Best Camp Knife? Ka-Bar USMC or Swamp Rat- 1095 vs SR-101

The Swamp Rat is superior in every way to the KaBar.

Of course, as someone mentioned above- You can't order a Camp Tramp, they have been discontinued. Sometime in feb. the new line is due to come out.:thumbup:
 
Let me put a call out to fellow servicemen (past and present) here not to let this turn into a "the Kabar is being defaced" type of thread. I say this because there's the beginning's of some impassioned defensiveness already. I have a few kabars, from different manufacturers, and one that my grandfather carried in WW2. I know and respect their history, and nobody with any sense will argue that they're anything but a tough tool that has survived a long time.

WW2, Korea, Vietnam, on and on...it's a proud history, and rightfully so. And I don't doubt the claims that have been made of kabars going through hell and back, (once again, I have my grandfather's, and he was no RAMF). Try to keep in mind, though, hunters were downing and skinning large animals with stone spears and knives for thousands of years, and they lived or died by the success of their efforts. I'm getting an image in my head of many many generations ago, a few old timers decrying the new silly fascination with iron weapons, "My bronze short sword has been with me twenty years, and it never failed me!" Just because something has worked in the past, doesn't mean it's the best available. If they'd listened to those bronze-holdouts, iron would never have turned to steel, and 1095 wouldn't have been created. ;)

My point in all this rambling is to not let tradition or history imbue a tool with qualities it doesn't really have. The Kabar is a good knife. It is not the end all be all of what a knife can be. 1095 is a good steel. It is not the end all be all of what can be achieved in cutlery steels.

From the criteria he has listed--the things he wants his knife to do--the Camp Tramp will do it better (assuming he can find one as Swamp Rat is changing their lineup right now). The Kabar will exceed the CT as a fighter, due to its light weight and central balance, and that's not something to be discounted in a military knife, but its tip and rat tail tang do not have the prying strength, its blade does not have the momentum for chopping/limbing, and its narrow saber grind (already mentioned above) does not make for great cutting performance. It is a 'do-all' knife designed to do a bunch of different things reasonably well, and be cheap and easy enough to make on a massive scale. For the money it's a solid choice. For more money there are better options. The Swamp Rat knives are stronger, better designed (for any use but fighting), better protected against corrosion, more ergonomic, will hold an edge longer, and are absolutely warrantied against anything you can throw at them.
 
He should also look into an RD6 or RD7...possibly even an RD9? With his price limit, he could get an RD9...That's one tough mama jamma that you could also do pull ups on.
 
There's not much I could say that hasn't already been said... especially after t1mpani's post, he's a hard act to follow.

BUT:

I owned a kabar as a teenager. Good, solid knife. Lightweight, so not much for chopping or trail clearing. It is a good, comparatively light, fixed blade at a bargain price that are, I believe, mass produced. If it is the upper range of your price limit, I would suggest carrying an camp axe as well. The Fiskar/Gerber's really aren't too bad. However, if you go with the weight of the axe also, I might suggest a smaller, lighter knife.

I own(ed) three different Beckers: The BK9, BK11, and Campanion. Very well made at a bargain price. The BK7, that is sized closer to the Ka-bar & Camp Tramp, is somewhat thinner than my BK9, so chopping is somewhat less... Be sure you like the grips. People either love 'em or hate. Not much in between. I happen to think they're good in a 7" plus blade. A bit overkill in the shorter Campanion. Becker used to have a great online/forum presence with a rep that responded quickly to any concerns. He has been gone for some time now and the general reputation seems that the responsiveness of Becker has slowed a bit too. Not a deal killer, especially at the bargain basement price, but something to keep in mind. My BK9 chops ok but not nearly as well as the last two I will list...

My RD9 is virtually indestructible. The one on one service you get from Justin Gingrich seems to be pretty unique in the industry. He sincerely wants to make sure you are happy. My RD9 is a serious hunk of steel... Link It chops very well but I find that I need to wear gloves to avoid hotspot/blistering during heavy work. Justin can grind the blade to suit the type of work you plan to mostly do. You are getting a great quality handmade tool. It doesn't have the factory look but it only adds to the uniqueness of the blade.

