will be continuing. Secondarily, I would rewrite my criteria if I had it to do all over again.

How about you edit your thread title to "Recommendations for a short length fixed blade knife", which I think captures the primary difference your talking about, and I'll edit my thread title to "Recommendations for a medium length fixed blade knife". Together, that title differentiation should make the threads more easily searchable for future researchers and readers.

 

[Guest]

How about you edit your thread title to "Recommendations for a short length fixed blade knife", which I think captures the primary difference your talking about, and I'll edit my thread title to "Recommendations for a medium length fixed blade knife".

Glenn, that is the primary blade diference, couple with non-aggressive batoning-type use. I thought about putting that query on your thread, but it seemed too far removed as a very different fixed blade, especially my not want a belt-carried fixed blade.

I’m not sure I can edit thread titles. I could delete and re-post under a different subject to append to your thread.

I didn’t mean to step on that very informative thread, machetes and 1917 Bolos aside.

BTW – I ordered a $34 Salt Saver from Blade HG for my winter PFD. On family trips it can replace one of the rusty (en route back for sharpening) Byrd Cara Caras.


Back to sanding and varnishing.

 

[Guest]

How about you edit your thread title to "Recommendations for a short length fixed blade knife", which I think captures the primary difference your talking about, and I'll edit my thread title to "Recommendations for a medium length fixed blade knife".

Glenn, that is the primary blade diference, couple with non-aggressive non-batoning-type use. I thought about putting that query on your thread, but it seemed too far removed as a very different fixed blade, especially my not wanting a belt-carried fixed blade.

I’m not sure I can edit thread titles. I could delete and re-post under a different subject or append to your thread.

I didn’t mean to step on that very informative thread, machetes and 1917 Bolos aside.

BTW – I ordered a $34 Salt Saver from Blade HG for my winter PFD. On family trips it can replace one of the rusty (en route back for sharpening) Byrd Cara Caras.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Mike, you should be able to edit the thread name box by clicking on the edit button in your opening post.

We've now got so much procedural clutter and duplicate posts that maybe you'd want Robin to delete the whole thread and repost it.

 

[Guest]

Robin, I'm not smart enough to figure out how to delete this thread all by myself. Please do so if it isn't overly taxing. Thanks.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Actually, I tried to edit my thread title and couldn't. So if you repost your thread with the suggested title, I can't change mine unless Robin can do that.

On the topic, you should look into neck knives. They're all short and light. Of course, you can neck any knife with the right sheath, but some are designed for that purpose. With the right sheath you can hang them around your neck, put them on your belt or clip them on or in your pocket.

The best knife reviewer on YouTube, virtuovice, likes the Bark River Necker II as a small backup knife. It's available with many different handle choices but is pricey in the $155-$195 range (but I didn't look for discount coupons).

In my fixed blade thread you can read a lot of very favorable things said by Hoop about his Fallkniven F1 in laminated VG10 SS, which is 8.25" overall. It has a little sister, the WM1, which is 6.75" long. It comes in more expensive 3G SS or less expensive non-laminated VG10. Everything I've read about Fallkniven attests to quality.

The plastic sheath is lighweight, has a drain hole, and can slide easier in a pocket than leather. It can also be hung around the neck. Best price I've seen is $84 at KnifeSupply.

Here are two videos. The first is very short. The second shows various attachment options and compares the WM1 to the F1. There's even Spanish video available showing a guy batoning with it.

 

[oldie moldy]

Hi Mike, I guess this thread is going forward? Something I've been playing around with is looping a cord under my arm and around my neck and hanging one of my heavier sheath knives from it. In this case the Buck "Special" . The sheath and knife seem very willing to ride just under my armpit and it's easy to pull it up to the center of my chest to get at the knife and replace it. I even wore it under my favorite PFD and could still reach it out, no problem. However, how it would be for all day paddling remains to be seen.
Obviously, that business of bumping the knife on the hip is non-existent. I looked at various neck sheath ideas but they all seemed to be prone to the knife swing out smack into your way if you bent over.

The reason I start with the sheath is that the easier it is to use, the more often the knife will find employment, and I'd guess the less opportunity for rust to form without your notice. I've never paddled in salt water, camping and all, so I have no idea how much of a problem rust can be but I'd guess one of those plastic sheaths would be much better than leather. Just rinse it with clear water.

You might want to check out the Cold Steel SRK and their Master Hunter knives, nice knives and they have those plastic sheaths.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Guest]

Hi Mike, I guess this thread is going forward?

Rob, no need. I think I found my solution.

I don’t want the camp knife on belt, for reasons already enumerated. A lanyard won’t work; I do not like things hanging on my body (not even wristwatches or rings or such). I want it in my pocket, but I don’t want to have to use two hands to open it.

I carried a knife on the job for years, but somehow when I retired so did it. A SOG Trident, essentially this one, but with a slightly different blade style. It’s not a fixed blade, but I think it will suit my typical camp purposes

http://www.sogknives.com/trident-tanto-black-tini.html

It is fairly lightweight, it is pocket thin comfortable and has a clip, a lanyard hole, a line cutting notch and opens easily with one hand.

I don’t know how the black-blade AUS-8 steel is going to hold up in a salt water environment, but I already own it and found it comfortable to work with for years, so what the heck.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I think I found my solution.

A SOG Trident, essentially this one, but with a slightly different blade style. It’s not a fixed blade, but I think it will suit my typical camp purposes

http://www.sogknives.com/trident-tanto-black-tini.html

Well, that is a "different fixed blade knife." I thought right away that a folder would meet your needs, but I thought you were fixated on a fixed blade and the topic was thus affixed.

A short fixed blade for canoe tripping and camping is still a good topic to explore.

 

[Alan Gage]

Well, that is a "different fixed blade knife." I thought right away that a folder would meet your needs, but I thought you were fixated on a fixed blade and the topic was thus affixed.

A short fixed blade for canoe tripping and camping is still a good topic to explore.

My mother is in graphic design, teaches it now at the local college, and one of the things she tells her students is to not feel like they need to be bound by the stipulations the client set forth. Most of the time the winning design has little, if anything, to do with the concept they originally requested and it's a never ending source of frustration for the designers who submitted a design strictly based on on the criteria asked for by the client.

Apparently knife buying is the same way.

Alan