Recommendations on companion knife

[Detritus]

Hi all,

First post other than introduction, I hope this is the right section to post my question in but please let me know if not and I’ll move it!

The question I’d like to ask is if anyone has any recommendations for a companion / smaller knife?

For context: I have various bits of kit that I’ve accumulated over the years across camping, kayaking, gardening etc.. In terms of blades/ cutting tools my main pieces are:

- Fällkniven F1 Pro in Elmax (new toy!)

- Higonokami (in Aogami steel) - it’s my EDC / pocket knife / gardening companion for deadheading and small tasks / box opening / fidget tool

- Gransfors Bruk Outdoor axe - mostly used for making kindling at home for which it’s a very expensive overkill indulgence I know! But it’s light and can be used to split or chop enough to make a fire even out and about, although obviously not up to the tasks of the small forder axe.

- Fiskars Norden N12 splitting axe - used for splitting logs for the fireplace and fire pit at home. It’s real heavy so wouldn’t take away with me unless I’m going to be staying in one spot.

- Silky Gomtaro Pro-Sentai 240 saw - part of my gardening kit for managing my fruit trees. It doesn’t fold like the Bushcraft-specific saws they make, but it is really light, has a sheath and is sharp as anything, has dual size teeth to tackle limbs of various sizes and I’ve cut through serious wood with it.

- in case it influences advice, I have the Fällkniven DC4 dual stone and the Gransfors Bruk axe stone for sharpening in the field. I have a huge selection of DMT dia-sharp plates, Diamond files, Cerax ceramic stones and traditional Japanese whetstones for sharpening at home - used as appropriate for gardening tools, chisels and planes, Japanese kitchen knives of various metal.

The question:
I love my Higonokami - and I love good carbon steel for being able to easily sharpen it to get razor sharp - but it corrodes like anything so I constantly have to put Camelia oil on it (pretty much every day I use it if it gets damp at all). So I’m thinking of restricting my Higo for home use and getting another blade to take with me when camping. Any suggestions on a companion / small knife for tasks the F1 isn’t suited to ( because of its blade geometry / style / size)?

Grateful for all advice and opinions received!


Thanks,

Jez

 

[C_Claycomb]

Find something made of AEBL. Like carbon steel, fine, tough, easy to sharpen, stainless. Lots of makers doing stuff in it. York Knife is good.

 

[Kadushu]

TBS Badger

Victorinox Hiker

Ruike L11

Twisted Junzi

Brisa Necker (fixed blade)

 

[TLM]

Find something made of AEBL.

Second that, according to some tests it is one of the better steels presently.

 

[Detritus]

Thank you!
Just had a look at York Knife and they look really interesting (and lots of other interesting bits too!)
Does anyone have one of their companion knives or another one - any specific feedback or recommendations?
Will have a look at the other listed knives in a mo.

 

[Detritus]

TBS Badger

Victorinox Hiker

Ruike L11

Twisted Junzi

Brisa Necker (fixed blade)

Hi @Kadushu

Is the Twisted Junzi the same as the Bestech Junzi? https://heinnie.com/bestech-junzi-slip-joint-folder/
I can’t find anywhere that sells the Twisted Junzi - Google takes me to the twisted assist site but there is no Junzi on there that I can find :0(

Thanks,

Jez

 

[C_Claycomb]

Hi @Detritus
Are you looking for a folding non-locking, folding locking or non-folding type of companion knife?

 

[Kadushu]

Hi @Kadushu

Is the Twisted Junzi the same as the Bestech Junzi? https://heinnie.com/bestech-junzi-slip-joint-folder/
I can’t find anywhere that sells the Twisted Junzi - Google takes me to the twisted assist site but there is no Junzi on there that I can find :0(

Thanks,

Jez

Ah, I guess they've sold out. The Twisted version used D2 steel which made it much cheaper than the original. Still made by Bestech.

 

[Detritus]

Hi @Detritus
Are you looking for a folding non-locking, folding locking or non-folding type of companion knife?

Good question!
I think I’m open to most things and looking for recommendation from those more experienced. I guess I’d only want non-locking if I’m thinking of using it as my EDC and going for a sub 3” blade? So locking folding or fixed I think!

Looking online at the York knife eagle claw it looks like a beautiful knife and very desirable! Trying to be refined and practical though, I’m not sure the blade profile really gives me anything that the F1 pro doesn’t already other than being that bit shorter.

Searching for AEB-L I found the Ben Orford Nomad - again really desirable but if I’m honest with myself it doesn’t fill the (very vague!) brief I’ve given myself and you.

Before I bought the F1 Pro I was originally looking at the Terävä Jääkäripuukko on recommendation from an ex military work friend who runs expeditions and has spent a lot of time in Norway. Send you can’t get it in the UK any more as they won’t ship here. I then looked at the Rokka Korpisoturi but was put off by lots of online bad reviews about the handle quality and durability.

I think in my head I’m thinking about a shorter, high Scandi or flat grind Puuko type knife maybe? Do you think something of that ilk would be a good companion or just redundancy?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Heinnie Haynes do a Brisa with plastic handle and flat ground 12C27 blade that might be good for what you want.

