Fixed Blade Recommendations

[InertOrd13]

Looking to add a fixed blade knife to my collection. Still debating on whether it will live on my plate carrier or gun belt but I am looking at around 5in blade or less. I want it to be able to do general field activities. I don't mind spending a little bit of money on quality.

 

[agilmore01]

Anything ESEE, like the Laser Strike, or the extra beefy ESEE 5.

 

[keepcalmandcarryon]

check out Morakniv from Sweden. Excellent blade quality. Not Rambo tactical-cool but far more useful.

 

[ronn47]

Kephart style, available in a wide range of prices.
But a solid functional knife for most of what you need.

 

[Cluck Norris]

My wife got me an esse 6 for Christmas and I love it

 

[chiefjason]

If you want sturdy, ESSE. If you want cool, get someone here to make you one. If you want top of the line semi custom Montana Knife Company.

 

[DCGallim]

I own 5 ESSEs I think. I’d recommend any of those.
@thrillhill is the knife guy, I’m sure he can throw a couple suggestions.

 

[GymB]

The Roselli on top is probably my most used knife and a bargain at ~$125.
The Dozier guide knife is a bit bigger, almost 5” blade and has seen some use.
I have an F1 with a thermo-molded handle around here somewhere, haven’t brought myself to use the tarted up version but I’m sure it’s as durable and effective as the original.

None of these are what the cool kids carry, doesn’t make them better or worse, I just like them.

 

[Average Joe]

@thrillhill is the man when it comes to knives.

 

[Studentofthegun]

I am looking at around 5in or less with the blade.

That's pretty small if you mean overall length. If you mean a 5" or less length on the blade alone, that makes it easier to pick.

Easier, but not "easy". Many words have been written about "do it all knives". And while I won't tag Bill again cause it has been done twice already, he IS the man I ask about knives.

In my opinion though, is going to be tough to beat an ESEE 3 or an ESSE 4. It ain't the biggest knife out there nor is it the most expensive. But if you're going to put it on a plate carrier, I wouldn't want much bigger than that. It is big enough for field work and made well. As a young man I leaned toward the ESEE 4 but the older I get the more I like the ESEE 3. Smaller = a bit more controllable in my opinion. Goodness forbid you've have to do something that takes a little finesse. A smaller knife is great for that.

Knivesshipfree has some ESEE 3's in stock and they have very good customer service.

ESEE Knives | Free, fast shipping. Great selection.

Shop our in-stock selection of ESEE Knives. We are a small business with big numbers of knives!

www.knivesshipfree.com

After you get that base covered, you can step into the world of Bark Rivers and Lon Humphreys. This is perhaps my favorite "do it all" knife.

It's the Rustic Bravo. The one with the thinner (relatively) scales is the one I'd grab if it all goes to crap. This one is about identical to mine.

If I had to fight though, and it didn't have to be a do it all knife, then I throw this one on. The Spartan Harsey Difensa.

 

[Average Joe]

That's pretty small if you mean overall length. If you mean a 5" or less length on the blade alone, that makes it easier to pick.

Easier, but not "easy". Many words have been written about "do it all knives". And while I won't tag Bill again cause it has been done twice already, he IS the man I ask about knives.

In my opinion though, is going to be tough to beat an ESEE 3 or an ESSE 4. It ain't the biggest knife out there nor is it the most expensive. But if you're going to put it on a plate carrier, I wouldn't want much bigger than that. It is big enough for field work and made well. As a young man I leaned toward the ESEE 4 but the older I get the more I like the ESEE 3. Smaller = a bit more controllable in my opinion. Goodness forbid you've have to do something that takes a little finesse. A smaller knife is great for that.

Knivesshipfree has some ESEE 3's in stock and they have very good customer service.

ESEE Knives | Free, fast shipping. Great selection.

Shop our in-stock selection of ESEE Knives. We are a small business with big numbers of knives!

www.knivesshipfree.com

After you get that base covered, you can step into the world of Bark Rivers and Lon Humphreys. This is perhaps my favorite "do it all" knife.

It's the Rustic Bravo. The one with the narrow scales is the one I'd grab if it all goes to crap.

If I had to fight though, and it didn't have to be a do it all knife, then I throw this one on. The Spartan Harsey Difensa.

Solid information! Student of the gun is very knowledgeable as well.

 

[Studentofthegun]

Solid information! Student of the gun is very knowledgeable as well.

@thrillhill is a bad, er I mean good influence! lol

Our circle is fortunate to have some experience with knives. Even though most of my time using knives growing up was cleaning fish.

