Recommendation? Stainless fixed blade for hiking & bushcraft

Enzo Trapper can be found in 12c27, n680 (and D2), full tang, ffg or scandi.

I have the ffg necker in 12c27, and was really impressed with what I got for the price I paid
 
Not so much of a big deal for small day hikes but if you are going to be backpacking any distance for multiple days, then weight becomes a factor.
I second the mora suggestion for that type of use case.
 
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Personally, IMHO, I feel the F1 to be just a tad too small. Granted I said for my tastes. I'd rather have at least a 4 1/2 to 5" blade with a full tang.
Please remember...these are just my personal preferences.
I'm NOT trying to slam any of you other posters.
To each his own.
 
Kootaga13 said:
Personally, IMHO, I feel the F1 to be just a tad too small. Granted I said for my tastes. I'd rather have at least a 4 1/2 to 5" blade with a full tang.
Please remember...these are just my personal preferences.
I'm NOT trying to slam any of you other posters.
To each his own.
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No offence taken! :) I like a 5" blade too. As part of an overall woods kit, though, the F1 is a beautiful and robust smaller knife.
 
I don’t think the Morakniv Garberg is worth 2X the price of the Kansbol but I do think the Kansbol is worth 2X the price of a Companion. However any Morakniv leaves me wanting more. What I really want out of a camp/hiking knife (as long as we’re not talking about summiting a 14er here) is toughness... so the steel has to sacrifice other attributes for toughness... I also want it “field sharpenable” so nothing like S90V, etc. Rust resistance is an added bonus but only 100% necessary in a knife that fills more of an every day role or in a super humid environment. S35VN ticks all of the boxes for my uses but won’t easily be found in a sub $100 knife. In this case, sacrifice must be made. Personally I would sacrifice rust resistance. ...even then it’s gonna be really difficult to find a sub $100 fixed blade that comes with a decent sheath. If I had to narrow it all down for you I would recommend an ESEE 4. It’s a few more bucks but you can choose if you want a tough 1095 blade or an adequately tough 440c stainless blade... and they come with a good sheath.
 
Pilsner said:
No offence taken! :) I like a 5" blade too. As part of an overall woods kit, though, the F1 is a beautiful and robust smaller knife.[/QUOTE
Oh, in that case I agree. I thought we were talking a one and done. The F1 is fantastic.
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Can’t say I understand people who like scandis in thicknesses over 3/32. I had a full custom in that thickness and could not stand it. Outside of woodworking it was awful.

I like the mora companion a lot but I’m going to be trying out the kansbol soon. The sheath is a lot nicer on those.
 
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As a non-standard option, there have been a fair amount of these types of knives in the maker's market on the forum recently. I'll admit that I'm partial to some of the items Nicholas Crawford has made considering the price and use of AEB-L to a nice hardness. His kephart and bird and trout designs are pretty nice but he came out with a woodsman design, basically a standard trader's design from what I see, but it's a little over the price range set.

For fixed blades, I've been decently impressed with prices of within the handmade market over stock options. I think the 90-degree spine is something you won't find as often on production knives, especially if you stray away from carbon steels which seems to be that target market's steel choice.

Mora is a good option but you'll need to add a 90-degree spine which isn't all that hard really.
 
Mora garberg or Benchmade 162. Either one (if) within your price range are great. I have both. 162 is my edc. Garberg (s) are loaded for mountain biking and bowhunting. Love both knives.
 
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How about the EKA Nordic? I don't have the knife myself, but the other EKA I had was top notch for the price and the Nordic seems to meet your needs.
 
archieblue said:
In this case, sacrifice must be made. Personally I would sacrifice rust resistance...even then it’s gonna be really difficult to find a sub $100 fixed blade that comes with a decent sheath. If I had to narrow it all down for you I would recommend an ESEE 4. It’s a few more bucks but you can choose if you want a tough 1095 blade or an adequately tough 440c stainless blade... and they come with a good sheath.
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I just noticed the 440c Esee 4 - what is the talk about this knife?
 
Kootaga13 said:
Why stainless?
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I'm trying to find an excuse to buy another knife :). But in all seriousness, the thought of taking a 1095 blade out in the rain and/or clingy dampness almost hurts. In addition, it might be better to have a less scary fixed blade for hiking wear in uptight states.

Keep the recommendations coming - I've enjoyed them (and I'm sure others will find the suggestions equally useful)!
 
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