[liamstrain]

What is your work, where a big ass bowie is required? 
 
Nice though! Muela knives are under-rated. 

 

[Sxooter]

  What is your work, where a big ass bowie is required? 
 
Nice though! Muela knives are under-rated. 

Hehe. I mostly use it for camping and stuff nowdays. I was in the Air Force and used it to cut boxes and stuff back then. Nowadays I'm a DBA so not much call for it at work. 
 
Thing holds an edge really well.

 

[Chris_Himself]

 

[StratocasterMan]

My latest:
 
Buck PakLite 143BK. 
 

 

[dc-k]

  Avoid global,
 
the spotted stainless steel handle is hell for prolonged use, they dont keep their edge very well and they have a tendency to snap in half...
 
Personaly... you will pull my henkles out of my cold dead hands.

just finished working my way through the thread...
 
I've been using mainly global knives daily for over ten years now and never had a problem with the handle or snapping. I agree that they don't hold an edge for as long as some but I actually enjoy sharpening them so I really don't mind.
 
Mostly I like the weight, the edge is very sharp and I like the look and feel but of course YMMV...

 

[DarKen23]

Finally pulled the trigger on this barkie! 

 

[campj]

I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and carry this Kabar
 
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Short-Tanto-Point-Serrated/dp/B001EIALK6/ref=sr_1_45?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1389466297&sr=1-45&keywords=kabar
 
It's nice and balanced, but it can't hold an edge to save its (my) life. If someone could recommend a fixed blade with a blade shorter than 6" that comes with a good leather sheath I'd appreciate it. My budget is ~$200.

 

[DarKen23]

  I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and carry this Kabar
 
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Short-Tanto-Point-Serrated/dp/B001EIALK6/ref=sr_1_45?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1389466297&sr=1-45&keywords=kabar
 
It's nice and balanced, but it can't hold an edge to save its (my) life. If someone could recommend a fixed blade with a blade shorter than 6" that comes with a good leather sheath I'd appreciate it. My budget is ~$200.

Tanto's are great for piecing. I believe its the only blade design that is able to piece through Kevlar armor.
 
What is the blade material? 

 

[DarKen23]

  I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and carry this Kabar
 
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Short-Tanto-Point-Serrated/dp/B001EIALK6/ref=sr_1_45?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1389466297&sr=1-45&keywords=kabar
 
It's nice and balanced, but it can't hold an edge to save its (my) life. If someone could recommend a fixed blade with a blade shorter than 6" that comes with a good leather sheath I'd appreciate it. My budget is ~$200.

Check out the Bark River 'Bravo' or "Gunny". I personally like the Gunny much better. Its a faster cutting knife, and feels extremely comfortable in the hand.
 
If you like the Bravo, and given that you are in Afghanistan, Id consider the Bravo 1.5 along with a Bark River 'mini-fox river' as your secondary knife to do general cutting tasks like skinning etc.
 
Heres a gunny with a swedge top for better piecing 

 
and 2 handsome mini-fox rivers

 

[campj]

The Kabar site says it's 1095 Cro-Van. It dulls really easily, so I need something with harder steel I think. I'll look into the Bravo and Gunny. I was looking at the STS-5, but I read it comes with a sheath that isn't too great, and I don't want to drop another $65 on a good sheath.
 
Meh, Bravo 1 3V looks really good. Most likely the one I will get. Thanks for the tip!

 

[DarKen23]

  The Kabar site says it's 1095 Cro-Van. It dulls really easily, so I need something with harder steel I think. I'll look into the Bravo and Gunny. I was looking at the STS-5, but I read it comes with a sheath that isn't too great, and I don't want to drop another $65 on a good sheath.
 
How about Entrek?

If you want hard steel, I cant think of any better steel than the CPM 3V 'super steel' offered by Bark River. I have the CPM 3V on the Fox River and the edge retention is ridiculous, in fact I find it hard to get the knife dull. This also comes with a disadvantage, its tougher to sharpen--especially if you are a beginner. For me, I can get my 3v steel 'scary sharp' in no-time using wet-stones and a leather strop with some compound. 
 
I think you should give the A2 steel a try. Its a softer steel but its takes an extremely sharp edge, quite easily at that. All of BR line is offered in the A2 steel. Some actually prefer the A2 over the 3V.
 
If you noticed, all of the knives I am recommending have a 'convex' edge, not your typical 'V' edge and/or secondary edge. Convex edges are the sharpest edges. Heres a link to a short intro to how a convex edge actually works. http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showthread.php/77751-Why-convex-edges-are-awesome-it-s-not-why-you-think!

 

[campj]

That sounds like a challenge to me... AND I ACCEPT! 3V it is. I'll buy a sharpening kit and learn how to sharpen it. Sounds pretty hobby-ish.

Is there any real drawback to wood vs synthetic handles? Upkeep? Durability? Grip? I've only had synthetic handled knives, but some of these wood handles look pretty ballin'. I'm not so sure anything you can say will sway me from getting a burl wood handle, but I thought I'd ask in the off chance that there is a serious shortfall.

 

[DarKen23]

Lol the burl wood handle is a mighty fine choice. The G10 will have the most grip, if you are wearing gloves they may have too much grip, you won't be able to freely move the knife. The durability of wood should not be of concern, BR is supremely well known for their overall durability. I personally do not like the wood look, though there are a few that I'd rock, like the cocobolo--yumm. The one I recently purchased is the fox river 3v scarlet black maple burl, that color combination is epically sexy.

Anyways, you've made an excellent choice going with bark river knives. You're going to want to cry when you receive the knife, it's so pleasing to look at, I can stare at my BR knives all day. Not to mention that BR are beasts on the field or with whatever the task may be. Congrats, post pictures once you've received it.

For the sharpening stuff, I highly recommend getting a double sided paddle strop with bark rivers green and black compound. Those keep my knives scary-sharp.

 

[DarKen23]

That sounds like a challenge to me... AND I ACCEPT! 3V it is. I'll buy a sharpening kit and learn how to sharpen it. Sounds pretty hobby-ish.

Is there any real drawback to wood vs synthetic handles? Upkeep? Durability? Grip? I've only had synthetic handled knives, but some of these wood handles look pretty ballin'. I'm not so sure anything you can say will sway me from getting a burl wood handle, but I thought I'd ask in the off chance that there is a serious shortfall.

Check out this handsome 'Desert Ironwood with Mosaic Pins' fox river *drool*
 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Bark River rules.. I have their Bravo 1 in 3V. The thing with Busse is they grind their blades too thick and they have way too thick starting stock to have any sort of precision cutting tool leftover after the grinding.
 
I recently got a few knives.
 
Michael Raymond Estrella

 
Michael Burch Mid-Tech Impetus and Bob Terzuola ATCF