Lion Steel B35 is quite heavy for its size, but very nice.

Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter is a good small knife.

 

[Detritus]

Heinnie Haynes do a Brisa with plastic handle and flat ground 12C27 blade that might be good for what you want.

Lion Steel B35 is quite heavy for its size, but very nice.

Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter is a good small knife.

Thank you! Will have a look :0)

 

[Dave Budd]

I'm in the Victorinox swiss army camp. It may not be such good steel as some of those mentioned above, but they all do an awful lot more than just cut stuff and let's face it you have 'cutting stuff' tools a plenty in your existing kit

 

[Detritus]

I'm in the Victorinox swiss army camp. It may not be such good steel as some of those mentioned above, but they all do an awful lot more than just cut stuff and let's face it you have 'cutting stuff' tools a plenty in your existing kit

Lol, I certainly do and I completely get where you’re coming from on the Victorinox side! I didn’t even mention that I have a Gerber multi-tool that I keep in my van tool kit (I have a VW California that’s mostly used for solo kayaking and surfing trips, or family roadtrips around Europe). It’s got all the standard tools on it, including a really sharp knife and pretty effective (for it’s size) saw - but tbh I wouldn’t think of taking it with me for proper camping as it’s quite cumbersome to use (nature of the beast I guess) and many of the functions just aren’t required away from ‘civilisation’. You’ve made me think though - I have my old Victorinox Swiss army knife somewhere that I used back when I was in Army cadets as a nipper - you’ve inspired me to fish that out and re-evaluate it!

 

[C_Claycomb]

I always have my SAK, just don't use it for cutting things! That will explain why I am still using the same SAK that I got 36 years ago. The tools are great and frequently get used on camping trips (can opener, awl, curly micro-marlin spike - aka corkscrew, scissors, wood saw, and screw drivers/pryers). If however I need to cut food I would rather have something easier to clean with fewer crevises, for cutting wood I want something with a considerably harder steel that will stand to having a lower edge without rolling. Much the same for cutting cord, I want something with a little bite.

 

[Kadushu]

If you fancy something very similar to the Higo but stainless then there is the Boker Zenshin. I like it a lot but like the other slipjoints I mentioned more.

 

[Stlh374]

The f1 is quite a small knife to start with everyone will recommend different knives but alot comes down to what you want to do with it if you want a fixed blade or a folder then if it's a folder do you want a locker or non locking the ben Orford is a fantastic knife but it's expensive he has recently started making flat grind ones but again there not cheap the f1 is a fantastic knife to start with fixed on a budget the mora kansbol is a great knife, the casstrom lars falt slipjoint is a great uk legal knife but it is a scandi grind so again down to what you want to do with it I've not got one but alot of people love the spyderco ukpk which is a good edc knife puukko style I had a kellam Wolverine which was an awsome knife york knives makes a couple of really nice puukko knives JSKnives makes the inu a small very well make friction folder and he also does a terrier which could be ideal for a smaller than the f1 knife

 

[Nice65]

Thank you! Will have a look :0)

Heinnies have a good selection of UK legal EDC knives. I don’t think you can go wrong with the Spyderco UKPK myself.

EDC Knives | UK Friendly Everyday Carry Knives | Heinnie

Our range of UK friendly EDC knives, is dedicated to providing UK buyers with an easy way to shop, without worrying about the restrictions. Explore our Everyday Carry Knife collection.

heinnie.com

 

[Kav]

I assume, since your present collection comes up short, you will be selling everything?
No?
Take care of them, save your money for other kit just as critical.

 

[Detritus]

I assume, since your present collection comes up short, you will be selling everything?
No?
Take care of them, save your money for other kit just as critical.

Very wise words Kav and so take your point! I actually saw that someone has a sale on the Kelly kettle basecamp complete set and was wondering if that would be a better place to put my funds right now - I’m not very good at saving, can you tell? :0)

On reflection , given all the great advice I’ve received, and the wide range of recommended knives/ good options above, I probably need to be clearer with myself on exactly what I need a second blade to do in order to make the right choice. I will therefore look around the forum for some projects to work on using my current set of tools and see where they come up short!

Thank you again everyone for the welcome to the forum and your advice. What a great community!

Jez

 

[Murat_Cyp]

https://imgur.com/x6SN4Li

A custom made friction folder in AEBL. A (much) cheaper alternative to Orford's Nomad.

I have it for a while and not been used but seems and feels like well constructed capable knife.

I have suggested this style of knife based on your preference of hingokami. But you should know that scandi ground knives are more delicate than full flat or convex knives. They also not as good slicers. However, thin stock thickness (in this case it was less than 3mm or around 3mm), distal taper and though and hard AEBL would compensate for these shortcomings of the scandi grind. Luckily if you go to custom knife route, you can specify some of these things in you commission.

You can find Andy in Instagram. Another maker making similar folders is Field and Steel knives. Again you can find him in Instagram. I also have one of his knives in O1. But his AEBL version was significantly more expensive than Andy's. Also the dimensions of Andy's design is better suited to harder work especially if you have very large hands like me.