Not a knife guy...

[mammynun]

... so I'm performing my "Goo Diligence" (google searches).

What I'm looking for is a quality, fixed blade (3"-5") that can be securely mounted via molle/pals. Non-serrated for my sharpening pleasure. Actually, not being an educated knife guy, the sheath is the most important part of the system to me at this point. I used to jump out of perfectly good airplanes and I border on paranoid when it comes to retention.

I sharpened Gerber's and K-Bar's in the military, but I'm by no means an expert... and it appears that the steel has changed a lot since the late 80's-early 90's. I'm looking for a balance between taking an edge and holding an edge.

I don't have issues with rust on my firearms and I plan to treat my first "real" knife with the same attention. Corrosion resistance is a low priority, but I don't want it to pit in 24hrs if it gets damp.

I'm not educated (cool?) enough to care about brand names or special edition/limited runs. This will be a "working" knife that will live on my A. SHTF/training battle belt or B. backpack waistband.

So.

ESEE 3/4/5
or
Ontario TAK-1 or RAT3/5
or
??? (especially)



BTW, I'm vaguely aware that Ontario did "a bad thing" at some point, but I'm interested in knives, not history. If Ontario (or any company) sent knives or money to AQ/Hezbollah, I'll gladly strike them from consideration, but I'm more concerned with a quality product and customer service. Then again, I don't know what they did...

 

[jsharmon7]

Buy an ESEE from Knifelady. There, I saved everyone the trouble of saying it.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Buy an ESEE from Knifelady. There, I saved everyone the trouble of saying it.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

 

[Knife Lady]

As much as I would love to sell you an ESEE and I would indeed
they are made out of 1095 high carbon steel and they will rust. With that being said you still need to own one because you have to clean you gun so why not a knife. Esee has a great warranty if you ever need to use it and they are a great bang for the buck.

 

[grunt soldier]

skip ontario they aren't what they use to be when esee worked with them. their warranty and customer service isn't a quarter of what esee is. i would suggest you get the esee 5 or 6 those are my top 2 pics out of the esee line. not overly big but big enough to help you accomplish shtf task (or just plain old camping tasks) they also come with solid sheaths.

it also depends on your budget i guess

 

[mammynun]

As much as I would love to sell you an ESEE and I would indeed
they are made out of 1095 high carbon steel and they will rust. With that being said you still need to own one because you have to clean you gun so why not a knife. Esee has a great warranty if you ever need to use it and they are a great bang for the buck.

Well, since no one has come up with even one alternative, I think that you might! But let's talk corrosion...

I might need to clarify a bit, or maybe I'm not reading you correctly? Are you saying that an ESEE will pit if it's damp for 24hrs? The type of pitting I mean is the type that would render the knife "inoperable" and ruined. I don't plan on ever leaving anything wet for extended periods, but shyte happens. Are we talking apples to apples as far as corrosion goes?

The k-bars and gerbers that I schelped in service didn't get ruined and I don't even recall much in the way of "light" surface rust. They got wiped down daily with CLP when in the field... Is it a function of steel composition?

If an ESEE isn't for me, what would you suggest as a good field knife for the non-collector? Here's where my head is at: A knife is like BUIS. They're not glamourous, but the have to be 100% functional if I need them. Does that make sense?

 

[danielocean03]

Well, since no one has come up with even one alternative, I think that you might! But let's talk corrosion...

I might need to clarify a bit, or maybe I'm not reading you correctly? Are you saying that an ESEE will pit if it's damp for 24hrs? The type of pitting I mean is the type that would render the knife "inoperable" and ruined. I don't plan on ever leaving anything wet for extended periods, but shyte happens. Are we talking apples to apples as far as corrosion goes?

The k-bars and gerbers that I schelped in service didn't get ruined and I don't even recall much in the way of "light" surface rust. They got wiped down daily with CLP when in the field... Is it a function of steel composition?

If an ESEE isn't for me, what would you suggest as a good field knife for the non-collector? Here's where my head is at: A knife is like BUIS. They're not glamourous, but the have to be 100% functional if I need them. Does that make sense?

In my experience with the ESEE knives, their 1095 steel will have light surface rust if stored in damp conditions for extended periods of time. I have some RAT knives (think in-between the timeline of Ontario and ESEE, basically the same products as ESEE) I've had for over two years that I've no pitting on whatsoever.

I like to clean and protect my high carbon steels with tuf-glide or tuf-cloths, they put a light protective layer for corrosion resistance on edge and laser etching. If you're already in the habit of wiping your blades down with CLP in the field, you'll be just fine.

