Hiking knife

[Crux]

Maybe a Para 3 with a jammed compression lock?

[vivi]

Here's a few options:

Ark - This is a nice pocket sized fixed blade that will handle most typical hiking tasks. Rust proof, feather light and economical.

Waterway - Full sized rust proof knife with a versatile design.

Street Bowie - 5" VG10 blade, full sized grip, nice sheath, only 4oz. Tough package to beat.

I like bringing my Street Bowie with me on hikes. It's very light, has a thin grind that cuts well, sharpens very easily and the blade length gives it a little more versatility than smaller knives.

Street Bowie:



Waterway:

[dlum1]

Excellent suggestion with the sprig. It's currently my favorite fixed blade for freshwater fish hands down, and it comes with a nice sheath. I'm a little too hesitant to risk damaging the s90v blade on wood though. I guess you should decide what you would likely be cutting first and go from there.

[spyderwolf]

the problem with asking this question on a spyderco forum is that no one will tell you you should just get a mora.

Of course,i was thinking only about Spydercos.I don't cheat on the bug

[spyderwolf]

Hi Spyderwolf,

I spend a lot of time hiking in the woods as well. Backpacking and wilderness exploration have been a passion of mine for 35 years. I have designed and currently make a couple of fixed blades that are specifically intended to be hiking companions. Spyderco has a few such options that are very worthy of your consideration. I own almost all of them.

But in order to really offer a good suggestion, I have a couple of questions for you...

1. What's the distance of your typical hike?
2. What predators and/or other dangers (if any) might you encounter on your typical hike?
3. What is your main reason for needing or wanting a fixed blade knife while you hike?

Best regards,
CK

Thanks for questions.
About 5 miles.
Probably no predators,possibly some wolves or wild pigs.
Cutting branches,building a shelter,making some kindle,looking awesome in pics

[spyderwolf]

Thanks for all your answers.
I don't why,but the Waterway has no appeal to me,so i guess it's between the Junction and the Mule.

[Xplorer]

Hi Spyderwolf,

I spend a lot of time hiking in the woods as well. Backpacking and wilderness exploration have been a passion of mine for 35 years. I have designed and currently make a couple of fixed blades that are specifically intended to be hiking companions. Spyderco has a few such options that are very worthy of your consideration. I own almost all of them.

But in order to really offer a good suggestion, I have a couple of questions for you...

1. What's the distance of your typical hike?
2. What predators and/or other dangers (if any) might you encounter on your typical hike?
3. What is your main reason for needing or wanting a fixed blade knife while you hike?

Best regards,
CK

Thanks for questions.
About 5 miles.
Probably no predators,possibly some wolves or wild pigs.
Cutting branches,building a shelter,making some kindle,looking awesome in pics

OK, great. It's very helpful to understand what you want. I do a 6 mile trail run 2 to 3 times a week and I find I never really need a knife, so light weight is the biggest priority for me in that case...'cause I'm not going to be without one of course . When I head out to a wilderness mountain lake the priorities change, and when I hike into the desert my priorities change again.

If you want to cut branches, make kindling and potentially build a shelter you need something substantial enough to handle the wood chores. A Mule is thin(ish) because it is for testing steels that may eventually be used in a folding knife. Although I have many Mules and I think they're a great hiking companion knife in general, they are capable but not ideal for wood related chores.

If you want to be able to split wood larger than the thickness of your forearm you're going to want to step up to something slightly longer like a Bradley Bowie or bigger. However, for keeping things light(ish) and easy to carry while hiking, there are a few Spyderco knives in the 4" (blade) range that will serve you quite well. I would suggest any one of the following 4 knives that appeals to you will be a solid choice based on your stated criteria...

Junction
Bushcraft
Proficient
Serrata

I would add that the Temperance 2 is ideal IMO but I'm pretty sure it's not available.

p.s.. they all will make a good pig-sticker if necessary

Happy hiking and best regards ,

Chad

[TomAiello]

Junction has the advantage that it's still on disco sale at several places, too.

