My EDC knife is a Buck Vantage. It is a nice looking folder made ambidextrous and with good steel. It is called 420HC and is basically a high carbon stainless steel. It sharpens easy and holds a good edge and is not brittle. It has held up quite nicely, and was cheaper than the Blur as well. It has a nice lock (liner lock) and is quite smooth to open.
I've not "tested" that particular knife thoroughly (I've only carried it for about a month), but I also carry a Buck 119 when I'm "in the bush" and it has definitely been through its paces (I've chopped, batoned, gouged, pried, stabbed, and drilled through hard woods - if that don't break it, it's pretty durable - and was still able to completely skin a rabbit afterwards) It is made with the same type of steel, so I could only assume the Vantage would be of at least equal quality. Matter of fact, the 119 and its steel is one of the primary reasons I purchased the Vantage.
I've done a couple of modifications to the 119, and they are mainly for my tastes. Because I use it like I do, I've tapped a hole and placed a lanyard. I've also changed the grip (I just put a small piece of intertube over it to give it a non-slip grip). The lower 2" of the edge has also been reworked into what's called a Scandi grind (essentially, the edge has a much lower angle to provide a very sharp edge - I use this portion for fine detail work by holding the knife a little differently). Oh, and I've made a new sheath (from PVC...) for it.
The 420HC stainless steel also cleans up very nicely as well. I just run it under water and wipe it down. Just be careful, though, because the blade does get sharp, as my index finger received first hand knowledge of this last time I was wiping down the blade (blood was freakin' everywhere...).
And, before you guys ask, NO, I am not an endorser of Buck knifes. I've simply discovered that they make a quality product (so long as the blades come from the USA - the cheaper China made versions are just that, cheap) at a good price.
Something also worth mentioning that I don't think has been done is my hatchet. It is a Fiskars X7. It ain't no knife, but I can do things with this hatchet that I've never been able to do before. The blade is a high carbon steel (it actually turns a spark using a flintsteel - something I've never been able to do with a hatchet before). It readily sharpens on a stone and will hold a pretty good edge (splits paper). And the ergonomics are fantastic (I've carved a wooden spoon AND a wooden fish hook with it
). So, yeah, if you guys are looking for a hatchet, those are just right, especially for the price (I paid $20 for it).Note: Another of my hobbies is Bushcraft, so that should explain a little bit about why I've done some of the things I've done with my blades (and may help to explain, JSR, as to why I am also a member of a survivalist forum as well...).
