Reddit reviews Condor Tool & Knife, Kephart Knife, 4-1/2in Blade, Hardwood Handle with Sheath

The one I use.

Here are some options:

Ka-Bar:

Mark 1 Kraton handle

BK5

Neck Knife

Condor:

Bushcraft Basic

Kephart Knife

Bushlore

Basically-a-Mora-options:

Hultafors Heavy Duty

Cold Steel Finn Hawk

Ka-Bar's 1095 is pretty damn good. The Magnum Camp Knife is bigger than you were looking for, but it's a solid value. Condor knives are very high value, but can be rough around the edges. The Hultafors and Cold Steel knives I linked are stainless, but should do well in a kayak. All these knifes will take a beating and should be useful for a wide variety of tasks (some better than others, of course, but I wanted to offer a wide selection of size, shape, and grind).

I just got my Condor Kephart https://www.amazon.com/Condor-Tools-Knives-Kephart-2-Inch/dp/B007QUVIX0

It comes with a beautiful leather sheath and has quickly become one of my favorites. And at that price, I have no reservations about beating it up.

But most people would probably recommend a Mora.

what's the context here? Camping/survival? EDC? Truck knife?

What will you be using it for?

Lots of options but each blade is designed (typically) with a purpose in mind.

If you want a solid all-around fixed blade option for about $50: https://www.amazon.com/Condor-Tool-Knife-Kephart-Hardwood/dp/B007QUVIX0

Awesome! Then the world is your oyster. As I mentioned before, the Jeff White Nessmuk has been, for me, a terrific skinner. And it'll also do regular fieldcraft tasks with ease. However, I think I would get the Trekker model if I were only going to carry one. It might be right at the top of your budget, but it's an excellent knife. It's a convex grind just like the Nessmuk, but it's longer and not quite as sharply swept. If that's too large a blade, then check out the Bush Knife or one of the French Trade knives.

Here's the Trekker

Here's the French Trade Knife

The Bush One is close in length to your Enzo and is a bit less expensive.

The Condor Kephart is a flat grind with a secondary bevel and works really well. It's also very affordable and comes with the best sheath you'll ever see for its price point.

The exposed tang like that does no good at all. It's just styling.

One of the most basic bushcraft skills is firemaking with a bow and drill. This requires making shallow holes for both the tip and the butt of the drill to rest while it is being twisted. The ability to put a hole in a piece of wood is useful in other contexts, too.

It's very easy to make a hole by putting your palm over the butt of the knife while twisting and rotating it with your other hand. Safe and easy, and essentially impossible with an exposed tang.

It jabs you whenever your sheathed knife presses against your body. It gets cold. It makes it impossible to use the butt as a hammer. And it gives you nothing in return. It's more awkward to use it for drawing sparks than the spine of the knife, and unless you expect to encounter a lot of unbroken windshields, it's pretty much otherwise useless.

This is a useful way to do it:

http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Kraton-Handled-Straight-Knife/dp/B004NN3KF2

And if you don't want the added weight, then at least do this:

http://www.amazon.com/Condor-Tools-Knives-Kephart-2-Inch/dp/B007QUVIX0/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1453224401&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=kephardt+knife

http://www.amazon.com/Condor-Tools-Knives-Kephart-2-Inch/dp/B007QUVIX0/ref=pd_sbs_200_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=31QMnJx7frL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR156%2C160_&refRID=0ZMYAX2FRTG1N62YJB7K