KnifeCenter FAQ #83: Dad Knives & Desert Island Knives - Also, Knives for Woodchucks

Hello everyone, here comes David C. Andersen from KnifeCenter with KniFAQ number 83. The knife series where I answer all your questions, whether sharp or dull. And this week, with Father's Day a week away, it's time for us to take a look at some questions about our beloved fathers. Let's take a look (KniFAQ) Alright, welcome. As I told KniFAQs, the knife series where people like you leave your questions in the comments section below, and we go through and pull some out to answer in future episodes. So if you want a chance to have your question featured, do so, leave it in the comments below.

And we'll go over the first question today that comes from Mitchell Baker. Hello KnifeCenter Team, I'm looking for a hard working quote for my dad's 60's garden fixed blade. He lives in the forest and is always playing in the garden. He was thinking of something with a handmade style, even if it is mass produced, but can still be beaten on something around $350, please and thank you. Sure thing. Now, one thing I will point out that you didn't quite mention is the specific uses he can have on specific tasks, beyond just wasting time. So, at least for me, I'll usually have a folder with me.

And if I'm playing in the garden, I'll usually use a bigger knife and maybe a machete, maybe a chopper. So the first thing I'm going to show you is going to be in that sense. But thanks for choosing a really healthy budget to work with here because there are a lot of interesting things in that price range and this type of genre and price is in an area of ​​use and price that we don't look at often. So it's a good excuse to see some interesting things. So the first thing I'm going to show you is a bigger, cooler knife made by Fox.

This is the MB, maybe with a pretty boring name, but a pretty good knife is around $280. ​​So even below that 350 To that, in a way, maybe you can think of this as a kind of drop point buoy knife for the outdoors. I'd be stretching that a bit. But this is a knife with a seven and a quarter inch niolox steel blade. And just a very useful way. It's

also

quite thick. I mean, we're charging almost a quarter of an inch, what are we dealing with here, point two inches? Yes, a lot of strength right there. Not too heavy though.

Yes, you will be able to cut with this, but it balances out quite well. I mean, the balance point is right in front of where your index finger is. So it's not too forward heavy. You can't use it for some smaller needs if you need it too. Handles, this is where it gets really cool. We have some black burlap micarta and a couple of flared tubes for the attachment and I wanted to stick with something that could possibly be a handmade knife, even though this is a production knife, I didn't want to have any type of bolts. scales here that don't seem handmade to me.

They look great, feel very comfortable in the hand and in the case. She has a lot of shields here because if you noticed, there are a lot of fixed blades on the table, which makes me a happy kid. And she is wise: we have a very well made leather holster retention strap, the edges of which are all smoothed and very well made. Now, if something as big as this isn't exactly what you're thinking of, maybe you want an easier to carry belt knife or you have some options here as well. Some other very nice pieces first from White River, and I kind of leaned towards more hunting style

knives

for these smaller belt

knives

.

This is the classic Sendero designed by Jerry Fiske, this one comes in around 325 and is a little slimmer here. 4.5 inches of s 35 vn. It's maybe not an eighth of an inch thick judging by my eyeballs, so it has a nice distal taper and gets narrower toward the tip. This is a little more about precision, maybe a little less hitting like you mentioned, but still a very impressive and impressively built knife for S35VN. As I mentioned, burlap micarta handle with a hidden tang and finger guard are out. I think it's stainless steel. I don't think it's nickel.

It may be nickel, although I'm not sure. Fantastic at all things hunting, food prep blade, maybe a little too. And so cool. I can never show you enough white rivers, which is a shame because they always seem to be running out of stock, so I can't always

also

show you a leather case with just a classic folded loop for the clasp. Here we go. Definitely a worthy piece and one that could also be a type of traditional knife. The other option is also a kind of hunting knife that reaches about 360 and this is definitely something that you can overcome with the Winkler, Blue Ridge Hunter knives.

Very cool. Four and a quarter inch 80CRV blade, two very strong forged carbon steel and such a cool shape. Generally, here we have a blackened Caswell type of finish to maintain the shine under the wooden handles with a tribal inlay. I think they call this the tree inlaid with tribal patterns, black pins and black cord to melt and stay hidden. This is like the toughest version of an old school commercial knife you can get these days, it almost feels like it was made over hot coals in a campfire, super tough and with a lot of character.

