Knife advice/opinions for a newb!

[RockingHorse]

Hi folks,

sorry to bother you , I am going to admit I know very little about bushcraft, however I would like to purchase a really nice general knife as a present for somewho is very into it (albeit fairly recently), and would like to pick your knowledgeable brains!

I think the wooden-handled, traditional style knives look the part, although im aware they are more expensive. Would you say they were worth the extra as an investment, and can you reccommend a certain brand (if so, why?)

FInally, I am working to a budget of around 100 pound, so something decent within that would be great.I have noticed DIY kits are available, which seem to allow for a nice personal touch, what are people's opinions on these?

Any advice when buying, info or tips appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

[copper_head]

Hello and welcome to the forum, there is a huge amount of information on this subject in the 'Edged tools' sub-forum.
That said for a £100 budget there are many options available to you take a look at Heinnie-Haynes for a huge selection.

 

[Niels]

If you want something with a wooden handle and on budget. My first nice knife with a wooden handle and a leather sheath was the Martini Lynx lumberjack.

I paid 35$ for it and it worked perfectly until I batonned through a piece of wood with a nail in it.

 

[RockingHorse]

Thanks guys I will take a look!

 

[Shovel]

A condor Bushlore or Kephart may suit you. Also, a Mora Classic will work fine too.

 

[Tengu]

Or a mora laminated

 

[Paulm]

I've got a few knives that I've picked up over the years, including Fallknivens, Enzo's, Spyderco Bushcrafter, and a fair few Mora's.

Ray Mears site currently has the anniversary version of the Mora robust for sale at an unbelievable £20 for two ! Don't be put off by the price, it tends to be the knife I pick up all the time in preference to the others I could choose from.

Also check out the Enzo Trapper knives on Brisa, buy ready made with a variety of handle materials or as a blade or a kit to make up yourself, top bit of kit too.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Samon]

mora classic - caron steel, wood handle and very good value for money at £15!



or if you want to spend more, the Enzo trapper is a very high quality knife with a great fit anf finish for under £100! Both have wood handles and the Enzo can be bought as a kit to handle yourself or premade.

 

[RockingHorse]

Thanks for the advice everyone, ive had a scout round based on what youve said, and i really like the enzo trappe and some of the helle knives. I also really like a Karesuando one, anyone had any experience of these?

 

[HillBill]

Enzo's are not bushcraft knives. They are hunting knives and the handles are a lot smaller than they appear. Helle have soft blades which can bend. Seen a few threads about that lately.

I'll send you a PM mate.

 

[ged]

Like many hand tools, a knife is a very personal thing. What suits one person doesn't necessarily suit another, for all sorts of reasons. The price that you pay is not necessarily a good guide.

I have many knives. I use most of them, and some of them I use a lot. As it happens, my favourite folder was a present from my wife. When she bought it, she'd actually gone into the shop to buy a different one. At some time we'd been in the shop together and I'd admired one particular model of folder. It was a relatively expensive one, made by a well-known and highly regarded American company. I thought the knife looked robust, but I didn't get a chance to handle it, we didn't really discuss it, and I thought no more about it.

Some time later my wife went into the shop to buy it for me for my birthday. As it happened, when she got there the shop owner had this knife that I'd so admired out on the shop counter and he was just in the process of gluing one of the scales back on. My wife asked him about it and he gave her some totally unconvincing blarney to explain what he was doing. She left, and went to a local fishing tackle shop where she bought an EKA Super Swede (now called the Swede 92) for one quarter of the price of the other knife. That EKA has now been my favourite folder for well over twenty years, but it was a complete fluke that it suited me so well in so many ways. As soon as I picked it up I knew that I was going to get on with it, but it could so easily have turned out differently.

As you're proposing to buy your friend a present, may I suggest that you don't buy a knife without first consulting your friend on it?

Edit to add: there are some highly regarded makers on this forum, and you can probably get good advice from them. They might be a little more expensive than your budget but it's unlikely that you would be disappointed.

 

[rg598]

Do NOT listen to what anyone tells you is a bushcraft knife, or for that matter what is not a buschraft knife! Knives are a very personal thing. They are hard to give as a gift without asking the recipient exactly what they want. My girlfriend is on notice not to buy me such things unless she asks first for details.

For example, I use a Mora #2, similar to the one pictured above. I love it, and will use it before any "bushcraft" knife that costs $500. If I was going to get a more expensive knife, I would have very specific requests.

If you want to buy a knife without discussing it with the recipient first, as people mentioned above, Enzo has good ones in that price range, and so does Kellam. The Kellam Wolverine is a good knife in my experience.

 

[Samon]

Enzo's are not bushcraft knives. They are hunting knives and the handles are a lot smaller than they appear. Helle have soft blades which can bend. Seen a few threads about that lately.

I'll send you a PM mate.

A small handle means it's not a general purpose outdoorsknife i.e 'bushcraft knife'?

 

[HillBill]

No a small handle makes it more uncomfortable in use as a bushy. Full grips and small handles cause cramps and hotspots after a bit. Hunters are rarely held in a full grip. Enzo make hunting knives as standard. I'm not saying they are bad knives, just a bit small.

 

[Samon]

Other than the not so large handle, it ticks all the fashion and function boxes to be be expected of such a knife.

I found it was nice in use and that's probably because I don't have long fingers or massive thin hands, but something like the Mora 510 hurt after a while as it's too thin and digs in when really gunning through wood.

assuming the giftee has basic knowledge of tools then rehandling a cheap blade might be a good option. Hultafors heavy duty costs £6 new and has a great blade that's easy to take out and rehandle.

Done this one theother day..

 

[ForgeCorvus]

I've recently got the Hul HD that Samon posted (one like the donor that is, not the fantastic re-handle )

Its now my new best friend,grip is a bit of a monster (but I like big) and the point isn't the finest (I always carry an Opinel as a finework knife anyway), my only regret is only buying the one

Mora Robust, eat your heart out