Are hollow-handled survival knives obsolete?

golok

golok

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There was a time a knife knut's collection wouldn't be complete without one of those hollow-handled survival knives.

Rambo the movie probably contributed significantly to the popularity of this knife. But that was about 15-20 years ago. These days, a number of people wouldn't even want to be accused of having one at home.

Personally, I like this type of survival knives. So I am slightly puzzled by the scant attention being paid to that hollow-handled knives.

Some of these knives are really very well made.

Of course, you can't squeeze a lot of kitchen items into the handle but with some careful planning, you may be able to store several items that may just save your life in a real emergency.

Do you have any of these knives at home?
 
Chris Reeve Project knives are reportedly good.

The United Cutlery Rambo Knives are reportedly not good!

Buy a Kabar at www.kabar.com it would be good enough for most people
 
i agree the ChrisReeve Project-models are good choices, but even better choices are the Al Mar SF-10 Green Beret or the Buck Buckmaster-184. i also think teses knives have a certain coolness/usefulness, any knifefreak should indeeed collect at least 1

dennis
 
They fell out of favour because of inherent weakness of the blade to handle joint. The public demanded the greater strength of the full tang design and an ergonomically shaped handle.

The principle of storage in the handle is a great idea none the less for outdoors types.
 
I’m just wondering what exactly I should put into knife’s hollow handle what I couldn’t carry in my pockets, backpack or on the belt :confused:

In my honest opinion a possibility to carry some pretty small items in knife handle (instead of other possible places to carry them) is way too high cost for knife significant weakening. Especially for so big knives as Rambo ones...
 
There was a lot of "couch potatoe commando" mentality in the public at large when the Rambo movies other similarly themed movies were playing. That brought about a craze to buy similar knives for which normal people had absolutely no use for. Most of the hollow handle knives normal people bought were total P.O.S. (wastes of money ;) ).

Then you had a smaller group who bought high quality knives such as the CRK One Piece line. Like Talonite, the hype factor has passed and people are asking themselves if it really is the best knife for them. They are discovering perhaps that knife with a more traditional handle use fits their hand better and the have enough pockets for an "SAS survival" Altoid can.

There is nothing wrong with a quality knife such as the CRK One Piece line which is capable of serious knife work but, in today's market it is just one of a large number of very good hard use knives. Yes, I am a fan of the CRK One Piece line and have one myself but, I don't use it because there are others that fit my hand better and serve my needs adequately.

As a counter point, my friend in the Military has flown all over the world in service to our country. He always takes a CRK Shadow 4 and it has served him with honor and distinction.
 
The CRK One Piece line are great knives that just happen to have a hollow handle. That feature is for weight reduction. As a side effect you have a small storage area in the knife. I think the most useful thing to put inside it is a $100 bill. If you lose everything but your knife at least you can take a taxi home :D.
 
They fell out of favour because of inherent weakness of the blade to handle joint. The public demanded the greater strength of the full tang design and an ergonomically shaped handle.
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Correction: They fell out of favor because of a percieved weakness at the blade to handle joint.

Most of that was a result of the ultra cheap stuff produced in Tiwan. The better knives seem to hold up just fine. Buy a quality hollow handled knife from Randall, Chris Reeves, Buck, Aitor, Marto, Timberline, or many of the custom hollow handled knives, and you will be well served.

Mechanical joints are everywhere. They hold your gun barrel to the receiver, they hold your car together, and they hold the roof that is hanging over your head. We learned how to develop good mechanical joints ages ago. On the other hand a full tang knife can just as readily fail at the blade handle junction if the tang isn't properly radiused and tempered.

We have discussed often discussed two well know survival knife failures; the Buckmaster used in an ad by Cold Steel, and the Rob Parrish Survival broken by Bagwell for Soldier of Fortune (this one may have driven RP out of the survival knife business); both, involved a piece of pipe and a bench mounted vise. In neither example did the knife break at the blade-handle joint.

n2s
 
These were sold during the 1980s from the back pages of comic books, popular mechanics, and the like. The price at time was around $1.98, and they were guaranteed to fall apart as soon as you released it from its blister pack. Sharpening was no problem since they didn't have an edge and wouldn't take one if you worked on it for a year.

But this is hardly representative of the better made knives.

n2s
 
If you think they've totally fallen out of favor just check out the prices for a Randall Model 18...if you can find one for sale...
 