I ain't exactly standing around waxing poetical about the "knife fights of my youth".

 

[InertOrd13]

That's pretty small if you mean overall length. If you mean a 5" or less length on the blade alone, that makes it easier to pick.

Easier, but not "easy". Many words have been written about "do it all knives". And while I won't tag Bill again cause it has been done twice already, he IS the man I ask about knives.

In my opinion though, is going to be tough to beat an ESEE 3 or an ESSE 4. It ain't the biggest knife out there nor is it the most expensive. But if you're going to put it on a plate carrier, I wouldn't want much bigger than that. It is big enough for field work and made well. As a young man I leaned toward the ESEE 4 but the older I get the more I like the ESEE 3. Smaller = a bit more controllable in my opinion. Goodness forbid you've have to do something that takes a little finesse. A smaller knife is great for that.

Knivesshipfree has some ESEE 3's in stock and they have very good customer service.

ESEE Knives | Free, fast shipping. Great selection.

Shop our in-stock selection of ESEE Knives. We are a small business with big numbers of knives!

www.knivesshipfree.com

After you get that base covered, you can step into the world of Bark Rivers and Lon Humphreys. This is perhaps my favorite "do it all" knife.

It's the Rustic Bravo. The one with the thinner (relatively) scales is the one I'd grab if it all goes to crap. This one is about identical to mine.

If I had to fight though, and it didn't have to be a do it all knife, then I throw this one on. The Spartan Harsey Difensa.

That is my bad, I ment around a 5in blade. Thank you for helpful info.

 

[CZfool68]

I own 5 ESSEs I think. I’d recommend any of those.
@thrillhill is the knife guy, I’m sure he can throw a couple suggestions.

This is the best answer.

 

[Dan0311]

I few of my favorites.


TOPS HOG (Hunter Of Gunmen)





Benchmade Bushcrafter 162




Cold Steel SRK

 

[tanstaafl72555]

Anything ESEE, like the Laser Strike, or the extra beefy ESEE 5.

Made REAL close to my home town, Gadsden AL

 

[Darkhorse]

I have some Esee knives I would also recommend the 4.

A good survival would be the Laser Strike. Bush craft would be the PR4

But as others have mention @thrillhill is the man.

 

[Cluck Norris]

This is the 6 my wife got me, I love it but it is a bigger knife. I think I’m going to get a 4 for my carrier/load out. The 6 is much more of a field craft knife imho. I have used mine a good bit since Christmas, and it works really well as a field craft knife, but it is a little big for skinning/breaking down game in my experience.

 

[Grim]

My most recent fixed blade purchase...

 

[barf]

Can’t go wrong with Half Face Blades. New knives come out pretty regularly, and the colors/scales are always changing up. They are pretty unique and not mass produced of the same configurations.

Knives

Half Face Blades has made simplistic blade designs for consumers who demand the finest products to be used in a variety of settings.

www.halffaceblades.com

 

[Cluck Norris]

One of these will be purchased at some point in time this summer.

 

[thrillhill]

The cool thing is that there are LOTS of good/great knives available to us nowadays.

Unfortunately, the quantity of crappy knives available to us is orders of magnitude higher.


Based on the limited information we have I'd make the following suggestions. This is by no means an all inclusive list. And several of these have already been mentioned. And those listed would be what ***"I"*** would choose based on the qualifiers. That is really all I can speak to. Skill levels and experience is gonna vary as much as perceived need. And what works for me may not yada yada yada.


#1: If field duty is paramount (vs. fighting), but it's gonna ride on a plate carrier or gun-belt (which means weight MAY be a factor), and you are comfortable with a little upkeep on a carbon steel blade:

ESEE-3 (all day every day) (the original, in 1095 steel)
Bark River Gunny 3V (have kydex sheath made if going on carrier)


#2: If field duty is paramount (vs. fighting), but it's gonna ride on a plate carrier or gun-belt (AND WEIGHT IS NOT A BIG FACTOR), and you are comfortable with a little upkeep on a carbon steel blade:

ESEE-5


#3: If field duty and the possibility of fighting are both equally important, you need a "do-all" and you
are comfortable with a little upkeep on a carbon steel blade:

Lon Humphrey Rustic Bravo
or
Bark River Bravo 1 or Bravo 1 LT in A2 steel


#4: If the possibility of fighting is significantly more important than field duty (hence carbon steel is not an advantage):

Half Face Blades (whatever strikes your fancy or you feel makes sense)
or
Spartan Blades (ONLY THEIR MADE IN USA OPTIONS)



CONVERSLY (stainless instead of carbon selection for the first 3 qualifiers):


