Fixed & Folding Knives For The Field
20 March 2006
So, once or twice each year I tend to inventory my gear so that I can be sure of maintenance, availability, etc. when I start planning day and weekend outings. This year, as spring is almost upon us, and camping trips with the kids are being planned, I was performing my inventory. While doing this, my oldest son asked me several questions about knives, their use in the field, desirable features, etc. After reminding him that I'm far from being an edged weapons expert, we discussed the different strengths and weaknesses of fixed blade knives versus locking folders. The end result was that we came up with a selection of knives - currently "in inventory" that we would be comfortable taking into the field with us, recognizing that the knives had better be able to perform as required or we may suffer in the long run.
Being in that frame of mind already, I thought this might be a good time to have a brief discussion about those desirable features of each type (fixed and folding), and to examine some of the knives that have proven themselves worthy of our trust. This week we'll take a look at a collection of fixed knives, and next week we'll follow up with the folders.
Fixed Blade Knives:
For general camping, hiking, backpacking, etc chores, I find a fixed blade of at least 5" to be optimal. Sure, anything over 6 to 6.5" and you've probably got too much blade... but unless you're skinning game, less than 5" just isn't (to me) a good all around length. A good quality steel is mandatory, and any type of corrosion resistant finish is preferred. A pommel you can use as a hammer is an added benefit. I like to have a blade that is both plain edge and serrated... or a knife design that makes both available if possible. Since emergencies can arise that will force you to use the knife in ways it wasn't necessarily designed for (prying, climbing, etc), stronger is always better and I'll happily sacrifice some comfort by carrying the extra weight if it means having a knife that will do whatever is necessary. Let's take a look at a few fixed blade knives I've found to take my abuse sufficiently well to be "worthy".
Neil Roberts Warrior Knife:
In last week's (March 13, 2006) Tactical Equipment Review I did a one-year update on this knife. Designed by Bill Harsey and built by Chris Reeve, this knife was meant to capture the essence of what makes up a Navy SEAL: In this case, Neil Roberts, the first Navy SEAL to give his life in Afghanistan. The knife is made from CPM S-30V steel, produced by Crucible Specialty Tool Steels. The blade is 6.5" long on a full tang design. The blade is .25" thick for most of it's 11" length, tapering near the tip to the spear point. The handle is ergonomically designed so that you know which way the edge faces, even if you grab it in total darkness. The handle slabs are made of micarta and cut in the same ergonomic shape of the handle steel. As reported last week, I've used and abused my Neil Roberts Warrior Knife, and it just keeps taking it while performing exceptionally. The nylon sheath with utility pocket is jump-qualified, meaning it will hold the knfe securely through more rigorous use than most of us will ever put it through during recreational use.
Masters of Defense NightWing:
The NightWing is a fixed blade knife that has a similar visual flavor to the Yarborough and Neil Roberts knives, but unique at the same time. Designed by Allen Elishewitz, the blade sports three options for the spine and a softly curved handle that feels ergonomically perfect in my hands. Not as big as those knives designed to honor Special Forces / Naval Special Warfare operators, the NightWing sports a 5.9" blade with an additional 5.0" of handle for a total length of 10.9". The knife is constructed from S30V high-carbon stainless steel alloy, and then as strong as that is, MOD applies a Diamond Black DLC Coating for the finish. At the butt end of the knife there is a lanyard hole - that and the two lashing holes at the front of the grip would serve well to attach this knife on a pole if necessary (550 cord fits through all these holes quite well). The handles are made of fiberglass-reinforced nylon with MOD's wingwalk inserts. The shape and contours of the handles make the knife easy to hold on to, even in wet / slippery conditions. My MOD NightWing served me well while I was working in New Orleans after Katrina blew through.
Strider MTL1:
Made of ATS-34 stainless steel and finished to a hardness of Rc 60-61, the MTL is 11.5" long overall with a blade length of 6.25". ATS-34 is a steel well known for its excellent corrosion resistance, which is valuable given the environments you'd expect such a knife to be used in. I measured my MTL and it reaches just less than 13" in length with a cutting edge that is just less than 6". There is a one-inch gap between the cutting edge and the hilt guards. The MTL blade is ¼" thick almost its full length, tapering out only in the last 1.25" to form the point of the blade. My MTL enjoys a sharpened "false" edge on the top of the blade for the first two inches. This double-edge feature, at least for that first two inches, provides an excellent penetration capability. The handle on the MTL is wrapped with green "Mil-Spec Cord, Fibrous Nylon", otherwise known as parachute cord. My Strider MTL put up with quite a bit of abuse and looked none the worse for wear.