And super strong feels great too. And I'm not sure what percentage of this knife is made by hand compared to other methods. But there's certainly a lot more handcrafted detail on this one than the full production knives we just looked at. And even that is noticeable by some slight imperfections, slight irregularities that give it a little more character. And just make it feel amazing. The other interesting thing that might be good about this knife for your dad in particular, as I sort through the sheaves next to me, again, is that sheath. It's very interesting to look for a leather holster, it almost clicks, it's not kydex, it's just very well formed.

And on the back we have a pleat with two Jay hooks here. Therefore, it might be easier to put on and take off the belt without having to take it off. If you are going out to play in the garden for a while, you can put it on the belt that comes in, take it off and that's it. Look at them. I think those three will be pretty good options. And hell, I have a couple more here because I'm a fan of fixed swords and I kept drawing more, but I didn't want to overload the table, but you'll still get extra picks, real quick, Fallkniven.

J o sorry SK, really cool Jarl knife, $350, curly birch handle, convex geometry. Put that here and another convex knife, the classic blackjack model 125. Great, it's $300 or $295 for this one here with micarta handles and cap and convex bolster with sharpening here too. A two of steel. Super cool. Now for some of you who may not have the budget for this $350 round thing, but still want an outdoor knife that feels special and has handmade vibes, even if it is mass produced. Something here that's definitely worth a look is this $85 CRKT Knife Larry Fisher Fish Hunting Knife. And this has features you typically only see on more sophisticated, handcrafted knives.

I mean the vibes of this are a custom knife. We have a three-inch blade, 8CR series stainless steel, but that's the last spec I'm going to mention that doesn't look custom. Check out the rest: We have G 10 handles with three mosaic pins. Very cool. We have two sections of jumps and fireworks here on the spine. Very cool. And speaking of the spine, we even have that tapered Tang in this price range. I'm not sure if another tapered tang set the blade to the production level that you're going to see now, with a tapered tang like that, very, very cool.

It is comfortable in the hand, the shape is perfect. It's not as big as some of these other beaters we just looked at for sure. But it's a solid companion knife, perfect small size for a hunter or just that pocket knife replacement if you don't want something to bend and then the sheath on this knife is really great. Check that the leather is tooled and not just on one side or all the way around and on the belt loop that is configured for horizontal carry. You'll probably want to carry this in a cross draw configuration. Tell me that doesn't seem much more sophisticated than any $85 you can spend right now on anything else.

It truly is something we can treasure for many, many years to come. Very cool. However, once again, I don't know what your dad is doing. They are there in the yard, playing. In any case, it is not certain that he will be fun to play with. I hope that helps. Next question She comes from Grease Pipe DCA. I'm looking for a new knife to give to my dad. He doesn't know much about knives and tends to misuse them. Therefore, the message received must be harsh. He also really likes the variations on his current bearing. So something with the option of partial solutions would be great.

And I'm not really sure if you care much about length, but something in the three to three and a half inch range would be ideal. And $150 is my budget right now, but I'd be willing to go a little overboard, I'll keep it within that $150. For something with partial durations in that price range made in the USA, there really isn't much. So I'm going to go with one of the good options out there, the Benchmade Barrage 148 50. Right now, 2.91 inches on the blades, plus, give or take three inches, 154cm steel brand, excellent point blade of fall in all aspects.

Flat grinding shape and partial serrations. And although it is smaller, I think this knife is quite sturdy, the AXIS Lock has a sturdy lock and the handle is not very thin. It's got enough girth there. Even if your hands are a little larger than average, like mine, you can still fit all four fingers on that handle and a nice solid grip thanks to its shape and thickness. Very cool knife. Ambidextrous Of course, thanks to that AXIS Lock and the reversible clip and the additional safety mounted on the spine because, after all, this is an assisted opening knife.

Which for someone like your father, who let me get to the verbiage, right? He says that he doesn't know much about knives. Many enthusiasts today tend to avoid assists in general. But they still hurt and they have a certain mystique to them because, let's say, people who don't use knives are like, oh, it's almost like a switchblade. And of course it is still a reliable knife. It doesn't matter how you cut it. I don't think I've ever made that joke before. I'm sure it is. Well, it's a Father's Day episode. So dad jokes are a legal requirement, you can do it.

Now. If I do that, I end up on a watch list. You are already on several watch lists. I think my friend. What's one more? That's why I don't appear in the video. There is the secret, the secret has been revealed. So that's a really cool option. If you want something bigger, you might be thinking it's not there. I have an option here for you. It won't be done by us though, but I think there was an almost criminally underrated knife thrown at this time this year. So maybe it's still gaining traction, but the steel war robot is cool.

