how do I know if the knife. is good.

[multi]

Im still a bit confused about buying knives, im looking through and theyre all different material blades different types of steel etc.

I.e how do I know itll last more than 5 years of use, how do I know of im solely paying for arty display peices etc, its not seeming as simple as paying £200 and getting better quality and longer lasting materials etc, I dont want to spend the £200 and use it, to find out its the same blade just paying more for a display versian.

I guess im asking what do you look for in a blade and handle of a knife you plan on 'using'

Thanks
Adam.

-ps... does this knifes blade have a design name...?

http://www.heinnie.com/Klychok/p-0-0-1743/

 

[John Fenna]

O1 carbon, drop point, 4" -5", 3mm thick, Scandi grind with convex finish blade, full tang, hardwood "coke bottle" handle, glued and rivitted.
That would be my choice for a start point...

 

[multi]

Do you have any examlpes?

 

[JAG009]

Get yourself a mora clipper ,they are cheep and do the job just fine ,use that until you know what you want ,once you go to some of the meets you will se lots more knives and get a better idea of what you want


Jason

 

[Kepis]

Get a Mora or a Hultafors HVK - problem solved

 

[crosslandkelly]

Mora everytime. They are cheap, bullet proof and will do all that you ask of them. The money you save. seriously, will, help buy the food you will need for your coastal walk.

 

[cowboy]

Hi mate, what I'd do is stick away from the knife in your link.. it looks nice but for a bigginer you might struggle sharpening that blade shape and grind. Make it easy on your self and go for a scandi grind that's easy to maintain. Regarding steels I guess its down to personal preference. If you want something that keeps a good sharp edge go for carbon steel, which is more likly to rust. I'm not saying stainles steel won't rust, it just won't be as quick. If its your first I'd go for the Mora clipper. You could even experiment and buy one carbon and one stainless and see wich one you prefer, instead of jumping in the deep end of the pool straight away. Mora make fantastic knives! Handle wise you want something that can take some jip. Stableised woods, bone and modern plastics like G10 will last you slightly longer but its all down to choice and looks. If you want a knife for around 200 I'd go down the hand made route where the maker will have spent a long time developing the life span, looks and abilities to make a good product! Just ask around and I'm sure people will be happy to recommend..

If you have around 100 what I would recommend to you is buying a F1. They are made from VG10 wich is a modern supper steel and you can get diffrent handle options. They are used by the Swedish army I think and can cope with a lot.

Hope iv helped a bit in this spyders web and not too many of my spellings are wrong.

 

[dwardo]

So long as its sharp, safe and comfortable to use, everything after that is the oooo factor. Dont get me wrong i do love the oooo factor.
Soon as the price starts rising after a basic mora its more like buying a piece of functional art but beware the higher the price gets the less functional it gets, unless yer loaded of course

 

[rik_uk3]

Get a Mora. It will do all you need and give you a great introduction into knife usage. For the majority of us there is really no need for another knife, however its sometimes nice to 'treat' yourself should you have the urge to do so at a later date

 

[Samon]

I could write a list of things a 'good' knife should conform to but it's much easier to just say, 'mora'. easily one of the ebst knives money can buy, and it'll tick every box a knife needs.

Don't let the choice of steels confuse you, generally 'carbon steel' takes and holds a better edge, is cheaper but requires oiling and protecting from rust. Stainless can generally be harder to sharpen, a little more expensive (but not always depending on quality of the steels) and needs alot less maintenance to keep it rust free.

here are two of my knives that cost around £15, one is a mora 510 (green handled one) and it has a carbon steel blade with a 'scandi grind', it is deffinately one of my sharpest blades and I've beaten the hell out of it. Still razor sharp and it has never chipped or anything, it does however have a 'patina' (mild surface rust) that is caused by cutting into acid things, I oil it when i can be bothered and just wipe it dry on my jeans when after I used it. the steel used in the mora could be considered medium-hard steel. (harder the steel the sharper and better the edge retention will be, but more likely to snap under extremem abuse.

The other (black handled one) is my cold steel roach belly, it has a stainless steel blade and a 'softer' type stainless steel at that, so it doesn't hold a sharp edge as long as the mora but it is very easy to sharpen again because of this. It takes a nice edge and hasn't rusted at all and I've only cleaned it a few times (never oiled) and left it various mucky conditons for prolonged times. Both cheap, effective knives perfect for different duties and great value for money. I use the roach belly for any food/hunting/sea water conditions, the mora generally for wood stuff but it has been used on everything!

don't be impressed by expensive knives my friend, in my opinion they are just fashion statements.