[Xplorer]

Junction has the advantage that it's still on disco sale at several places, too.

That would be my pick too...but I'm biased because I have spent a good amount of time talking with Gayle Bradley and liking him as a person tends to affect my opinion.

[RazorSharp86]

Waterway hands down. Such a comfortable, light, capable knife.

[Spook410]

Hmm.. not seeing where LC200N would be a good choice for anything having to do with wood. It's strength is in it's corrosion resistance. It's not a notably tough steel if you believe the various charts scattered about the web. For a fishing/bait knife particularly in saltwater the Waterway would be just the thing. However if you're going to carry a sheath knife into the woods versus a folder, it seems you're looking for something that won't bend or break easily. That gets you into the world of CPM 3V and CPM 4V or, more traditionally, something like A2.

[Xplorer]

Hmm.. not seeing where LC200N would be a good choice for anything having to do with wood. It's strength is in it's corrosion resistance. It's not a notably tough steel if you believe the various charts scattered about the web. For a fishing/bait knife particularly in saltwater the Waterway would be just the thing. However if you're going to carry a sheath knife into the woods versus a folder, it seems you're looking for something that won't bend or break easily. That gets you into the world of CPM 3V and CPM 4V or, more traditionally, something like A2.

I'm not sure you've seen the correct information about LC200N toughness. LC200N/Chonidur30/ZFinit (all the same steel) is by far one of the toughest stainless steels available and it is considerably tougher than many carbon tool steels that most people believe would be a fine choice for use in wood related applications. While it is true that 3V, 4V and A2 can be made to be tougher, LC200N is plenty tough enough for hard use (including wood chores) if the geometry is appropriate.




When you look at the charts above (taken from Knife Steel Nerds), you can see that at HRC59 (typical for LC200N production knives) the toughness score is 32, which is higher than a large number of tool steels that would be traditionally considered good for wood related uses. Although the Waterway is one of my favorite knives and I know LC200N is plenty tough enough, I didn't suggest the Waterway in this context because I don't think it's ideal for what the OP is looking for. That said, the Waterway would do quite well in this application.

Best regards,
CK

[Spook410]

Interesting. And yet when you look at this, LC200N isn't all that high on toughness compared to 3V/4V and A2. https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Best-Knife ... 368#lc200n

I'm not a steel expert by any means and I'm sure your source is better.. but they don't appear to be quite in agreement.

[ladybug93]

i would agree that the toughness isn’t as high as some others with lc200n, but it’s certainly tough enough for simple tasks you might do while hiking, as are most knives. and, if we’re talking about survival, then it really doesn’t matter what steel you have on you because it only needs to last long enough to get you out of the situation.
while i have other knives i prefer for this application, i’m confident my native salt would make an excellent hiking knife and that it would also work just fine in a survival situation for anyone armed with a little bit of woods knowledge.
if i had to choose any spyderco for a hiking knife, it would probably be my manix. i might favor the native depending on the conditions of the day and/or the hike, since i’m often in water on hikes here on oahu. if i was less vain, i’d get two caribbeans (se sheepsfoot and pe leaf) and never need another knife again.
if i had to choose a fixed blade spyderco, it would be the waterway. i’m really liking lc200n on my native. honestly, i really wish i had snagged the lc200n mule, but i didn’t really know about mules until after it was too late for that.

[ladybug93]

oops... sorry for the duplicate.

[Xplorer]

Interesting. And yet when you look at this, LC200N isn't all that high on toughness compared to 3V/4V and A2. https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Best-Knife ... 368#lc200n

I'm not a steel expert by any means and I'm sure your source is better.. but they don't appear to be quite in agreement.

That link is to a general guide for choosing a knife steel from a knife retailer. The chart with real data that I provided you came from an actual metallurgist that specializes in knife steels and developed the data through real testing. There's a lot of misleading and flat out false information about knife steels available on-line. If you want to find accurate knife steel information I suggest checking out Knife Steel Nerds on Patreon. Larrin is leading the way when it comes to doing real research and providing valuable knife steel data to the knife making and knife steel enthusiast communities.