KaBar D2:
With a 7" blade, the Ka-Bar D2 Extreme is one of the longer knives included here. About 1.5" of serrations make up the blade on my test knife and the rest is all sharp edge. Added to the overall size of the knife is the handle of just under five inches making the knife just under a foot long total. It weighs in (sans sheath) at 0.78 pounds. The blade is made of D2 steel with a hardness rating of 59-60 HRC. My D2 has been on several camping trips with me and uncounted backpacking / hiking adventures. I've hammered with it; pried with it; cut and chopped with it. It's pretty light for chopping work, but it's put up with all the abuse I've heaped on over the course of the last four years. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good field (or fighting) knife.
SOG Knives Gov-Tac:
The AUS 8 Stainless Steel blade, finished to a Rockwell Hardness of 57-58, is 6.1 inches long and 3/16 inch thick. The cutting edge itself I measure as just shy of 5.75". The grips are made of Kraton Rubber with rows of diamond studs on either side and ridges on the top (spine side) and bottom (edge side). The shape is simple palm-swell ergonomic and it fills the hand quite comfortably. SOG provided thumb-ridges on the spine - about one inch's worth starting 3/4 of an inch off the hilt. The Gov-Tac is everything a modern day field knife should be - without wasting a lot of weight, space or money on things it's not supposed to be.
SOG SEAL Revolver:
The SOG Revolver has an overall length of ten inches, a handle made of glass-reinforced zytel and a Kydex sheath. The weight is a low six ounces and then the fun begins. The knife side of the blade is 4.75" long and is available either with a plain edge or a partially serrated edge. The blade steel is AUS 8 Stainless Steel hardened to Rc. 57-58 with an optional Black TiNi coating. The "TiNi" stands for Titanium Nitride and such a coating on the blade prohibits corrosion or rust and provides the blade with a less-reflective finish that brushed or polished steel. Once you've made the transition from knife to saw, you have a 4.75" Kerf cut saw. For whatever trick of vision, the saw end looks longer than the knife end. Both ends measure four and seven-eighths inches from the pivot point on the knife I have. The SOG Revolver comes with a Kydex sheath that has multiple mounting options as well as dual retention devices.
Blackwater Gear Knife:
When "Blackwater Gear" was born, it was the partnership of Blackwater, Michaels of Oregon, and Crye Precision. As other items have been added, new partners have been found to provide the gear. Typically, the new partners are leaders in their individual fields. Benchmade makes the Blackwater Gear knives. For the fixed blade, the Blackwater Gear knife is a Benchmade Nimravus. The Nimravus steel itself can be one of two materials: 154CM or M2. The 154CM sports a hardness of 58-60HRC while the M2 is rated at 60-62HRC. The grips are made of G10 and formed to function with the shape of the steel. With the 4.5" blade length, I'd consider this a little short to be a combat knife, but it is certainly more than sufficient for use in the law enforcement environment as a utility blade or in any camp/field situation.
Cold Steel Outdoorsman:
Essentially a modified Tanto (which Cold Steel is famous for), the Outdoorsman has some interesting features. With a six inch blade made of AUS 8A Stainless Steel, it's softly curved and plain edge for the length. The five-inch long Kraton wrapped handle has a small hilt and steel-capped pommel. The Outdoorsman has ridges milled into the back of the blade directly in front of the grips so you have a secure place to put your thumb if your cutting hard down into an object. The Outdoorsman comes with a leather sheath that incorporates a retaining strap to keep the knife secured while moving through brush.
Benchmade Presidio:
The Benchmade published material says the blade is 6.2" and my measurement confirms it.The sharpened edge incorporates 1.5 inches of alternating 1/4" and 3/18" serrations. The end result is a very effective serrated cutting area. The remainder of the modified clip point blade is plain edge - and sharp at that. On the spine - starting from the tip of the knife - you get 3/4" of a sharpened edge that is chisel ground, followed by 1.5" of serrations. The serrations are the same mix I described above found on the primary cutting edge. On the spine, above the hilt, is a ridged ramp for thumb pressure when pushing down into cuts. The blade is manufactured from 154CM steel with a hardness of 58-60 RC and is .18" thick. While it's certainly not the sharpened pry-bar that some other knives are, it's heafty enough to do the myriad jobs it will be called upon to do. The handles are manufactured out of 6061 T6 Aircraft aluminum and are cut to fit the shape of the handle as the blade is milled. The sheath is a black cordura nylon sheath with a hard plastic insert and a nylon web safety strap. It can be worn on a belt or attached to a vest via the MOLLE compatible straps.
