Recommendation? Bark River Knives PSK Personal Survival Knife

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Sid Post

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I am looking for a top quality SMALL FIXED BLADE knife that can be carried in a pocket, primarily, and possibly in a neck sheath. Looking for a good quality stainless knife in this role.

Who owns and uses one of these? What are the pros and cons? Is it too small to be practical?

TIA,
Sid
 
It's too small to be practical for me...which isn't what you asked; but it certainly does color my response. The smallest fixed blade I own is the LT Wright Patriot, and that's about a half inch longer. Check it out at DLT - they've got it in AEBL.

What is your intended use for this knife? I ask because it's all well and good to want a(n extremely) small knife... but it's another thing entirely to actually use one. I can get away with the Patriot because, the reality is, I rarely need a knife in my day to day life. When I'm going to be doing more than cutting fruit, opening mail, etc, such a small handle quickly loses its attraction. I find a 3-4" blade with a full, comfortable grip to be most useful; and I'm quite comfortable at the lower end of that range if the handle is good.
Within the Bark River lineup, I like the Mini Fox River; and it is easily pocketable. (I have, but don't really care for, the Bravo EDC - the sheath is too large, and the handle is on the small size)
 
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Sid!

Long time, no see. I hope the Emerson shirt still fits ya. I don’t have anything to add, but it’s nice to see you around. :thumbsup:
 
hhmoore said:
It's too small to be practical for me...

I find a 3-4" blade with a full, comfortable grip to be most useful; and I'm quite comfortable at the lower end of that range if the handle is good.
Within the Bark River lineup, I like the Mini Fox River; and it is easily pocketable.
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I like Bradford Guardian G3 very much. I have no desire for a knife less than 7" total with about a 3" blade.
Fiddleback Forge is great; as is Jarrett Fleming, Osprey knives and W.A. Surls. Each of these has a knife that would be a good fit for you...but not so sure about as a neck knife...
 
hhmoore said:
It's too small to be practical for me...which isn't what you asked; but it certainly does color my response. The smallest fixed blade I own is the LT Wright Patriot, and that's about a half inch longer. Check it out at DLT - they've got it in AEBL.

What is your intended use for this knife?...
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Jordan@DLT said:
Personally the PSK EDC is about as small I'd want to go in something that is still usable.
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Thanks!

I'm looking for something to replace soft bladed practical folders. The better folders aren't very practical to me in real-world use until you start getting into really expensive folders which in reality would never be with me when I needed them.

I generally have easy access to something larger when I need it but, on my "person" I want something I can pull out at lunch and not scare the sheeple and still be able to open cardboard boxes and similar stuff all while being carried in my pocket like a ballpoint pen. It also needs to be usable for a longer period of time than the classic SAK as I'm not carrying a sharpener with me too!
;)
 
AntDog said:
Sid!

Long time, no see. I hope the Emerson shirt still fits ya. I don’t have anything to add, but it’s nice to see you around. :thumbsup:
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Yes, nice to be around here occasionally. Life still has me pulled in too many directions though.
 
I get a lot of mileage from my Lionsteel M1... Carries equally as well in pocket or on belt. The ergonomics are great and the overall look of the knife is not intimidating, at least to me. Blade steel (M390) is great as it holds a fine edge for a long time between touchups.

IMG_4872.jpg
 
if you can pick one up on the exchange a Carothers EDC would be my first choice and small enough to carry yet performs like a larger knife ...

if you want small ultra concealable White River has some offerings of their Backpacker ... I have the G10 scaled but you can get it cord wrapped or with micarta if you want.
 
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The Randall model 10 salt water fisherman with 3 inch blade might be what you are looking for. It is a stout blade in a small package. Next to a Buck 110 for size comparison.

738F208D-9C0B-4933-B761-36275620D91E.jpeg

Here it is next to a Buck 116 caper. Which is also a good choice for small fixed blade.
 
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Sid Post said:
I am looking for a top quality SMALL FIXED BLADE knife that can be carried in a pocket, primarily, and possibly in a neck sheath. Looking for a good quality stainless knife in this role.

Who owns and uses one of these? What are the pros and cons? Is it too small to be practical?

TIA,
Sid
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A small knife can be most practical and the PSK is no exception.
I have the Bark River PSK and it is a part of the content in an Otterbox survival kit, wich I won in a giveaway many years ago.
It is very pocketable for a fixed and if I don't have any other option, the PSK will be very useful.
For allround use, I prefer a 4-5" blade and at work I mostly use some kind of a Moraknife.

For the uses You have specified I pick a Fällkniven SK3 Juni, because of the slightly longer and slimmer blade.
The PSK and SK3 are around the same total lenght, but of very differrent design-philosophy.
However, I don't rule out a traditional slip-joint pocketknife and there are several options availible in better steels than INOX.

knives 002.jpg
Juni to the left, PSK to the right.
IMGP6137.JPG
Northwoods indian River Jack in CPM 154

Regards
Mikael
 
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I’ve got a PSK, the blade certainly is rather small, but very comfortable knife to grip & use. In my opinion the scales on this one make it very controllable so you can really put the available blade length to use. As mentioned earlier, depends on the tasks you have in mind...i most frequently use it to shave off incense woods like sandalwood & agarwood, and for that it works great with the convex edge. Also very pocketable size.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Mora Eldris?
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While I like them, I want something with less bulk in the handle for pocket carry. The Eldris is a very good knife though for something smaller. I should note I have several of its larger brethren which I like a lot for what they are.
 
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