Recommendation? What knife for hiking, foodprep and light bushcraft

Which knife for hiking, foodprep, light bushcaft


  • Total voters
    60
I haven't read through the whole thread but since you're in Europe, take a look at the stuff coming out of Italy (Lionsteel, Viper, Maserin). I recently received a viper setter from collectorknives here in the US and I'm pretty impressed with it for a production knife. Something that isn't called out in the spec was the tapered tang and it makes the thing much lighter than the spec dimensions would seem. And it's stainless.

I'm also inclined to try some of the bushcraft knives from lionsteel in the sleipner steel as I'm pretty interested in trying out the steel in a hard use capacity. I may get something off the knifemaker's market instead but we'll see how that goes as I have plenty of projects already to work through.

Of the ones you listed, I would probably go for the esee. The Falkniven F1 would be more my choice for your uses if going Falkniven as it's lighter, a better slicer, and still plenty robust for bushcraft.

As far as carbon steel goes, the maintenance really isn't as bad as it seems. Try to keep it dry and if you're out backpacking or something for a long time, carry a small pill bottle or similar with veggie oil and a rag/paper towel to wipe the blade. The single towel will last the whole trip if it's 1-week or less, and probably longer. If you're mostly doing the wood processing stuff, the wood working does a pretty decent job keeping it dry and abrading the oxidation off. Really, only working with carbon steel in the rain, heavy dew when trail clearing with a machete in the morning comes in, or after food prep do I usually consider wiping the knife with oil. Otherwise, I wipe it dry and let it air dry for a few minutes and we're good to go.

If you're still looking since it's been about a month, let us know what you came up with or where you're thinking after some of the input. We love helping out new members get into knives... not so much helping you save money for retirement :)
 
Until you decide primarily what you want, Moras are a great way to experiment and not break the budget.
 
Don't be fooled into thinking a large knife is the way to go for the woods. I have read that the Becker's are a bit expensive in Europe which is one of the knives I suggested.

Definitely look at Lion Steel's knives (Italy). They make very good knives. Pay attention to steel stock thickness relative to the task you envision.
 
Voting for "other". Victorinox Huntsman fills the bill. I've carried and used mine in the wilds of Pasadena and Monrovia California. From forest to parks and in between. You can't lose. If a non-folding knife is what you are after, a Mora will do the trick. Anything else will become heavy and you will find you don't use your knife to build log cabins or forts. I've carried heavy "fixed blades" before, but they ended up being left at home eventually.
 
I voted ESEE 4, but I'd probably go with the 3 instead. Looking again though, I see it has 1095 steel; no thanks. If I'm going to have a soft steel, it's going to be stainless, and I'd probably just stick with my Mora Companion or maybe one of the later ones with the spine with sharp corners. That and a simple little Fiskars hatchet and/or folding saw and you're set.

If you're going for something more beefy like an ESEE, you might as well get a harder steel that will hold an edge longer than 1095 or the Sandvik in the Moras. Doesn't have to be a super steel, but I'd like Rc 60-62 and not have to worry about rust.
 
I usually pick a Esee 4 in 1095 and a Spyderco PM2 in s110v
Both complement well
 
When I first came to BF, largely in order to investigate Moras, a persistent meme was about the Mora carried as a lightweight backup to a more expensive, often bigger primary knife. The recurring story was how the “primary” knife languished, while the Mora did the heavy lifting. It has been a few years since I last ran across that story. It has been replaced by “just take the Mora”.

All the cutting you will need, and light enough to drop in a front pocket. You can’t beat that.
 
Hello everyone, I'm new around here.

I'm a software developer that has gotten a taste for hiking due to not being on my feet as much as I was before when I was a student.

As per title I'm in the market for good hiking, foodprep, and light bushcraft knife to have on my person when hiking. This will be my first (real) knife and want the experience to be as painless as possible.

From what I've gathered on the interwebs:
  1. Get a fixed blade, they dont break as easy (also had terrible experience with one folder)
  2. Get one with a decent sheath, upgades cost more than getting one with the knife
  3. Full tang only because bushcraft and batoning
I was thinking of getting a 1095 steel blade like Becker Bk 2 or Bk16 or Esse 4 or 5. However, after seeing how they look when not cared for properly I'm doubting my ability to maintain a non stainless blade. So now I'm thinking of getting a stainless blade. I know there's Esse 4 in 440C and I've been looking at Fallkniven S1. From what I've gathered Fallkniven has better reputation, their VG10 should be better than the 440C and the grind of the Fallkniven knife should be better. The Esse knife has a better warranty, in my opinion looks less tactical and more utilitary which I like and I like the sheath better. Which one of these would you guys recommend for a newcommer to the blade market, and if there are any other you guys would recommend please do so. Money is definetly an object however I'm willing to pay a bit for peace of mind. These two knives are as high of a price as I would ideally like to go. I'm based in Croatia so prices are a bit off from USA pricing. This is the site I was looking at:

Thanks for the input
Seriously, a Swiss Army folding One Hand Trekker will do 99% of everything you need.
 
Seriously, a Swiss Army folding One Hand Trekker will do 99% of everything you need.
Yes, especially with that saw --> no chopping needed. Then there's that locking large flat screwdriver, so no prying needed either. It kind of takes the pressure off of the knife blade from being pressed into service as other tools.
 
I kinda agree with the swiss army knife. When figuring out the proper knife, I think of the worse case scenario. Cutting food and feathering tinder vs. Batoning. Feathered with Busse before and broke a blade with a swiss army knife blade batoning. Every occasion came up because of a mistake I made, FWIW.
 
Back
Top