What are some cool fixed blade daggers?

F

falar

Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
1,199
I've never owned a large double edged knife, their legal status was dubious here for a long time. However, Texas did away with our knife laws a while back and I've been looking at some stuff that was previously "grey area". Specifically fixed blade 5-7.5" daggers (and also classic Italian switchblades but that is a separate subject) that are well made. It seems a lot of stuff at the usual vendors (bladehq) ranges from trinket crap like sub-100 dollar Cold Steel stuff to 400+ "tactical" style blades from companies I'm not familiar with like Fox or Spartan. I'm not against a knife like that if the steel quality and build quality is there but these are unkown to me.

However, I wouldn't mind a "traditional" or reproduction of a traditional at all. ESPECIALLY if it was done with zero edges as I'm not a huge fan of secondary edges anyway. I understand their place on everyday use knives but for a knife you never plan on using (and if somehow you did "need" it, the sharpest edge possible would be a plus) I'd rather have a zero grind.

From my limited searching so far it looks like this isn't a huge market with lots of options, for obvious reasons since they aren't legal in all jurisdictions. Maybe there are some smaller companies out there I'm not familiar with.

If you've got some cool fixed blade daggers, especially if they are zero ground post up some pics and specs! I guess mostly I'm looking for some inspiration.
 
The Spartan-George V-14 has been on my "buy it just because" list. It's badass. Spartan is a good outfit.

I had a Boker Applegate Fairbairn dagger that I wish I had back. It was a marvelous piece.

The Gerber Mark II I had back in the day was fun as well. I might get another or perhaps a TAC-II.

There's plenty out there to look at.
 
boker-smatchet-2-1-od-green-sw-122578-BHQ-49507-er.jpg


Smatchet
 
don't overlook the classic kabar ek 4 - as far as I'm concerned it's the benchmark by which other daggers are measured

EK44_Overview.jpg
 
falar said:
I've never owned a large double edged knife, their legal status was dubious here for a long time. However, Texas did away with our knife laws a while back and I've been looking at some stuff that was previously "grey area". Specifically fixed blade 5-7.5" daggers (and also classic Italian switchblades but that is a separate subject) that are well made. It seems a lot of stuff at the usual vendors (bladehq) ranges from trinket crap like sub-100 dollar Cold Steel stuff to 400+ "tactical" style blades from companies I'm not familiar with like Fox or Spartan. I'm not against a knife like that if the steel quality and build quality is there but these are unkown to me.

However, I wouldn't mind a "traditional" or reproduction of a traditional at all. ESPECIALLY if it was done with zero edges as I'm not a huge fan of secondary edges anyway. I understand their place on everyday use knives but for a knife you never plan on using (and if somehow you did "need" it, the sharpest edge possible would be a plus) I'd rather have a zero grind.

From my limited searching so far it looks like this isn't a huge market with lots of options, for obvious reasons since they aren't legal in all jurisdictions. Maybe there are some smaller companies out there I'm not familiar with.

If you've got some cool fixed blade daggers, especially if they are zero ground post up some pics and specs! I guess mostly I'm looking for some inspiration.
Click to expand...

There are tons of threads about this exact topic. I think there have been atleast 4 just in the last year alone.

I can never find any threads if I use the search function on bladeforums. Rather I get better results if I use google as in : (google search) Bladeforums fixed dagger suggestions.

That makes searching for things on the forum much easier.
 
Last edited:
Velitrius said:
The Spartan-George V-14 has been on my "buy it just because" list. It's badass. Spartan is a good outfit.

I had a Boker Applegate Fairbairn dagger that I wish I had back. It was a marvelous piece.

The Gerber Mark II I had back in the day was fun as well. I might get another or perhaps a TAC-II.

There's plenty out there to look at.
Click to expand...

The V14 did catch my eye along with the RMJ Tatctical Raider and a few Extrema Ratio knives.
 
falar said:
trinket crap like sub-100 dollar Cold Steel stuff
Click to expand...

:) The Cold Steel Drop Forged Boot Knife and Push Dagger are both inexpensive but very tough , solid one piece 52100 steel . The bronze / gold coating IS crappy , however . ;)

Their Tai Pan daggers are not crap at all , but more pricey . Much better at slashing cuts than most other daggers . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
IMO, the classic double edged Gerber Mark I is still the coolest and sharpest production dagger ever made; you can make it even sharper but that's really not necessary. It'll slice thru anything made of normal cloth or flesh like butter. No one/nothing would have a chance if you stabbed them (or it) w/it.

It's been discontinued for a long time but still widely available on the secondary market in it's original 1980's form to later reissues. I've got 2 from the early 80's; one in each variation - 4 3/4" and 5". There really is nothing better but there are a lot of other knives made that you could buy that emulate it. However, why buy them, when you can still buy the best?

If you're patient, you can still get a used one in excellent condition w/the leather sheath for only $100-150.

s-l1600.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you really want a classic, traditional dagger, give LINDER knives a google. Good German quality and original style.
 
Finding a dagger with actually sharp edges is going to be your hardest challenge because most, even high end production daggers are pretty dull.
 
WilliamTheKnifeGuy said:
Still no reason to leave it completely blunt and dagger with at least decent edge goes through clothes/vests better too.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and that's something I've been looking at. Obviously hair-popping, small EDC knife, razor-sharp is out of the equation. But I still think it should at least be able to cut paper even if it doesn't do so very well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top