Hi. I'm looking to buy myself a new bushcraft knife, at the moment I use a mora that I got given when I went on a course at woodlore. The mora is great but I just thought I'd give something else a try. I'd love to get a custom knife but at the moment I can't afford one so I've got up to £100 to spend. Any advice on what to get would be great, needs to be a good all rounder though. Thanks!
New knife help.
- Thread starter Alex90
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Welcome to the forum.
For up to a 100 pounds I`d recommend a Helle. Great knives. Sharp, great edge-retention, comfortable and pretty.
If you want a custom knife at some point, you can also stick with the mora a while longer and save this expense. On the other hand: One never has too many knives
For up to a 100 pounds I`d recommend a Helle. Great knives. Sharp, great edge-retention, comfortable and pretty.
If you want a custom knife at some point, you can also stick with the mora a while longer and save this expense. On the other hand: One never has too many knives
Can I suggest that you keep an eye out in the classified section here? There are knives for sale most of the time, and you can get a lot of knife for a hundred quid. To be perfectly frank you don't need to spend anything like as much as that to get a very useful tool, for example I've bought a very nice Helle here for a little over half what you're willing to spend. If you buy something new and then find you don't get on with it you'll take a bigger hit when you move it on than if you buy something 'pre-loved' as they say over in the States.
There are one or two sharks around but by and large you won't be ripped off here. You can always ask for advice with a link to the sales thread, although sometimes real bargains get snapped up pretty quickly so you might just be talking theoretically for a while.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. You've said you want something of an all-rounder but you haven't said what you generally do yourself so advice about specific examples is a bit difficult. It might be best not to swing too far from what you're used to. There are some pretty extreme designs around and you might fall in love with something at first sight but it might be a kind of culture shock if you go too far from the feel of what you already have. When I first picked up one of MartinK9's Woodlore collection I was staggered by the weight of it. Although for a number of decades I've generally used some sort of small folder most of the time, I have things like machetes and parangs which are much, much heavier. Even so the weight of some of the bushcraft style knives still seems out of proportion to me. The Helle that I have is very light compared to them and I almost don't notice it's in my hand. If I'm lugging around a small blade made from 6mm stock, to me it seems more like I'm carrying a lump hammer.
Anyway, try not to rush yourself into anything. There's a very wide range of choice, you have a perfectly serviceable bit of kit already, and you don't need to pressurize yourself into making a rash decision.
Oh, I forgot -- welcome to BCUK!
There are one or two sharks around but by and large you won't be ripped off here. You can always ask for advice with a link to the sales thread, although sometimes real bargains get snapped up pretty quickly so you might just be talking theoretically for a while.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. You've said you want something of an all-rounder but you haven't said what you generally do yourself so advice about specific examples is a bit difficult. It might be best not to swing too far from what you're used to. There are some pretty extreme designs around and you might fall in love with something at first sight but it might be a kind of culture shock if you go too far from the feel of what you already have. When I first picked up one of MartinK9's Woodlore collection I was staggered by the weight of it. Although for a number of decades I've generally used some sort of small folder most of the time, I have things like machetes and parangs which are much, much heavier. Even so the weight of some of the bushcraft style knives still seems out of proportion to me. The Helle that I have is very light compared to them and I almost don't notice it's in my hand. If I'm lugging around a small blade made from 6mm stock, to me it seems more like I'm carrying a lump hammer.Anyway, try not to rush yourself into anything. There's a very wide range of choice, you have a perfectly serviceable bit of kit already, and you don't need to pressurize yourself into making a rash decision.
Oh, I forgot -- welcome to BCUK!
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Buy a mora classic, araldite and some handle materials.
Strip off the handle.
Apply new custome handle.
Finish.
= nice custom knife you made yourself!
Or just keep an eye out in the classifieds!
All the best
Andy
Strip off the handle.
Apply new custome handle.
Finish.
= nice custom knife you made yourself!
Or just keep an eye out in the classifieds!
