Best all around blade length?

E

eno

Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
6
Hello everyone, My question is (and I'am newbe on knifes)
I have been looking around for a good all around knife and read many post on this site and for my price range I'am lean to the RAT knifes,both makers cutlery and ontario and the ranger models. What is the best all around blade length? from some chopping for making shelter,butcher game and smaller chores.
A friend of mine has a becker bk9 ,nice knife but a little large,a good chopper. a 3 inch seems to small .I'am pretty much looking for a survival knife,one that can handel most things.
And what about the D2 models is this a better steel? I know it cost a little more , Everybody likes the rat models from what I have read, so I will most likely get one of them, but I came across a ranger model made by ontario that looks interresting to me it is called the Afgahn model with a 5 inch blade, has anyone used one of these?
Any help would be great.
Thanks Eno
 
Welcome to the forums, eno. I guess to answer your question, it all depends on what feels comfortable for you. Some will use knives with blades less than 2", such as the Bark River Mikro Canadian, or as large as a Busse NMFBM. Personally, I'd prefer a nice, simple mora of roughly 4", as it seems to fit my hands well.

As to steel choices, some people swear by 1095 for outdoors use, while some prefer a stainless. D2, while not stainless by definition, seems to be a nice choice if you don't mind taking some time to sharpen it up. It's not stainless, but once you get it sharp, it'll keep that edge for a while.
 
I went through the same thing when designing my own fixed blade. I wanted something in-between a folder and a large chopper. Something that could split firewood in a pinch, but was still capable of fine-tasks.

I ended up with a 4.5", leaf shape blade, with a full flat grind. I chose some thick, (.22") CPM D2 stock. This gives some heft and rigidity. I'm really happy with this design.

Phillip
 
Don't have any personal experience with RAT knives, so I will leave the recommendation of that line to other more knowledgeable members. I am also not familiar with the Ontario Afghan.

If you like the Becker BK-9, but find the blade to be too long, check out the BK-7. The seven inch blade of the BK-7 would make for a good all around camp knife. I would go with a six or seven inch blade.

D2 is a top notch steel, but I would choose 1095. I find it easier to sharpen, though not much. It is also tougher and the better choice for chopping.
 
I have an Ontario Ranger RD-4 that has a 4.5" blade of .25" thick 5160 carbon steel. It is a full flat grind and though I have not had a chance to use it to it's fullest, I have used it for kitchen prep work on vegetables and some larger cuts of beef. It has worked well on these things and I could see it working well as an all around camp knife.
 
Welcome to bladeforums, eno!

I also really like the RAT cutlery blades. For the type of knife you're looking for, go with something that's comfortable for you, just like YayILikePie said. Fallkniven makes some great knives, but they're a bit more expensive than RAT cutlery knives. I really like both D2 and 1095 steel, but find D2 to be slightly more brittle than 1095. D2 does however, have slightly great edge retention.

My choice for a knife that needs to handle all the things you mentioned would have about a 7 inch full flat or convex ground blade of either 1095 or D2. I really like the micarta handles that RAT cutlery puts on their knives too.

Hope you make a good choice, keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions you may have about you're decision!
 
IMO, the Rat RC-5 . It has served me well outside. A little bit of maint/cleaning, rust isn't a problem.
 
I would def. go with the RAT Cutlery 4 or 5. 5 is better for chopping but is size is a matter the 4 will do.

RAT is a great company and will stand behind anything they sell. If you break the blade in half, a new one will be on the way. No questions asked.

That alone sold me on their line and the fact that their knives really are good at a good price doesn't hurt either.
 
For a fixed blade I would say around 5-6 inches, for a folder I would say 3-3.75 inches.
 
I've heard that the general consensus on ideal length for a survival knife is between 4" and 6".

- The only Rat Cutlery model with the word "survival" attached --the RC-5-- has 5.25" blade length.
- Gerber LMF II ASEK (Aircraft Survival Egress Knife) is 4.84".
- Ontario's ASEK knife is 5".
- Cold Steel SRK (Survival Rescue Knife) is 6".
 
I like overall length for a folder to be less than 4" and for a fixed blade I go for about 5" for blade length. And it does depend on the brand and how it fits my hand.
 
The majority of use you knife is likely to see is food prep, kindling, and sticks for cooking hot dogs and marsh mellows. So echoing whats been said something in the 5 to 7" range would serve you best. The list is long, Ranger, Rat, Buck, Busse group, Benchmade just to name a few are all good.
 
A long bladed knife can usually do everything a small bladed knife can, but not the opposite. I've got short (2"+) and long (3"+) knives. I've come to find that I like my blades to be at least 3", preferably around 3.4"-3.5".
 
3.5-3.75; legal to carry in TN (and there wont have to be any busting out the ruler to see if my 710 is really under 4 inches) and enough blade to get the job done in any circumstance.

If you want a knife to just cut up strawberries and open bags of bagel chips then 2.5-2.75 is a little more managable.
 
For me, a 5 1/2" - 6 1/2" blade with a choil seems to be best. I can do bigger cutting jobs, and choke up on the choil for finer cutting jobs. And it's not too big to conceal on me day to day. But to each his own!
 
5" will reach many peoples organs, any other length smaller then 5" will take care of most other tasks.
 
I like the RC-4 by RAT. It's a great all around length.

Folders, I love the Military at 4". Everything seems easier when you have that extra length.

Note that you'll rarely find a chopper that you can also finely dice onions with. Best to get three, one dedicated chopper, one medium for game dressing/batoning, and one small necker (Landi PSK, RAT Izula, Spyderco Swick/Spot) for fine detail work like campfire fuzz sticks, whittling, trimming threads, etc.

You could even go full RAT and grab an RC-6, RC-4, and an Izula.
 
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