Looking for a good fixed blade

[Sirshredalot]

Hey guys...I stopped off to talk to the knife lady at the 1500 and now Im ALL KINDS of confused.

Knife lady rocks, but she showed me more stuff than I thought was out there.

Anywho...Ive been looking for a good fixed blade that I can use as a multi purpose knife for hunting, camping, hiking, choping, firestarter, etc.

I was looking for somthing larger too, with a blade length between 6.5-9".

Preferably somthing thicker too, say .250".

I saw the ESEE-5 but it seemed a little on the small side and was a little out of my CURRENT price range.(just bought a new .357).

I have also been debating about the KABAR becker BK7 or BK9.
The BK9 seemd a little large though.

Also looked HARD at the shadow tech knives...but once again...they didnt have anything with a large enough blade....but he said he does custom order stuff.

My biggest issue is....I dont really wanna spend more than $120 on a knife...for the main reason that I know what the materials and time cost to make somthing like that....there are no fancy machining tools requires...no laser CNC mills....
Just some High carbon steel (H13, O1, etc), an O/A torch, a hammer, and a bench grinder.

Anybody have any suggestions? The beckers are looking really nice at this point but how well to they hold up to use?...I rarely would "beat" on it, but would like to be able to if I needed.

Sorry bout the long post....oh...I did see a "deal" at the 1500....some lady had a becker BK9 used for the low low price of $235....no joke.

God bless
-Shred

 

[grunt soldier]

if you know what it costs and the time isn't that serious go ahead and make one yourself. make sure you get that heat treat right though otherwise your time and money will be wasted. i'm sure pretty much any knife maker or collector will honestly disagree with you and your thought process here but either way good luck


on another note becker makes a great blade and they will stand up to most any and all abuse one can put it through. i would take a esee junglass but do what works best for you.

 

[Dorky_D]

Have you looked at the Becker BK2? I just ordered one. It may be a little shorter than you may like, but I figure I can always get 2! One shorter and one longer.

 

[cubby]

So how much does it cost to make a quality 5" plus bladed knife?

 

[grunt soldier]

cubby not more than 120 dollars obviously sir knives are nothing like guns and should be cheap yet be able to be a huge chunk of steel and should be reliable as hell and stand up to any amounts of abuse.

no offense me OP i'm just giving you a hard time but honestly there is a lot more that goes into making a knife than your thinking, just based on time alone. if a blade takes 8 hours to make and you figure the knifemaker is only getting 10 dollars a hour for his time (which is not a lot at all), your already at 80 dollars and thats no materials, use of tools, wear on tools ect. good luck in your search though.

 

[Bradsknives]

There is a lot more expense involved than just material cost and time in making a knife. If the maker or manufacturer is an actual business, you have additional overhead expenses.....like building expenses (rent or mortgage payment, property taxes, and utility bills associated with the building), insurance, advertising, office supplies, travel expenses....etc. If you have employees...then you have the cost of the benefits that you provide for your employees...health insurance, paid vacations, SSI taxes...ect. Then you have your capital investments...the cost of tools and machines it takes to manufacture or produce the product. All of these expenses (overhead, capital, and employee expenses) have to be rolled into the cost of the product being made whether it's a knife, a car, or anything else.

 

[Shoots4Fun]

Ontario RTAK II...

 

[Newg]

Oops! Posted in the wrong thread!

***Deleted***

 

[drbarnes]

darn, I wish I would have known that $120 is the highest I should pay for a knife...

/sarcasm off

On a serious note, you're right about going for good steel, good heat treat, and a solid design. I dont know if you really need the knife to be 1/4" thick to be bulletproof tho.

Scrapyard knives has the 511 (5.5") on their website now for under $100 delivered and thats got a lifetime warranty. Swamp Rat knives is releasing the 911 (9.5") soon which will be $198 + shipping if you're looking for a large bada$$ blade thats barely out of your price range.

Or talk to Knife Lady, she can hook you up with an ESEE or BHK.... you may have to save a little more $ to get what will satisfy you.

Or make your own and keep us updated on the progress, I love seeing builds. Especially since I dont have the balls to do it myself (soon tho...)

 

[Sirshredalot]

Alright...sounds like either Im a cheap-a$$ or I touched a nerve.

