Best Fixed Blade Knife

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Clyde

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Wondering what everyone's favorite fixed blade knife for self defense is? I am asking about fixed blade here as I want to cutout the extra step of having to open a lock blade knife. Yes, I know there is the Emerson knives that open as you pull them out of you pocket, but again wanting to skip that step....
 
Depends whether or not you subscribe to the Crocodile Dundee school of defensive knife philosophy, LOL.
I don't carry a fixed knife on my person, but really I defer to Ronin's expertise in this area.
I really like this Mossy Oak as a truck knife however. Not sure how well it would perform as a defensive knife but it seems like it would be good. The tip is very strong, the handle is thick G10 grips and is very ergonomic, and the glass breaker could be used defensively.
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As a utility/fighting knife, I love the Ka-Bar. I even like it as a skinning knife. I have carried one attached to a shoulder strap of my hunting backpack in easy reach. I've skinned deer, chopped limbs and even dug in rocky soil with the Ka-Bar.

But it's not something I'd try to carry under normal circumstances.
 
Well since your taking forever to respond and I’m impatient I’ll start with small concealable neck knifes that can be hip mounted.
First would be any of the cold steel mini tac series.
2E28F5DF-E90F-49C2-AEE0-26345E9560A3.jpeg 9F5BCF5A-0561-444D-97AF-FE87E53FC450.jpeg 4A265058-4B9E-4C7B-A896-5B1C66B3ABC5.jpeg
Each is grippy and well made and comes sharp. Though if we are talking about a fighting knife the Tanto is first followed by the Bowie.
My next selection in the small fighting knives is another set of cold steel knives called the spike series.
083CDA5C-4A8F-46CA-8ADE-13A3D1F46252.jpeg C9000E62-2770-44D0-A2C7-67116C0D0E59.jpeg 707CE0D5-F846-44A9-B5EB-37BD1F63667C.jpeg

From here the choices get more complicated. Something like the Kilimanjaro Stretta is a good retention option because cold steel stopped making their pro guard.
F907E74E-7378-490C-82F6-9403FFD99414.jpeg
Or the crkt bear claw
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Or the kabar TDI is popular
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Or the gerber Ghost Strike one of my buddies likes
C7CC4C2C-9A79-42C5-B021-FEDC323687BF.jpeg
This is a starting off point for smaller concealable knives. If you want bigger I have a great list for those.
 
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Well since your taking forever to respond and I’m impatient I’ll start with small concealable neck knifes that can be hip mounted.
First would be any of the cold steel mini tac series.
View attachment 9882 View attachment 9883 View attachment 9884
Each is grippy and well made and comes sharp. Though if we are talking about a fighting knife the Tanto is first followed by the Bowie.
My next selection in the small fighting knives is another set of cold steel knives called the spike series.
View attachment 9885 View attachment 9886 View attachment 9887

From here the choices get more complicated. Something like the Kilimanjaro Stretta is a good retention option because cold steel stopped making their pro guard.
View attachment 9888
Or the crkt bear claw
View attachment 9889
Or the kabar TDI is popular
View attachment 9890
Or the gerber Ghost Strike one of my buddies likes
View attachment 9891
This is a starting off point for smaller concealable knives. If you want bigger I have a great list for those.
Great selection! Thanks for posting. I am looking for something probably about 5 inches, but not 100% on that. I like tanto blades. Sorry for the delay in responding... busy weekend.
I do like the Cold Steel SRK Compact (SK-5)
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And the Kobun
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Off hand do you know if double edged is illegal and if the maximum concealable blade length is 6" here in Commiefornia?
 
2 inches is the maximum concealable length in California. Any fixed blade over 2 inches must be clearly visible on the outside of the body. So 5 will have to be visible. I still carry mine semi visible scout style.

If your looking at 5 inches this is hands down the best fighting Tanto I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.
CC15E31B-A01F-4544-8545-CE8BE0A7DF3C.jpeg
This is the War Craft Tanto. It’s 3V steel and is stupid comfortable in your hand. I own the 7 inch model and it’s so perfectly balanced it’s fast as all hell.
Next in the 5 inch range you’re looking at The AK47 field knife another 3V blade that is a fighter and a survival knife. It can do it all.
0A178EB4-E304-4C2D-908E-08E95BDB16B8.jpeg
Both are cold steel and made to last. The only thing I’d say needs to happen is to have a custom Kydex sheath made and have it in the scout carry position. And since your close I’ll volunteer to make the sheath for you.
 
2 inches is the maximum concealable length in California. Any fixed blade over 2 inches must be clearly visible on the outside of the body. So 5 will have to be visible. I still carry mine semi visible scout style.

