My son wants a survival knife...Help, please.

Jeff S1 said:
Lots of good suggestions in this thread. I would skip the hollow handle knife all together, most are sub standard, the good ones are well above your price point. My vote goes for the Ontario Pilots Survival knife. I had one at his age and had many adventures with that knife. I also learned how to start sharpening knives with the stone that came with it. Glad to hear your boy is doing well with Scouts & enjoys the outdoors.
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i agree. as much as it has been put down in the past on this forum and for the most part on the internet, they are hard to beat for there price. they have a sheath that can put up with a pretty good beating before it even thinks of kicking out on you, it has the "classic survival/kabar/rambo look", it has a sharpening stone incorporated in its system and all sorts of ways to store small hooks, small ferro rod blanks and what not. every one has also been saying that saw backs arnt worth the time of day and for building a shelter such they arnt, but i must say for harder materials like concrete (and the skin of an aircraft i guess??) they work fine. if he feels he will enjoy having them on his knife then he should by golley! i still find my self playing with mine even though i now have knives of better quality. there just that fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEswq8prS-0&feature=channel
when i was reading the question this video came to mind

this one might help as well :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cTo5MR2SdQ&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_682692
 
I have put more than one Schrade hollow-handled knife to the test and found them to be really tough. Though they do not have saw teeth on the spine. I like the smaller versions btter than the larger ones personally.

You would have never gotten me to believe it at the age of 15, but in all honesty the best knife/saw combo "survival" knife I've seen in that price range is a Victorinox One Hand Trekker. Very versatile, very functional, and easily carried anywhere. Get him one of those and a Becker BK11 and he is set to handle/ "survive" a lot of things. I can't say where or how much without violating forum rules but I just looked around and found both for just over your upper limit and I would think it worth it for a guy working on his Eagle Scout.
 
crackerjax said:
Chris reeve One piece
Randall made 18
Randall made 14
Randall made 15
Randall made 16
Randall made 17

But those are all way over $50 but I think someone who gets his eagle has worked for a good knife
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I agree, if it was my son I would get him a nice Randall, one of his choosing.
 
With a BK2 and a SAK with a saw he would be ready for anthing.With the BK2 he would have a knife to pass on to his kid,their pretty much bomb proof(kid proof).
 
Scott Free said:
Anyone one who has ever been 15 and into knives has wanted a hollow-handled knife with a saw on the top of the blade. Then we grow up. I think you first need to change your son's perception of a "survival knife." This book might do it: http://www.amazon.com/98-6-Degrees-Keeping-Your-Alive/dp/1586852345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291419891&sr=8-1

Get him the book, and then see if he decides he might want something different. Your son will be disappointed with a sub $50 hollow handled knife. He'll also be disappointed with the $12 plastic handled Mora "survival knife" that I carry—unless he changes his perception of what a survival knife really is.
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+1

I would recommend giving him all the information regarding what makes a decent "survival" knife. If after reading all the information he still wants a Rambo style POS knife then just get it for him. He may be caught up in the hollywood representation of what a "survival" knife is. If so then there is no changing his mind until he learns from personal hands on experience.

I bought into the Rambo craze when I was a teenager. It took going to a survival course in 2005 to finally open my eyes to what a proper knife is.

Giving him all the information will also help him be a better informed Eagle Scout.
 
Don't the Beckers have biggish handles? He's only 15 and they may be too big around for him. (I don't have a Becker, so I really don't know.)
 
I think most around here will agree that the REAL Survival Knife is the one you have on you at the time you end up in trouble. Smaller knives are just easier to have on you all the time and you can buy more quality with your budget that way. Plus they are more pleasant to use on many chores involved in campcraft or in a survival situation.

I recently became a step-dad and I toil with the same question... get a boy the junk item he desperately wants or get him the thing he would chose after it breaks and wants to try something else. It's a tough call. I agree MOST with the idea of giving him an opportunity to learn first and then deciding from there. Whatever he ends up getting may not be as big of a surprise but the enjoyment of the use of that knife will outweigh that in the end.
 
1. Some on this thread sound VERY condescending and snobbish....very few of us actually are.
2. Most on this thread offer really good advice. Especially about letting your son read this thread and even explorethis forum for a while. Very very few hollow handled knives are any ood, and the ones that are are priced WAY WAY above the 50-100 dollare range.
3. It is very cool that you are helping your son with this knife. It is also very cool that you took the time to find Bladeforums and ask for some directions. Your son is lucky.