The regular price is just over $100. Right now we have this on sale for around 80 for a limited period of time, at least in D2 steel, three and a half inches and a little bit thick. So this may be a knife that can take a little beating, maybe deal with a little indiscriminate use. GFN handles, glass breaker on the end, deep carry clip, which is reversible, nice metal and I think it's steel, not sure, but there is a metal spacer for added rigidity. And another good thing for people who don't use knives, especially people who have knives, they will have this type of knives and people will love it too.

But we have brass washers on the pivot instead of ball bearings. So for someone who may not realize that ball bearings may need a little extra care to stay clean, you don't have to worry about that here. And yet it still spins like a delight. Solid and resistant tactical knife. Some people might say, "Oh, it's a linear lock, it can't be difficult to use." I don't necessarily believe that argument. It is a well-made lock that can certainly withstand heavy use. This feels super solid. You can drown a little if you want. You can also get it in a plain Edge for people who might not be interested in the combined Edge version.

But definitely check out this knife. It's one of those things that the pictures may not fully communicate what's going on. But as soon as you hold it in your hands, it is a definitely impressive knife. Alright, next question comes from Hoggzy. Hi DCA, I've been thinking about buying a reliable knife to give my dad for Father's Day. Perfect time. I'm looking for a real workhorse that is great for use in a humid outdoor environment but isStylish enough to use in the kitchen. Ideally, it should cost less than $80. Any suggestion? Well, this one, because you mentioned the word elegance, was actually quite difficult to get right and I'm not really sure.

I managed to get to the outdoor kitchen and chic to get, shall we say, outdoor kitchen and elegance. I'm going to say three, three things. I'm not sure I got them all right enough. I think you've got a decent set of picks here, but that's where I'll call out our friends in the comments section. More suggestions, so keep that in mind. You didn't mention a fixed sheet or folder. So I'm going to give you both for a fixed sheet or sorry for a folder. I'm going to go with the Spyderco resistance. It's definitely a hard working knife like yours, but it's well made for $66 for this one here.

For the humid outdoor environment, I would personally choose the lightweight version that comes with injection molded scales with additional texture. But I chose the G 10. Here to lean towards a little more, a little more elegance. Your GFN alone isn't necessarily sleek per se, but it's certainly sleeker than plastic. That's why we chose the G 10 here. 66 bucks for this, a few bucks less for the FRN version, four position pocket clip and the blade right here, four and a quarter inches of eight inch CR stainless steel, completely flat ground. I haven't used one of these personally in the kitchen, but I have used this knife's tenacious younger brother.

And the blade is wonderful for cutting things like potatoes and onions. Any one is like a kitchen knife that grinds in some way when you look at this blade, and that will certainly translate well. With this larger size. It doesn't have a sort of drop on the edge like chopping cuts, but it does have a good blade angle combined with this belly which allows you to use a lot of cutting edge when working on a cutting board, which is quite nice. And the kind of clean black with shiny stainless steel accents throughout certainly has a bit of Enos class, if not outright elegance.

But I think this would be a very good option in its price range. Moving on to the fixed sheet. Because I'm a fan of fixed swords. I have more fixed blade options here. My top pick for this kind of price range for an outdoor knife that will also work well in the kitchen. I really like things like Revo's journey and RJ's. It costs like 87.50, so it's a little more expensive. But this does not achieve elegance. Screw-in scales never say elegant to me. But it has a great shape at just under four inches across the blade, fantastic geometry for cookware, and a good orientation or relationship to the handle so you can take full advantage of its edge on a surface like a cutting board.

Very cool. Another slightly more expensive knife above its price range. For about $93, I think the Montenero Joker is a fantastic outdoor knife that could translate well to the kitchen with its 4.3-inch blade and grippy Sandvik 14 C 28 N stainless steel micarta handles. Personally, I think there's a bit of Enos class in this. It's not very elegant, but I think it has good vibes. Again a little beyond their price range for what I was looking for. I think it's still a good choice. But keeping it right where we want to be. I'm going to show this knife, the G 10 handle and contoured handle version of this Civivi Elementum fixed blade, regular price around 85.

But right now Civivi is doing a Father's Day sale that should be working. I'm not sure how far it goes, we'll try to put the dates in Thomas' corner if we can, but they are doing a Father's Day sale on a lot of things. And this knife right now is about $75. And I think this one nails the fancy factor, it's 10 g. But it's contoured and polished to a nice finish that works great with the red liners and red edges on those fancy ones. pins. there. And it feels great in the hand, although the blade is perhaps a little less optimized for kitchen use.

