Advise on 3 survival knives..

M

MES

Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
45
Hi guys,

I've been lurking these boards for a while. And I love the atmospere of this forum.
The problem now is that I really have difficulties with choosing my next knife.
I've dedided I would go for a fixed blade (my first, if you don't count machetes) and that if i would go fixed i'd better go for something heavy duty survival.

After searching for a while there remain 3 possible knives:
The Bark River, Bravo 1.
The Fallkniven, F1(3g).
Or ESEE's model nr 5.

The Bravo 1 speaks to me because of the classic look and the jimping on the blade.
The F1 mostly because of the good things i heard from others, and the 3g steel.
And then you have the ESEE 5. The sheer image of power and durability it portrays does something to me :p But also the sheath with the locking system i like alot.

Now is there someone that has used them (or a couple of them) and has maybe negative experiences with one(or more) of them? Or just any other advise to me?

I'd appreciate some honest feedback alot! ^^

grts



ps: plz forgive me for some awkward-or just plain wrong- expressions i sometimes may use use, i'm from belgium ;)
 
All of the above knives are wonderful, you would be happy with any of them.
I would not recommend one over the other on quality or durability.
It is really up to you, each one is capable.
That being said, for the price of the Bravo 1, you could just about buy the Fallkniven and ESEE.
(P.S. Your english is much better than a lot of Americans, fairly exceptional.)
 
You cannot go wrong with any of those, the 3 you named are arguably the best 5 inch knives on the market but pricey as well. If you like 5 inch survival knives I would also suggest the bk2. Happy shopping!
 
The Bravo 1 is a great knife, it has a thick spine, but tapers to a thin edge. Much, much thinner than the ESEE 5. I own both, and they are two different animals.
The ESEE 4, although 3/16" thick, is a close size to the Bravo 1. The ESEE 4 and the Bravo 1 are just about the same lenght, but the Bravo 1 has a thicker spine, thinner edge, and a thicker handle.
If you are "hard" on your knives and tools, the ESEE is bombproof. The Bravo 1 can baton, and maybe chop a little, but I would not pry with it. The Bravo 1 has that great convex edge that just bites in, they really are great knives that cut. I like to use a knife like that when paired with another tool for hard use and chopping. Bravo 1 plus a machete or axe is a great combo.
If you only want one knife to chop, baton, cut yourself from a car, well the ESEE 5 is a great knife.
Each man's survival scenario is different, like mentioned before all 3 knives you listed are great.
 
All you mentioned are great blades and others have posted some good tidbits about them. The ESEE-6 might also be a good fit.

IMO, the ESEE-5 isn't in the same size category as the F1 or B1. It's a thick heavy blade. You might consider the ESEE-4 over it. The ESEE-6 if you wanted a slightly longer blade without the thickness of the 5.
 
I have tested all of those and all 3 are excellent

If possible, try to HOLD each before you purchase one
 
PDE said:
All of the above knives are wonderful, you would be happy with any of them.
I would not recommend one over the other on quality or durability.
It is really up to you, each one is capable.
Click to expand...

I was afraid of that yes, makes choosing quite a hard thing to do ^^

PDE said:
That being said, for the price of the Bravo 1, you could just about buy the Fallkniven and ESEE.
Click to expand...

The price seems to change alot. The normal place where i buy my knives(offline) doesn't really have a good selection of survival knives.
This pushes me to buy online but sometimes the price-difference is around 80euros(100$) from site to site.

But i've looked at two main site's, a dutch one and a US-based site.
Tho' it seems it's not the Bravo 1 but the F1 which is most expensive at both site's around 250 dollar. Mind you it is the 3g version not the VG-10 version, i'm talking about.

PDE said:
(P.S. Your english is much better than a lot of Americans, fairly exceptional.)
Click to expand...

Hehe, oof. I just get that remark about my strange expressions sometimes ^^

Also, tnx for your fast response.

Cheers!
 
HardTripper said:
You cannot go wrong with any of those, the 3 you named are arguably the best 5 inch knives on the market but pricey as well. If you like 5 inch survival knives I would also suggest the bk2. Happy shopping!
Click to expand...