 

[multi]

Well ill b out and about for at least. 80 days, so lifespan and lack of looking after is what im mostly looking for, but at the same time ill be taking maybe 6 knives in total, 1 being a gerber lmf ii, and one being a filliting knife, and one being on a gerber fish flik, theyll all be kept in pouches and bag apart from the lmf, ill try and get permit for it on my leg. The rest of the kives will be backup, or as. Say in multiple pouches and bags so ones at hand always.

But I would prefer not to have to sharpen any so often, the gerber lmf comes with an inbuilt sharpener on the sheath which should be an easy job.

So keeping an edge from cutting bass heads, maybe sometimes the spines, which primarily ill have scissors for, and of course peircing fish skulls for humane deaths.

Also ill need a blade specifically dedicated to carving with the above requirements.

Reccomend me sonemodels if you like, or if you make knifes perhaps give me a quota.

Thanks
Adam

P.s I was wonderi g if theres a thin bowie model that could act as a filliter, to turn carrying 2 knifes into carrying one.

 

[Samon]

http://www.heinnie.com/Robust/p-0-0-8336/ that for your wood working needs. tougher and thicker than the standard mora companion/clipper.

http://www.heinnie.com/Cold-Steel-Roach-Belly/p-0-0-2523/ that for chopping up food, fish and anything acidic. it will not rust as bad in sea sea water.

http://www.heinnie.com/Victorinox-Huntsman/p-0-0-6283/ thisto have in your pocket at all times, the little gadgets are very handy.

and use your lmf for all the tough jobs, battoning, chopping or whatever you may do.

I don't know what you're going to be doing but exactly but with those above would do you just fine.

Sharpening a knife is not hard either, don't be put off by the task. It's quick and easy, simple cheap diamond sharpeners will do fine, maybe some sand paper on blocks for the mora.

If you need a filleting knife then get one, but you could make do with less knives, easily.

 

[multi]

Perhaps you could reccomend me a sharpener one thbats cheap and one thats expensive but extremely good.

Think I got an axe covered, got a gerber back paxe and should be getting a gransfors small forest this week.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Six knives are four too many. You can't get a permit to carry a knife strapped to your leg. An EDC (every day carry) can only be a non locking, sub 3 inch blade,
thats all you can easily explain to the man. You Really need to think this through some more. Remember less is more.

 

[Kepis]

Perhaps you could reccomend me a sharpener one thbats cheap and one thats expensive but extremely good..

This will cover ALL of your sharpening needs http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11571

 

[multi]

I think knife wise less might be more on shorter distances?
Im likely to break and drop a couple, probably get mugged too, so a strapped lmf to my leg wouldnt get gone

 

[Samon]

you will likely only want to carry one axe, a fiskars will do everythign an axe is needed to do. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiskars-121...6T9G/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1343594169&sr=8-6 very light weight and tough with little need for maintenance!

http://www.heinnie.com/DMT-Double-Sided-Sharpener/p-0-0-3269/ expensive but great sharpener, perfect for any steels as it's diamond. lasts years and does great.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DIAMOND-SHA...L2CA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1343594334&sr=8-4 cheap diamond sharpeners. I've got some i paid £3 for and I use them on axes, knives and all sorts, don't last anywhere near as long as the dmt but still plenty of life in them for your ammount of time. easy to use too, no water or oil needed.

you could also buy this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fallkniven-...V226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343594460&sr=8-1 it's the middle ground sharpener and ok for the money if you get a good one. I've bought one that was unusable due to terrible quality control, but it is small and tough.

 

[sandbender]

"..You Really need to think this through some more..."

Basically, yes.

"...Im still a bit confused about buying knives, im looking through and theyre all different material blades different types of steel..."

Don't be confused about knives.

Be confused about knife skills and knife safety. Buy a Mora and work on reducing that confusion.

 

[Samon]

I think knife wise less might be more on shorter distances?
Im likely to break and drop a couple, probably get mugged too, so a strapped lmf to my leg wouldnt get gone

if you strapped the lmf to your leg in a typical 'mugging zone' you'd likely be reported and arrested. planning on loosing or breaking knives isn't a good mindset to have either..

May I ask how old you are? and are you going on some great tramping adventure across the country?

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Well ill b out and about for at least. 80 days, so lifespan and lack of looking after is what im mostly looking for

Lack of looking after. Oh please if your not gonna look after it just dont take it.