Fixed Blade Knives, Swords and Blades

This classic fighting knife from Ka-Bar, first manufactured at the onset of WWII, has survived more than fifty years of industry changes unscathed. Look around you for other items with that longevity and you’ll find only a few. Hammers, wrenches, and Ka-Bar knives …

Tanto blades look just plain dangerous, all angles and points and edges. They remind me a little bit of shark’s teeth. It’s a cultural thing, a remnant of old Japan in the blade style. An American fighting blade is nearly always a …

Even though the high carbon stainless steel blade of this 11″ traditionally styled Bowie knife is only 6″ long, some who buy it think it’s too much knife for ordinary campers or hunters. That sounds like a good knife to me. …

If you’re a serious collector of fixed blade knives, certainly you’ve heard of the Gerber Mark II. First produced in 1966, the MK II was designed by retired Army Captain Bud Holzman, who used the pattern of Gladiator swords for his inspiration. And there could …

The first thing that struck me about this full tang knife is the attractive stag handle. This is genuine stag, not a replicate, and therefore no two Puma Catamount knives will be exactly the same. Like a fingerprint, every antler-turned-handle will have distinct …

Inspired by ancient chokuto swords and classic mohora-zukuri double edged tantos, with modern practicality in mind, this CRKT First Strike is unlike anything that Columbia River has ever made before. Custom knifemaker Steve Corkum, based in Littleton, Pennsylvania, has been designing knives …

This beautiful hollow ground traditional skinning knife, with a thick 4 1/4″ high carbon stainless blade, combines the best of old and new. Used to be that knives came with an edge so crudely beveled that it was a mark of pride among …

The Buck Zipper, a special purpose hunting design, features a black hard rubber handle, 4.25″ hollow ground skinning blade of high carbon stainless steel, brass finger guard and brass butt. What sets it apart from a fixed blade hunting and …

The Buck Woodsman is a traditional hunting knife with the advantages of modern craftsmanship. A high carbon stainless blade eliminates the possibility of corrosion, and the tight construction of the phenolic handle reduces the chances of cross contamination of food. Hunting knives …

Traditionally, a Samurai sword set comes with three different combat lengths: the ever-popular katana, the longer wakisashi, and the shorter tanto blade. If you want a tanto-length sword without the rest of the set, however, a sword like this one would definitely be one to …

This Classic Bowie Knife really takes you back to the days when most men in a western town could be seen with a blade sheathed on their hip. It is a beautiful example of the blade design originally commissioned by famous frontiersman …

Pig Sticking is an ancient tradition of boar hunting, usually done with long cross guarded spears. I guess this is where the Pig Sticker Bowie Knife gets its name. This is a long knife - 15″ overall length - but about standard …

This 3.75-inch blade is composed of 420J2 steel - good for stain resistance and toughness. The amount of time this knife spends submerged in salt water won’t quickly spoil the blade quality. It is blunt tip and plain edged, with a serrated spine …

This Kershaw Amphibian water sports knife is a bold statement. It’s an attractive knife, with a serious and stealthy design, one sure to get some attention from fellow divers and kayakers.

At only 7 3/4-inch total length and weighing in at 3.2 ounces, stored in its …

I have mixed feelings about this Schrade Water Rat dive knife.

First the good feelings: I think the orange nylon handle is attractive, decently sized (4.1-inches), and easy to grip. It is also available in black, which looks good with any diver’s gear. The orange, though, …

Sometimes it’s great just to see a utility knife with sheer simplicity. Nothing fancy, no special little gimmicks. Just a straightforward machete made from quality materials. And it’s made by none other than Cold Steel.

The basic design of this Cold Steel machete is derived …

Promate sells all sorts of diving/scuba equipment and accessories - they do not specialize exclusively in knives. This is an important place to start my review because any prospective buyers of the Alligator Sharp Tip Dive Knife, or any knife, should know exactly where that …

If I were to take a machete into the North American wilderness, I think I’d like one that was shorter and heavier than the jungle variety. Maybe something that would fit into a belt sheath, so I could use my hands for other things; …

Smith and Wesson often comes out with knives that are just on the outer envelope of sensible. This Search and Rescue Kukri is in that same class, just on the practical side of the fantasy weapon genre.

Everything about this knife looks solid, if …

Knives have mystique–that’s one of the essential aspects people often disrespect these days, but it’s still real. Knives are tangible visual symbols of something very old, a spirit we seek even in our modern lives. The question here is: Do we find …

There is an old adage in paddling sports that ropes and water do not mix, at least not without the eventual problems, and as any serious rafter, kayaker, or canoe enthusiast knows, a dependable knife is a much needed tool. Gerber Legendary Blades, based …

The U.S. Divers 4.5-inch Sabre dive knife can be summed up into just one word: average. This knife does not have any spectacular features or any significant faults - what you would expect for the price. The Sabre’s blade is 420 stainless …

Once again Paul Chen of Hanwei fame has designed yet another timeless piece of medieval weaponry. This yari, or Japanese spear, has been forged in ancient Japanese tradition while keeping up with a few modern conveniences at the same time.

The Hanwei yari measures an impressive …

I like the way this dive knife looks. It’s important to have reliable gear, but let’s face it, scuba diving is a lot about style — especially for the casual scuba enthusiast. Why else would there be a selection of snorkel and mask colors, or different …

There’s no way we could ever recommend this trench knife for everyday, functional use… unless you need something cheap for a Halloween costume or a stage production. If that’s the case, it’s a great deal.

You might even be able to tell just by looking at it, but …

U.S. Divers is one of America’s oldest dive companies and has been equipping scuba divers, snorkelers, and skin divers with their gear for over fifty years. They know the business of serious diving. This full tang, titanium, clip point, 5-inch straight-blade dive knife …

Well, the folks at Portland, Oregon, based Leatherman have done it again. This time with a 3-in-1 fixed blade knife, bone saw, and gut hook - perfect for field dressing?in a really ingenious design.