I've done my research yes ^^ Another person did suggest that knife to me also. I took a brief look at it just now but i'm not really sure about the handle material(grivory?) do you own this knife? or other knives with 'grivory' as a handly material? because i'm not sure about the quality..

grts
 
It is grippy, without causing hot spots. Thing is, you can upgrade to micarta handles for $40 US. The stock handle material is prefered by many, and it has hollow cavities inside, you can store survival items in there. It's a tough material, I've seen photos of old handles, dirty, but not scarred or torn up.
 
Keep in mind the ESEE5 and BK2 are both .25 thick. Bravo1 and F1 are much thinner. Completely different types of blades.
You have to figure out if you want thick or thin.
 
You say you want a "survival" knife ... how will you be using the knife and for what tasks ?
 
foxx said:
The Bravo 1 is a great knife, it has a thick spine, but tapers to a thin edge. Much, much thinner than the ESEE 5. I own both, and they are two different animals.
Click to expand...

Yes, the specs(dimensions) are very different between the ESEE and the other 2, i know. But the reason why i included the ESEE 5 in the list was just because of the quarter inch steel slab you get. :)

foxx said:
If you are "hard" on your knives and tools, the ESEE is bombproof. The Bravo 1 can baton, and maybe chop a little, but I would not pry with it. The Bravo 1 has that great convex edge that just bites in, they really are great knives that cut. I like to use a knife like that when paired with another tool for hard use and chopping. Bravo 1 plus a machete or axe is a great combo.
If you only want one knife to chop, baton, cut yourself from a car, well the ESEE 5 is a great knife.
Each man's survival scenario is different, like mentioned before all 3 knives you listed are great.
Click to expand...

It's really to replace my machete for smaller tasks yes. So the knife should expect some 'hard' use. So maybe better the E5 then.. Haven't thought about cutting myself from a car tho' but now that i do the possibilty arises :p

Anyhow, thank you for the reply ^^
 
If I were going camping with the ESEE 5, I would also be taking a small blade as well. You could do everything with the 5, but some small detailed tasks might be a challenge.
 
WILLIAM.M said:
I have tested all of those and all 3 are excellent

If possible, try to HOLD each before you purchase one
Click to expand...

That last bit is going to be difficult. I agree that it is neccesary and to be honest, i never bought a knife in the past without holding it at my local dealer. Unfortunetly, she specializes mostly in folders and not in fixed blades. So i have to use my imagination..and feedback from you guys ^^

I know this sounds weak. But there aren't alot of places here in belgium that sell that kind of hardware :(
 
I'll respond the rest of you fellas tomorrow. Did some late christmas shopping today it really wore me out ^^

Greets and happy holidays!
 
MES said:
I've done my research yes ^^ Another person did suggest that knife to me also. I took a brief look at it just now but i'm not really sure about the handle material(grivory?) do you own this knife? or other knives with 'grivory' as a handly material? because i'm not sure about the quality..

grts
Click to expand...

Oh, the quality is there all right! I have a BK-7 & BK-9 and I'm thinking about buying a BK-2 they are excellent knives, especially for the price. Grivory is a glass reinforced plastic, kinda like G-10 but with more glass. They are strong & tough and feel good in the hand. Some people prefer micarta and there are micarta scales available if you don't like the grivory, but I've had no reason to change from the grivory so I've spent the $40 on other things.

The real question is what are you wanting from the knife in terms of what sort of tasks will it be doing? Will you be carrying a machete & a folding knife as well? I would expect that a knife like the F1 would be a better choice than the ESEE-5 or BK-2 if you have a machete as well because you wouldn't need to chop with the knife so it doesn't need the weight of a 1/4" thick slab of steel.
 
I vote for the F1. It's pretty perfect and will stand up to whatever you need for it, even cutting through large diameter pieces of wood (if you do it woodchuck/beaver style). Plus it feels the most "honest" in your hand.
 
I personally can't stand 1/2" knives so I can't recomend the ESEE. Can't see how you could break a 3/16" knife. Have you looked to see if the Ratmandu by Swamp Rat is still available? That would be my choice for that size knife. Or you can have a custom made by JK knives for less than the F1. Well it costs less then the F1 in the states, not sure what they're pricing is over there.
 
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