I own 8 Swamp Rats and have nothing but great things to say about them. Eric Isaacson has been great to deal with and helps out with any issues. (The issues seem to be more about the wait time involved to get a blade and never about the quality! ;) ) I don't have a Camp Tramp but I do have a Ratweiler; the same basic blade and size but with micarta handles instead of Res-c. I do have a Res-C handled Howling Rat. The res-c handles handles are super comfortable and the Ratweiler is a chopping machine. It has a great balance and chops like a blade 2-3" longer. My Ratweiler (again, a Camp Tramp with the micarta handle...) has become my primary camp knife that I've used to split wood and easily cut 3 - 4" diameter fallen branches for firewood. If you can't tell, I love this thing!!

So.. I would say it depends on your budget.
Ka-Bar... $40-60. I would add the price of an axe though... ;)
Becker BK7... $45
Ranger RD7 - $90
SR Camp Tramp - $129. Ratweiler $179.

Do some searches on here and maybe head over to the Swamp Rat site as well and look at the message board. You really can't go wrong with any of them but the price increases from one model to the next are somewhat justified in my experience. (Though, again it's only MY opinion, I would definitely buy a BK7 before a Ka-Bar for the same price.)
 
A little late to the party as always, but what the heck. For what it's worth, if you haven't already checked it out, you can find some really good reviews and information over at http://www.swampshack.com. And just to weigh in on the discussion, for many of the reasons already stated, if you can afford the newly designed Camp Tramp when it comes out next month, I can completely recommend it for a do-all-forever knife. I too have both knives and was satisfied for a very long time with my Kabar, but after having used the Camp Tramp for sometime can honestly say that I will never even entertain the thought of buying abouther Kabar if there's any way that I can swing a SRKW blade instead. Also, when I bought my Camp Tramp, I had never bought a knife at nearly that cost. It was a leap of faith fueled by the idea that I could turn around and sell it quickly if I didn't like it. As it turned out, I will never again question the value of a $130 knife of this quality and toughness.
 
The questions are...

Is the Kabar going to meet the needs and if not, is the price of the Camp Tramp worth more than twice the cost of a Kabar, plus don't forget that the sheath for the camp tramp is extra. So basically, is the Camp Tramp worth more than three times the cost of a Kabar?

Kabar = $45 to $50, includes sheath
Camp Tramp = $130 plus the cost of a sheath, lets say $35 for argument which totals $165.

My take on this is to not put all my $ into one knife and suggest the plain edged leather handled kabar along with a smaller knife that is a good wood cutting/carving edge plus a SAK or decent multi-tool.

A good alternate to the Kabar is the Camillus Becker BK7 or my preference is the BK10 Crewman. All three of these have their plus' & minus' but all are more than adequate and I find it hard to recommend spending more money on a knife that is only marginally better in some regard.

So, is the kabar adequate? ABSOLUTELY!

Is one Camp Tramp worth three Kabars? Sorry but, HELL NO!

Collecter
 
When I think Ka-bar now I don't think about the USMC but rather the Bowie.
This is the short model.

369870-big.jpg
 
collecter said:
Is one Camp Tramp worth three Kabars? Sorry but, HELL NO!

Collecter
Click to expand...

This is always a funny argument.

Is a Galil worth 5 times more than a Hallwadi AK47?

Is a Springfield M1A1 worth 3 times more than it's cheapo arms copy?

When the cheapo blows half your face off it is!!

Is a G-shock worth 3 times the cost of a 30 dollar timex. Mine is

Kabar was a good knife for it's time. It cannot even come close to what is out there today. A Falkniven A1 is 5 times the knife at 3 times the cost, to say nothing of the Camp Tramp which is even stronger and has a better edge profile.
 
Put my money on a Ka-Bar over anything else ANY day, hands down, and no joke.

And a Ka-Bar, no matter what's done to it that I've seen, will NOT break, roll, chip, or anything else. No matter how "cheap" it is. It's not cheap, it's a quality knife that's inexpensive, used to, and designed for abuse IMO.

Once again, this is what I've seen and I've seen things done to a Ka-Bar that would make all of us here at BF cringe; best field knife period (once again IMO). Have I seen another knife do what a Ka-Bar has done; no. Would I trust another knife; maybe.

Take that for what it's worth, but I've trusted the Ka-Bar and not been let down.
 
Makey98:

Kind of like buying a car, no? Lots of good, well intended and CONFLICTING advice! :cool:

Read through all of this, make your own decision based on input and remember this...

Work within your budget and get the best you can afford at the time. When you are out in the field you will never curse the extra few bucks you may have spent but you could be cursing the cost-cutter knife that doesn't work for you!

