Will the ARK fit my needs?

[Albatross]

I've been looking at one and wondering if it would make a good Trout knife. Any user info would be greatly appreciated.

I don't like neck knives for self-defense or bushcraft, but for fishing, it seems fine if other carry methods don't work. Does it (knife and sheath) fit into pants pockets well? Have any of you modified the sheath to fit on a belt?

[Danke]

It's a tiny little knife. Could be good for goldfish.

I found my Spidiechef was a bit small for trout.

If I caught more fish instead of just casting I might be temped by a Waterway.

[skeeg11]

Although not a fixed blade like the Ark, from a form factor POV IMHO the Ikuchi would make an excellent unobtrusive trout and bird knife.

[Takuan]

As Danke says, the ARK is a bit small for fishing. I use a Waterway as my main fishing knife. I rotated the G-clip 90° so that I could wear it horizontally on my belt just to the left of my buckle, which enables a cross-draw in any position (seated or standing) and keeps the knife out of the way when I need to flex at the waist (leaning over while standing or paddling). I’ve used it for both fresh and salt water fishing, and it is magnificent for cutting bait, trimming line, and cleaning fish.

[Doc Dan]

If you mean a handy knife for cutting line and bait, yes, it would be great.

[cabfrank]

Yes. It is a very handy little fixed blade.

[jpm2]

The trout I keep are around 16 inches long. Given how I clean them and how slippery they are, prefer a short blade in the 2-3" range with a short height, less than 1", for control and maneuverability.
With other fish cleaned differently, bigger, and less slippery, I might prefer a longer blade.

Everyone prefers something different, but I find blades too long and/or tall get in the way of their self performing certain tasks.

[Albatross]

The trout I keep are around 16 inches long. Given how I clean them and how slippery they are, prefer a short blade in the 2-3" range with a short height, less than 1", for control and maneuverability.
With other fish cleaned differently, bigger, and less slippery, I might prefer a longer blade.

Everyone prefers something different, but I find blades too long and/or tall get in the way of their self performing certain tasks.

I figured the length would be enough, but the height was something I hadn't considered. It would be for brook trout next year, so maybe the length of the ARK would work well afterall. I'm not a fan of how tall the blade is, but it's got a nice, upswept tip, so the height shouldn't be too much of an issue. I did consider (still am) the Salt 2, so if I decide the ARK is too tall, there's always another option, even though a fixed blade makes more sense to me.

Thanks for your input.

[Christian Noble]

The trout I keep are around 16 inches long. Given how I clean them and how slippery they are, prefer a short blade in the 2-3" range with a short height, less than 1", for control and maneuverability.
With other fish cleaned differently, bigger, and less slippery, I might prefer a longer blade.

Everyone prefers something different, but I find blades too long and/or tall get in the way of their self performing certain tasks.

All you are doing is gutting them, up the belly and across the mouth to pull it all out. Just played with my ARK and think it would be great for that actually. Yes, the ARK will easily fit in a loose pants pocket, but deploying and re-sheathing will take two hands if not being neck carried. I wouldn't want to carry in jeans or tighter pants based on the height of the blade. Adding to a belt could be done, but would be awkward and difficult to re-sheath being a smaller blade and tight sheath. ARK is absolutely a great knife and would serve your purpose, but recommend as neck carry. Got 3 in my family carrying this knife.

Nothing wrong with the Salt 2 (my favorite), will be much more convenient and multi-use going that route. Dragonfly would work well too, but I am one of those it's size is too much in the middle and I carry a Salt 2 and Ladybug everyday.

Suggest Salt 2, or better yet, get the Salt 2 and ARK and never look back. Hope this helps.

And I bet someone will suggest the Native 5 Salt in LC200N which would be a winner too and you may prefer the tip not being at blunted as the Salt 2 for finer work.

[jpm2]

The trout I keep are around 16 inches long. Given how I clean them and how slippery they are, prefer a short blade in the 2-3" range with a short height, less than 1", for control and maneuverability.
With other fish cleaned differently, bigger, and less slippery, I might prefer a longer blade.

Everyone prefers something different, but I find blades too long and/or tall get in the way of their self performing certain tasks.

All you are doing is gutting them, up the belly and across the mouth to pull it all out.

Never liked them with the head and skin on.
While alive (never dead) at streamside, take the head off, gut, skin, the dark stuff under the ribs, remove the fins and tail, bag, and pack in ice.

[Albatross]

The trout I keep are around 16 inches long. Given how I clean them and how slippery they are, prefer a short blade in the 2-3" range with a short height, less than 1", for control and maneuverability.
With other fish cleaned differently, bigger, and less slippery, I might prefer a longer blade.

Everyone prefers something different, but I find blades too long and/or tall get in the way of their self performing certain tasks.

All you are doing is gutting them, up the belly and across the mouth to pull it all out. Just played with my ARK and think it would be great for that actually. Yes, the ARK will easily fit in a loose pants pocket, but deploying and re-sheathing will take two hands if not being neck carried. I wouldn't want to carry in jeans or tighter pants based on the height of the blade. Adding to a belt could be done, but would be awkward and difficult to re-sheath being a smaller blade and tight sheath. ARK is absolutely a great knife and would serve your purpose, but recommend as neck carry. Got 3 in my family carrying this knife.

