Been after a neck knife for a while and saw the Gerber Stowe in Black Friday at Hennie Haynes so bought that. The knife seems nice however the sheath is the worst piece of rubbish I have ever come across.
Gerber Stowe
- Thread starter Minotaur
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Nasty, doesn’t look like real leather either. 
What’s the knife like? It’s pretty cheap tbh so if decent might pick one up, I have been after a non-scandi neck knife for food prep for a while that’s cheap
Enough it doesn’t matter if it gets damaged etc.
What’s the knife like? It’s pretty cheap tbh so if decent might pick one up, I have been after a non-scandi neck knife for food prep for a while that’s cheap
Enough it doesn’t matter if it gets damaged etc.
I too am after a food-prep non-scandi knife, preferably slipjoint folding and not too deep (this Gerber looks closer to a cleaver!), as my thicker stock TBS Boar is way too fat for any sort of normal food prep. Any suggestions would be welcome, although I don't want to spend a great deal so maybe closer to the cheaper end of the spectrum. Thanks everyone.
I know someone is going to say this, so I’ll get it out of the way. Why a slipjoint? If it’s being used for food prep, that’s a good reason to have a fixed blade with you. I have folding knives I use in the campervan because they’re convenient and pack away safely so I don’t cut myself rummaging in an overhead, but mainly a sheathed fixed blade is preferable. It’s not long cutting up meat and it’s getting into the crevices of a folder.
Knife in the van is a copy of this Boker. They’re all over AliExpress and cheap. A stainless Opinel would fit the bill, get the Effilé knife if you want shallow and pointy.
Sure, and understood about the challenges for cleaning. I'm looking at folding so I can carry it legally in the UK. I've got a larger fixed blade flat grind which I can use when I'm at a private location, but this would get confiscated if I was carrying it whilst en route on foot and I was stopped by the police. I just want something better suited to food use than the TBS Boar which doesn't cut an apple so much as cleave it in half. I know TBS did the dual-blade folding knife but think that the blade stock was thinner on the scandi blade and the views were that the second blade made for an uncomfortable grip overall.
Perhaps the slipjoint mechanism isn't the right choice for the folding method - happy to be advised if a better option exists that would still meet regulation.
Perhaps the slipjoint mechanism isn't the right choice for the folding method - happy to be advised if a better option exists that would still meet regulation.
I think if you were on route to your private permission with a fixed blade hidden I. The depths of your bag that would be okay.
I take all manner of fixed blades, saws, chainsaws, axes and other tools to my permission which is a 20min car journey away - I make sure they are out of sight and out of reach (I.e in the boot) and I feel comfortable doing so. What I would not do is pop into the supermarket on the way back - but then if I did how would _anyone_ know it was in the boot of my car hidden in a sheath, in a bag in a ruck??
Are you likely to get stopped and searched just for walking? Don’t walk about with it in your hand or on your belt though!
I think for food prep I am just going to hit a small kitchen knife with a plastic sheath, I don’t need to belt mount it or anything, it will just live with my cookset. Cheap and designed for the task intended.
I take all manner of fixed blades, saws, chainsaws, axes and other tools to my permission which is a 20min car journey away - I make sure they are out of sight and out of reach (I.e in the boot) and I feel comfortable doing so. What I would not do is pop into the supermarket on the way back - but then if I did how would _anyone_ know it was in the boot of my car hidden in a sheath, in a bag in a ruck??
Are you likely to get stopped and searched just for walking? Don’t walk about with it in your hand or on your belt though!
I think for food prep I am just going to hit a small kitchen knife with a plastic sheath, I don’t need to belt mount it or anything, it will just live with my cookset. Cheap and designed for the task intended.
Totally agree about carrying camp and food prep tools to a site.
I do it many times a year.
So do a lot of people who go to various camps and moots.
I mostly use a car these days so I have everything in a big locked box on wheels but I still do as @MrEd says: if it’s in its own bag or case/box and low in your rucksack you’d be justified in transporting it to your camp site. Your other equipment would demonstrate your intent.
