Recommendation? a good beater for camping

Meh, most of the recommendations are coated or stainless. Just wipe it on your pants and when you get home wash it with dish soap, dry it, and throw some mineral oil on the edge. Easy peasy.

 

Skip the medium size and go directly for a Becker BK9. It’s called the King because it’s royalty.

 

That Buck Froe is on my wish list.

 

I only have 2 knives, both are non stainless carbon steel and both are in use, and I've never experienced any corrosion on either of them.
As someone already said, just wipe them down, wash with soapy water once you get home and put some mineral oil on them, or any other oil, I personally use coconut oil for one of my knives for really long time now and it hasn't shown any signs of corrosion so far.
And my other knife (EDC) is preserved from rust with lip balm. As crazy as it sounds, I use classic labello on my knife after using it to cut.

Why did I choose labello and coconut oil?
- simply because I already have them, I have coconut oil in my kitchen anyways, and I use Labello anyways
- they are food safe

You really don't have to buy anything special to maintain carbon steel blade, and they are in most cases factory coated anyways which works to your advantage because there is less surface area you need to worry about.
Non stainless carbon steel is generally much easier to sharpen, and takes much better edge, which are both important features.

 

@Smiling, does the coconut oil ever go rancid or have any issues? Long term?

 

I use it for very lony time now, never experienced rancidity with it, and it never stained my blade either or had any issues.
Coconut oil is one of the most stable vegetable oils, it takes around a year to go rancid according to some sources.
And I use my knife more often than that. And after each use I wash and dry my knife, then oil it again with fresh layer of oil once it's dry.

I would probably use wax or something else if I was going to store my knife for prolonged ammount of time.

For my EDC knife I use Labello lip balm simply because I pretty much always have it with me, is convenient, easy to carry and has more than just one purpose. And I also never had any issues with it either.

 

Thanks, makes sense if you use it often and re-oil it, I see your point.

 

Maintaining non stainless blade is much easier than people think.
Also, if you have non coated blade - patina will make it unique.
And they are generally easier to sharpen and have other benefits to them.
Non stainless carbon is great choice for a beater IMO.

 

I don't think it matters if you wipe your knife off with some kind of "oil" regularly as far as the steel type used (especially if you use your knives regularly away from the kitchen). I use regular oil on knives that are not used for food. But if I needed to use an oiled knife with food, I would just wipe it off on my pants first just in case.

It's kind of like the nitrogen mixture used to air tires now..... do you actually think if my tires are low in air that I am going to a dealer to get air? However, I did ask my dealer in the last week and they said, just drop by and we'll air your tires or you can do it here.

 

I also wipe my blades before using them on food.
All kind of dust can stick to an oiled blade and I don't want that in my food.

As far as the oil goes - you can get away with pretty much anything if you use your knife regularly.
But for storing it for long ammoung of time I would go with either mineral oil or some kind of wax.

 

Ontario RAT/ESEE 3.5 to 5.0 inch Carbon Steel 1095, for easier sharpening. The RAT 1095 3.50 with MOLLE HOLSTER has been my deep backcountry knife for many years. It's bullet proof, wicked sharp, strong and well built. Reasonably priced.

 

Has the Fallkniven F1 (basic) been mentioned already? I love mine and it is usually high praised. The Zytel seath allows you to rinse it and the blade itself, being stainless, will not rust.

The only problem with this knife is that the handle could be to thin/small if you have big paws. Other than that, it is a solid choice.

A quick google search shows it is being sold for arround $140. The ESSE4 is anywhere between $90-$131 depending on wich model, handles, serrated/plain, etc.

Give it a thought!

Mikel

 

Fallkniven F1 is my go to for a 4 incher and is stainless. It's an understated perfection, and carries reasonably light. It's got a great sheath IMO and is a true do-it-all for me. If weight is an issue, a Mora Companion is hard to beat for the price, but at much reduced capability.

My true camping beater is a BK-7, after beating a BK-2 for a while. The BK-7 is awesome if the weight doesn't bother you, but it's not for backpacking IMO.

 

Honestly if you get a Mora HD and Mora Kansbol for the lighter tasks and a Ka bar Kukri machete for the heavier duties your good to go do whatever camp duty you need to do.

The Mora HD in carbon and the Mora Kansbol is stainless, so not only will you have a steel choice, but you will also have a backup in a worst case scenario where you would lose one.

The ka bar Kukri is a heavy duty beast and it will never let you down. I own all 3 of these tools and you can get all 3 for under $100. Use the extra money to buy more camp supplies.

 

The BK-7 is a good camp beater or the BK-9. I just really don't want to carry one on my belt much. Others like both for general woods duty. If I wanted to beat the hell out of a knife in the woods or expected to, the BK-2 is a good choice. Prying up rocks might be an apt task for it as it does not excel in the cutting department.

The F1 is a great design and I much prefer it to the BK-16. It is not that the BK-16 has anything wrong with it, I just like the F1 a lot more. I have enough knives that I don't usually carry a Becker knife unless it's the BK-15.

 

Fallkniven F1... it's kinda small and expensive for it's size to be considered a beater in my humble opinion.

Fallkniven is just not my cup of tea I guess.

 

I might be kind of expensive as that was one of the reasons I did not suggest it. Years ago it one of the main recommendations for an all around woods or survival knife. Mine is certainly a bit expensive as I have one with the Falkniven micarta handle. It is a very purty knife and cost me in the neighborhood of $300. The cheaper handles are much more affordable. At that time, it was one of my more expensive fixed blades of recent vintage. This was also the time when Bark River were putting their own handles on F1's. I wish they would do the same again.

 

Hatchet will beat all above mentioned knives for chopping and mora can take beating and do anything all above mentioned blades can without breaking bank,opinel or large swiss army knife will cut food better than most and is compact and has many usefull tools too.Many knives are highly overrated by what they can do and overpriced.