Outdoor canoeing/kayaking Traditional folder

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Nov 27, 2002
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Looking for your traditional suggestions in regards to a folder for general outdoor use, but it's going to get wet! It is not my emergency knife so I would prefer a folder, maybe something like the Queen Mountain Man. I enjoy kayaking and canoeing in S. Florida, so it may see brackish/salt water. I'll clean and dry it in the evenings, but if you've kayaked in the Everglades, you know you'll get wet. The Queen is just a thought, I'm open to any and all traditional suggestions. Thanks.

Q
 
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A single blade will make it easier to open with cold, wet hands, and be easier to dry off in the evenings, which I'm sure you've already considered :)
 
I canoe/kayak a lot here in Florida - doing the wilderness waterway in January in fact. As a folder I carry a Spyderco Pacific Salt. Can you imagine what a standard stainless blade , or even worse a carbon blade, would like after 10 days of near submersion in salt water. Yikes, H1 for me.
 
I second the opinel outdoor, inexpensive, stainless. And I think it has a lanyard or at least a lanyard attachment.
Also a Swiss Army knife is pretty rust proof and most have a keyring for lanyard attachment.
If neither of those two strike your fancy, maybe a buck bucklite or ecolite 110 or 112 would do, the belt sheath should be much more secure than a loose knife in you pocket.
 
Anything in Carbon steel is probably going to get rusty, no matter how much you try to clean it up afterwards. I would go stainless, maybe a Buck 424 Bucklite in orange, you can go larger such as the Bucklite 422 or 426 but the 424 is the size of the Buck 501. They're not the sexiest knife but the Bucklite's are extremely light for pocket carry, will disappear in your pocket, have a lanyard hole and come in bright orange to make it easier to find if dropped. They're also pretty cheap, you lose it and it's not the end of the world. AS the others stated, a swiss army knife is a good option as is an Opinel outdoor.
 
I assume you prefer a traditional knife, based on where you posted this. My suggestion would be any good stainless slippie that has a synthetic handle. Perhaps something from Buck's 300 series, or a Case yella with SS blades. I grew up in South Florida, BTW. Grandad carried carbon steel and worked outdoors in Miami his whole life, and did plenty of hunting in the Glades and fishing everywhere from the Keys up to Lake Okeechobee.

-- Mark
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Definately want a traditional, I also thought about a Case back pocket in yellow and SS, if they still make it that way.
 
i'm just back from a canoeing trip in Sweden. Had my Spyderco Salt 1 H1 steel with me. Great knife, lightweight, easy to open and has a nice yellow color.
 
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My first choice would be a fixed blade but for a folder I've found Svord peasant knives to be great work knives.

You can open them one handed, they sharpen up real easily and the simple construction makes them very easy to keep clean. Best part is if you lose it in the water you're only out about 15 bucks.

I would force a patina and use one of the plastic handled ones.
 
AG Russell Cowboy or Rancher. Stainless. Choice of Micarta or plastic scales. Lanyard hole.

I take mine Canoeing, and it has been in the drink more than once!
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Definately want a traditional, I also thought about a Case back pocket in yellow and SS, if they still make it that way.
The Case BackPocket is not available in Yellow SS. In Yellow SS you'd be looking at the regular Trapper or the Sod Buster Jr. If you want a full sized Sod Buster in SS then you have to go with the black handled version.

The Case BackPocket is available in black G10 if that appeals to you.
 
My suggestion would be any good stainless slippie that has a synthetic handle. Perhaps something from Buck's 300 series, or a Case yella with SS blades.

-- Mark

I'll second that +100!:thumbup:

I carried a Buck 301 stockman for 25 years or so, and it did everything I needed to do with knife on four continents. Then I got infected by the "affliction" that we share. Nothing was ever the same again.

It doesn
t really matter what kind of knife you carry, as long as it fits two needs. First, that you like the pattern and it appeals to you. Second, that it's sharp. Like my old man told me many times when I was a kid, "It doesn't have to be big, just sharp."

Carl.
 
Buck 300 series gets my vote as well. I was just in Michigan for 4 days fishing, swimming, boating etc. on Lake St. Clair with a 301 as my sidekick. It was dried when possible but probably damp most of the trip and survived quite well.
 
I carry a slipjoint Queen mountain man in D2 commercial lobstering every day. There are some rust spots on the blade that I haven't cleaned up yet and I just oiled the pivot with some Penn Reel Lube that I had laying around, as it was getting sticky.

I took a USA Schrade 96OT trapper on a 14 day trip groundfishing to Georges Bank and it was the only knife I used and it held up just fine. If the knife is immersed in water, just give it a freshwater rinse and some oil in the joint and you should be good.

If you are worried about pitting and it is a new knife, stick it in a potato overnight and get a patina formed and that will help the rust, or give the blade a coat of mineral oil. Traditional slipjoint knives with carbon steel blades and natural material handles have been used at sea for centuries.

If you want to go with a stainless blade, any of the Buck slipjoints should hold up well. I used a 110 lobstering in the early 2000's and it was exposed to sea water, heavily salted brine from the bait, and I had no problems with rust or with the stabilized wood handles cracking. The brass bolsters patina-ed up nicely and the blade needed to be sharpened frequently, but again, traditional knives might be prettier than their tactical counterparts but are tougher than people think. I have no problem putting my mountain man through some rough rough work.
 
I canoe/kayak a lot here in Florida - doing the wilderness waterway in January in fact. As a folder I carry a Spyderco Pacific Salt. Can you imagine what a standard stainless blade , or even worse a carbon blade, would like after 10 days of near submersion in salt water. Yikes, H1 for me.

I have never had issues with stainless or even carbon blades in constant exposure to sea water in 20 years of commercial fishing. We cut fish with Dexter Russel carbon steel boning knives. There are a half dozen on every fishing boat in Gloucester. A rinse with fresh water is usually all that it takes to keep the blades from rusting. Carbon steel knives go to sea out of Gloucester every day for 10-14 day trips and those knives see nothing but sea water and fish guts for that entire time. if brown rust started to form we would just rub the flat of the blade on a stone until it was gone. Those high carbon knives patina right up after a couple days. Mine, which I keep in my forward cabin is almost black with patina. I used to wrap it in an oily rag after rinsing it with salt water.
 
... traditional knives might be prettier than their tactical counterparts but are tougher than people think. I have no problem putting my mountain man through some rough rough work.

Great post, Pete1977. :thumbup:
 
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