Recommendation? Which outdoor knife is your favourite?

M

MP Morgan

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Mar 19, 2019
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I am looking to make 2 knives of a piece of Vanadis 4e. I got one design ready, but need inspiration for the other. I have 5,2*50*240mm to work with, and want to make a good outdoor knife to bring when hiking and spending time in nature in general.

I am a toolmaker, and have worked as such for 20+ years. Doing a lot of designing, prototyping and CNC, and am looking for some ideas for a design.
 
Brusletto Bamsen.

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Hmm... you don’t have access to res-c I would expect so I won’t recommend my 711. ;)
I guess mora companion mg would be my pick so how about a Puukko? One knife that has really intrigued me are Yakut knives. This guy hammers it but I’m sure you have the know-how to machine one. Great vid for people who like blacksmith content.


Please post after picks.:D

Edited to add: I prefer hidden tangs these days too if that wasn’t obvious from my recommendations. Warmer, lighter and just nicer looking IMO.
 
GB940Rookie said:
My favorite two outdoor knives are the ESEE 6 and Spyderco Sprig. I have the Sprig on my belt as I type this.
An over built steak knife is my favorite camping blade.
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I am actually considering a kitchen knife, that would be cool too. I want to make something, that's being used a lot, and not just a vault queen. That one looks great. I like the BK-16 too, not too much fan of the 15. Brusletto makes nice blades, had one years ago.

Mora wouldn't be bad either, I may actually be able to make 2 more blades instead of one. And after all, Vanadis is not that cheap, I want to put it to good use!
 
My all time favorite outdoor knife is the Spyderco Bill Moran Drop Point, designed by an original true master bladesmith. I think the weight, balance and style are perfect for field dressing when hunting and a great knife for camping chores. If you can make one as good as this with as good a sheath and at this price you will have hit a homer.


 
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This is a knife duo I sometimes use (Bark River Wilderness Explorer and White River Backpacker Pro). But have gotten a couple Kepharts (Becker and Humphrey) since that I want to try out in the near future as a general woods knife.
GB940Rookie said:
My favorite two outdoor knives are the ESEE 6 and Spyderco Sprig. I have the Sprig on my belt as I type this.
An over built steak knife is my favorite camping blade.
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The Sprig is a knife I wish I owned. I believe they were discontinued and I him-hawed around about spending the money when they were still available retail. I mentioned the BK-15 which is a similar kind of knife. Most that have used the BK-15 really like them. For whatever reason, drop points are in favor these days. The ESEE 6 is a fun knife for a camp site to play around with.
 
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From heavy work to lighter duty:

SYKCO 1311, basically a golok. I love this thing for trail maintenance. I suspect this is not what you're looking for so I guess this is just for showing off. 13.5" blade I think. SR101/52100
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SYKCO 911, (mine is a military over-run, biggest difference is the pointier tip). 9.5" blade of 52100/SR101. A more compact trail maintenance knife that can still do some bigger knife tasks and some of the smaller knife stuff as well. I wouldn't want to be cutting too many notches but it will work for fire prep and food prep just fine.
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Swamp rat ratweiler, 7.5" blade. Probably my favorite knife for doing a little bit of everything. Easy enough to carry and it can just do a ton of work in a medium sized package. I have the thin cut versions, the thick cut was .25" which is too thick, IMO. I recently picked up some more, though the orange one is more for looks than use at this point as I don't want to hurt the coating yet. SR101/52100, and infi on the middle.
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Moving down to the more wood crafty sizes, LT wright bushcraft Mark II. Great knife. If I could have one knife, it would be between this and the ratweiler. A2 steel on a 5.25" blade. 2nd from the top (from top to bottom, BK62, bushcrafter Mark II, genesis, bush baby)
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This is one I'm a fan of but as it only recently finished up from the maker I can't claim it as a favorite yet but I did have it designed based on my uses and desires for a woods knife so I suspect it will continue to move up the chain. Vandis 4e, 5.5" blade, with a slight forward lean to get the belly in front of the knuckles and 4mm thick. Kind of like a small kuhkri without a recurve so sharpening is easy and there is a flat section in front of the handle for carving. The forward belly is nice for cutting against a hard surface like a cutting board or for chopping using a snap action. The forward cant also makes it great in a reverse grip, which I found useful when debarking logs for structure and furniture building (side hobby). It also allows a little bit of use like a draw knife but it's a bit short there.
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Cold Steel Trailmaster. :thumbsup: A great all around knife for doing all kinds of chores such as chopping, fire prep, food prep, and more (though not optimal for any individual one). It's been my main go to camping knife for over 25 years. :cool: Not so much as a small chip in the edge (mine is Carbon V) after MUCH work and sharpening, just some "nice memories" patina (sorry, no pics :oops:)
 
Thank you for your great suggestions, there are some I really want to use as inspiration for a future knife! I may though go for a kitchen knife, as I have promised to make one for a friend, and I do have a good design for one, I think.

I am really looking forward to get some work done.

This is the last time I had an idea of a thing I needed to make. It's always fun to learn something new! New area, but the craftmanship is the same. https://www.instagram.com/p/Brnj64eHkSC/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
 
bikerector said:
From heavy work to lighter duty
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"Favorite knife" is like a favorite child. They all have different qualities and can be superior in their own ways.

From small to large fixed blades for outdoor use

I have a carbon steel Mora HD. Tough, sharp and easy to sharpen. Good for smaller tasks at camps.
Next up goes a fair bit longer, the RAT-7 which I bought for a great price. I can baton, feather stick, chop and not damage it.
The next is a Kabar Kukri, which is not a short trek in the woods blade, but when doing serious bushcraft camp building the weight is worth it.
Then there's the monster Ontario 22" D-handled machete. Light brush? Done. Saplings? Kukri. Trees? not a knife but a Japanese saw is easiest.

Last edged tool is a Husqvarna Carpenter's Axe, that I've given some edge improvement.

As far as an overall large outdoor I would favor a drop point with a fuller and a thicker spine taken down to a sharp convex grind. That way we you have a lot of support spread through the whole blade but a sturdy chopper and slicer. I've not worked with this metal but I wonder if it would benefit by heat treating the upper 1/2 or third differently perhaps with clay, but I'd do by the book heat treating with a pyrometer.
 
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