Yes it is very unlikely that you will get stopped but if you are you shouldn’t be hindered. This is not something that I have ever worried about.
Most of my knives (I don’t have a big collection) are folders but they are Opinels. They aren’t classical bushcraft knives but they do field strip so easily that I don’t mind if I get blood, gravy, tomato ketchup or fruit juice in the handle - I just pull it apart and clean it. (5 parts, no glue, no rivets just friction and a clip)
I own both the 150 and the 80 Opinel Efilé but cannot recommend them. I’ve used the little one as a table/steak knife but they are very flexible and the tip bends easily. If the big O is ever your choice then go for the Classical Stainless or the plastic handled (and very washable) Outdoor8 or Explore12 for your food.
However,
Don’t be scared of transporting a fixed blade. My view is that if I can buy it legally from a shop or business in Britain then I can transport it to wherever I shall keep it or use it.
Transporting is very different from carrying.
I do it many times a year.
So do a lot of people who go to various camps and moots.
I mostly use a car these days so I have everything in a big locked box on wheels but I still do as @MrEd says: if it’s in its own bag or case/box and low in your rucksack you’d be justified in transporting it to your camp site. Your other equipment would demonstrate your intent.
Yes it is very unlikely that you will get stopped but if you are you shouldn’t be hindered. This is not something that I have ever worried about.
Most of my knives (I don’t have a big collection) are folders but they are Opinels. They aren’t classical bushcraft knives but they do field strip so easily that I don’t mind if I get blood, gravy, tomato ketchup or fruit juice in the handle - I just pull it apart and clean it. (5 parts, no glue, no rivets just friction and a clip)
I own both the 150 and the 80 Opinel Efilé but cannot recommend them. I’ve used the little one as a table/steak knife but they are very flexible and the tip bends easily. If the big O is ever your choice then go for the Classical Stainless or the plastic handled (and very washable) Outdoor8 or Explore12 for your food.
However,
Don’t be scared of transporting a fixed blade. My view is that if I can buy it legally from a shop or business in Britain then I can transport it to wherever I shall keep it or use it.
Transporting is very different from carrying.
Agree with all the above. If it’s being taken out to use, then that’s good reason. A chef may well carry 3 or 4 knives to and from the location daily.
Mainly, I’d like to think in a non urban environment, that discretion on the part of the officer is applied. And, I don’t see many rural policemen, and those I do aren’t looking to be poking around randomly in people’s pockets.
But, I’ll have a think on slippies. Go on Heinnie Haynes and look at their UK legal EDC knives. There are hundreds, you can look at blade stock and shape and have fun choosing
Edited to add, a sub 3’ blade isn’t really long enough for food prep. I put a £26 filter on the Heinnie UK Legal section and 181 knives came up. I reckon one of the Real Steels might suit, they’re great value knives. There’s a Barlow that has a dandy fork as the pocket clip.
heinnie.com
Mainly, I’d like to think in a non urban environment, that discretion on the part of the officer is applied. And, I don’t see many rural policemen, and those I do aren’t looking to be poking around randomly in people’s pockets.
But, I’ll have a think on slippies. Go on Heinnie Haynes and look at their UK legal EDC knives. There are hundreds, you can look at blade stock and shape and have fun choosing
Edited to add, a sub 3’ blade isn’t really long enough for food prep. I put a £26 filter on the Heinnie UK Legal section and 181 knives came up. I reckon one of the Real Steels might suit, they’re great value knives. There’s a Barlow that has a dandy fork as the pocket clip.
UK Friendly Folding Knives | Heinnie
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Thanks for all the input everyone, much appreciated. I certainly wasn't looking to hijack the OP onto a knife law discussion, more that I want to make sure that if stopped I could legitimately hang onto the knife as a legal-to-carry blade, whilst getting something that would actually work as a food prep tool.
For context, I'm just about to do an instructors course for bushcraft, which I'm planning on putting to use with a local business, so I need to make sure I'm getting it right as it'll be imperative that I can defend my buying decisions to more than just the police.