Gerber Silver Trident:
The blade length is just over six inches which seems to me standard for field knives, but maybe a shade on the short side for a combat knife. I say that only because I was lectured by a former Navy SEAL on the need for a combat blade to be at least 6.5" inches long - allowing it to reach the aortal bubble if punched through an armpit or the clavicular notch. Published material from Gerber states that the blade enjoys a hardness rating of HRC 59-61. The butt cap was specifically designed to be used for hammering. Although this knife wasn't designed as a recreational tool, I used it as one anyway. I took it fishing with me and performed all cutting chores with it: bait, fishing line, etc. I cleaned one fish with it. The sheath is fairly versatile in its carry options and nylon has become the standard for the industry - even the recreational field. The inner (kydex?) lining of the sheath protects the nylon from the knife's edge and provides a secondary locking mechanism at the mouth of the sheath.
Extrema Ratio Col Moschin:
The Col Moschin knife was specifically designed and developed for the 9th Reggimento D'Assalto Paracadutisti, nicknamed the "Col Moschin" unit and considered the elite of the Folgore brigade. What does all that mean in English? As much as I had to look it up (and me with an Italian last name) it's the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment. Now consider this: If someone was asked to design a knife for the 82nd or 101st Airborne, we'd expect it to be one heck of a knife wouldn't we? Well, the Col Moschin is. The blade length is 160mm (6.3") and the handle is 130mm (5.11") giving an overall length of 290mm (11.41"). Total weight is 260 grams (9.17 oz). Blade thickness is 6.3mm (.25") and it's made out of N690 stainless cobalt steel. Extrema Ratio uses N690 in the large majority of its knives because the additional cobalt content adds strength to the blade. The sheath is constructed of rigid ABS polymer and provides three types of retention.
Extrema Ratio Fulcrum:
The Fulcrum S has a blade length of just under six inches and an overall length just over eleven. The full-length tang is 1/4" thick from pommel to within 5/8" of the tip (by my measurement). The blade is of tanto configuration, double-bevel ground with 1.5" of serrations nearest the hilt. The knife has a published weight of 300 grams, which puts it at about 10.5 ounces. The sheath that the knife comes with / in is essentially heavy-duty kydex. Riveted together, the sheath holds the knife snug.
20 March 2006
So, once or twice each year I tend to inventory my gear so that I can be sure of maintenance, availability, etc. when I start planning day and weekend outings. This year, as spring is almost upon us, and camping trips with the kids are being planned, I was performing my inventory. While doing this, my oldest son asked me several questions about knives, their use in the field, desirable features, etc. After reminding him that I'm far from being an edged weapons expert, we discussed the different strengths and weaknesses of fixed blade knives versus locking folders. The end result was that we came up with a selection of knives - currently "in inventory" that we would be comfortable taking into the field with us, recognizing that the knives had better be able to perform as required or we may suffer in the long run.
Being in that frame of mind already, I thought this might be a good time to have a brief discussion about those desirable features of each type (fixed and folding), and to examine some of the knives that have proven themselves worthy of our trust. This week we'll take a look at a collection of fixed knives, and next week we'll follow up with the folders.
Fixed Blade Knives:
For general camping, hiking, backpacking, etc chores, I find a fixed blade of at least 5" to be optimal. Sure, anything over 6 to 6.5" and you've probably got too much blade... but unless you're skinning game, less than 5" just isn't (to me) a good all around length. A good quality steel is mandatory, and any type of corrosion resistant finish is preferred. A pommel you can use as a hammer is an added benefit. I like to have a blade that is both plain edge and serrated... or a knife design that makes both available if possible. Since emergencies can arise that will force you to use the knife in ways it wasn't necessarily designed for (prying, climbing, etc), stronger is always better and I'll happily sacrifice some comfort by carrying the extra weight if it means having a knife that will do whatever is necessary. Let's take a look at a few fixed blade knives I've found to take my abuse sufficiently well to be "worthy".
Neil Roberts Warrior Knife:
In last week's (March 13, 2006) Tactical Equipment Review I did a one-year update on this knife. Designed by Bill Harsey and built by Chris Reeve, this knife was meant to capture the essence of what makes up a Navy SEAL: In this case, Neil Roberts, the first Navy SEAL to give his life in Afghanistan. The knife is made from CPM S-30V steel, produced by Crucible Specialty Tool Steels. The blade is 6.5" long on a full tang design. The blade is .25" thick for most of it's 11" length, tapering near the tip to the spear point. The handle is ergonomically designed so that you know which way the edge faces, even if you grab it in total darkness. The handle slabs are made of micarta and cut in the same ergonomic shape of the handle steel. As reported last week, I've used and abused my Neil Roberts Warrior Knife, and it just keeps taking it while performing exceptionally. The nylon sheath with utility pocket is jump-qualified, meaning it will hold the knfe securely through more rigorous use than most of us will ever put it through during recreational use.