 

[bobbystoney]

I left my junglas outside in the rain on accident one night. It got some surface rust on the edge but nothing that a little more use of the knife didn't take care of. The screws holding the scales on got a little rust as well but nothing that's going to bother me.

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

Well, since no one has come up with even one alternative, I think that you might! But let's talk corrosion...

I might need to clarify a bit, or maybe I'm not reading you correctly? Are you saying that an ESEE will pit if it's damp for 24hrs? The type of pitting I mean is the type that would render the knife "inoperable" and ruined. I don't plan on ever leaving anything wet for extended periods, but shyte happens. Are we talking apples to apples as far as corrosion goes?

The k-bars and gerbers that I schelped in service didn't get ruined and I don't even recall much in the way of "light" surface rust. They got wiped down daily with CLP when in the field... Is it a function of steel composition?

If an ESEE isn't for me, what would you suggest as a good field knife for the non-collector? Here's where my head is at: A knife is like BUIS. They're not glamourous, but the have to be 100% functional if I need them. Does that make sense?

If I remember correctly the old kabars were made of 1095 carbon steel...

Buy an ESEE and treat it as well as you did your old school kabar - you will love it.

 

[Knife Lady]

You will not need to wipe your ESEE down everyday but if you do great . It will not be any different than the Kabars or the Gerbers. If you were happy with teh Gerbers or the Kabars then get one of them but I prefer the ESEE's. Pitting is what happens when you leave rust on your knife for a long period of time.. You have to maintain a knife at some point and time. I would still recommend an ESEE. But if not then maybe a Strider but then you are talking more money. Like I said go with an ESEE or even a TOPS. TOPS make great knives and most of them are out of 1095 carbon steel also and are USA made. I am just very partial to the ESEE knives and I live by them and their quality for the money.

 

[Vince]

How much are you looking to spend?

For a good fixed blade knife that has stainless steel I would suggest you take a look at Fallkniven. You can get an F1 that is made out of VG-10 (used by Spyderco) for around $125. Great knife.

 

[ironjaw]

might as well post in this thread b4 someone says that I'm not a knife person either.......I like guns the most, but knives are cool. Some knives just don't like me.

 

[GREEN607]

Bark River

Here's an excellent knife, that I suggest you check out. It's a Bark River STS-5 w/ natural canvas micarta scales....

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i428/rimfire67/BarkRiverSTS-5innaturalcanvasMicarta.jpg

And here's the one I just ordered from them, last Wednesday.... a BRAVO-1 w/ jade G-10 scales.

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i428/rimfire67/BarkRiverBravo-1injadeG-10.jpg

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

Also if worried about rust / pitting check out a product called Tuf-Glide / Tuf-Cloth

 

[Charlie2]

Bark River makes some really great knives and are bit more expensive than ESEE's . For the money I'd go ESEE..!!! If money is no big deal....hmmm Bark River,Strider,Busses (Bussekin)...!!! Or go custom.!!

 

[Knife Lady]

Yeah I have some Striders in stock too but they are a little pricey. ESEE is the best bang for your buck deal for sure. I dont mess with Ontario since Jeff Randall split with them as his knifemaker. He didnt like the quality they were producing in his knives so he moved on. That says a lot to me that the ESEE quality comes first and then their customer service is top notch also.

 

[jzukjr]

ill be looking to buy a good hunting knife at an affordable price, any ideas? I've been looking into BUCK knives but thought i'd ask on here first.

 

[Boogeymanink]

im leaning towards the esse

 

[tradertator]

You have NOTHING to worry about when it comes to the maintenance of 1095. If the bare steel is exposed to moisture over a couple of days, you'll notice a little staining. It will come off the next time you use the knife, or sharpen / strop it. Out of the given manufactures you listed, ESEE would be my pick. If you want to spend a little more, Grayman, Bussekin, Bark River, Blind Horse, Chris Reeves, and (my favorite) Strider are great options as well.

 

[mammynun]

I've spent the last few hours perusing www.bladeforums.com and and I'm really liking the ESEE 5 followed by the 4.

Seems that a lot (most?) people seem to prefer the 4 or the 6 to the 5; is this a function of weight or an intangible (i.e. handling)? I assume the thicker blade on the 5 makes it stronger than the 4 or 6, and he extra strength of the 5 appeals to me as I'm looking for a hella strong tool vs collector piece. With that in mind, what does an ESEE 4/6 provide that a K-Bar or Becker MK2 does not? I don't mind spending the extra $$ an Esee if it buys a substantially better knife.

Thanks for all your patience, I'm sure to you knife guys that all my questions are like explaining why Sig is better than a KelTec*... I mean, they both go bang...


* I own a KelTec PMR-30, so no disrepect intended!