This is about a four inch long drop point in 10 car stainless steel, solid material and kind of a jack of all trades Master of None blade shape on a fixed blade like this. That's how I've always considered this knife. Not exactly a hunter, nor really a Bushcrafter. But it will do both in a pinch, it will do camping stuff, well it will do some food prep stuff well, although with the hollow grind there again, it's not ideal for that specifically, yo. I'm going to do everything very well and I definitely think I'll nail the classy factor.

And then this cover. The case was wrapped in plastic. So I left it in the box, but it's a nice, classic black leather bag. I think it's going to work very well. But again, I'm not 100% satisfied with any of these answers I've posted here for you. So the comments section chimes in. Let me know your opinion. You can keep the price range in mind, but we'll definitely also accept suggestions outside the price range just for fun. But I hope this helps. The next question comes from G Tiv. Reserve six... GTI VR six, we'll go with that.

DCA with Father's Day approaching, my dad is not a complete knife-wielder, not like my son, but he has carried pocket knives from time to time. He mainly uses a folding knife and I want to get him something to replace it, preferably made in the USA. I've been looking at the Spyderco Delica wharncliffe, which of course is Japanese made, but I'm wondering what else I might be looking at in the same style and range of price. Thank you. So here you have your Delica Wharncliffe, a fantastic utility shaver. Generally today it costs around $88. And for a knife made in the USA with the right kind of blade shape and enough handle to get a good grip, at least in the way I'm envisioning it as a sort of utility knife replacement.

I really can't find anything in that price range. So here we will give you two options. I'll give you an option made in the USA and then another option within your price range. Made for USA. I have to go for the hoegh Delica with the modified Wharncliffe blade. Hogue is also doing a Father's Day promotion where a lot of their stuff is on sale including this Deka Exclusive KnifeCenter which is available right now for about 138. Regular price is about 157. So if you act quickly , you can get a pretty decent discount. on this knife. Really great blade shape, 20hp American made steel, tons of edge retention, stonewashed finish which is pretty nice.

And the red G mascus G 10 scales. And the crossbar lock, hug Abel, it's super smooth, super fidget, super strong, works easily with either hand, just a solid, solid carrying piece right here, and it has the right type of blade that could possibly take the place of a utility knife, you have that tip to work with that ruler at the bottom, it will be great for cutting and scraping tasks, so, for a cheaper option, I'm actually going to go with for a much more affordable option than Your $88. In fact, you could almost get three of these knives, maybe get a matching one for you and your dad.

This is the Penguin QSP $32.66. Right now for this two-leaf D sheepsfoot folder. On this one you can also gilt the micarta handles. lock washers on the pivot again, something that's really good for people who don't use knives, especially the same goes for hoping there aren't ball bearings on that pivot. This guy still opens up really well. So, knife nuts, you definitely appreciate this knife, we have a deep pocket clip, which of course is reversible. And the same great style of utility replacement shape works great, aggressive cuts through boxes, using that tip to cut out shapes that go through things. super solid.

And in the price range. I mean we're talking like I said 32 bucks for this right now, the fit and finish isn't much better than QSP. What they are doing really dwarfs the prices, you are going to pay for them. It may be cheap, but give it to your father. And you won't think that it is an economical and really well-made product. Alright, now we get to today's lightning round. And Josh H says: If you had to choose one knife to use when stuck on an

island

, what would it be? So, assuming I'm assuming you're talking about a

desert

island

, or a tropical island, and instead of going in like the

desert

island knife, what's the sentimental thing that I would have to have with me?

You have to survive here. And although I have mostly academic knowledge about many different survival things, and I have practiced some of those things in the bush, or also in the forest, I never had to survive. But if necessary, I would choose a 12-inch machete for that type of environment and many others because a 12-inch machete is probably one of the most complete tools you can choose as a survival option. If you don't, especially if you don't know where you might end up with something. This covers a lot of bases and I want to show one here that doesn't always get as much love.

This is the Kiwi machete sport with 12 inch carbon steel blade. And the reason I think it's sometimes overlooked is because it's not cheap. It costs like $73 and you get a polypropylene handle. But it is quite comfortable, but the blade is quite special. It is carbon steel, hand-ground and differentially heat-treated. So you have a softer spine and a harder edge. So you have a feature that you don't see very often in machetes, especially in this price range. See anything in this price range I should say. You get a pretty sharp convex polish out of the box, a little rough on the edges, maybe fit and finish better, always with a sporty vibe.

