Schrade SCHF3N 12in Full Tang High Carbon S.S. Fixed Blade Knife with 6.4in Clip Point Blade and Micarta Handle for Outdoor Survival, Camping and Bushcraft

Just moved to a working farm. I have a lot of very nice heavy-duty folders, Zero Tolerance 0300ST, various Benchmade's, and a Cold Steel Recon 1. Been carrying folders for 25-years, but I did not have a fixed blade knife and required something rather stout.I purchased this knife based on the reviews of Jon F. and B. Patrick from here on Amazon.I considered other knives including the Gerber LHF at $93, Kabar full sized black straight edge at $55, Bucks Tops Nighthawk at $76, Buck Hood Hoodlum at $151, Benchmade Nimravus at $149, and the Zero Tolerance at ZT0100 $236. Thee only knife I considered that was less money was the Schrade Extreme SHF9 at $37 from this same series. Remember, I carry a rather pricey ZT folder (0300ST), so I am not shy about spending money on good quality tools.All of those other choices considered were way more expensive with the exception of the other Schrade and the Kabar. The Kabar was still 30% or so more money. I figured I'd see what 40-bucks could buy me in a fixed blade.For the money or double (triple?) the price, this knife is a BEAST. I cannot quite believe it was approximately $40. Are you kidding me? Rock solid, superb fit and finish, razor sharp. Love the handle and the grippy jimping on the top of the handle for your thumb. Your hand is not going to slip up onto the blade no matter the "thrust force", grip, or conditions. The choil is perfect for choking up on the knife for fine work.Yeah its appearance is similar to a Chris Reeves custom knife, lots of Japanese cars mimick the aesthetics of their more expensive German counterparts. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. In this case a good thing for those of us on a real-world knife budget.As other noted, the sheath could have been thicker, more heavy duty. The plastic liner should hold the knife in, even upside down without the snap retainer strip. I'd have gladly coughed up another ten bucks to get a more beefy sheath. However, B. Patrick states the sheath holds-up well long-term so we shall see.Based on my initial impressions, this knife is an absolute bargain. An epic "bang for the buck" keeper.I cannot wait to put it through rough work out in my fields.Shawn BEDIT: It's July of 2012, a year later. I still LOVE this knife. I have beat the living daylights out of this knife, and it comes back for more. All my comments stand, and the sheath is holding up fine. I may buy a Spec-Ops Combat Master sheath for it. The sheath will be as expensive as the knife *chuckle*. But this knife is worth so much more than the asking price. Buy it. You will not be disappointed, rather you will be smug in the fact that you got such an outrageous bargain on a high-quality cutting tool.

I loved the look of this knife. I couldn't afford the Chris Reeves Pacific so I went SCHF3N.Couple complaints. #1 The Sheath.This was a given. I bought this knowing the sheath was crap but, they could have upgraded it by now. The sheaths for the Schf-36,37,51,52,9, etc. Are heaps better in quality than this. But, it does work. Plus, a ridiculous amount of cheap (Not 550) cord attached.#2 The shaping of the handle. From all I've watched and read about, their SCHF3 handle they love the fit. I have large hands but this was OVER big. It does not feel comfortable to me. Mine feels rough and UN-finished (like QA went to lunch then took a nap unfinished. Yes, its Chinese, $40, I get it. But still, I will end up sanding and shaping the handle for sure. I think maybe I just got a bad one. All & all It's a good knife. Would recommend.UPDATE: I've had the knife for a year and a half now. I Love it!. I ground down the thumb ramp and the high peaks in the finger grooves. Shaped the scales (a little too much. Hindsight, I would sand it less) to fit my grip. Now, It's a much better knife. If it's not my primary, I'll carry it as a back-up in a scout. For the right price, I would buy it again and re-modify A New One Better. Among some of my mid-side fixed blades I also have a Ka'Bar 7" USMC, a BK7 and a Rat 7 (which I will be returning do to my dislike of the handle & sheath...... For $65... No) but the SCHF3N with the right MODS, it would really be hard to beat. As primary or a beater its a keeper. Pro's: Weight, feel, steel, micarta scales, 1/4 inch thick spine, price, appearance and a choil. With the choil, you do loose an 3/4 inch on an already shorter blade compared to a 7". But, you have a great choil on an awesome knife.

I bought this knife for camping, mainly for prepping wood for fires. I wanted something that I could baton wood with and also general use while camping and backpacking.I ended up getting a different knife for that purpose (Becker BK9) which works much better, but I kept this knife because it's still a nice knife.The good:Quality and craftsmanship. I just feels solid. Doesn't feel cheaply made. Feels and looks like a $100 knife.It's sharp right out of the box. No need to reprofile. Just use it and touch up as needed.Stands up to abuse. I beat on it pretty hard without any damage.Value. Can't think of anything better for $40.The bad:I'm just not sure what the knife is meant for. It has a really thick blade which makes it as heavy as some larger knives. My BK9 with a 9" blade is way better at chopping and batoning wood, but barely weighs more than this knife. Maybe this knife needs to be so thick because of the lower quality steel? Not only does the thickness add weight, but it makes it harder to split wood. I'd rather have better steel and a thinner blade.The handle. It looks nice, but it's not comfortable. The finger groves are just awkward. I have large hands (larger than most people I know) and the finger groves are too far apart for me. I can't imagine how it would feel for someone with normal sized or small hands. I think they should just ditch the finger groves.Maybe this knife will work better for someone else. Like I said, the quality is there, I just don't think it's the best option for my purposes. It's fantastic for the price, but I think it might be one of those things when it's worth it to just spend a little bit more and get what you really need. The ka-bar Becker series knives seem like a better option for just a little more money.