Nothing wrong with the Salt 2 (my favorite), will be much more convenient and multi-use going that route. Dragonfly would work well too, but I am one of those it's size is too much in the middle and I carry a Salt 2 and Ladybug everyday.

Suggest Salt 2, or better yet, get the Salt 2 and ARK and never look back. Hope this helps.

And I bet someone will suggest the Native 5 Salt in LC200N which would be a winner too and you may prefer the tip not being at blunted as the Salt 2 for finer work.

Thank you for your detailed response, it was very helpful. The brook trout I can keep at 6"+, and I almost never catch any trout over 10". I don't generally fillet bass until I get home, so maybe the ARK would work for them as well.

I had considered larger knives, but when walking through very dense woods here in New England, bigger knives get hung up on things a lot more. This is why I am thinking about pocket carry. Neck carry would be more convenient for drawing the knife for sure. I'll keep an open mind and test it out.

The idea of H1 is intriguing to me for a fishing knife. I'd like to clean it after use and put back in the tackle box for next time, without worrying about rust.

There's a BBS bundle with their blue PM2 and the PE ARK, which has my name all over it. SE makes more sense for fishing, so if I like the knife, I'll buy a SE for myself and give the PE to my wife for when she goes running in the mornings.

If I get it, I'll post about it here to let you guys know how it works out. Thanks to everyone for your input.

@jpm2 I've always fried them up with the skin and tail on. Because of that, I'm thinking the ARK will work well for me.

[Albatross]

I have had the ARK for a few weeks now and I think it's not for me. I might need to try some different grips, but it just doesn't feel right in my hand, for what I want it to do. It would work well in my hand for self-defense.

I did add a small lanyard to loop around two of my fingers, for extra security, and a little more control.

I'm not sure if it will stick around or not, but now I'm looking at other models, so I suppose it's another reason to try more knives!

[JRinFL]

AG Russell has some small knives that might work for you, if you don't mind non-Spydies.

[Albatross]

AG Russell has some small knives that might work for you, if you don't mind non-Spydies.

I may look into that, thanks for the suggestion.

[vivi]

I've been looking at one and wondering if it would make a good Trout knife. Any user info would be greatly appreciated.

I don't like neck knives for self-defense or bushcraft, but for fishing, it seems fine if other carry methods don't work. Does it (knife and sheath) fit into pants pockets well? Have any of you modified the sheath to fit on a belt?

Easy belt carry setup

[vivi]

I have had the ARK for a few weeks now and I think it's not for me. I might need to try some different grips, but it just doesn't feel right in my hand, for what I want it to do. It would work well in my hand for self-defense.

I did add a small lanyard to loop around two of my fingers, for extra security, and a little more control.

I'm not sure if it will stick around or not, but now I'm looking at other models, so I suppose it's another reason to try more knives!

They work better ergonomically for my hand at least if you grind off the hump where the spyderhole is located.

[Pokey]

The first one I thought of was the Mantra 2. M4 steel probably wouldn't work out well, though.

[Evil D]

I keep coming back around to the ARK but keep asking myself what can it do that my EDC knife can't. I feel like I'd never use it when I've got a full sized knife in my pocket.

[Albatross]

I have had the ARK for a few weeks now and I think it's not for me. I might need to try some different grips, but it just doesn't feel right in my hand, for what I want it to do. It would work well in my hand for self-defense.

I did add a small lanyard to loop around two of my fingers, for extra security, and a little more control.

I'm not sure if it will stick around or not, but now I'm looking at other models, so I suppose it's another reason to try more knives!

They work better ergonomically for my hand at least if you grind off the hump where the spyderhole is located.

I might try that, because the hump is one of the reasons this knife isn't working for me. Thanks!

The first one I thought of was the Mantra 2. M4 steel probably wouldn't work out well, though.

I do have one and the blade shape would work really well for cleaning brook trout. I could apply some blade protectant, but the bearings are an issue. I wish Spyderco had come out with a washer conversion for the Mantra knives, it might have saved the first two from being axed.

I keep coming back around to the ARK but keep asking myself what can it do that my EDC knife can't. I feel like I'd never use it when I've got a full sized knife in my pocket.

Yeah, it's definitely too small to use in place of your edc knife, but as a dedicated small knife for something (whatever that might be for you) specific, it has value.

[zuludelta]

I keep coming back around to the ARK but keep asking myself what can it do that my EDC knife can't. I feel like I'd never use it when I've got a full sized knife in my pocket.

It's really for situations when you can't carry a knife in your pocket—it was originally designed as an SD knife one can wear in the shower, to protect oneself from assaults.

I occasionally carry mine in its neck sheath when trail running as an alternative to carrying a small folder IWB. There is the potential for chafing, of course (as there is with IWB carry of a folder), but if I wear an UnderArmour compression top over it to minimize jostling and rubbing, I find it reduces the potential for chafing significantly.

I've tried using it as an EDC & back-up work knife a few times, but the short trailing point blade shape just isn't all that ideal for what I use a knife for (I get the most utility out of either wharncliffes or drop point/leaf shape blades with edge lengths in the 2.25" to 3.5" range... so the upcoming Swick 5 might be the first fixed-blade I might actually use as a primary EDC/work knife).