How you ask? When this is a knife, the bone …

Finally a decent knife to honor the great Daniel Boone, the most legendary frontiersman in American history. You’ve been waiting for that one, right? It makes you want to go back to the days of the Old West and see some gun-slinging action, maybe throw …

From the sounds of it, and the initial first impression, the Black Ultimate Survival Knife is just about the best thing since sliced bread. It’s basically a survival kit built right into the handle of the knife.

If you twist the handle open, a whole plethora of goodies …

This is a very large and heavy knife. If you’re thinking it might be too burdensome to wield, or be too much extra weight on your hip, just get a smaller utility knife and keep the survival basics in your pack.

But it’s definitely a better quality knife …

The Daggert 2 is one heck of a military knife. Every little detail is thought out for maximum utility and durability. SOG really hit the jackpot!

First of all, let’s take a peek at this rugged-looking blade. It’s partially serrated, comes to a sharp spear point …

Here’s a bigger, badder Barracuda! OK, it’s technically not any bigger in size than the stainless steel Barracuda by ProMate, but it’s much stronger, and boasts a higher quality than its sibling.

That’s because it has a 5-inch blade made from solid titanium, and that’s about the …

This is a miniature version of the Cold Steel Urban Pal push knife, and by miniature, we mean tiny. The blade is only about an inch long, and the grip is a little over an inch as well.

The reason you’d even want to buy a push knife like …

Here’s a tribute tactical knife honoring the lives of the men and women who fought bravely during the tragedy of September 11. The tribute is etched onto the obverse side of the blade.

And what an honor! The Interceptor 9/11 is nicknamed “Escape & Evasion,” and it incorporates …

Is this blade awesome, or is it another overpriced showpiece?

Cold Steel took the same concepts from Japanese sword-smithing into making their brand new tanto blade, the Magnum Tanto II. At a distance, it even looks like a small katana.

The blade really is the Magnum Tanto II’s biggest boast because …

SOG’s original, full-size Pentagon knife earned its name for being a leading military and law enforcement tool. Later on, SOG introduced the Mini Pentagon. It’s smaller in size, but equivalent in every other aspect to its frontrunner namesake.

The Mini Pentagon is ideally suited for a backup knife, …

Here’s a heavy-duty knife that’s worth taking a look at. If it’s a Smith & Wesson product, chances are it’s got a lot to live up to. And it looks like the Special Ops Bayonet Challenger can live up to it just fine… but that’s just …

The futuristic masterminds behind SOG Specialty Knives met up with the exceptional craftsmen at Kiku Knives and created a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, seen here as the SOG Kiku Limited Edition Knife.

And yes, this blade is absolutely incredible. It’s inspired by the iconic SOG design, but created as a “reverse collaboration” …

The bowie knife’s origins date back to the early 1800s, smack dab in the middle of Texas with Colonel James “Jim” Bowie, the designer of the well known blade style.

After a renowned winning fight with the notorious Norris Wright, every townsman wanted a blade just like Bowie’s. …

Boker is well known for providing high-end, limited edition knives. They’re expensive, but since they’re collector’s items, you know that they might just bring you a return on your investment in several years.

This 10-inch trench knife is no exception to that fact. It’s made from Damascus steel and …

From one of the world’s front runners in knife technology comes the Idun blade, a hunting knife that’s both artistic and advanced.

Fallkniven is one of our favorite hunting knife makers. It’s a family-owned firm, many of whom are hunters themselves. They use that knowledge to continually refine their blade …

The 119 Special is Buck’s best-selling hunting knife, and for good reason. It’s a strong, no-frills knife that has everything you need in a hunting knife and nothing else. And it’s less than fifty bucks.

The blade measures six inches and is made of 420HC …

This is a pretty slick diving knife from Underwater Kinetics (or “UK” as they’re known to those in the know).

Diver’s knives should be rugged, lightweight, corrosion-resistant and versatile. This knife is all four.

Titanium is generally recognized as one of the best materials for …

The S1 is another great knife from Fallkniven. Fallkniven is a small family-run operation known for producing a short list of exceptional knives.

The S1 is a “forest” knife, though it might be better known as part of the bushcraft, survival, or wilderness categories.

What differentiates a wilderness knife like this …

Headed to the jungle? Take this knife.

Why? Because SOG makes great knives and this is one of their excellent bushcraft offerings. It’s also not that expensive so you can try it out without too much of an investment.

It features a nine-and-a-half inch blade …

This sleek folding version of Bechmade’s popular Presidio knife is smaller than the fixed-blade model but gets the job done.

It features a 3 inch blade made of 154CM steel. 154CM is a bit of a wildcard these days. It used to be considered a …

Designed by fire fighter and knife expert Rick Hinderer, this is a well thought-out knife with essential rescue features built-in.

For starters, the mechanisms are oversized for use while wearing safety gloves.

Next, its serrated edge is tough enough to cut through tough fabric like seatbelts and webbing.

This knife also …

SOG puts these knives through some pretty rigorous testing before they get to you. Among many others, the tests include a gasoline torch resistance test, a noise and reflectivity test and a two-week salt immersion test.

So, if you plan to …

Ex-military man Jeff Freeman led the way in designing this knife to be the ultimate military-application survival knife.

Want to cut through the skin of a fuselage, slice through a seatbelt, or smash through the plexiglass of a helicopter? The LMF II ASEK will do the …

Gotta hand it to the Swedes - they sure do know how to make a great survival knife. Fallkniven is a supplier of knives to the king of Sweden, so they’re probably doing something right.

Along with the H1 Hunting Knife and F1 Pilot Survival Knife, this …