Suggest a knife directly comparable to a Field Knife...

Hard Knocks said:
I was hoping you'd respond to this one bud. I like reading through your cold weather camping trips, which make great conditions for comparison/contrast of equipment. I know you've had some GSO's out like that, remind me, did you get your field knife out for one of those?
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Hey HK, I haven't had a chance to bring out my FK's on a winter snow camping trip because we had to cancel the last two due to severe winter storms. I do have one planned for next weekend with a couple of friends, so I'll bring out the 4.1 and FK to test them against one another. There's still 5 feet of snow at 6,500 feet where we'll be backpacking and camping.

I was in the Mojave desert in Nevada from last Thursday to this Tuesday for a four day defensive handgun course at Frontsight. We trailer camped so I was able to play with my 4.1 in D3V, 4.7 in 20cv, and my CPK EDC in D3V. Although we didn't do a lot with our knives except basic food prep and breaking down firewood. The little EDC is a pretty cool little knife because I used it for most of the basic camp chores, batoned, and feather sticked some hard oak with it. The D3V on the EDC and the 4.1 edges held up far better than the 20cv. I barely needed to touch them up on a ceramic Spyderco sharpening stone. The D3V steel is also not too bad to get the edge back on. The 20cv is a different story though because it took probably 2-3x longer to get the edge back.

I'll post up some pics and try to do a comprehensive review between the 4.1 and FK next weekend.
 
Not really a hard use test but the FK is a slightly better slicer when it comes to meat over the 4.1 in D3V. Although both cut through the meat like butter.


Goofing off in my backyard I processed some wood to compare the GSO 7/7 in 3v, FK pre-delta, 4.1 in D3V, and 4.7 in CFV. The thicker blades on the 7/7 and 4.7 made them better for batoning, but the 4.1 and FK were better at finer tasks and feather sticking. Handle comfort is a tough call because both feel great in hand, but I'd say I like the 4.1 handle ergonomics slightly better. I'll need to put more time behind both the 4.1 and FK in order to really decide on what I personally like better. At this time I'd grab either one if I'm headed to the woods, snow, or desert. The only thing I need for the FK's that I have are a dangler and pouch for the sheath. That's the only reason I grab my 4.1 over the FK when I go on my trips.
 
supertac916 said:
The little EDC is a pretty cool little knife because I used it for most of the basic camp chores, batoned, and feather sticked some hard oak with it.
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I've always thought the EDC would be king of feathersticking with all the leverage Lorien incorporated into that handle design. I'm really looking forward to your direct comparison of the 4.1 against the field knife when you are able to do that. Thank you very kindly for the thoughts and pictures.
 
Hard Knocks said:
I've always thought the EDC would be king of feathersticking with all the leverage Lorien incorporated into that handle design. I'm really looking forward to your direct comparison of the 4.1 against the field knife when you are able to do that. Thank you very kindly for the thoughts and pictures.
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Anytime brother, I like playing with my knives and sharing my opinion. Hope it helps some people decide what might work best for them.
 
adamlau said:
Seamount Knife Works Smoke Creek 4.75.
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Mine is only 4.25" - or at least that's how Mr. Wilson labelled it - and although thinner, is fairly close to the fk. Guessing the 4.75" would be quite close.

I know I'd love to see Nathan's take on a mean slicer.

uDQSI1N.jpg
 
Hard Knocks said:
I've always thought the EDC would be king of feathersticking with all the leverage Lorien incorporated into that handle design. I'm really looking forward to your direct comparison of the 4.1 against the field knife when you are able to do that. Thank you very kindly for the thoughts and pictures.
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the key to unlocking the leverage potential of the edc is to use the 'icepick' grip with the edge facing forward. If you want to feather really hard wood, cut through knots, or make chips without them flying all over the place, try out that technique
 
Great pictures cw! One thing I've always meant to ask @NathantheMachinist was his thought process behind the handle of the field knife. Your picture shows a perfect spine shot of the field knife's 'upside down coke bottle' handle, whereas most blades have the opposite taper to the scales, with the section near the ricasso thinner than the section near the pommel, like the gso. If anything this thread is showing just how unique the field knife is.
 
Thanks you everyone for your awesome replies. I've just been slammed the last few days but want to read through all this again and taken notes as several knives mentioned I am not familiar with.

S supertac916 Awesome info. You did all the work already. Thanks for sharing your findings. I really appreciate it and will read through it again.

coiledwire coiledwire That combo of pics is pretty much all I need for the immediate information I was after. Thank you Sir!

Hard Knocks Hard Knocks If I make a lose fist and let my fingers sit naturally, my pinky is closer to my palm than my pointer finger is. The FK's handle thus fits the natural position of my hand making it so comfortable for me. Almost everyone else is doing it wrong when it comes to my hand.
 
JustinFournier said:
If I make a lose fist and let my fingers sit naturally, my pinky is closer to my palm than my pointer finger is. The FK's handle thus fits the natural position of my hand making it so comfortable for me.
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That is an excellent (and should have been intuitive) point!!
 
I know this is an older thread, I've been on the lookout for a similar type of knife to the field knife since they are so hard to get now :) The Koster bushmaster is very similarly designed, 3v. In casual use they seem very comparable.
The new spec 4.1 in d3v as mentioned is also good, a little different.
bushmast.jpg
 
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