Suggestions

[Hillbilly]

I'm looking for a new fixed blade. I'd like the upper limit to be about $150 or less. I'd like it to have a 5" or 6" blade. This would be a heavy use general purpose knife. Some of the ones I've looked at are ESEE, Ontario and Rat. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm all ears!

Thanks

 

[bobbystoney]

Go with ESEE, that's what everybody is going to say and it's true.

 

[Sticky]

Mora. Low price and high quality, Swedish steel. Stainless or carbon models. One outlet: Ragnar's Swedish Knife Catalog

 

[sadclownwp]

Get an Ontario, all of the goodness, at half the price of those overly expensive ESEE's

 

[Bradsknives]

Get an Ontario, all of the goodness, at half the price of those overly expensive ESEE's

There is a reason that Ontario knives are half the price. (Actually the last time I checked they were more than half the price) Ontario knives are not close to the quality of ESEE knives.

1. The heat treating process that ESEE uses is far superior than what Ontario uses. ESEE uses a differential heat treating proces that allows them to control the hardness rating in different sections of the blade, thus giving you a slightly harder rating (Rockwell scale) at the edge for edge retention and a little softer rating at the spine for flexibility. The overall average hardness rating on ESEE knives is 57-58RC.

2. ESEE's warranty is the best in the business...a no questions asked life time warranty. Ontario does not have this kind of warranty and in the knife world, Ontario's customer service has a poor reputation at best.


3. The reason Jeff Randall (Owner of ESEE) did not renew his contract with Ontario is because of quality control problems that Ontario was having with his RAT designed knives.

Bottom line is, you usually get what you pay for.

 

[cubby]

There is a reason that Ontario knives are half the price. (Actually the last time I checked they were more than half the price) Ontario knives are not close to the quality of ESEE knives.

1. The heat treating process that ESEE uses is far superior than what Ontario uses. ESEE uses a differential heat treating proces that allows them to control the hardness rating in different sections of the blade, thus giving you a slightly harder rating (Rockwell scale) at the edge for edge retention and a little softer rating at the spine for flexibility. The overall average hardness rating on ESEE knives is 57-58RC.

2. ESEE's warranty is the best in the business...a no questions asked life time warranty. Ontario does not have this kind of warranty and in the knife world, Ontario's customer service has a poor reputation at best.


3. The reason Jeff Randall (Owner of ESEE) did not renew his contract with Ontario is because of quality control problems that Ontario was having with his RAT designed knives.

Bottom line is, you usually get what you pay for.

perfect example of the "looks the same" arguement that runs rampant in less experienced knife buyers. you put them side by side, they mostly look the same. but you start looking harder at them, and you begin to see WHY some are better than others.

the warranty issue alone, in this case, should tell most people anything they need to know. can you imagine walking onto a new car lot, and the dealer tells you "this car doesn't come with any sort of warranty."... um.... why not?

the above is not anything againest sadclown. apologizes if any of the above offends you, sir. it is not intended to.

 

[grunt soldier]

Get an Ontario, all of the goodness, at half the price of those overly expensive ESEE's

please whatever you do ignore the post quoted. its absolutely not true in the least. ontario knives are ok for the money but they aren't even in the same league as esee.

esee is a very solid choice and you can't beat the warranty. say one day your walking along and see a car on fire with a hot chick in it and you need to pry her out of a vehicle because it's on fire. you break out your esee 5 and pry the damn door open. some how in the process your knife got way to hot by the flames and ends up snapping in half (i don't honestly think you could break a esee 5 lol but still for story purposes) once you finish saving the damsel in distress, get the kiss from the hottie and her phone number. head home call esee and ship your knife back. a week or 2 later you have a brand new knife no questions asked.

same scenario with a ontario. except the on this one the knife breaks and the girl ends up with the firefighter who had a esee. you get home and call ontario knives and guess what no one even answers the phone. finally a couple days later you get a hold of someone and you tell them your knife broke and explain the story. the guy on the other end then laughs and says thats not covered and hangs up on you now no knife, no girl, no kiss and all because you thought you could save a couple dollars blah

definitely hit up knife lady and go that route. her and brad are about as good of folks as you can hope to meet period.

also on a side note check out tops knives, scrap yard, swamp rat, busse, ect and decide what works best for you

 

[TopDog]

I cant add much to what has already been said but I can tell you that I owned (and still do) one Ontario knife, had it years. Bought my first ESEE from Knife Lady about year and half ago, now I own 3 ESEE's. Got all 3 ESEE from her. As far as ESEE goes they are more expensive but so much better quality in the end you get more for your money with ESEE.

ESEE are my first choice for fix blades but Top's and Fallkniven also have good offerings in around the same price range. I know Knife Lady carries both ESEE and Tops. Brad and Knife Lady are first class to deal with the only time I buy from other sources is when its something they don't carry or cant get. Before you buy give them a PM and see if they carry it, if not they still may be able to get it for you.

