Looks very practical. Somewhat similar to the buck vanguard.

There's only one vendor for the knife on ebay - $63.75 and free shipping.

Can't find it on amazon.

I'd buy it from the New Graham store and not take my chances using eBay. New Graham is a great place to buy from. Only $56.25 for this knife.

http://newgraham.com/store/product/4654/Pardue-Rant-MDP-BM10502/

After seeing this thread, I may have to go out and buy me one of these things. Not like I really need another knife. But this one looks well designed, very useful size, and it is nice to look at too!

Heck yeah, looks like a lot of knife for the buck. Sexier IMHO than Fallkniven and a whole lot more cost-effective.

Another knife that Doug recommends for a low-cost alternative, is the Gerber Big Rock.

As I recall, he also pointed out that the owner would get very familiar with sharpening the blade since he'd have to do it a lot ... in comparison to the S30V steel on his blades.

I wish the blades on the Rant and Fixed Griptilian (not Doug's Mk3) didn't have the spine angled near the tip. I know its for better insertion (stab, stab), but I'd rather have it flat for batoning (not that I baton - I use an axe for that).

The Rant blade seems a bit thick (0.175) for my taste. The Fixed Grip is a bit thin (0.119"). I like Doug's MK3 thickness of 0.14. I suspect I'd prefer the Fixed Grip's thinner blade versus the Rant's thicker blade.

Big difference in weight too - Rant=11.8 oz, Fixed Grip=4.6 oz. Doug's Mk3=5.7 oz.

The Big Rock knife is 6.3 oz. and has a 0.16" thick blade.

In general I don't buy the whole "survival knife" thing. When things go wrong and I find myself at nature's mercy, the knife I'm carrying will be my "survival knife". 99.9% of the time I carry Doug's Mk1 mini. It will do whatever I need it to do - so long as I don't try to pry open steel doors or shatter concrete with it.

Ken

Very nice knife. It looks great. Although, like Ken pointed out, it´s a pity that it possesses the false edge.

I have both a Fallkniven and a Benchmade and I'm not entirely sure that the comparison is fair.

The F1 is designed for North European conditions. It's one of the toughest production knives ever made. It's also somewhat smaller than the Benchmade. When asked for advise I always recommend Fallkniven. If it's within the asker's means.

Having said that: I also recommend the the Benchmade to people who are on a tighter budget. It's 44oC steel, which under most circumstances I would personally considerer a no-no steel. But, this is Benchmade 440c tempered. Sharpens easily and keeps an edge. Its full tang (I checked with Benchmade) and has a decent low slip handle.

And I would stay away from Gerber. Their steel is a PTA bad joke to sharpen.

+1 with Leigh's comments.

What are "Northern European conditions"?

Cold, wet, windy. -20 to + 5 celcius. Open tundra to pine forest. Think Tutenborge Forest in Germany.

440C steel has a rep for going brittle at low temperatures. Which is why I personally think that a Fallkniven VG-10 laminated blade is the better choice.

You mean the Teutoburg forest (historical battlefield where Arminius destroyed the Roman legions)? I'm not sure that's a good comparison to Scandinavia. Also, tundra has very little in common with boreal forest.

Anyway, I live in the temperate zone but the temperature range you've just described is typical for our winter. I've never seen anything that would indicate 440C is any more brittle at low temperatures than any other stainless steel.

I'm sure the Fallkniven F1 would be a good choice for the Northern European environment or any other place with a cold climate and lots of forest. So would a Mora (at a fraction of the price), the fixed-blade Benchmade or even a Kabar if you need something closer to a tough sharpened prybar that still makes a good knife.

IME, if there is one truly indispensable survival tool in the North European (or equivalent) environment it's a good axe. Probably even more important than the knife. No matter what kind of knife you have you need an axe to make a decent shelter, fell trees and split logs in the cold, snowy coniferous forest zone. Without that capability your chances of survival drop rapidly.