>>By the way presumed what would be your first choice if not Randal or Reeve? Just wondering<<
I didn't really mean to say that my first choice wouldn't be either a Randall (well... unlikely) or a Reeve knife, just that it probably wouldn't be a hollow-handle knife. For the reasons stated, I'm not that fond of the idea.
As to what I would choose- gee, I wish I had a good answer for that. You have to understand, I've been a "knife nut" since I was about 9 years old, and there are probably a couple of hundred blades around here, mostly in drawers... everything from the tiny scalpel-like blade on the Leatherman Micra up to... well, the longest blade I own is probably a basket-hilted broadsword. A LOT of these seemed like "just the ticket" when I bought them over the decades, but amazingly few got used for very long.
There is no universal "best" knife, for sure, and every decision depends A LOT on what conditions you expect to face. What works for a weapon is often at odds with what works as a tool, and what works for sailing in salt water is often at odds with what works for backpacking in the mountains.
I will, however, offer a few opinions, apparently NOT widely shared, that I've evolved into over the years:
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CAUTION- those offended by other's opinions, any opinions, should quit reading now.
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I think that every knife should be considered ONLY together with it's sheath or "carry". They work together as an integral system, each pretty useless without the other. A "neat" knife that can't be carried well is useless. It doesn't matter how nice it would be to have it in your hand when facing the need, if it just won't get carried that far.
Along those lines: WEIGHT MATTERS. In a weapon, light weight is speed, timing, dexterity. For travelling on foot (hiking or backpacking), the value is obvious. If you're solo in the wilderness, you should probably have multiple knives, which compounds the weight issue. On a diver's leg, weight is inertia and momentum that must be overcome with every stroke. Even for city or vehicle use, weight sags pockets and pulls on belts, is constantly annoying, and makes it less likely for a knife to be carried and more likely that it will end up in a drawer at home. The classic Buck 110 folder, for example, with it's huge brass bolsters, weighed twice as much as a Buck General with a seven-inch blade, yet people carried them backpacking. Amazing.
I think that edge-holding, by and large, is overrated. I'd much rather spend five minutes touching up an edge twice as often, than spend an hour trying to sharpen a knife that's too hard, and have to worry about the brittleness of the point, and even chipping of the edge. I've had points break (without prying) and chunks come off of edges in normal use (cutting pine!), and when it happened, I didn't care at all, anymore, how sharp it was. This goes double for knives as weapons, which will probably never be used enough to dull in one engagement (how?), but where reliability and ability to take punishment is absolutely crucial.
I think corrosion-resistance, by and large, is underrated. The knife exists to support the edge, and pulling a knife from a kit or sheath to find the edge rusted means that it's an unreliable piece of equipment. Coatings on the blades just mean that the edge corrodes first, I don't see how that helps. Sea water, or having a leather sheath soaked in constant rain are just a couple of the many possible problems- blood and sweat are both mostly salt water, and if they're not possible factors, you're dead.
I don't much like darkened blades. I've had remarkably few opportunities in life to take out a sentry from behind in a ninja-like night attack where the gleam of a blade might have given me away. I have, however, without seeking such situations, confronted assailants at least twice, in relative dark, where a flashy blade convinced them to leave me alone and solved the problem. In both cases, if the blade had been dark, I think I might have had to use it. If I end up behind enemy lines my priorities might change, but until then, I remember those two instances every time I look at a darkened blade.
I don't much care for round or symmetrical handles. I think that a knife should be designed so that when you have it in your hand, you know instantly, without looking or thinking, where the edge is. On a really good design, I think you should be able to pull the knife with your eyes closed and touch the point to the index fingertip of your other hand, first try. The most ignored function of a knife's handle is to convey information- the information of where the edge and point are. Dedicated skinners might be an exception with regard to the point- "belly" may outweigh this consideration. I haven't done enough skinning to have a qualified opinion.
That should stir things up... <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
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