What's the one knife you want?

HA!...one knife

Randall #25
Fallkniven NL5
Bob Dozier Loveless drop point hunter
Bark River Gunny in 3V
Northwoods Michigan Jack in Denim

Then there are my white whales:
- Benchmade 940-1 with Fort Knox lockup
- Ontario RAT2 in S30V and G10

 

Coming out with the izula folder.

 

Is that the 7/7 ? I am waiting for mine as well...

 

One knife I would love to have is that grail knife CWB wants to buy but can't because I got it literally seconds before he did.

 

I'm almost at 2 years for my GSO 12..

 

Grail huh? Let's see it!

 

No. I would love to do that but then again that is a knife whore and probably has a hundred grails. I can't afford that scenario.

 

I'm confused.

 

Drink until it makes sense.

 

Yes it is the 7/7.
It isn't exactly the shape of "the 6 that shall remain nameless," but I'm interested in how the steel will perform.

 

I forgot to put CWB in that comment. I was referring to him as the knife whore.

 

Helle Temagami CA -- (TG) a high carbon triple lam with full tang (uncommon for Helle) designed by Les Stroud.

I own their Fossekallen, and love it. It's one of my (two) common EDC (Izula is the other). Shorter, lighter than the TG. I also own their Nying, which was a gift from @McKROB years ago; I still value it for up close carving/whittling of a more artistic variety.

But neither quite meets my criteria for a true primary bushcraft knife. The Temagami could, but at a street price of $175, it won't be in my kit for sometime.

Until then, after a LOT of research -- reading and videos -- the Morakniv Bushcraft Black (1095 C) gets the call, hopefully in early 2017 (it's a cash flow issue for now, and a Kabar TDI has priority, along with paying off a debt on a NF lumbar pack that I bought on time from @Wolfman Zack, who is being super patient for payment because I moved recently and he knows moving is hella expensive).

The MBB gets stellar reviews consistently. Check out the similarity in blade geometry, thickness (3 - 3.2 mm) and length (pics not to scale: both ~4.25") with the TG (although the MBB is only 3/4 tang), and the handle topologies are not that different -- in particular the front finger notch and top gentle arch.

Both the TG and MBB make this top bushcraft knife list, which also includes ESEE 3 (a good fit for those who prefer flat grind to scandi -- yes, I'm a scandi whore).

Admission: like others, even though the title of this thread is singular ("What the one knife you want?"), it appears that I slipped in three here: TG, MBB and TDI. What's a knife nut to do?

 

Good post. I am a big Helle fan I own a fire, nying, utvaer, viking and the ss version of the temagami). Superb knives, although I think qc has slipped just a notch in the past few years. Off the top of my head I don't know an mom and pop ESEE dealer who also sells Helle, so I don't think I am pulling any money out of thier pockets by telling you this... Lamnia is a Swedish knife seller and the helle prices are way, way lower than anywhere else I have found (yes they are a dealer and not a chinese specialist). Temagami for a shade over $100, depending on the trade ratio, egan for $80 instead of $100-120. Shipping is free past a point and hasn't been a problem for me at all. The bad news is they don't have the carbon version- but remember, it is only the inner piece of the laminate that is carbon, the outside is still stainless. Mine takes a ferocious edge and keeps it on par with just about anything.

 

I bought my utvaer from lamnia a few months back for around $120-130 and free shipping. Their prices are great. Even coming from Europe I had it in my hand within 5-7 days.

 

Back atcha -- great post. Very informative.

Interesting that I found Lamnia last evening doing a search on the TG, and had never heard of them before. (I can't remember from whom I bought my Fossekallen, but it wasn't them.) I'll definitely explore that site more now that I know of the lower prices. (Even then, it's still going to be a while; even the MBB won't happen until early 2017 unless I hit the lotto. <LOL>

Interesting also about the C being only the inner core. I should have figured that out. Too bad in a way; I was looking forward to a C blade outside, like the MBB. I just always find C easier to sharpen than stainless -- still working on my technique for that. Oh, well, minor detail. Will still own a TG someday.

 

The utvaer is on my list.

 

I'd not looked hard at the Utvaer before. It's now on my list, too. In fact, it could be a toss up between it and the Temagami, given that the Utvaer has a full tang. Dang, that's a nice looking knife.

Here's a side by side comparison of the Utvaer and Temagami. Ok, now that I see that perspective, I still lean toward the TG because of it's slightly narrower blade profile. I find them more useful for carving than the wider blades, but that's just personal preference. And since I carry a hatchet/axe/ tomahawk for splitting, I don't baton that much.

Still, beautiful knife. Holy stainless, Batman.

 

Well, here's an update. I found this video review of the Temagami high carbon version. He claims two things. One, that the carbon steel is actually exposed at the cutting edge -- which makes total sense: it's sandwiched between the two stainless layers, but exposed at the sharpened edge. Good.

Two, and problematic: since the spine is stainless, and not 90 degrees, it won't spark a ferro rod. Maybe it could be modified. When I bought my first Mora Companion from @FortyTwoBlades, he squared off the spine on a portion and it can strike a rod and make good sparks. (Part of the appeal of the Morakniv Bushcraft Black is that squared spine of C steel.)

So, not necessarily a deal breaker, but the TG just moved down a notch on my excitement list, and the MBB moved up.

 

One thing I'll add is that the utvaer is a bit thin for me. Not a deal breaker, but I like my knife handles a bit girthier. It's a good height, top to bottom, but could be beefed up a bit more, side to side. Thicker scales would address this issue. Like I said, not a deal breaker, but worth mentioning.

Another thing I'll say is the belly of the knife is much more squared off in person than it looks in pictures. Or at least it seems to me. Almost a rounded off tanto shape. I like it after using it, but I noticed it immediately after opening the package.

 

Here's a picture of the utvaer. Maybe I'm just crazy, but the belly seems more squared in person.