Since anyone carrying a big, hollow-handled fixed blade can easily carry small survival stuff in a pocket or pack, what should go in the handle? Something knife-related maybe, like a Tuf-Cloth and a small steel.
 
Do you have any of these knives at home?
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I have a Chris Reeve Project II that, when it came time for me to take a long road trip was the knife I threw into my emergency kit. The previous owner cleverly glued a compass into the cap.

The "what to carry in the handle" would make a great thread on its own. I've seen this covered recently in a knife magazine but, in my opinion, they were trying to sell stuff, not give good survival gear advice.

I actually like the idea of putting a few dollar bills in the handle. What else? Matches. A small sharpener? (Not me, a smooth stone will work in an emergency). Needle and thread (per Rambo)? Bandaids? (Not me, I'm not the school nurse). What else? A photocopy of your ID?
 
I'm with Rev. Pete, I got my Project I not so much because of its hollow handle, but because it's a tough well built knife that will stand up to a lot of hard outdoor use. Mine is currently my designated backpacking knife, and the only thing I might trade it for would be a CRK Aviator. The fact that it has a hollow handle is just an added bonus. Golok just out of curiousity are the ones pictured in your post made by Lile or Crain ?
Lagarto
 
I went through the 'rambo' craze as a boy like everybody else!

I still have a fascimation with hollow handle survival knives. I have always wanted a Randall 18, then a Jack Crain Predator (if they were hollow?)...

I have owned Chris Reeve hollow handled knives and have always like the P2.

So Golok, I would say that one day I will get a P2.
 
I purchased a Rambo replica from a pawn shop many years ago at a bargain price. It had a compass in the tailcap just like the "real" thing. Unfortunately the compass turned into white powder! The darned o-ring is still good but the compass rotted to the ground!

Actually, the 440 blade can be sharpened to a freaky edge and it actually holds it. It's called the Explorer Wilderness. Has a hollow textured aluminum handle and sawteeth on the spine. Seven inch blade. All black, even the blade. Perfect balance and handle comfort. It was my first "tactical" knife. Probably twenty years old now.
 
I have an Explorer wilderness with OAL of 10.5". No teeth on the spine and no compass.It has a nice heavy butt cap for hammering and Its a pretty sturdy little knife for a $25 dollar wally world special. I got it back in like 1984 or so.
 
I would guess the ones in his pic are the United Cutlery Reproductions. But if not then the 2 on the left would be Lile and the right one would be Hibben. I like Crain's a lot, having been a part of the Aliens-Predator universe myself I very much want to get one of his from the first Pred-film.

I have an Aitor Jungle King 1 and I have little concern about it's sturdiness or ability to perform as a quality knife. Even the saw on the back of the JK1 is functional. The survival kit it comes with is much more than it's hollow handle. It is profuse with equiment in its sheath and storage compartments.

I dont think the argument of "I can carry this stuff in my pocket is 100% valid. One of the major points I see of hollow handled knives, particularly with sheath systems, is that it is one thing that performs many functions. Instead of carrying a crapload of gear and kits you can carry this one knife. Although carrying the right tool for the right job will always be more effective, it is the convienience and weight reduction that gives a quality hollow-handle w/ survival kit it's advantage. An analogy I think that fits is: Sure you can carry a full on craftsman toolbox around with you and be prepared for a lot of circumstances, or you can cover most of those problems with a pocket multitool, although not as effective, much lighter and more conveinient.

One of the bigest problems with Hollow handled knives is that most of them are poop. They are gimmicky and of poor quality. There are those that are good like the Aitor (wich admittedly borders on gimmicky with all its riduculous stuff) and those that are excellent such as the CRK's, Randalls, and customs. They just arnt as mainstreem so the representive community is mostly what not2sharp posted....or them rambo-remakes.
 
Originally posted by Sid Post
OUT OF CONTEXT......... That brought about a craze to buy similar knives for which normal people had absolutely no use for.....
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Of course, there is no one on this forum that would buy a knife which normal people have absolutely no use for, right Sid? <grin>
 
The SAS has all the stuff NEEDED for survival sown into their clothes. That makes more sense than putting it in the knife handle, since it is possible that you lose your knife. Losing your clothes is more difficult.

A hollow handle has some negative consequences for balance, shape of the handle, construction, etc.
 
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