Advice needed

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DOC-CANADA

Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
7,021
Hi All,

This is a first post, so perhaps a little background is in order. My primary interest is primitive skills/wilderness survival so all other decisions in life are based on this. Here is my dilemma. Limited resources but a need to optimize my equipment.

For most applications I find my Mora fills the bill but I want a EDC folder (so as to not scare the locals) that's sturdy enough to carve trap triggers and fire boards and won't break the bank. I've been considering a Buck Dorado (looks fairly sturdy, nice size, drop point, and the price is right.) Now I know that, for some of you, this is probably bottom of the barrel, and I wish I had more bread to spend, but I don't. On the other hand, in reading some of the posts here, I realize I'm not alone, in that, I'm reluctant to abuse more expensive blades.

Your thoughts? (and Benchmade is not an option - I will never buy another one of their knives).

Also any thoughts you have regarding mini flashlights. I've read most of the mini flashlight threads here, and it gave me a headache. :( I've used Mini Mags for about 20 years and I am sick of changing bulbs. From a previous thread, I saw mention that the Night Ize modification is not too bad?

Any help is appreciated, thank you in advance,

:) DOC-CANADA :)
 
DOC, huge can of worms asking for a knife reccomendation here but in brief

Bark River stuff is cheap, strong and meets or exceeds all of your criteria. My personal Fav is the Highland Special. Or a Fallkniven F1 if you want to spend a little more.

Flashlights, I know what you mean. I use a Gerber sonic, 1 AAA battery that lasts 40 hours and is more than enough when camping in dark places. Pelican also make some tough and cheap models for low $.

Loads of great LED lights for low $ recently, or just get the conversion for the Mag.
 
OOps my bad, speed reading bad! :)

Then I suggest a Lonewolf T2
Spyderco Manix or Mini Manix
Buck Strider Military (I did a little test on one and was very happy with it. Its in Japanese but you will get an idea from the pics. http://www.shouri-knife.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=137
In fact there are very few 'Poor' folders out there if you are not a complete moron and understand their limitations, anf of course you dont buy shit made in China under a no name company.
Buck is probably going to give you the most for the money I think if funds are limited. Meaning they will probably be a little more robust than similar priced Spyderco's.
 
Thanks again, Temper. I am inclined towards the Buck Dorado. I like the style and the size. I own some other Bucks - 112, 124 and had a 105. They were ok, although edge retention was not as good as I would have liked.

:) Doc :)
 
I'm a fan of the Victorinox SAKs. My personal carry is their Hunter lockblade. It's plenty stout enough for what you are looking to do and it's a multi duty blade with it's saw, small field dressing blade and awl. They are inexpensive, depending on where you buy them.

SAKkit001.jpg
 
I second the Victorinx recommendation. The blade will be as good or better than the Buck, and the selection of a model with a saw will provide an excellent bushcraft tool...
 
Hey guys;

Thank you all for your replies. :)

While I agree with your assessment of Victorinox SAK's (I have 3 - Champ, Ranger, and Camper) and absolutely I agree with your assessment of the saw (wouldn't own one without it), I want something a little sturdier than the Vic SAK knife blade to carve fire boards with. Not that the Vic can't do it - it can, but you have to be a little more gentle with the blade.

My apologies. :( I guess the way I should have posted this would be: Anyone here own a Buck Dorado, and if so, your thoughts.

:) Doc :)

Just found out there is a Buck knife forum here :( (couldn't find an embarassed smilie) so off I go, but once again, thank you for your time and suggestions.
 
i am a huge fan of bark river knives... literally the best you can buy, for the money......also check out the spyderco ocelot, ontario rat folder and the sak one hand trekker...................

as for flash lights go, i love photon lights... i also have a pelican L1 that is mighty bright for it's size.... my main light of choice is my petzl tikka plus headlamp............................ mtnfolk mike:D
 
Doc, welcome to the forums.

Like you, I'm in a budget, so I completely understand. The Buck Dorado looks good. If you decide to go that way, the lowest price I have found is $50.31 for the ATS-34 blade. Don't even consider the less expensive version with a 420HC blade. Edge retention will be well bellow what you need.

Buck Dorado

That been said, there are better options. If you definitely want a one-hand opening, one-blade folder, consider a Cold Steel Voyager. I doubt that you can get a tougher, more dependable folder for the price. The AUS-8A blade will be more stain resistant. It will not hold an edge as well as ATS-34, but as heat treated by CS, it may be tougher.

The lowest price for the Medium and large Voyagers is $36.00 and $41.00 respectively.

Cold Steel Voyagers

Now on flashlights, you have so many options itis ridiculous. The Night Ize modification for the Mini Maglite looks good. They also have a modification combo that includes the front LED reflector section and a back on-off switch. If memory serve, they run for about $8.00 at Academy. This is your less expensive option since you already own a Mini Maglite.