Best regards,
Chad

[Doc Dan]

Hmm.. not seeing where LC200N would be a good choice for anything having to do with wood. It's strength is in it's corrosion resistance. It's not a notably tough steel if you believe the various charts scattered about the web. For a fishing/bait knife particularly in saltwater the Waterway would be just the thing. However if you're going to carry a sheath knife into the woods versus a folder, it seems you're looking for something that won't bend or break easily. That gets you into the world of CPM 3V and CPM 4V or, more traditionally, something like A2.

I'm not sure you've seen the correct information about LC200N toughness. LC200N/Chonidur30/ZFinit (all the same steel) is by far one of the toughest stainless steels available and it is considerably tougher than many carbon tool steels that most people believe would be a fine choice for use in wood related applications. While it is true that 3V, 4V and A2 can be made to be tougher, LC200N is plenty tough enough for hard use (including wood chores) if the geometry is appropriate.




When you look at the charts above (taken from Knife Steel Nerds), you can see that at HRC59 (typical for LC200N production knives) the toughness score is 32, which is higher than a large number of tool steels that would be traditionally considered good for wood related uses. Although the Waterway is one of my favorite knives and I know LC200N is plenty tough enough, I didn't suggest the Waterway in this context because I don't think it's ideal for what the OP is looking for. That said, the Waterway would do quite well in this application.

Best regards,
CK

Chad, thanks for posting those charts. I think it shows that LC200N is well up to the outdoorsman's tasks. If Sears/Nessmuk were alive, he would carry a Waterway.

(on a side note, I continue to be surprised by AEB-L/13C26 and how tough it really is.)

[vivi]

Hmm.. not seeing where LC200N would be a good choice for anything having to do with wood. It's strength is in it's corrosion resistance. It's not a notably tough steel if you believe the various charts scattered about the web. For a fishing/bait knife particularly in saltwater the Waterway would be just the thing. However if you're going to carry a sheath knife into the woods versus a folder, it seems you're looking for something that won't bend or break easily. That gets you into the world of CPM 3V and CPM 4V or, more traditionally, something like A2.

A 3.1mm thick bar of heat treated steel isn't going to break easily cutting wood, regardless of what steel it is.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gT_mmsW_jo8

Some folks here overestimate how tough wood is on a steel blade. I used to whittle with a FFG Krein regrind Centofante 4. An Opinel will carve wood just fine, don't overthink this.

OP, I'd like to reiterate my suggestion for the Street Bowie. Advantages it has over the other models being mentioned:

- Cheaper
- Longer blade
- Lighter
- More corrosion resistant

I know it's marketed as more of a self defense knife, but I've spent 5 years bringing this design on hikes with great success. It's very light and offers a lot of cutting edge in the most maintenance free package you'll find outside of the salt line.

[brj]

the problem with asking this question on a spyderco forum is that no one will tell you you should just get a mora.

^ this. Something like the Mora Eldris would work just fine.

From Spyderco's offering I'd say the Jumpmaster II, as she cuts like a demon, weights ~30 gr more than a Millie and carries great horizontally at 6 o'clock, without interfering with your daypack, if you choose to carry one.

[zhyla]

The variety of suggestions here is pretty amusing. Ark, waterway, street Bowie. Light weight! Rust proof! Tough! Steel charts!

But OP’e requirements seem pretty basic. Cutting branches, making kindling. If the Bow River we’re out I would suggest that as a basic fixed blade. It’s not out quite yet. If you can wait a month it may be worth it. Unless the sheath sucks.

The street Bowie is one of the other economical fixed blades but that massive choil gives me pause for this use case. Maybe it’s fine, it just seems like it forces more of a fighting grip. I’m sure it would get the job done, just doesn’t seem ideal.

Mule... no sheath, no handle, no bueno. Some suggested an Ark... this seems like a downgrade from a folder to me.

Sheaths also matter a lot. How are you going to carry this? Belt? In a pack?