 

[sadclownwp]

I have yet to come across anything that my buddies esee's can do that I have not done with my Ontario's.

 

[TopDog]

Here is a good discussion on Ontario vs ESEE from survivalistboards

Ontario RAT 3 versus ESEE RC 3 - Survivalist Forum

 

[GREEN607]

please whatever you do ignore the post quoted. its absolutely not true in the least. ontario knives are ok for the money but they aren't even in the same league as esee.

esee is a very solid choice and you can't beat the warranty. say one day your walking along and see a car on fire with a hot chick in it and you need to pry her out of a vehicle because it's on fire. you break out your esee 5 and pry the damn door open. some how in the process your knife got way to hot by the flames and ends up snapping in half (i don't honestly think you could break a esee 5 lol but still for story purposes) once you finish saving the damsel in distress, get the kiss from the hottie and her phone number. head home call esee and ship your knife back. a week or 2 later you have a brand new knife no questions asked.

same scenario with a ontario. except the on this one the knife breaks and the girl ends up with the firefighter who had a esee. you get home and call ontario knives and guess what no one even answers the phone. finally a couple days later you get a hold of someone and you tell them your knife broke and explain the story. the guy on the other end then laughs and says thats not covered and hangs up on you now no knife, no girl, no kiss and all because you thought you could save a couple dollars blah

definitely hit up knife lady and go that route. her and brad are about as good of folks as you can hope to meet period.

also on a side note check out tops knives, scrap yard, swamp rat, busse, ect and decide what works best for you

Well stated. However..... anybody with a brain, knows to use the exposed pommel on the butt end of his Ontario Rat-7... to break out the car window, and save the 'damsel in distress' in more than enough time to ask her out for coffee (after the F.D. puts out the flames, of course).

 

[grunt soldier]

I have yet to come across anything that my buddies esee's can do that I have not done with my Ontario's.

blah never mind i am not going to try and reason with people who are emotionally invested in the knives they own. if you want to spend pretty much the same amount of money on something with less quality go for it. i honestly hope you never have a single problem out of any of your knives because it sucks and is annoying.

to the op your best bet is to pick up some different knives hold them and see what feels best to you. then get online and read reviews to see what people who actually use the knives say about them. then look at the companies and warranties that come along with the product your interested in and then purchase what you like based off all the information.

 

[tradertator]

Get an Ontario, all of the goodness, at half the price of those overly expensive ESEE's

Definitely not true . You'll pay roughly 20% more, and receive twice the knife. I have had both, and the difference between the 2 is as clear as night and day if you know what your looking at. ESEE is probably your best "bang for buck" in the knife world currently, but I would encourage the OP to go to a show like the 1500 and handle as much stuff as possible before making a purchase.

 

[rjstew317]

Definitely not true . You'll pay roughly 20% more, and receive twice the knife. I have had both, and the difference between the 2 is as clear as night and day if you know what your looking at. ESEE is probably your best "bang for buck" in the knife world currently, but I would encourage the OP to go to a show like the 1500 and handle as much stuff as possible before making a purchase.

IDK, I picked up a ranger 6 on a whim for $60 new, so I would say that 1/2 the price is pretty accurate. Now, I have handled both the ESEE 6 and RD 6 and can tell you that the ESEE wins hands down on fit and finish, but if the op is looking to stay with a lower price point the Ontario isn't a bad option (although there are others as well). FYI, I still plan on buying an ESEE at some point in the near future, so I can run some head to head tests for myself. So far I have beat the heck out of the RD 6 and it has been a tough piece of steel. my

 

[GREEN607]

One other brand I will mention.... and they are about the same price range as ESEE knives..... and virtually twice as expensive as the Ontario line.

Bark River.

Anyone who would like a couple of pics of some their coolest hunting/tactical knives... shoot me a PM w/ your E-mail addie, and I'll send pics and a link to where you can get them (at the best price), as well

 

[M67]

One other brand I will mention.... and they are about the same price range as ESEE knives..... and virtually twice as expensive as the Ontario line.

Bark River.

Anyone who would like a couple of pics of some their coolest hunting/tactical knives... shoot me a PM w/ your E-mail addie, and I'll send pics and a link to where you can get them (at the best price), as well

Bark River is a good choice.


But you can get a nice SCRAPYARD for $150


Blind Horse is another that is worth considering.

 

[cubby]

bark river makes fantastic knives.

 

[Hillbilly]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Hopefully I can make it down to the 1500 and get my hands on a few different ones. Thanks again for your input.

 

[tradertator]

Bark River rocks. Knivesshipfree.com always has a ton of selection, and is good to deal with.

 

[Charlie2]

I say buy what you want..!!!! But when your cheaper knife fails, ESEE Knives will be there waiting...!! And then guess what..??? You have spent alot more than you should have if you had just went with the ESEE in the first place..!! I say buy what you want...!!