If your looking at 5 inches this is hands down the best fighting Tanto I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.
View attachment 9897
This is the War Craft Tanto. It’s 3V steel and is stupid comfortable in your hand. I own the 7 inch model and it’s so perfectly balanced it’s fast as all hell.
Next in the 5 inch range you’re looking at The AK47 field knife another 3V blade that is a fighter and a survival knife. It can do it all.
View attachment 9898
Both are cold steel and made to last. The only thing I’d say needs to happen is to have a custom Kydex sheath made and have it in the scout carry position. And since your close I’ll volunteer to make the sheath for you.
Thanks so much for the info! You mentioned needing a kydex sheath made. I assume these knives come with a sheath, but that it is inferior. I see they are quite pricy. Is Cold Steel good with honoring their warranties? Thanks again.
 
The sheaths they come with are good, I’m just not a fan of glass injected nylon it tends to un sharpen your blade. Cold steel has a great warranty, I’ve never had a problem with getting things replaced if broke. However I make kydex sheaths and I can make you one for cost. It’s well worth it trust me. Lol

Here’s my AK47 field knife and my Warcraft tanto plus the sheaths I made for them.
4E322923-7256-442C-B23E-13470FE9E7A5.jpeg
3E7E17D9-81DB-45D7-BB4C-25FD8814366C.jpeg


Also shop around for the knives on Amazon or KnifeCenter
I found the 5.5 inch Warcraft tanto for 141.00 and it ships free for CPM 3V steel that’s a freaken bargain.
 
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I am not a knife person but I do have a cold steel spike it has extreme penetration and supposedly will go thru a bullet proof vest,

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and a knife most people don't even think about ,a simple Box Knife,replacement blades are easily found changing them is easy and quick,,,,nothing will slash like a new razor blade,I prefer the folding type

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I have a vast collection of many different types of knives from different makers.

I have everything from flea market cheap knives up to very expensive ones made by SOG, Cold Steel, Kershaw, Buck, and so on.

Oddly enough, I tend to carry a SCUBA dive knife. Mine has a 6 inch blade, is semi-serrated, and has a non-conductive, non-reactive plastic grip.

Just because this is my ideal knife . . . it doesn't follow that you should imitate my example.

I carry a dive knife because I live in Florida, where it's humid, salt air, and lots of estuaries. I throw my dive knife into the pack when I go kayaking, hiking, or camping.

My knife doesn't rust in the way that another field knife might. After SHTF, I expect to get lots of food from the water. We have taro (a starchy semi-aquatic plant used to make poi), edible seaweeds, cattail, shellfish, and so on. A dive knife seems appropriate for my situation when it comes to harvesting these foods.

Also--because it's a dive knife--it holds up better when dealing with chemicals, gasoline, motor oil, corrosive acids, transmission fluid, and so forth. Exposure to these substances hasn't hurt my dive knife, but I suspect that a regular field knife might get damaged or destroyed . . . especially if it has a wood or leather grip.

Lastly, the plastic grip is good insulation from electricity if I'm using it an urban environment and am concerned about power lines.


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This is my exact knife, but the image is from the Internet, as I have problems using my phone camera.

The blade is 6 inches long, and this knife is compatable with several different kinds of ballistic nylon and/or leather sheaths designed for other knives.

I got mine new about 25 years ago when I became certified in SCUBA, and it's still going strong . . . although I've had to replace the leg straps. It's a subjective thing, but I like the balance and "feel" of the knife. I keep it clean, and occasionally use silicone spray on the blade.

Not bad for a blade that sells for $20.00 to $30.00 on ebay.

That's my take on an ideal knife, but that doesn't mean that you should follow my example. My environment and lifestyle is probably quite different than yours.

Also, try to communicate with Roninsensei. I consider myself fairly knowledgible about knives, but he's a specialist who can be considered an actual scholar on knifes, metalurgy, retention systems, and so on. I know enough about metalurgy (my grandfather was an engineer and a physicist in a nuclear power plant for Kerr-MaGee, and my great-grandfather was a college professor in mechanical engineering . . . and both of these men were avid hunters, fisherman, and outdoors people. They--along with my mother, who always carried multiple blades--introduced me to the virtues and pitfalls of different knives) and edged weapons to be able to spot a bullshit artist when it comes to blades . . . and Roninsensei does not trip any of my bullshit alarms. So, I tend to believe that he's the real thing. He is on this forum, so try to see if you can explore your questions, concerns, and ideas with him. Just be curteous and reasonably polite . . . and don't try to bullshit him.

