I'm really out of my league on more expensive knives. I've always used Case, Buck, or similar kind of guy. Most expensive knife to date is a Benchmade at just over $100.

If you get fancy on handle material these can be pricy, but with something like a black micarta handle I'm seeing some reasonably priced on Amazon.

What are your thoughts on something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Bark-River-C...rds=bark+river+classic+drop+point+hunter

Or this

https://www.amazon.com/Bark-River-G...sr=8-3&keywords=bark+river+bravo+edc

My thoughts are why not get in touch with one of the members here who make custom blades. Your up in the $150 plus range and Mike Miller makes a decent blade in the $150-$200 range. Standard steel types/materials. If wanting high dollar stock/materials vs. standard materials, expect to pay double those prices.

You can choose stock thickness/type, grind, profile, custom blade/handle dimensions to fit your hands, and scale materials.

If buying to just collect, you may have different thoughts, but to me a knife is a tool and will get used so why not a custom to fit your tastes??

If you have a budget of $250-$350 you might want to check out Rick Menefee's work on similar blade profiles/standard materials.

SD

+1

Another excellent maker(underrated, IMO) is Wayne Hendrix. Wayne will make you a nice working blade with Micarta, stainless Kirby bolts on the handle, and top quality steel(ATS 34, 154 CM...) for about $150. Plus, his wife Ruby will make(included in price of knife) you an excellent full-grain leather sheath to go with it that will hold the knife securely. I like Ruby's sheaths so much I've purchased them for other knives as well.

Wayne's a little hard to get ahold of but he's a real nice guy and makes a fantastic knife! My experience has been that he doesn't have very long wait times either. I tried emailing him to no avail.(he doesn't much like computers). Calling him on the phone is best.

Google: Hendrix Custom Knives

Here's a link to a few he's made for me over the years:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...s/4245711/Re_Wayne_Hendrix_Knives_eye_ca


Leftybolt

Tim Olt aka michiganroadkill makes a nice blade as well. IMHO

I have a couple of Bark River knives and like them. I sent you a PM offer.

I like my two bark river knives and you can find them priced decently.
You cant go wrong buying them and the marketplace name recognition may help you sell them if needed.

Thanks for the tips. I may explore a custom, but it is something I need to educate myself about 1st. At this time I really don't know enough about different makers and options to make a decision. Being able to see and hold something 1st would be a big plus.

I have one I really like....bought it used for $75 but if I were going to spend that much I'd be giving Mike Miller a call.....

David Winston is another great maker. He'll be a touch more, between $200-300, but makes a superb blade.

I think your in the ballpark for a custom or semi custom production knife. Most makers will have something in that ballpark. The toughest thing is figuring out what features you want and handle styles feel best.

I have the gunny hunter in a higher grade of steel. Look at DLT traders or Knife Supply to compare prices.

Owned a few.

Nice variety of offerings.

But by-in-large, seemed to be over-priced and under-performers, imo.

Lots of replies and PM's with suggestions. I'm grateful to everyone, but now more confused than ever. Right now I'm leaning toward looking into a custom knife but really need to study and research this a lot more to know exactly what I want.

MSRP on most of the Bark River knives I like is $200-$250, but I'm seeing them on Amazon for closer to $150-$175. I wouldn't pay $250 for a Bark River. I might go $200 or a bit more for a custom knife. Not interested in anything fancy, just a solid working knife. A nice looking quality leather sheath is almost as important as the knife to me. That is one thing that caught my attention with Bark River.

Blade design, profile, steel, handle design, handle material, weight. If you know what you want in relation to those parameters, choosing the rest becomes easier.

Just out of curiosity what do you envisage doing with the knife?


And in what environment.

i agree with the others on going the custom route.

Of the names mentioned David Winston is my favorite maker. followed by gene ingram and charles may ( its a MS thing. )

in this forum, several makers have a thread showing off various models. Well worth the time to look.


As far as materials, im not a steel snob. D2 or s30v is what most of mine are. I like g10 / micarta scales. Bone and stag look great. Its just not my thing.

For $175 and up I'd just plan on buying a custom knife. No way I'd pay near or over $175 - $200 for a factory fixed blade. There are makers that will build you a custom knife for that money and/or you can score a 95+% custom knife used on the classifieds here in that ballpark.

Most of the custom makers include very nice handmade leather sheaths in the price of the knife. From the photos of the Bark Rivers Knives you linked to, it looks like you are interested in a traditional style hunting knife for field dressing/quartering game.

Here are a couple knives by makers I listed in my reply with Mike E. Miller's Knives falling within or below your $200 budget. Mike makes his on sheaths which are included in his prices.

Badley Hunter CPM 154 SS (1/8")@ 8"OAL:

[img:center][/img]

[img:center][/img]


And Rick Menefee's version of the Badley for about $100 more:

[img:center][/img]

[img:center][/img]


If wanting higher quality steels( 440v, S30, S60, S90, BG42 etc etc)and specialized scale materials, you'll increase price significantly.

Most of the custom makers will work within initial price quote to give you your desired style and adjusted dimensions to fit your hand exactly.

Consider the purpose for the knife, best steel-stock/material for that purpose including knife style and type of grind, and final dimensions to fit your hand.

One negative to a custom is the wait time, but if you get your order in on their off season, you get em quicker.

SD

The majority of knife makers include very nice sheaths....

Mike Millers sheaths are no joke....$145.....



I don't have a pic of the sheath but the only other custom knife I own is one of Dan Thompson's...
It also came with a beautifully stamped well made sheath...$200...

+1

I like the bark river gunny hunter. It has a convex grind which is nice except I haven't had the knack for sharpening it myself. They will sharpen it for you if you send it in. The knife is available in Elmax or CPM3V which are a good steel options. At this point with my limited sharpening skill I like a knife with a normal grind so I can easily get a great edge using a lansky sharpener or something similar. In my experience you are likely to get a bit better attention to little details with a custom maker but you have to get in line and wait for the more well known good ones. There is a knife user/collector on youtube that reviews bark river knives and likes them a lot
https://www.youtube.comresults?search_query=virtuovice+channel

Thanks for everything. For now I'm doing anything. Will probably just go the custom route, but not until I educate myself a bit more.

As a side note I clicked on my links in the OP. The prices shown on Amazon have gone up $30-$40 over what they were showing the day I posted the link. I wouldn't pay the prices shown today for those knives. When they were $40 less I'd have considered it.

Update:

At least for now I'm attempting a simple DIY custom. I bought a blank blade that I like and some red/black micarta handle material. Total cost, about $30-$35 so far. Steel is 5160 carbon.

Not a lot of work, just attaching and finishing the handles. I'm not expecting perfection the 1st time, but we'll see.

Crappy cell pic, I'll take better shots when finished.

Good luck!