[kimberfan]

so i might have $75-150 to spend on a NICE knife soon

what would be some good ones?

no ka-bars (i have one already)

this knife needs to be tough like "i’m gonna cut this cars doors off, chop down this tree, pry apart this jet engine and now i need to cut a bear into pieces bone and all" tough

and it need to be a fixed blade to

i like some benchmades but there blades look a little thin to me.

[ArfinGreebly]

Could you narrow things a little?

How big?

Are we looking for a Bowie-sized knife? Something with a four-inch blade? One of John's Kukris? Something medium-sized, like a Chris Reeve Mountaineer?

Daily carry? Hiking and camping? Hunting? Something to keep in the truck?

A little more information will help us help you.

[CWL]

Get a Ranger knife. $100-120 for the 9" RD9. Shorter blades are about $80-90 each. Definitely is in the 'sharpened prybar' category of cutlery.

A Himalayan Imports Khukri would also fit your needs.

Dunno what you mean by "NICE" though.

[kimberfan]

Arfin:

something not to big but not to small

like a 5-8 inch blade would be about right i think

it will be used as a defensive/survival/utility knife when SHTF.

CWL:

i mean that as in i dont want another bud-k special or run of the mill ka-bar.

[Exmasonite]

how about Ontario knives?

There's the Ontario RAT series... the RAT-5 and RAT-7 might fit the bill.
check this (http://www.ontarioknife.com/adventure.html) out.
i have the RAT-3 and love it.

another one to look at is the Gerber LMF II, seen here (http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=GB1626). haven't handled one myself but supposedly a great knife for the value.

lastly, i'd say check out bladeforums.com They have an area for private makers to sell custom knives and there are some real gems in there to be found.

[Stainz]

For a US-made 'custom grade' knife, checkout the Bark River 'Bravo-1' and 'Gameskeeper' - in black or green Micarta handles, the former runs $172 delivered, the latter, which I have, ~$155. I really like my Gameskeeper. Also try DLT Trading Company - they have great bargains on some 'closeout' Bark River models.

If you like the Gerber LMFII, try LA Pol Gear - they, and others, have them at $60 closeout. Also check out John Greco's 'MST' ($125), a great handfull from a real decent guy - made in KY - and he worked with Jimmy Liles, the infamous early 'Rambo' movies' knifemaker (grecoknives.com).

I also like Fred Vollmer's knives, from Foley, AL - but his website is dead. He had a great knife in the $125-$150 range - with a well thought out sheath 'system'. The last number I had was the same as on his website - 251-943-1056 - but I haven't talked with him in some time.

Stainz

[lookn4varmints]

You could try one of these....

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ce5_1212014016

[hso]

Rat, Ranger, Entrek come to mind.

You could just give up on the whole big knife (anything over 5" is a big fixed blade knife) idea and get in on the group buy of AUKs.

[50 Shooter]

My biggest problem with alot of the big named companies is that their knives are being produced in Taiwan or China.:o

All this to save a buck, would like to see how some of these knives hold up in real life tests. Ka-Bar knives are nice (USA made ones) and remind me of a friend that use to punch his through differnent things just to see what would happen. So were sitting around one day (back when I was in the Army) and he punches his Ka-Bar through a locker door. I pulled out my (new then) buck field knife and punched it through the door also. Nothing happened to either knives and I still have the Buck to this day.

My last knife was a SOG that had Taiwan printed on it, not sure if I want to test it strength or not. I do have a SOG Tigershark with the Seki City logo on it but that knife I think I would trust more then the other.

[hso]

Nothing wrong with good Japanese or Taiwanese knives. China is coming along in their quality also (much to the detriment of the American and Japanese and Taiwanese factories). The Germans taught them how to heat treat and we taught them how to automate. When someone teaches them QC (which we're doing as we "speak") you'll see the beginning of the sunset of all US knife manufacturers.

[The Tourist]

you'll see the beginning of the sunset of all US knife manufacturers.

We are already at "the end of the beginning."

I received a private e-mail from my knife supplier a few months ago informing me to check inventory and organize responsible orders to benefit my profits and the needs of good clients.

Because of the Chinese bulk-purchasing of Japanese steel, cutlery was going to go up 35%.

When part of your job is selling a 2,000 dollar knife to a chef, expanding the price of that knife by another 35% places that same knife around $2,800.00, clearly enough to retard new sales. (Tax, S/H).

If there is any doubt in your mind, google this years problem's for the manufacterers Schrade and Camillus.

[CZ.22]

I normally don't let things surrounding the knife manufacturer affect my purchase- but right now, I'm not going to buy an Ontario RAT. I'll buy a regular Ontario, but Ontario is attempting to crush RAT right now, and they will not get money for their stolen designs.
Look at Scrapyard Knives, and Swamprats as well. They are part of Busse, and design to be tough as crocodile.

[Geronimo45]

another one to look at is the Gerber LMF II
First one that came to mind when you mentioned cutting doors and bears.
http://www.knifetests.com/GerberLMFIIASEK.html

[kimberfan]

HSO:

i'm looking more at 5-6 inch blades

and no more then 7 inch blades.

[kimberfan]

also Micarta grips and made in the USA would be really really good too.

[kimberfan]

these any good?

http://www.dlttradingcompany.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_151&products_id=167&osCsid=975e90c3369b950e5d1481e30f93538d

[Cougfan2]

Google Smoky Mountain Knife Works and go to their site. I just bought a pair of american made Case knives there.

[kimberfan]

i think i might try making my own

anybody got some tips for me?

[Valkman]

That would probably require another whole thread, but making knives is just fun to me. Once you get going, get the right equipment and practice a lot you can make anything you want.

Here's my 6" fighter:

http://usera.imagecave.com/Valkman/gold/Fighter1_right.jpg

Here's my 7" Super Camps:

http://usera.imagecave.com/Valkman/gold/GB_7_both_sm.jpg

If you want to try making knives I'd go to knife forums like knifeforums.com or bladeforums.com and see what they have for tutorials. Most makers will help all they can. :)

[The Highlander]

What kind of steel are you using Valkman? Also excellent craftsmanship. Those look like some fine blades.

[Valkman]

The fighter was ATS-34, and I still use that and some CPM-D2 that Crucible started making. The Super Camps are 1/4" D2. Not real happy with the CPM-D2 though - real rough on the sides and takes forever to get all the pits out.