Thoughts on EDC Knives

Hi Ferfal.
I have been a long time reader of your blog now & very much enjoy the information you put out & sensible discussion you promote.
All those sensible topics aside....lets talk knives.
I am emailing to let you know that Heinne Haynes in the UK is offering the recon 1 bowie, part serrated for £50. I purchased one very recently as I was intending to get a voyager but at the current price it meant I got a sabre grind bowie, triad lock & all G10 handle scales with no extra liners for a few pounds more than a large voyager.
I saw recently you are looking at a tanto. If you dont take the jump this may be of interest to you.
I am very happy with the Recon 1. Its very light for its size & though serrations were something I moved on from with knives years ago these came super sharp & have eaten every material I have needed them too as it has been the gardening/BBQ knife for the last month.
I have also finally bit the bullet & bought a XL vaquero as the recon impressed me so much & the steel change Cold Steel have adopted makes me think the affordable AUS8 models will no longer be produced. It will be a collectors piece...unless I am travelling certain places. :-)
Though I sort of agree on your argument on the strength on the sabre grind vs the FF grind, I think in real world terms the reason Full flat has come back to the fore is that the popularity of knives driven by the USA means that lots are being used as they are carried but by individuals who do not actually need a knife for work. The only job these knives end up doing is food prep & so buyers look for a knife that they feel excels in that area.
I think its interesting that the the tanto style kershaw is the knife whose tip broke but you still have faith in it & believe another tanto will be better. It might. But it might be better to admit that no folding knife is really suited for prying & get a prybar tool for the keys instead.
Personally I like ffg. I have carried SAKs since I was 11 & have never snapped a tip as I used the main screwdriver if I needed to lever something.
In recent years the best knfe purchases other than SAKs I have made have been an Fallkniven F1 clone (admittedly 5mm thick) & a Spyderco resilience.
The latter is the travel knife (as well as a SAK obviously) that has travelled with me both locally & internationally for nearly 5 years. I have never found the FFG to be a problem. The Resilience has been camping, climbing, worn for water sports & made a thousand sandwiches. Its cut fish to wood to plastic even copper wire. It has & will drill a hole in things. I expect a point to do that. I do not expect it to jimmy a locked door open. :-)
Whatever you purchase or have purchased, I will look forward to your review & discussion about it.
I also wanted to add that your coverage of merino wool has followed mine own adoption of it in recent years, mainly because the budget supermarkets in Europe have made it affordable for the ordinary joe who isnt an adventure sports expert.
Have you tried quick wicking tshirts for sports & bamboo tshirts for travel? The latter, like merino, has such slick fibres that bacteria cannot cling so they do not smell after several days of wearing. They do not dry ultra fast but they still dry quickly when wet compare to cotton. They are also lighter.
Please keep writing.
Respectfully.
Matt
.
Hello Matt, thanks for your comments and suggestions.
The Recon 1 is a pretty solid knife. Light and strong with a well-designed blade and handle. Amazon has it for a very good price.

Cold Steel Recon 1 Tactical Knife with G-10 Handle Clip Point and Black Blade $51.93

The Kershaw Lifter tanto tip broke because it’s a pretty steep, fragile tip design. Great for penetration and detail cuts, but more fragile given the angle of that particular blade design. Cold Steel tantos are less steep, shorter and stronger.
Clip points are fine too, I do like them a lot and as you know I’m a big fan of the Vaquero design, which has a pretty thin Nogales-style tip.
Regarding clip points vs tantos, just check this video from Cold Steel themselves. If you look closely, see how in 00:10 the tip of the blade if broken, probably from when wacking the spine and the tip hits the table.
FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.