Also, look into a Swedish author named Martina Sprague. She is a martial artist who happens to be an expert on bladecraft, so check out her books on knife fighting.

I sent her feedback via email, and she was very curteous and responded to my points in an intelligent and informed manner

She is refreshing, as she gives an interesting European take on prepping. Her point of view is quite different from the average American prepper, but her ideas seem very valid and worthy of our study and consideration.
 
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Dive knives are typically crappy stainless steel because of the amount of chromium in them. Excess chromium bonds with carbon to form carbide particles, which takes carbon out of solution.

There are some high end stainless steels like S110V that have cobalt, molybdenum, and niobium with excellent corrosion resistance, but they are extremely expensive, hard to find, and have to be sharpened on diamond stones.

There is a new alternative however - nitrogen alloyed steel. Nitrogen additions do not take carbon out of solution and enhance hardness and corrosion resistance. So you can get both hardness and good corrosion resistance with these steels.

Here is an article that discusses the technical aspects and lists some Nitrogen alloyed steels:
https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/17/nitrogen-alloyed-knife-steels/
 
Dive knives are typically crappy stainless steel because of the amount of chromium in them. Excess chromium bonds with carbon to form carbide particles, which takes carbon out of solution.

There are some high end stainless steels like S110V that have cobalt, molybdenum, and niobium with excellent corrosion resistance, but they are extremely expensive, hard to find, and have to be sharpened on diamond stones.

There is a new alternative however - nitrogen alloyed steel. Nitrogen additions do not take carbon out of solution and enhance hardness and corrosion resistance. So you can get both hardness and good corrosion resistance with these steels.

Here is an article that discusses the technical aspects and lists some Nitrogen alloyed steels:
https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/17/nitrogen-alloyed-knife-steels/
Thank you.

My fantasy knife would be a simple ka-bar with hi-tech, unreactive polymer grip.

The steel would be the nitrogen-tempered alloy that you've described with, perhaps, a Cerakoted blade in a flat, unreflective black.

People dismiss the ka-bar design, so I guess I'm shallow that way. I believe the ka-bar would work with some Fillipino martial art techniques. I also think that many tantojutsu techniques would work, and I know that this blade would work with my personal favorite style that has no real name, but I call "ghetto carver."

Blades are used in a certian way in the poorer quarters of town. I had a lot of business there as a paramedic, and I saw certian consistancies.

Blades were often tiny. An experienced woman posing as, say, a prostitute might lean over to kiss the mark's neck . . . and slice the carotid artery and jugular vein on that side with a razor blade concealed in the mouth.

If you doubt this, then I ask you to consider those yogi East Indians who can push nails and razors through their cheeks . . . and then tell me what the human body can and can't do when one applys oneself and remains goal-focused . . . or, perhaps, quite enraged and vengeful.
 
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2 inches is the maximum concealable length in California. Any fixed blade over 2 inches must be clearly visible on the outside of the body. So 5 will have to be visible. I still carry mine semi visible scout style.

If your looking at 5 inches this is hands down the best fighting Tanto I’ve ever had the pleasure of using.
View attachment 9897
This is the War Craft Tanto. It’s 3V steel and is stupid comfortable in your hand. I own the 7 inch model and it’s so perfectly balanced it’s fast as all hell.
Next in the 5 inch range you’re looking at The AK47 field knife another 3V blade that is a fighter and a survival knife. It can do it all.
View attachment 9898
Both are cold steel and made to last. The only thing I’d say needs to happen is to have a custom Kydex sheath made and have it in the scout carry position. And since your close I’ll volunteer to make the sheath for you.

The sheaths they come with are good, I’m just not a fan of glass injected nylon it tends to un sharpen your blade. Cold steel has a great warranty, I’ve never had a problem with getting things replaced if broke. However I make kydex sheaths and I can make you one for cost. It’s well worth it trust me. Lol

Here’s my AK47 field knife and my Warcraft tanto plus the sheaths I made for them.View attachment 9900 View attachment 9901

Also shop around for the knives on Amazon or KnifeCenter
I found the 5.5 inch Warcraft tanto for 141.00 and it ships free for CPM 3V steel that’s a freaken bargain.

Nice looking Kydex sheaths! I do appreciate the offer! Do you make any for handguns?
I do like both the Warcraft and the AK-47. However, they are sure not in my budget at this time. I am sure you get what you pay for. I have seen some videos regarding the SRK (SK-5), Recon Tanto (SK-5) and the Kobun. Of course I have also been looking at a Karambit.

I do have a diving knife and the first "survival" knife I bought in the early-mid 1980's too embarrassing to post a picture of them on here :D.
 

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