I mentioned on another thread that before making my recent purchase of a new knife that I had come up with a set of criteria of what I was looking for in a knife. I was asked to share this criteria, so that's where this post comes in .

First off I should say, this criteria was developed over time and changed as I considered the options out there. I had started playing with the idea of replacing my current knife after last summer so this is the culmination of my thinking on the subject.

The roles I were looking for this knife to fill were those of general camp knife and primary wilderness knife. It's the sheath knife I will be carrying while hiking, camping & backpacking. I wanted a knife that was strong and capable enough that I could rely on alone if forced to (like an emergency situation when hiking) but with the understanding that it would be complimented by the appropriate tools, like a saw and hatchet, in planned situations (like camping).

Frankly, I think most of my important criteria came directly from Doug Ritter's information here.

The following may not describe the ideal knife, but it describes MY ideal knife given what I know today . That said, this is what I was looking for:

A 4" (or so) blade. This is one of those criteria I change my mind about a few times. My original inclination was to look for something in the 4.5" to 6" range but after seeing so many good designs around the 4" mark I started reconsidering and ultimately came to the conclusion that I really hadn't found a situation where a 4" blade was insufficient.

Single plain edge, with no saw back and preferably no false edges.

Drop or spearpoint blade for strength. For grind I was really considering flat, sabre or scandi grind. I definitely thought convex would fit my needs, but was a bit wary about my ability to sharpen & maintain one.

Full tang construction, preferably with an extended tang or possibly a solid pommel.

Blade thickness greater than 1/8" for both general durability in an emergency as well as for added confidence for batoning during regular use.

Stainless steel blade, but preferably a steel that still holds a good edge. One of the reasons I was uncomfortable with carbon steel was that I also planned on using the knife for food prep while camping; another was I simply didn't want to have to think about blade care to the degree I feel a good carbon blade deserves.

A half guard for safety (more for emergency situations than normal use).

Reasonable weight. I didn't really have a fixed weight in mind, but I figured knives like the Becker Companion (one knife that gets great reviews) were heavier than I wanted to go.

For grip material, I was leaning towards man-made materials. While I really appreciate the look & feel of wood and bone handles, I felt the various man-made materials could be beneficial both for their gripiness and low-maintenance aspects (similar to the SS v. carbon decision).

I also wanted a good sheath. I was again leaning towards man made materials, preferring the low-maintenance and improved all-weather performance aspects. I was also interested in multiple mounting options (like the ESEE sheaths for example).

Finally, for cost, I really didn't want to break the $200 mark and was trying to stay under $150 if possible.

Based on all of this, I ended up with a Fallkniven F1 with the Zytel sheath:



I used this knife for the first time during a camping trip last week and it performed extremely well; I am very satisfied.

Obviously I ended up not getting exactly what I thought I was looking for, and there are some features of the knife that I decided would be beneficial but weren't a part of my original criteria (like the hidden tang), but working through the criteria I came up with certainly helped me narrow down the multitude of options out there and helped me select a knife that I believe will do everything I need and want it to do.