Best choice for a hard use all purpose survival knife?

While I do say that any Outlaw or SH would be a fine choice, the NMFSH at .32 and 9.5" is basically a FFBM with a drop point, not that that is a bad thing, but substantially larger and heavier than anything else mentioned.

Another one I'm surprised hasn't come up yet is the HellRazor, which is a great lightweight allarounder.
 
taiChiFighter said:
For me that seems quite important because, it seems to me that, corrosion is going to degrade the edge quicker. In a survival situation, I want to be sharpening as little as possible.
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For an extended survival situation, I would choose INFI for the best corrosion resistance over SR-101 or SR-77. While technically INFI is not stainless, it is pretty close. I have an INFI knife that was in a car for years and when I finally looked at it, there was no rust on the edge, and I had not put oil or anything else on the edge as a rust preventative. Years ago I bought a Steel Heart II that had been seriously neglected, and there were only very minor rust spots - nothing that did not easily clean off. So do not worry about INFI rusting - with even occasional use, the edge will not rust significantly (exposure to salt water would be an exception).

Regarding the coatings, both the old smooth coat and the newer crinkle coat have proven to be very durable. It takes a lot of hard use to finally wear thru to the metal, and with INFI even if you do wear off the coating, it does not matter because it will not rust easily. As you alluded to, the edge is really the only place that rust matters on a survival knife, and with some use it is not a concern with INFI.

Based on your criteria of a 6.5" blade, I would recommend looking for a Basic 7, although it does not have an exposed tang. A Steel Heart II would be an excellent choice, but they can be pricey these days. Maybe a Tank Buster would meet your needs. Also look at the ASH-1 - it is available in .188", .22" & .32" blade thicknesses, both coated and uncoated.

Regarding buying knives on BladeForums, I have bought many knives from members here and the vast majority of the transactions have been flawless. There were a couple where the knife's condition was not quite as good as advertised, but that has been rare (and would not matter for a survival knife). Roughly 90% of my Busses were purchased from people on BladeForums.

Gene
 
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Basic 6 IMO. Res-C handles are win for every reason I can think of. Extended use comfort, shock absorption, grippy as hell even when soaked in water/blood, tough as hell, and makes the knives so much lighter in weight. Now, I use a Basic 10/Basic 4 (anorexic) in tandem when I'm in the backcountry...but if you're a one knife guy go with the Basic 6 as it has highlights from both.
 
I still say the tankbuster. it comes in around 15 ounces and if you choke back (round butt) it can effectively chop smaller to medium branches. anything else is prob worth batonning with it. At .22-.24, its pretty bomb proof.
 
Anyone have any thoughts on the the "standard" micarta scales vs. G10 option on the TGLB? Is there any real advantage to the G10 or is it mostly cosmetic?

PS. I keep coming back to the Rodent 6 as a very viable alternative.
 
g10 doesn't absorb oil, water, blood ets.... so it looks nice much longer

they are both indestructible in any practical use, so unless you care about looks, it's not an issue

G10 is slicker when wet
 
While I don't have a rodent 6 (yet), I do have both a ratmandu and a mini mojo. Dimensions of the mini mojo and the Rodent 6 are very close (within 3/8inch). The mini mojo is an excellent do it all knife as long as you aren't looking for a chopper. Splitting kindling, making traps, and many shelter building tasks can be done with a knife this size without problems.

Since you did mention the thought of using the knife defensively, a 6 inch blade length knife would likely prove nigh ineffective on most large game animals. A much larger and longer blade would be highly encouraged.

Against two legged predators it can be quite effective.
 
I've got one of each, black canvas micarta tg and black g10 in use there is very little difference. The canvas feels slightly softer the g10 looks cleaner. Really not a lot of difference, just personal preference on appearance.

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Good all round survival knife I'm voting for the NMSFNO. There's very little I've found that I can't do with it.

Micarta wins over G-10 with me, especially with a heavy user with chopping and batoning involved.



Also, I'll be the first to say this. If it comes between a bear and my ars getting ate, I'm sure as hell going to be packing something larger than a little .44 magnum, overkill doesn't exist in my book so the .460 S&W wins :D
 
BePrepared said:
If you're going with overkill, might as well go straight to the 500....
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True, but you loose versatility. With the 500, you're stuck with it. 460, you have the .454 or the .45 Colt (if you get desperate). Plus, even though with a lighter bullet the velocity is higher so it compensates and makes it fairly equal to the 500.

Or...could just get a BFR in a .45/70 :eek:
 
I love my Glock 17 and if push came to shove and I had to use a handgun for bear defence I'd get a 15 round 10mm Glock 20. (16 rounds with one chambered) ;)
But that's just me...
 
BePrepared said:
If you're going with overkill, might as well go straight to the 500....

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And that beast weighs 5 pounds loaded! For another pound or two, you could carry a carbine in an actual rifle caliber.

Back on topic, my vote is also for the NMSFNO. I bought one through the custom shop as my first busse and have been very impressed. If I was in the OP's predicament (and I was a few months ago), I'd email the Custom Shop and see if they have any NMSFNO blanks on hand. The cost was agreeable (when compared to the secondary market), the delivery fast, and I got it exactly as I wanted it.
 
I find this talk about Busse competition finish not rusting puzzling. I have a competition grade Jack Hammer and Hell Razor, and both rusted just sitting in a drawer (although not on the edge where the decarb is ground off). Is there a new "competition" finish with the decarb removed that I hadn't heard about?
 
The new competition finish is similar to doublecut, but they skip the step where they grind the dimples out. there are several pics of BWM's with 2-tone micarta and this finish. It looks great
 
In the 6.25" - 7" range there is only 3 options in my book. 6.25"-TB, 6.5"-ASH-1 & 7"-SFNO(no matter the cost). All three of these knives are exceptional blades. I have several of each. I will say this about using a blade of this size to chop, go with the SFNO. You can get more snap on the blade if you back choke the hilt. The TB & ASH-1 are better for other task. Not that they can't chop but when chopping you HAVE to consider the design of the hilt. The ASH-1 has the turned down pommel therefore it can bite into your little finger some. The TB, well this thing lives up to it's namesake(TANK). I see where some of the folks here say the TB - .220 +. I have had several pass through my hands and the ONLY one I have had that has a .220 blade is a Satin Pumpkin. The others ar .255-.260" and are coated. To future convolute this is the blade design, flat or sabre. Best thing to do Bro is just spring for it, get some of each and determine what works for you.

Me personally I'm jumping all over my HHFSH to walk out the door with. That will be accompanied a FBM (of some type), most likely a TB and then a small one(RMD,MNR or AD).
My wife will have a couple and I a couple. But if there can ONLY BE ONE-the HHFSH for me.
 
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