Masters of Defense NightWing:
The NightWing is a fixed blade knife that has a similar visual flavor to the Yarborough and Neil Roberts knives, but unique at the same time. Designed by Allen Elishewitz, the blade sports three options for the spine and a softly curved handle that feels ergonomically perfect in my hands. Not as big as those knives designed to honor Special Forces / Naval Special Warfare operators, the NightWing sports a 5.9" blade with an additional 5.0" of handle for a total length of 10.9". The knife is constructed from S30V high-carbon stainless steel alloy, and then as strong as that is, MOD applies a Diamond Black DLC Coating for the finish. At the butt end of the knife there is a lanyard hole - that and the two lashing holes at the front of the grip would serve well to attach this knife on a pole if necessary (550 cord fits through all these holes quite well). The handles are made of fiberglass-reinforced nylon with MOD's wingwalk inserts. The shape and contours of the handles make the knife easy to hold on to, even in wet / slippery conditions. My MOD NightWing served me well while I was working in New Orleans after Katrina blew through.
Strider MTL1:
Made of ATS-34 stainless steel and finished to a hardness of Rc 60-61, the MTL is 11.5" long overall with a blade length of 6.25". ATS-34 is a steel well known for its excellent corrosion resistance, which is valuable given the environments you'd expect such a knife to be used in. I measured my MTL and it reaches just less than 13" in length with a cutting edge that is just less than 6". There is a one-inch gap between the cutting edge and the hilt guards. The MTL blade is ¼" thick almost its full length, tapering out only in the last 1.25" to form the point of the blade. My MTL enjoys a sharpened "false" edge on the top of the blade for the first two inches. This double-edge feature, at least for that first two inches, provides an excellent penetration capability. The handle on the MTL is wrapped with green "Mil-Spec Cord, Fibrous Nylon", otherwise known as parachute cord. My Strider MTL put up with quite a bit of abuse and looked none the worse for wear.
KaBar D2:
With a 7" blade, the Ka-Bar D2 Extreme is one of the longer knives included here. About 1.5" of serrations make up the blade on my test knife and the rest is all sharp edge. Added to the overall size of the knife is the handle of just under five inches making the knife just under a foot long total. It weighs in (sans sheath) at 0.78 pounds. The blade is made of D2 steel with a hardness rating of 59-60 HRC. My D2 has been on several camping trips with me and uncounted backpacking / hiking adventures. I've hammered with it; pried with it; cut and chopped with it. It's pretty light for chopping work, but it's put up with all the abuse I've heaped on over the course of the last four years. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good field (or fighting) knife.
SOG Knives Gov-Tac:
The AUS 8 Stainless Steel blade, finished to a Rockwell Hardness of 57-58, is 6.1 inches long and 3/16 inch thick. The cutting edge itself I measure as just shy of 5.75". The grips are made of Kraton Rubber with rows of diamond studs on either side and ridges on the top (spine side) and bottom (edge side). The shape is simple palm-swell ergonomic and it fills the hand quite comfortably. SOG provided thumb-ridges on the spine - about one inch's worth starting 3/4 of an inch off the hilt. The Gov-Tac is everything a modern day field knife should be - without wasting a lot of weight, space or money on things it's not supposed to be.
SOG SEAL Revolver:
The SOG Revolver has an overall length of ten inches, a handle made of glass-reinforced zytel and a Kydex sheath. The weight is a low six ounces and then the fun begins. The knife side of the blade is 4.75" long and is available either with a plain edge or a partially serrated edge. The blade steel is AUS 8 Stainless Steel hardened to Rc. 57-58 with an optional Black TiNi coating. The "TiNi" stands for Titanium Nitride and such a coating on the blade prohibits corrosion or rust and provides the blade with a less-reflective finish that brushed or polished steel. Once you've made the transition from knife to saw, you have a 4.75" Kerf cut saw. For whatever trick of vision, the saw end looks longer than the knife end. Both ends measure four and seven-eighths inches from the pivot point on the knife I have. The SOG Revolver comes with a Kydex sheath that has multiple mounting options as well as dual retention devices.