I never said that anyone should never spend over $120 on a knife....Believe me, If I had the money to spend...I would....But I dont.

I also never said that knife makers where ripping people off for charging more than $120...I understand the overhead etc...really.

IM going to buy the BK5 Becker in novemeber when the next 1500 rolls around....BUT

In the mean time I have decided to make my own B/A Rambo bowie for fun....I can do all the fab work and rough/finish grinding in my garage and have a contact locally for the heat treat....probably aim for the low 50's Ra/Rc whatever.

Its 1095 steel, made from an old leaf spring overload, about 5/16" thick at the handle portion and tapers to about 3/16 at the blade tip in rough form....Im going for a blunt tip workhorse thats heavy.
Im aiming for more of a working tool than a surgical instrument....gonna hammer a prying tip in the end of it and add some serrations on the back.

Dunno what Im gonna do for a handle yet....maybe make my own "micarta".
I'll keep ya posted.

God bless
-Shred

 

[Bradsknives]

Alright...sounds like either Im a cheap-a$$ or I touched a nerve.

I never said that anyone should never spend over $120 on a knife....Believe me, If I had the money to spend...I would....But I dont.

I also never said that knife makers where ripping people off for charging more than $120...I understand the overhead etc...really.

IM going to buy the BK5 Becker in novemeber when the next 1500 rolls around....BUT

In the mean time I have decided to make my own B/A Rambo bowie for fun....I can do all the fab work and rough/finish grinding in my garage and have a contact locally for the heat treat....probably aim for the low 50's Ra/Rc whatever.

Its 1095 steel, made from an old leaf spring overload, about 5/16" thick at the handle portion and tapers to about 3/16 at the blade tip in rough form....Im going for a blunt tip workhorse thats heavy.
Im aiming for more of a working tool than a surgical instrument....gonna hammer a prying tip in the end of it and add some serrations on the back.

Dunno what Im gonna do for a handle yet....maybe make my own "micarta".
I'll keep ya posted.

God bless
-Shred

All is good...your OP actually opened up a discussion that could be educational to a lot of people. We appreciate your insight/input as to what you are willing to spend on a knife. It is a personal decision for each person and there will always be different spending levels amongst knife people.

Good luck and have fun making your "B/A Rambo bowie". When you are finish with it, we expect you to post pictures of it.

 

[grunt soldier]

thats a good rough out man. very cool. i say go for it with the micarta also. the one thing i would suggest though is get the rc up to at least 55, 57-59 would be better imo. and no nerves were struck with me. good luck on the venture and definitely post some pics up of the progress

 

[Knife Lady]

I carry the BK5 now too and it is an awesome knife. I will have it at the next 1500 show.

 

[gunrunr76]

more money doesnt make more functional

if you want bang for the buck get a 12in ontario machete and have it reground to length for a chopper.....20 for blade 10 for regrind.....as far as utility blade get a mora....15 invested .....look up grindstone cutlery in ft wayne.....mike is the owner and makes the best kydex sheaths around

 

[Boomstick]

check out the ESEE 6, thinner and longer than the 5, 3/16 thick but tank tough

 

[Sirshredalot]

Knife build continued

After roughing out the shape and normalizing the steel, I started to make the general shape of the knife.

I drew up a template out of cardboard to give me a loose goal.

I decided to go with no serrations because the blade is so heavy and am going for a core contoured pummel than the template shows.

Things are going good so far....lots and lots and lots and LOTS of grinding with to angle grinders, and two carbide burs in my die grinder.

A whole bunch left to do still.

Lemme know what you think...cant wait to get it heat treated....I already put a mild edge on it to try its chopping skills....I hacked a large gash in my trash can as well as shaved some dowel rods.

God bless
-Shred

Input appreciated.

 

[Sirshredalot]

blade thickness compared to my SOG Flash II.

 

[drbarnes]

Thats a beast! I'm looking forward to see it completed

 

[cubby]

Make sure you drill the holes in the handle before heat treat! And don't over door with too many holes, especially if it won't be heat treated by a professional.

Looks like you having fun, which is what it's all about!

 

[grunt soldier]

hell yeah, its starting to take shape sir. keep it up. and definitely listen to cubby lol he knows what he's talking about. you definitely don't want to be trying to drill it after its heat treated.