I hadn't really considered the 311, but the Mora Bushcraft (specifically, the high-carbon steel version) is one I keep coming back to. It's got a rat-tail tang, which is slightly less than the Condor, but it has a better scandi grind than the Condor (a lot of folks complain about the Condor's grind), and the High Carbon Steel version is really beefy with fairly good edge retention, so despite not having a pommel, I think it will handle anything else I can throw at it.
I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a Becker BK16 for myself today, and a couple of Cold Steel Spikes just to see how they handle - I'm pretty sure I'll end up selling them if I don't like them or if they just don't work for my two boys.
A few other budget knives on the list are the Kershaw Diskin Hunter and the Bad Blood Partisan Nano (also the Boker Magnum Sierra Foxtrott II).
I want to pick up one of these. Had one at the store but waited to long and someone else bought it.
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You know, I've never really given SOG a chance since I had a bad experience with one way, way back before I really got into knives (and read some pretty harsh reviews back in the day). I started poking around and it looks like they've gotten away from some of their mystery blade-steels, and seem to have toned down (and branched out away from) the tacti-cool stuff.
They appear to have a few pretty decent non-mall-ninja fixed-blades out there (they do appear to still be very proud of some of their fixed-blades though). I may have to give them a try now - thanks for the suggestion.
I keep a SOG team leader in the truck. Wish they made a Kydex sheath for it I would like to mount it on my chest rig.
After your knife is finished and you see how well you like the tech lock we might fix the sog up also.
BK16 came in (along with the two Cold Steel Spikes - one in clip-point and one in drop-point).
The BK16 looks to be the perfect fit for what I was looking for. I'll have to get out and run it through the tests (got a camping trip scheduled where we're going to practice some bush-craft basics).
The Cold Steel Spikes are... I'm not sure yet... They look like way overbuilt neck knives, but I'm not sure how comfortable they will be in the hand for hard use. I bought them assuming they were a bit smaller than standard fixed-blades in that length so that my two sons would have a good sized knife for them, but these might be too small for that. I can see these as being excellent neck/self-defense knives (they're a lot of knife for a neck knife, but still very compact), but there's probably some serious hot-spots in the handles for doing something like feathering a stick or whacking tree-limbs and sticks for a shelter.
I may be letting these go pretty soon if I decide to go another route for my two sons.
So far the Becker has been an impressive looking/feeling knife. It's already well more comfortable than my ESEE-3 and has more cutting-edge in the blade than the ESEE-4 (no choil). It came impressively sharp (I probably won't even re-profile/sharpen before using), and has quite a bit more belly in the blade than even the online pics/videos make it out to have. I love the Zytel scales (size/texture), and the handle-shape is just overall perfect for my hand - the screw-holes appear to be the only hot-spots so far, but real use will flesh some of those little things out (and Duck Tape fixes a lot of those types of issues).
Sheath is a very nice Nylon tactical-type, which is ok, but I'd rather have Kydex.
The BK16 looks to be the perfect fit for what I was looking for. I'll have to get out and run it through the tests (got a camping trip scheduled where we're going to practice some bush-craft basics).
The Cold Steel Spikes are... I'm not sure yet... They look like way overbuilt neck knives, but I'm not sure how comfortable they will be in the hand for hard use. I bought them assuming they were a bit smaller than standard fixed-blades in that length so that my two sons would have a good sized knife for them, but these might be too small for that. I can see these as being excellent neck/self-defense knives (they're a lot of knife for a neck knife, but still very compact), but there's probably some serious hot-spots in the handles for doing something like feathering a stick or whacking tree-limbs and sticks for a shelter.
I may be letting these go pretty soon if I decide to go another route for my two sons.
So far the Becker has been an impressive looking/feeling knife. It's already well more comfortable than my ESEE-3 and has more cutting-edge in the blade than the ESEE-4 (no choil). It came impressively sharp (I probably won't even re-profile/sharpen before using), and has quite a bit more belly in the blade than even the online pics/videos make it out to have. I love the Zytel scales (size/texture), and the handle-shape is just overall perfect for my hand - the screw-holes appear to be the only hot-spots so far, but real use will flesh some of those little things out (and Duck Tape fixes a lot of those types of issues).
Sheath is a very nice Nylon tactical-type, which is ok, but I'd rather have Kydex.
Are you going to strip the black coating off?. I recommend letting it soak in some paint thinner for 20 or 30, if the coating is difficult to remove let it sit in the open air for a bit. The coating will eventually get kinda rubbery and you'll be able to peel it like a banana. The metal will have a fairly nice bluish patina.
I'm going to work it first and see how bad the friction is (that's the #1 complaint I've read). Worst case, I can take a stone to the flat-ground side and smooth the lumps out a bit while still having the coating). I really don't want to strip it all off because of the bolt-on scales (I've had a stripped high-carbon fixed blade develop a bit of rust under the scales because I got it wet so I'd rather have the coating at least back there).
I've got to be honest, I wasn't too impressed with Queen's fixed blades for the longest time (I thought they were mostly false or stick tang fixed blade skinners), but I just started looking at that fixed blade hunter with Oak handles (for under $50) and I really like everything about it other than the leather sheath and non-stabilized oak handles but for the price (and getting D2 Tool Steel), I might have to look past that.
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