It is amazing how many friendly and knowledgeable people are here offering their advice. Can you recommend something? Here is my wish list:
- Total length ~12 inches
- Blade ~7 inches
- Good chopper (by the way, my favourite chopper is Terävä Skrama 240)
- Good at stabbing (but I don't expect it to be as stabby as a dagger of course)
- Plastic sheath -- Kydex or similar (not leather or nylon, I want it to be fixed securely in a sheath, when it "clicks" closed)
Steel, weight, manufacturer etc. don't matter (as long as some minimal quality requirements are met).
I currently own only one knife that meets those requirements, my good old Cold Steel GI Tanto. To be honest, I didn't like it at first, but gradually it earned my love and respect, it is a real work horse! And it has gone through a lot of abuse. The handle was probably the worst part of this knife: slippery, no rear quillon... but I solved this problem easily, just wrapped about 1/2 inch of electrical tape around the butt + added a lanyard I can wrap around my palm for extra grip). It's pretty good at chopping (as much as a 7-inch, not so heavy blade can be), but not particularly good at stabbing (although not terrible, by no means no).
And the reason why I want it to be 12 inches max in total length is because I just don't want it to stick out too much from under my t-shirt when I go hiking.
Thank you!