All the best
Andy
An F1 is well worth the money.
http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/Fallkniven-Knives/Fällkniven-Knives-F1-Survival-Knife/p-92-139-963/
http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/Fallkniven-Knives/Fällkniven-Knives-F1-Survival-Knife/p-92-139-963/
Im using a fallkniven F1 at the mo and have to say its a great knife that should last a lifetime and does everything I need it to. You can pick them up for just under £100 from greenmans bushcraft (possibly elsewhere but that was the first place I found so they got the business!)
I would suggest Helle Eggen. Its and outstanding bushcraft knife, excellent allrounder. It can take some beating too, but not too rough because it is not a full tank, but a stick tang. Great feel to it, the handle is very comfortable. Scandi-grind is the best grind for woodwork. The sheath is just great best on a production knife i have seen. And they are done by hand using machines so you get kind of a custom knife. Handle material vаry сso much i haven`t seen two with the same. Steel is triple laminated carbon cutting layer with good edge retention and kind of tough too. Triple lamination with stainless steel sides gives good corrosion resistance, but can still get some on the edge. Few times and year you need to apply some wax to the sheath to keep it in top condition. Helle offers lifetime warranty against worksmanship and materials so if something happens they will fix or replace. People are quite happy when i bought mine the shopkeeper said this was his favorite knife and he gave me 15 meters of paracord as a gift just because i bought his favorite model
and hi to all since this is my first post but i am reading for a while now
and hi to all since this is my first post but i am reading for a while now
I think it's worth noting that that the F1 is another lightweight knife, but the grind is totally different from what you're used to. There are those who love it and at least one regular on here who hates it. To each his own. I wanted something as a backup that could sit in my kit unused with no maintenance, so I bought an F1 because it's stainless (and because JF needed a new gearbox ). I can't tell you much more than that I'm afraid because I haven't given it much work to do.
The F1 comes in a variety of styles, with different blade finishes, different handles and different sheaths. Prices vary accordingly but all are around your budget or a bit less. There's a commercial seller on the forum and you see them in the classifieds from time to time which is where I got mine.
). I can't tell you much more than that I'm afraid because I haven't given it much work to do.The F1 comes in a variety of styles, with different blade finishes, different handles and different sheaths. Prices vary accordingly but all are around your budget or a bit less. There's a commercial seller on the forum and you see them in the classifieds from time to time which is where I got mine.
Although the Spyderco has gone check out this thread: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77724
Well, you could buy 10 moras for £100 but it sounds like you want something nicer.
For £100 you can get something very very nice from the makers market section here on the forum. A lot of the makers make sub-£100 knives and most if not all are top notch!
For £100 you can get something very very nice from the makers market section here on the forum. A lot of the makers make sub-£100 knives and most if not all are top notch!
Thanks for the replies, it's certainly opened my eyes up to whats on the market and what you can get for your money. I had a look at the makers market on here, some really nice knives for some pretty reasonable prices buy the looks of things. I had a look ath the F1 and Helle Eggen as suggested, they both look good but I especially like the handle on the Helle. As I metioned previously I'd eventually like to get a custom knife, maybe a SWC or Ben Orford one, so I guess I'll just have a think for now and see how long I'm prepared to save up for! Thanks again.
Be careful with SWC. That is if you can get him to take the order (i know he's not taking orders at the monent). His work is good but I waited a year for mine and towards the end there was zero response from him when I emailed looking for updates.
Id agree with the comments below that you could get a lot of knife for your money (and not have to spend all that £100) if you check out the classifieds and makers market on here. Just a quick question for the experienced knife nerds here, how do you rate this I just saw on ronnie sunshines? http://www.ronniesunshines.com/joker-co-17-olive-wood-sheath-knife-1.html I have plenty of well thought out knives so don't need another one but it doesnt break the bank and looks quite nice but dont know anything about the compnay. No affiliation with ronnie just a happy customer etc etc yackedy yack