That said I fully agree on the difference between transport and carrying, and the likelihood of being stopped being low. I am likely to use the blade in spaces that the public can access, (e.g. fish cooking at the side of a lake, cheese lunch prep whilst hiking, etc), so a fixed blade is likely to be a problem on that front. Whilst the police might be few in the countryside, there are a lot more members of the public who may be inclined to call authorities (where I live is a tourist hot-spot). Sadly too, many of the tourists that I come across are uninformed about the country and what to expect, and I'd want to have confidence that I can legally defend what I'm carrying / using if challenged.
With Opinel, I believe they're still considered as a locking blade so even though I like the design concept, I think I'll need to look elsewhere.
I'll look at HH and see what they stock, I just wondered if other members had used folders for their food works and how they found them. Thanks everyone.
For context, I'm just about to do an instructors course for bushcraft, which I'm planning on putting to use with a local business, so I need to make sure I'm getting it right as it'll be imperative that I can defend my buying decisions to more than just the police.
That said I fully agree on the difference between transport and carrying, and the likelihood of being stopped being low. I am likely to use the blade in spaces that the public can access, (e.g. fish cooking at the side of a lake, cheese lunch prep whilst hiking, etc), so a fixed blade is likely to be a problem on that front. Whilst the police might be few in the countryside, there are a lot more members of the public who may be inclined to call authorities (where I live is a tourist hot-spot). Sadly too, many of the tourists that I come across are uninformed about the country and what to expect, and I'd want to have confidence that I can legally defend what I'm carrying / using if challenged.
With Opinel, I believe they're still considered as a locking blade so even though I like the design concept, I think I'll need to look elsewhere.
I'll look at HH and see what they stock, I just wondered if other members had used folders for their food works and how they found them. Thanks everyone.
So from the understanding I have, a fixed blade will be legal in non-public accessing locations, and as mentioned by others, transporting it there from where it is stored is ok, as long as it's not accessible (in the back in the boot of the car, as per Mr Ed above).
In a public-accessing space, it has to follow the regulation, which would be a non-locking sub 3" blade.
For my course, I'll have my fixed blade (buried in my backpack so it's inaccessible during the hike to the woods), and I'll be fine to use it once I've arrived as the woods are not publicly accessible.
For my daily life, I'll not always be in a private location when I'd look to use the knife, so I'm looking to be safe by keeping it to being non-locking and sub 3".
In a public-accessing space, it has to follow the regulation, which would be a non-locking sub 3" blade.
For my course, I'll have my fixed blade (buried in my backpack so it's inaccessible during the hike to the woods), and I'll be fine to use it once I've arrived as the woods are not publicly accessible.
For my daily life, I'll not always be in a private location when I'd look to use the knife, so I'm looking to be safe by keeping it to being non-locking and sub 3".
In which case Just carry any UK legal folder then.
For a recommendation, I have a boker plus Heinnie edition (in fact I have more than one) and I carry it every day in any given situation. Small traditional style pocket knife form, doesn’t look tactical or intimidating, great steel and holds an edge well but easy to sharpen. And the detent to hold the blade open is good. I use it for (among other things) food prep (not raw meat) and have had no issues cleaning song it with a brush and washing up liquid. It’s also cheap enough that if you lose/damage it, it isn’t the end of the world
Boker Plus Heinnie® Tech Tool 1 Folding Knife
This knife has no lock and is under three inches long so you're able to carry it in public at your discretion. A favourite here at Heinnie Haynes. Order now.
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Thanks Mr Ed, yes I expect it'll be a regular UK legal EDC, and that Boker is a nice option. I can see variances in the Boker range offering options to suit which is good. I've come across a slightly more expensive model by Twisted Assisted (not a brand I know) called the Atlas, which seems to have been well received. Has anyone had one of the Atlas folders before? Any opinions?
It is a very small knife to be honest and while I have used it as a food prep knife, not sure it what people looking for. Think more neck knife.