Again, nothing wrong with a BK7 if $50 is your limit. And if you do have a particular KaBar affection, listen to Averageguy and look at some of the models from the twenty-first century (Bowie as an example) as opposed to the USMC.

Best of Luck!
 
hicomp2 said:
"And what is Swamp Rat? Made in OHIO!"(Walking Man)
OK Wise guy; I meant it was used in WW2, Korea, Nam, etc., and is STILL in use to some extent today by our armed forces.
Click to expand...

Yeah, because they can be purchased in bulk and they are cheap. Think the US government is going to equip everyone with a Swap Rat knife? No, because they aren't produced in mass scale and they would be too expensive. Is the GI can opener the best can opener around? No, but it's cheap and easy to mass produced.

The guy is looking for a quality knife, not some cheap mass produced stamped out product.

Not saying the Ka-Bar is junk by any means, but it isn't the best simply because it has a long history in the military.
 
I like the Ka-bar and I think it is a good knife but I have heard lots of stories about it bending/breaking at the tang and not holding a good edge etc. And in its day it was one of the best. But I have also heard some stories about them holding up real well. Mine has gone through all sorts of stuff, like throwing and prying and has held up real well, and I am a bad thrower it has bounced off countless trees and hit rocks and has not given me any problems. But I have a friend who got one and he threw it and it immediately broke at the tang. So it seems to depend on the knife. But with a SR or RD you don't have to worry about it breaking cuz it won't, and if it does you get a new one no questions asked. That is why I think they are worth the extra price, there is just something about being able to fully trust something and not give failure a second thought. So in saying that I think you should go for a SR or Ranger.

TBG
 
While I haven't had the pleasure of using one yet, I've heard many good things (and nothing negative) about the newer KABAR Bowies. 1085 steel (I believe), which is definitely resilient. Oh yeah, and they are readily available and 1/3 of the cost of a SwampRat (not a knock on SR...I'd love to own one, but out of my budget...and I tend to be impatient). There is really no doubt about the strength and resilience of SR or Busse knives, honestly. I would own everything by both companies if I could. Actually, it's odd; I've lusted after Busse knives for years, but have never been able to afford one (I live in a Hell-hole of low paying jobs). In the meantime, I've had the pleasure of using many other awesome (and more affordable) knives, like: Fehrman, KABAR, BK&T, & Fallkniven (best stainless fixed blades on the market). Find what works for you. I'm 32 and I'm still in search of that 'perfect' fixed blade' (when the Busse Fusion BM hits, I'm sure I'll end up on wellfare). Be well!
 
And, yes, I know SR's are less expensive than Fehrman's, but I stand behind what I've used and believe in, and my Fehrman never let me down (before life kicked me in the ass and I HAD to sell it)! Just for FYI.;)
 
collecter said:

Kabar = $45 to $50, includes sheath
Camp Tramp = $130 plus the cost of a sheath, lets say $35 for argument which totals $165.

A good alternate to the Kabar is the Camillus Becker BK7 or my preference is the BK10 Crewman. All three of these have their plus' & minus' but all are more than adequate and I find it hard to recommend spending more money on a knife that is only marginally better in some regard.

So, is the kabar adequate? ABSOLUTELY!

Is one Camp Tramp worth three Kabars? Sorry but, HELL NO!

Collecter
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

The Camp Tramp is worth far more than three KaBars, and you would know this if you actually were speaking from experience and not ignorance.
They are not even remotely in the same class.

And the Camp Tramp Does come with a sheath.
 
Okay, I'm going to put another call out, this time to my fellow Rat enthusiasts, to please not let this turn into a "Swamp Rats are being defaced" thread. :D The Wauseon blades are incredible, but their (somewhat) price and (mostly) limited availability make it so that they are, to many knife enthusiasts who have not had the opportunity use them, held in suspicion of being mostly hype, as so many other 'hard use' knives turn out to be. This couldn't be further from the truth, but all we can do is offer experience and encourage others to try them for themselves. Arguing and trading shots won't change any minds and might turn people off from Swamp Rat/Busse who otherwise would try them.

Let's, please, keep hold of tempers (pun intended) in this and all other comparisons. I don't know about anyone else, but I really don't want to see the *Busse versus Mad Dog* type of threads again. Those were dark--and stupid--days.
;)
 
Forget the steel, FORGET about it. FORGET about durability. Forget about where it made or what wars they were used in. (BTW, SR has plenty of military contracts)
Would you by a sweater made out of steel wool? Of course not.
BUY a Swamp Rat and your hands will thank you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top