Another option is the Gerber Infinity Ultra. It is basically the same model as the CMG Infinity Ultra in a better designed body. (Gerber bought CMG.) It is a one AA LED flashlight that can use both alkaline and lithium batteries. With a lithium battery, this flashlight is a fantastic option. Of course the Mini Mag will give you stronger illumination, but only for about 41 minutes per battery set, at which time the flashlight is giving below 50% its potential illumination.

flashlightreviews.com/minimag

The Infinity Ultra will give you consistent illumination for about 25 hours per battery. After that you still have a few hours of illumination, but bellow 50% potential illumination.

flashlightreviews.com/cmg infinity ultra


flashlightreviews.com/gerber infinity ultra

I found the best price for this flashlight on eBay for $15.48.

ebay.com/Gerber Infinity Ultra

Whatever flashlight you go with, make it an LED flashlight with AA batteries. Hope this helps.
 
A Buck Strider comes closer than many knives to the strength of a fixed blade. I'm leaning more to not using folders as fixed blades these days as they never will really be as sturdy and to use them as folders, and considering that my choice would be Victorniox as well, either the Huntsman (my EDC) or one of the larger locking models.
 
What about a Walmart Spyderco Native? 40$ with a blade steel that's supposed to keep it's edge very well.

Saks are great too. What you could do is sharpen one of the screwdrivers or something into a nice little chisel and maybe use that to some effect for fireboards. Or maybe pop out the awl / poker thing and bash the top of the sak with a chunk of wood, that sounds like it could work.
 
I have serval SAK's and am quite fond of the "Locksmith" model. Has just about everything on it that I might want and has a couple interesting twists that have appear such as the metal file and the metal saw blade in addition to the regular saw blade. The main blade is big enough to do serious cutting.

The other knife with appeal is the SOG Hunter Revolver. Nice leather sheath, very aggressive saw blade, and a regular blade that you can nearly shave with from the factory. Also might be handy for field dressing larger animals.
 
For your flashlight ...

Do you want a narrow very bright beam for viewing things at a distance, or a wider beam for lighting your immediate work area or for walking trails?

There are TONS of lights to choose from, so I'll just tell you what I use. My only real bright narrow bean light is the Streamlight Propolymer 4 AA. For a wider beam I really like the Underwater Kenetics 4AA light. Both of these are yellow high-vis plastic that doesn't beat up other stuff in the pack (as metal would) and are easy to spot if dropped.

Other lights I have and like: River Rock 2AAA LED light (moderately wide beam, reasonably bright for cost) and recently aquired 2AA Streamlight Tasklight (2-level brightness, night beam strength, moderately wide). The RR 2AAA is really nice for stuffing in a coat pocket, but a tad big for pants pockets.

Another light to consider that I like more and more as I use it is the Princeton Tec Eos headlight. Three brightness levels plus some flashing effects I'll likely never use. High is VERY bright with nice spread. Low is just right for using inside a dark tent. Runs on 3 (?) AAAs. I'm starting to leave my "old fashioned" flashlights at home, or at the most stuffing a River Rock 2AAA in a pocket if needed. Look Ma, no hands!!

BTW, I also have an Arc premium 1AAA light, but it is so expensive and small I tend to be afraid I'll lose it. It does kick out an amazing light for the size. I do wish it came with a plastic cover that can be slipped on to protect the lens in-pocket. I EDC carry a Ritter photon in my pocket now.
 
I love my Spyderco Manix and would trust it to any task but it is on the pricey side and I almost hate to use it hard due to its price point.

For a lower price knife that gives up little in toughness, I really like the CRKT knives. Good prices and really well built knives. I carry a Lightfoot M1 on a daily basis and for around $50.00, you cant go wrong.

On to the flashlights, I have a Surefire E2E and love it but it burns batteries like their going out of style and yet again, the price limits its use. I picked up a $15.00 Dorcy LED at wally-world and that gets a ton of hard use and has held up well. I also LOVE the LED mag-lite conversion, works better than I could have expected for $5.00.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I've used Mini Mags for about 20 years and I am sick of changing bulbs. From a previous thread, I saw mention that the Night Ize modification is not too bad?
Click to expand...
Doc, The Nite-Ize LED conversion kit for the Mini-Mag AA from Walmart recommended above is $6 USD very well spent. The difference between the LED head and the old incandescent bulb is huge.

Not only is the LED head much more durable and long-lived than the bulbs, the quality and quantity of the light is greater. Also, the LED's will fire with lower voltage than the incandescent bulb. The reason I say this is that before I put my conversion head into my Mini-Mag the incan bulb was very very dim. But when I put the LED head in and looked to see how bright it was :rolleyes: , I got a blast of light from those three LED's that pretty much blinded me. So I'm guessing that the runtime per battery is also a lot longer on the LED's.
 
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