#1: If field duty is paramount (vs. fighting), but it's gonna ride on a plate carrier or gun-belt (which means weight MAY be a factor), and you are NOT comfortable with a carbon steel blade:

MORA Bushcraft series (stainless steel option) (yes, despite the lack of a full tang blade)
Mora Garberg (stainless steel option)
ESEE-3 (S35VN stainless option)
Winkler Blue Ridge Hunter (80crv2 and/or 52100 is considered carbon steel but it doesn't act like it and should be considered stainless in this context) (have the cutting edge bevel shallowed out by someone who knows what they are doing)
Bark River Gunny (pick one in stainless)


#2: If field duty is paramount (vs. fighting), but it's gonna ride on a plate carrier or gun-belt (AND WEIGHT IS NOT A BIG FACTOR), and you are NOT comfortable with a carbon steel blade:

Benchmade Bushcraft series (need to get a kydex sheath made for it)
Fallkniven Knives (lots of good ones to choose from, pick size and style to suit your taste)
Winkler Belt Knife (same qualifications as above, shallow that angle out)
Winkler Huntsman (same qualifications as above, shallow that angle out)


#3: If field duty and the possibility of fighting are both equally important, you need a "do-all" and you
are NOT comfortable with a carbon steel blade:

Benchmade Bushcraft series
Fallkniven Knives (lots of good ones to choose from, pick size and style to suit your taste)
Bark River Bravo 1 or Bravo 1 LT (choose one in stainless)
Winkler Drop Point Crusher



There are tons of good options out there to suit most folks needs.
These knives are just indicative of MY comfort zone given the info that was put forth.

 

[Dan0311]

^ I just cut/pasted that in my "Knives" folder in my computer. Thanks.

 

[Dale Gribble]

^ I just cut/pasted that in my "Knives" folder in my computer. Thanks.

One of the many great things about this place...

We're fortunate to have some good folks on here who know their sh*t and are willing to share that knowledge.

 

[nc-by-the-c]

“ I don't mind spending a little bit of money on quality.”

check out Randall model 5 Camp and Trail, I prefer early 80s and before vintage
either carbon or stainless, take your pick

 

[thrillhill]

I have some Esee knives I would also recommend the 4.

A good survival would be the Laser Strike. Bush craft would be the PR4

But as others have mention @thrillhill is the man.

View attachment 585182

You and I haven't had a trading session lately. You're ready to get rid of that ESEE-3 with the black G10 handles aren't you? 😁 !!

 

[B00ger]

Threads like this end up costing me money.

 

[behindyou]

I like the Helle Knives - this is the Eggen, ~$130

 

[InertOrd13]

Took a little bit due to PCSing but I finally ordered the esee 4. I also ordered a ferroconcepts knifenook to see how it feels behind the placard on my kit.

 

[Dan0311]

I'm very fond of LUMA blades, but they ain't cheap. Jason was a local talent and I caught him on the way up - and I could afford his stuff. He made a 'one-off' combat knife for me that he knew I was giving to my Marine infantry officer nephew.



I also bought a few of his other designs.






And just today, I found another LUMA blade that I had thought I lost in the move. Very small, close to 'neck-knife' size. Here it is next to a Benchmade Bug-out.



Most of his fixed blades that I've seen are THICK.

 

[scnomad]

ESEE knives are great value and tough. IMO the ESEE 5 is the least useful, as the blade stock is ridiculously thick. If I was going to spend good money on a fixed blade, I would go with Carothers Performance Knives without a second thought.

My current fav fixed blade to carry is an older Zero Tolerance 0180. I keep one in my hiking pack at all times.

 

[Blades]

Wilmont Knives for a custom knife you can use.

 

[BlackGun]

I like the Helle Knives - this is the Eggen, ~$130

I have this knife. I use it in the kitchen and woods.

 

[Mathieu18]

I’m really liking that Helle. I have a couple entry level knives (Mora Companion, Schrade 56L) but been looking for a nicer & shorter EDC fixed blade. Esee 3 looks decent too.

 

[Gnash.Hyena]

I like the Tops Sneaky Pete myself. It's what's on my warbelt. Great design, high quality materials and finish, and very sturdy. Worth considering for a more tactical/fighting oriented blade.

 

[BlackGun]

I’m really liking that Helle. I have a couple entry level knives (Mora Companion, Schrade 56L) but been looking for a nicer & shorter EDC fixed blade. Esee 3 looks decent too.

Helle is a 100 year old Swedish made knife. I now have a filet knife from them. I’ve cut a lot of meat with the knife and even cut limbs from paths.