I’m looking for suggestions for well made bush craft knives in the $100-$150 range.

Any suggestions?

I've bought several Moraknivs for gifts and the people have liked them. I gave a couple to a friend that tent camps year round and he's used them for a few years. Take a look on Amazon, they have quite a few, not fancy but serviceable.

Esee 4 and some of the Esee 5s are in that price range.

I have an Esee 3 I really like but it is a tad small and thin for a general purpose bush knife.

It's unclear to me what are the differences between fieldcraft, bushcraft, and survival knives. I dug into it a bit and opinions are varied.

So, not being certain just what it is you seek, other than "a knife for use in the wilderness," I guess, I'll recommend what I just bought for a woods knife: A Fälkniven F1. It's within your budget.

If you want something bigger: The Fälkniven A1, though that's outside your budget.

I recently posted about both of them: My New Woods Carry Knife

Either one should be readily available at any knife store. I got my F1 from New Graham Knives. I think that's probably where I bought my A1, years ago, too.

I have an F1 that I keep in my get home bag. Certainly a good and capable knife for "bushcrafting" if need be.

My preferred woods carry though is a Bark River Featherweight Fox River. Very well made knife that'll do everything you need it to do in the out of doors from cutting up an elk, to shaving wood to start a fire, to splitting kindling. Yep, it's a little guy, but it just works.

Bark River has other quality options to choose from should you want something bigger (the Bravo series is beefier and a little bigger than the Fox River), but I'm not sure why you'd need/want to. One doesn't need a Rambo knife. Function over form is what's important IMO.

Price-wise, they're a little higher than you want to go (~$200 as I recall), but worth every penny.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gustofer,

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I have an F1 that I keep in my get home bag. Certainly a good and capable knife for "bushcrafting" if need be.

My preferred woods carry though is a Bark River Featherweight Fox River. Very well made knife that'll do everything you need it to do in the out of doors from cutting up an elk, to shaving wood to start a fire, to splitting kindling. Yep, it's a little guy, but it just works.

Bark River has other quality options to choose from should you want something bigger (the Bravo series is beefier and a little bigger than the Fox River), but I'm not sure why you'd need/want to. One doesn't need a Rambo knife. Function over form is what's important IMO.

Price-wise, they're a little higher than you want to go (~$200 as I recall), but worth every penny.

Great knife too! I find myself afraid to lose a $200+ knife.

I have 2 model 2 knives from Justin Case Tactical USA and I’m looking forward to ordering a model 4 that just hit their website this month!

Here is their website.

There is a free shipping code floating the forum too… but I’ll save you the time looking it up… JCTSHIP4FREE

Lots of great knives to fulfill what you’re looking for! Justin Case Tactical USA is veteran owned though so I throw them my money instead of corporation like benchmade.

ESEE 4, but many people find the handle a little short. You're not going to break it, though, and it comes with a lifetime, no questions asked warranty.

The Mora Companion HD is a super value less than 25 bucks.

The LT Wright GNS Scandi (150.00) or the LT Wright Gary Wines Buschcrafter, but that's out of you budget, with prices starting at 200.

I like something with a bit more size. I would look at the USMC fighting knife. A KA-BAR Full size 7" blade length. Well with in your budget.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
ESEE 4, but many people find the handle a little short. You're not going to break it, though, and it comes with a lifetime, no questions asked warranty.

The Mora Companion HD is a super value less than 25 bucks.

The LT Wright GNS Scandi (150.00) or the LT Wright Gary Wines Buschcrafter, but that's out of you budget, with prices starting at 200.

My wife actually got me an LT Wright GNS Stainless Scandi for my B-Day… (Or let’s just say I got permission to order one - however you want to look at it…). I’ll post pics once I unwrap it.

On a side note LT Wright has incredible customer service.

Here is a write up on bushcraft knives that reviews seven different ones. The Esse 4 is included.

Top to bottom: Scrapyard - Regulator, Swamp Rat - RatManDu, Fallkniven - S1, EnTrek - Backup Utility. All were under $150. The bottom two are currently in production, but the S1 is around $165 now.

Of my four knives, I’m of the opinion that a hatchet and a folding pocket knife would be better.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,

I think the ESEE-4 is close to ideal as a knife to pack away in a survival kit. Not too big, not too small, and very robust. You can break the blade of an ESEE-4 but you probably need a six foot length of pipe and a solidly-mounted vice. In other words, it ain't gonna happen under field conditions. As I said, though, some people will find the handle just a bit short, but this is a minor complaint. The knife comes with a sturdy sheath with a removable belt clip, and ESEE offers a sturdy nylon backing which gives you more mounting options. The knife blade is manufactured by Rowen Manufacturing of Idaho, and these guys have the heat treatment of 1095 carbon steel figured out. In a knife, it's not just the steel and the blade geometry; proper heat treatment of the steel makes all the difference and IMO, Rowen is king. The ESEE-4 is a genuine best-buy.

I just want to second the comments on LT Wright products. I have a couple and they have proven to be extremely durable. I gave one as a gift and by all accounts it is also holding up well. Great quality and value for the money. I also have a couple Jeff White knives that are really nice. They are not as nicely finished as the LT Wright knives, but they are solid performers. Great value for the money. https://i.pinimg.com/originals...2738d03a5b4364d4.jpg

Para, I am with you on this one, ESEE is a great tool.

I got hooked on the Esee's earlier this year during another knife discussion and now have 5 of them.
An Izula, a nice flat knife that's thin so it fits perfectly in the pocket in the sheath without the clip, has replaced my pocket knives. Then there's a S35VN Esee 3, a 1095 and S35VN 4, and a 6.
The 3 & 4 handles are exactly the same but the extra blade thickness and length give the 4 and incredibly good balanced feel for my hand size.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bcjwriter,

Esee, battle horse, mora garberg.

I'm mildly partial to Battle Horse Knives


But I would do just fine with an Esee 4. Axe, hatchet, or hawk does the heavy lifting anyway.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pace40,

I second the hawk/hatchet plus a good folder. A good hawk in the outdoors is indispensable. The really good ones like RMJ are pricey but SOG and Cold Steel make several models that are very serviceable. The Swamp Rat mentioned above is very good knife. Busse heat treat is among the best out there. Lots of good options. Heck it’s only money right

I finally bought an ESEE 3 with the longer handle option.

But after reading this discussion and then seeing Trapper189's response and picture I decided to look up Entrek knives.

I believe my next knife will be an Entrek. They have a couple of models that are in the 3-4" blade size that I like.

I am going to try and finish my final two years with the Army with some type of Engineering outfit or if I switch to the NG then I'm going combat arms. Those knives from Entrek are perfect for me to wear in an MRAP, Husky, Bradley.

I do like the Fallkniven and the Justin Case Tactical.

I need something like a sharpened crowbar: Cleave, Smash, Hack, etc..