Best blade material

D

Dutch1911

Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
6
Hey guys,

I am gearing up for a deployment to Afghanistan and I wanted to bring a good survival knife with me, I was just wondering what the best overall blade material would be. I need durability and good edge holding quality, I’m interested in more of a hacking and slicing tool than a piercing weapon. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
I prefer meteorite, but if not available, CPM154, S30V, CTS-XHP, and 20CV are all nice. Are you looking at stainless or carbon steels, though?
 
I'm sure thousands of your friends would agree that 1095 Cro-Van that KA-BAR puts out is pretty darn good. Maybe not the BEST, but damn good.
 
I'm looking for a good carbon blade, and yes ka-bar is very good, (I used one last deployment) I found that I was limited with chopping ability, not enough weight. I thought the Tom Brown Tracker was an interesting blade, what do you think?
 
You could try a Ka-bar Becker BK-9 with the same steel and better chopping ability. A lot of other options seem overpriced, especially the Tracker.
 
sqoon said:
I'm sure thousands of your friends would agree that 1095 Cro-Van that KA-BAR puts out is pretty darn good. Maybe not the BEST, but damn good.
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I gotta agree. KA BAR served me well and din't break my bank. Don't forget to put a light coat of oil on your kife to keep it from rusting even if it's not raining. Desert terrain can still have a salty content in the air that corrodes blades. I watched guys get real confused when their knives started to rust or pit because they never took them out of the sheath, and when they did they were rusted.

Good louck with the deployment man.
 
OrdnanceBubbaUSMC said:
You could try a Ka-bar Becker BK-9 with the same steel and better chopping ability. A lot of other options seem overpriced, especially the Tracker.
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+1 for the BK9, or the BK7 if you want more width than the KA-BAR, but same length.
 
Ontario Knife's Ranger RD6, RD7 or RD9. Strong enough for you to abuse it when bored. Heavy-enough for chopping. You will need to touch-up the edge when you first get it though.
 
I agree with "no" on the Tracker.

I love Kabar stuff. I always look there first.

For hacking, like everyone said, Becker BK7 or BK9 would be great.

I've got a Kabar JAB Potbelly and it's a stout blade, 1/4" thick, that is an absolute beast of a chopper. It's a great all around cutter too. They got the edge geometry just right on this one. Slices paper just as well as my thin folding knives do. It'll pierce stuff too. It's got a sharper point design on it than the Becker's do, really. The handle allows you to choke up on it for precise work, or you can slid to the rear of the handle and really get leverage into the chopping.

I've also got the Baconmaker and I think that it'd be a fine combat knife. After all, it's designed for sticking pigs. It's 3/16" thick with a 7" blade. Doesn't chop as well as the Potbelly, but it does pierce and slice better. Same kudos on the handle as the Potbelly.

I'd deploy with either of them in a heartbeat.
 
honestly if you were just going for slashing then i would go for a cold steel ghurka kukri (not the machete version) with that much weight in the spine and the large of a mass near the tip hacking is going to be a breeze, but thats not to say that the Ka-Bars, ONtario's, and Fehrmans arent either lol
 
ZT 0100 with CPM-3V blade steel. Sharpening could get complicated, but edge retention ought to be better than 1095.
 
It is heavy but it's gonna be hard to beat the ESEE-5. Not maybe optimized for chopping as much as the ESEE-6 is but it is thicker and heavier. And at about $125 each, you're gonna get better quality for just a little more money than the Beckers or the Ranger Ready Deployment options. So I'd vote the ESEE-5 for just shear brute indestructability vs the ESEE-6 for a lighter weight chopper...not light, lighter. And the ESEE-6 length is rounded down. The blade on that is probably closer to 7 inches than it is to 6...it is a big knife.
 
The BK7 looks to be what I need, I am going to check it out at a local store, I know Ka-Bar is a good quality and as I said I have used them in the past. Thanks for everyones input, I think I am sold on this knife:thumbup:
 
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