New knife idea

tuna

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Wound up forgetting about my Buck 119 the other day, it belonged to an old friend who passed, and I decided to wear it hunting, I normally only carry a folder. Had it on my belt all day long and it seemed way more comfortable than my folding knives I usually wear on my belt. Besides being comfortable, it went pretty much unnoticed by people I encountered: gas station, grocery store, computer shop, hardware store - no one gave it a second glance (this IS northern New Hampshire during hunting season, after all).

Now I'm thinking that I might want to throw a fixed blade into my EDC routine. If I don't use it too much, I'll for sure have it when I go fishing. Now I'm trying to think what I want, and what's available. Naturally I came to the fount of knowledge that NES is, and I'm going to run my "perfect knife specs" past you, and see what you can come up with.

I'd like a shorter blade, 4" or less, preferably 3" - I only put 4" in there to keep the Buck 102 in the running.
I'd prefer a blade that is on the thinner side. Not fillet knife, but not a crowbar. Think paring knife.
"Traditional" style - I don't find anything appealing in tactical stuff. Nothing wrong with it, I just don't like it. If I want to see ugly, I use a mirror.
USA made.
I'm no expert, but I do know that I prefer carbon steel over stainless - rust isn't a problem for me.
It doesn't have to be a knife in current production. In fact, I prefer "vintage" knives with some character. I know this makes the search harder for me, but I think the older knives are just better. This ties in with my desire for a traditional over tactical style. I'm the guy at the gun store who walks past the new rifles and gets excited when there's an old beat up double barrel in the rack.

I really seem to like the Buck 102, but it's just a little bit bigger than what I want. I don't see the need for a longer knife in EDC use, and I'm really kicking myself that my son got me to give him my Buck 112 when I tried to give him my 110, the smaller knife if just as capable for my uses as the longer and it feels better.

OK, NES - what's your ideas? Thanks.
 
ESEE Camp lor PR4?

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I bring my Randall Gambler (4") almost everywhere I go.

Sometimes people see the tip of the leather sheath poking out under my shirt. Nobody cares. If I ever feel it's necessary, I can just IWB it (I do at work, where it's probably illegal). But really, even there, I'm betting nobody would GAF.1E995BEB-BB8B-4D9D-B1BD-017F316DB650.jpeg
 
I EDC a fixed blade... and other blades (3 typically). Less than 3.5" and in a traditional hunter style and you won't get a hairy eyeball.

I won't carry a custom blade though. They are beautiful, but I don't want them to wind up in a patrolman's glove box...
 
Not feeling the vibe for the ESEEs. Checked the website and none really appeal to me.

I was thinking more like this old bird and trout knife. I can’t really find any newer producers of these, they all seem to be Chinese stuff. I don’t mind that for a beater, but not EDC.

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Not feeling the vibe for the ESEEs. Checked the website and none really appeal to me.

I was thinking more like this old bird and trout knife. I can’t really find any newer producers of these, they all seem to be Chinese stuff. I don’t mind that for a beater, but not EDC.

View attachment 546005

I never, ever hesitate to recommend Behring Made. I'm not affiliated in any way except that they've always treated me fairly as a customer. I've got a pocketknife of theirs that I carry often, as well.

 
I won't carry a custom blade though. They are beautiful, but I don't want them to wind up in a patrolman's glove box...

I understand this. I know a lot of people feel the same way about guns, too. But it's not in me to own something I won't use.

Granted, I've got a number of other custom knives that stay in the safe. But that's because I have too many and like carrying others more.
 
Perhaps not a “classic” knife look, but I dig it…

 
I didn’t see a price point in your search so I’ll add this in there for a start, and include the link that has about 50+ other similar type knives I think you would like.

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Olde Towne Cutlery

Lot of gorgeous custom knives here on that site. Just click Fixed Blade / Hunter from the drop down.
Many fit the guidelines you laid out, and most of those are around 180.00-300.00, quality, hand made.

 

Anyone ever hear of Marttiini? These look perfect, and the price is great. They aren’t USA made, but Finland isn’t trying to screw us over. I never heard of them, but the only downside I’ve read is the steel is soft, which I actually like.
 

Anyone ever hear of Marttiini? These look perfect, and the price is great. They aren’t USA made, but Finland isn’t trying to screw us over. I never heard of them, but the only downside I’ve read is the steel is soft, which I actually like.

Group buy? I bet @enbloc would be in for one 😉 and there are 1 or 2 I might be interested in … food for thought…
 
I like the 3 1/8" Buck 113 Ranger skinner too...

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I have a folding Buck USA-made knife with almost identical blade dimensions as this- IIRC from their Vantage series. Daily pocket carry everywhere for me, but pulls double duty for dressing birds. Easy to sharpen to literally razor level sharpness, which makes deboning birds super quick. If I were to want a fixed blade to serve this purpose, I'd like the one you posted.

@tuna, like you I'm good with a high quality carbon steel blade but am glad I slacked off on that and accepted stainless for the Buck that I picked up with a blade made from Sandvik 13C26 steel. It's not a full blown stainless and only offers moderate corrosion resistance, but damn will it form a razor edge and hold it. Sandvik 13C26 knife steel — Sandvik Materials Technology This particular alloy is easy to work for production knife making, so in the case of a higher volume maker it will keep the cost down yet the blade quality very high.

I'm not a big fan of the 400-series stainless steels for knife blades (440, 420, etc.). Corrosion resistance is for sure better, but they don't form nor hold the edge as well as something like the 13C26 Sandvik steel. The 13C26 is challenging to sharpen for the same reason it holds an edge. I just give a quick sharpening with a Lansky diamond hone before dressing birds. It's literally like having a large scalpel. S30V steel is similar in terms of benefits and difficult to to sharpen- though that's why it holds its edge.

If your heart is set on old school carbon, there are some vintage Solingen, Germany made fixed blade knives to be found that are still very good options. PIC (made by Linder Bros) and others have decent blades.
 
For this size knife, there are some excellent stainless steels. The main downside is that sharpening them is no longer a stone and elbow grease proposition. M390 stainless, such as that used in the Bradford Guardian 3, has both great edge retention and excellent corrosion resistance. A step down would be something like the Ka-Bar Little Finn, which is thinner knife made from 4116 Stainless.

I'm not sure how you'd feel about the profile, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the Ontario Rat 3 yet. I believe it used to be made from 1095 steel, but the OKC site now states it's made with 1075.

Personally? In a 3" knife I use a folder, and at 5" I use an old Camillus made USAF survival knife.
 
Love my Cold Steel Recon Tanto. S30V steel (brain cramp may be mixing up the letters).
Got it in 1990-ish. It’s still on my gun belt today and has been beaten and abused repeatedly for 30yrs with no failure, has probably cut 100lbs of firewood being hammered down with another log. It just keeps going.
 
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