Blackwater Gear Knife:
When "Blackwater Gear" was born, it was the partnership of Blackwater, Michaels of Oregon, and Crye Precision. As other items have been added, new partners have been found to provide the gear. Typically, the new partners are leaders in their individual fields. Benchmade makes the Blackwater Gear knives. For the fixed blade, the Blackwater Gear knife is a Benchmade Nimravus. The Nimravus steel itself can be one of two materials: 154CM or M2. The 154CM sports a hardness of 58-60HRC while the M2 is rated at 60-62HRC. The grips are made of G10 and formed to function with the shape of the steel. With the 4.5" blade length, I'd consider this a little short to be a combat knife, but it is certainly more than sufficient for use in the law enforcement environment as a utility blade or in any camp/field situation.
Cold Steel Outdoorsman:
Essentially a modified Tanto (which Cold Steel is famous for), the Outdoorsman has some interesting features. With a six inch blade made of AUS 8A Stainless Steel, it's softly curved and plain edge for the length. The five-inch long Kraton wrapped handle has a small hilt and steel-capped pommel. The Outdoorsman has ridges milled into the back of the blade directly in front of the grips so you have a secure place to put your thumb if your cutting hard down into an object. The Outdoorsman comes with a leather sheath that incorporates a retaining strap to keep the knife secured while moving through brush.
Benchmade Presidio:
The Benchmade published material says the blade is 6.2" and my measurement confirms it.The sharpened edge incorporates 1.5 inches of alternating 1/4" and 3/18" serrations. The end result is a very effective serrated cutting area. The remainder of the modified clip point blade is plain edge - and sharp at that. On the spine - starting from the tip of the knife - you get 3/4" of a sharpened edge that is chisel ground, followed by 1.5" of serrations. The serrations are the same mix I described above found on the primary cutting edge. On the spine, above the hilt, is a ridged ramp for thumb pressure when pushing down into cuts. The blade is manufactured from 154CM steel with a hardness of 58-60 RC and is .18" thick. While it's certainly not the sharpened pry-bar that some other knives are, it's heafty enough to do the myriad jobs it will be called upon to do. The handles are manufactured out of 6061 T6 Aircraft aluminum and are cut to fit the shape of the handle as the blade is milled. The sheath is a black cordura nylon sheath with a hard plastic insert and a nylon web safety strap. It can be worn on a belt or attached to a vest via the MOLLE compatible straps.
Gerber Silver Trident:
The blade length is just over six inches which seems to me standard for field knives, but maybe a shade on the short side for a combat knife. I say that only because I was lectured by a former Navy SEAL on the need for a combat blade to be at least 6.5" inches long - allowing it to reach the aortal bubble if punched through an armpit or the clavicular notch. Published material from Gerber states that the blade enjoys a hardness rating of HRC 59-61. The butt cap was specifically designed to be used for hammering. Although this knife wasn't designed as a recreational tool, I used it as one anyway. I took it fishing with me and performed all cutting chores with it: bait, fishing line, etc. I cleaned one fish with it. The sheath is fairly versatile in its carry options and nylon has become the standard for the industry - even the recreational field. The inner (kydex?) lining of the sheath protects the nylon from the knife's edge and provides a secondary locking mechanism at the mouth of the sheath.
Extrema Ratio Col Moschin:
The Col Moschin knife was specifically designed and developed for the 9th Reggimento D'Assalto Paracadutisti, nicknamed the "Col Moschin" unit and considered the elite of the Folgore brigade. What does all that mean in English? As much as I had to look it up (and me with an Italian last name) it's the 9th Parachute Assault Regiment. Now consider this: If someone was asked to design a knife for the 82nd or 101st Airborne, we'd expect it to be one heck of a knife wouldn't we? Well, the Col Moschin is. The blade length is 160mm (6.3") and the handle is 130mm (5.11") giving an overall length of 290mm (11.41"). Total weight is 260 grams (9.17 oz). Blade thickness is 6.3mm (.25") and it's made out of N690 stainless cobalt steel. Extrema Ratio uses N690 in the large majority of its knives because the additional cobalt content adds strength to the blade. The sheath is constructed of rigid ABS polymer and provides three types of retention.
Extrema Ratio Fulcrum:
The Fulcrum S has a blade length of just under six inches and an overall length just over eleven. The full-length tang is 1/4" thick from pommel to within 5/8" of the tip (by my measurement). The blade is of tanto configuration, double-bevel ground with 1.5" of serrations nearest the hilt. The knife has a published weight of 300 grams, which puts it at about 10.5 ounces. The sheath that the knife comes with / in is essentially heavy-duty kydex. Riveted together, the sheath holds the knife snug.