Now for my own two cents. Kbar makes a line of knives called johnson Adventure Knives. The pork belly one comeswith a sheath that has a HUGE pouch for building asurvival kit. Good knife, good sheath. And it is cool. I would second all those that pointed to a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) but I would offer that it needs to have a LOCKING blade and a saw.
A folding saw is a great tool, but only if he is going to shelter building or wood processing out in the woods.
Good luck, and both you and your son hang around and join the crowd.
 
Tasselhoff said:
1. Some on this thread sound VERY condescending and snobbish....very few of us actually are.
2. Most on this thread offer really good advice. Especially about letting your son read this thread and even explorethis forum for a while. Very very few hollow handled knives are any ood, and the ones that are are priced WAY WAY above the 50-100 dollare range.
3. It is very cool that you are helping your son with this knife. It is also very cool that you took the time to find Bladeforums and ask for some directions. Your son is lucky.

Now for my own two cents. Kbar makes a line of knives called johnson Adventure Knives. The pork belly one comeswith a sheath that has a HUGE pouch for building asurvival kit. Good knife, good sheath. And it is cool. I would second all those that pointed to a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) but I would offer that it needs to have a LOCKING blade and a saw.
A folding saw is a great tool, but only if he is going to shelter building or wood processing out in the woods.
Good luck, and both you and your son hang around and join the crowd.
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You can get a SAK with a locking blade, some of the black ones with the oval hole for opening have it.
 
IMO a good survival knife would need a decently thick spine for toughness and strength, unfortunately a good saw needs a pretty thin blade (comparably) for efficient cutting. Obviously the knife is going to compromise the saw or vice-versa. A good knife and a good folding saw would be a great compromise, and as far as the hollow handled knifes go I would avoid them like the plague, stick with something with a full tang, then use some paracord or something to attach a pouch to the knifes sheath with an Altoid tin size survival kit. :thumbup:
 
If you get your son the hollow-handle Schrade linked several times above, he'll be delighted. By all accounts, it's a decent knife that actually works, and it fits his current 14-year-old vision of a survival knife. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

If you get him a different knife--a more practical outdoor knife--he may be dissapointed, but then again it may be a valuable life lesson that the knife you want as a 14-year-old boy isn't necessarily the best choice.

Only you know your son well enough to know which is right.
 
I see great wisdom in the first post that said, "Get him what he wants." :)

He'll learn and it will be an inexpensive lesson over the course of his lifetime. A lot of the recommendations are from folks who "learned" and now have selected out the best values for specific interests.

He's a kid. Let him know he had options, but you chose to honor his request. The next request will be more considered.

Merry Christmas. :)
 
I've owned khukris since I was very young. I think they get the job done and look really cool doing it too! Don't know how much they retail for there but a decent one shouldn't cost more than $20.
But like a lot of the guys said, let the knife you guys finally buy be functional and not just cool looking.
Best of luck!!
 
If he's set on a tough hollow handle knife why not get him a ColdSteel Bushman, you could even put together a mini survival kit to go in the handle and cover the handle with a section of inner tube for comfort /emergency tinder he'll be pleased as punch !;):thumbup:

http://www.coldsteel.com/bushmanseries.html
 
Pilots knife is also a good choice. Can be found at most surplus shops.

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When I was young I had two hollow handle saw back knives. Neither one held an edge at all. I never broke either one, but I never trusted either with hard work.

For a capable setup in your price range I'd have to go with a Becker BK-11 or BK-14 and a folding saw. Either of the Becker knives will pull far more than its share of chores, and I wouldn't go camping or hiking without a good folding saw.

I'd also suggest that you set you son up with an account here. There is a world of knowledge he'd be exposed to, and I have yet to come across a regular here who gives bad advice.
 
knivesngear said:
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I would go with the Buck 119 Special. it is a classic hunting/outdoors knife. it costs around $44.00, and is made in the USA. it has a 6" blade and only weighs 7.5oz. as for the saw, i would get him a separate saw after all " you need the right tool for the job" Im 15 as well and made the mistake of getting the gerber lmf which is just like the bear grylls knife. it is to heavy and not piratical. i think your son would be happy with a Buck 119 Special.

-stephen
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arrrh! wheres ye buccaneers?... on ye buccan head.
check out the pruning saws in the gardening section of the local hardwarehouse.
 
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When I was a kid I had a USAF "bolt" knife and I beat the hell out of it! It was indestructible. This was before Rambo and the survival knife craze. I wish I would have kept it, but I gave it a friend’s son years ago (he wanted a “real survival knife” too).
 
that schrade is your best bet.

the bear grylls knife is pretty dumb, imo. and I like bear grylls :p
 
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