But it feels super good. He hits very well and deserves a little more love. The case is great too. It's leather on the outside, it has a kind of webbing almost like a canvas hose on the inside. But it holds the 12-inch machete pretty well, I don't remember who it was who communicated to me the idea that the 12-inch machete was one of the best survival tools of all time. But I really took it seriously, it really makes a lot of sense. So here we go. Next, Kevin says, I wonder why knife makers don't make ferrocerium.

Handels seems like a good idea. Therefore, he will always have extra capacity on hand to make a fire with ferro rods. I can think of many ways that would be problematic. It's a good idea at first, but that would complicate any kind of complex shapes. If you put ferrocerium under a CNC router and that thing fell, you'd be sending sparks all over the factory floor. I'd like to say Oh, I'd like that too, but I wouldn't like that to be bad. And also like you have a nice, comfortable knife and then you scrape off the pieces to start a fire.

I like it, but there are many easier ways to make sure you have some fire-making materials. If I'm doing things, I guess you didn't have a good answer. But it was I don't know. I don't know why put that one here this time, I'd sooner see a Zippo in a handle. You have small ferro rod inserts. Perhaps flat scales could be made with ferrocerium. But anything that has any kind of shape. As if this is so problematic. If you imagined that you would drop it on the wrong surface and suddenly sparks come out when you drop the knife.

Oh, do you know where it landed? Maybe. Okay, now Chris says, Hey, I'd love to see that cut and Tina machete with them. And then the micarta you were talking about? Well. I'll show you. Because all my knives are now packed here in the office. I had access to this, it refers to a machete that I made or that I put my homemade quote in quotes Denon micarta on and this is it. You can also see my first attempt at a kydex holster here. And here we are going beyond the light, the rays here are a little slow, but that's okay.

Look at the manual work. There. This was many, many years ago, and I'm certainly much better off now that Dremel took it and ran with it. But anyway, it still works, which is all we need. This is a trap and the Tina machete originally had wooden handles, I broke off the wooden handles because I don't even remember exactly why. So I had to make something new and I used an old pair of blue jeans and fiberglass resin to make quote unquote micarta, which of course is a brand name, so it's not actually micarta that came out.

Well, honestly, surprisingly decent. You can see the outline here and I did all this modeling. In my room in the apartment I was living in at the time there was a Dremel which I wouldn't recommend, it's very good for your lungs. I did some stupid things when I was younger. But if that's one of the dumbest things I've ever done, and actually I'm probably fine, then there are a lot of people out there. Things are still working very well. And I have taken advantage of it a lot. As you can see, the good thing about this is that it is one of those toolsindiscriminate, I take care of it, but I don't have to keep it impeccable.

You can see it's been quite sharp, you can see it was the original edge here it goes on, and it's come a little bit because I've used it quite a bit, it's still very comfortable in the hand, maybe a little too round, it might move a little in your hand, it may not hold straight up and down as effectively as if you were redoing the handle today. This is one of the fun things. I tried attaching each side with Chicago screws on each side, which isn't really a proper piece of hardware to hold the handle in in the first place.

And they also had a hard time getting them to connect, so there wasn't much of a connection between the Chicago through screws and the epoxy I used. It has been stable enough and I filled the holes with JB solder. There you go. Thoughts, ladies and gentlemen. It certainly doesn't look like much, but it works. Hey, it's the Millennium Falcon. It doesn't look like much, but it has it where it counts and it still works like a charm. So yes. A little better than a millennium falcon. I think it broke down all the time. Also, this is real.

It is? Maybe? Well, now we come to our most serious question of the day, which comes from Dean: seeing if a groundhog could shed firewood. What knife would you use to pull wood into the wood chuck? Well, I would say that if a groundhog could throw wood, then it would throw as much wood as a groundhog could throw using a box WoodChuck. I don't have one in front of me, we have an image. that is the answer. And did you really think we could get through a Father's Day episode of KniFAQs without a knife? We do not do it.

A good one. Anyway, that's all we have for today, folks. Thanks for your questions, as always, keep them in the comments section. And maybe you'll see it in a future episode. If you would like to purchase one of these knives for yourself or your dad, there will be links in the description that will take you to KnifeCenter.com and as always, don't forget about our knife rewards program. Because when you buy one of these knives, you might also earn some free money to spend on your next one. I'm David C. Andersen from KnifeCenter. That's Thomas behind the camera.

We are saying goodbye. See you next time.