Best choice for a hard use all purpose survival knife?

some people ONLY collect all the variations, colors, etc of a specific model

and some models have 10-20 variations
 
I don't know if "best" is ever appropriate, but my NMSFNOs have never failed me. Right size, sturdy and tough as they come, and do their job. Mission capable rate 100 %. :) Can't think of a single bad thing to say about them. In this model, I even like the choils.
 
PeterPHWS said:
Kowing that the knife is clean and does not have residue sap on it is the issue ... prepare food with any blade which has any dirt or sap on it and you will get the "runs" ... happens all the time in the military with guys using coated bayonets which are hard to tell if they are clean ... the old SLR bayonet was my learning curve on this ...

In the field I always use a satin finish for food prep when cooking and use boiled water to clean the blade ... doing a gralloch or skinning game and preparing it I am happy using a coated blade ... it is handling/cutting the food after it has been cooked that you need to be careful ... or using a knife on none cooked food like bread or fruit ... cooking will clear up the risk of a bit of dirt on a carcass ... but slicing meat off a cooked carcass or cutting cheese is where problems start ...

Becareful if you have a tool steel blade where people tell you to do a forced patina ... these can be as difficult to tell if the blade is clean as a coated blade ... I experimented with these and then found when cutting white cheese that the cheese was tainted by stains ... not worth the risk of a dodgy stomach in the field ... nothing is worse ...

A seperate food prep knife is the best arguement for carrying a second blade for "survival" purposes ... and the extra weight is usually very little if you make a sensible choice.
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I wonder if one of my Emerson or Spyderco folders would suffice as a secondary food prep blade. I suppose not... because of all the cracks and crevices that would harbour bacteria.
 
taiChiFighter said:
I wonder if one of my Emerson or Spyderco folders would suffice as a secondary food prep blade. I suppose not... because of all the cracks and crevices that would harbour bacteria.
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Buy a 1.75 liter bottle of the booze of your choice. Pour a 1 oz shot and use that to disinfect your blade. Drink the rest. What was the problem again???


.
 
taiChiFighter said:
What's up with the muliple versions of the same knife?
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He doesnt 2nd guess himself. Frank is a die hard hog, knows what he likes.

taiChiFighter said:
I wonder if one of my Emerson or Spyderco folders would suffice as a secondary food prep blade. I suppose not... because of all the cracks and crevices that would harbour bacteria.
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Think less cut more= happy ending :)
 
dericdesmond said:
Think less cut more= happy ending :)
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Ever gone on a trip and wished you had planned better? The trip I'm planning won't be for fun. I definitely do not want to be in the middle of it and finding myself wishing I'd taken the time to plan through the details when it was possible to do so in a calm and reasoned way. Weapons, tools, mil spec clothing, lighting, solar charging, water purification, warmth, shelter short term rations, specialized training etc etc etc. Each and every one of these "details" has, is or will be getting days, weeks or even months of attention.
 
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once you have your basics covered, skill and experience will outweigh overplanning every time.

I'm as guilty as any though. I have almost as much fun planning my loadouts as I do on my trips.
 
taiChiFighter said:
Ever gone on a trip and wished you had planned better? The trip I'm planning won't be for fun. I definitely do not want to be in the middle of it and finding myself wishing I'd taken the time to plan through the details when it was possible to do so in a calm and reasoned way. Weapons, tools, mil spec clothing, lighting, solar charging, water purification, warmth, shelter short term rations, specialized training etc etc etc. Each and every one of these "details" has, is or will be getting days, weeks or even months of attention.
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Yeah, but that trip was called a deployment and I didn't get to do any planning for it. Trips I have more choice on, I can't say that I ever have, no matter what happened that didn't fit the plan, but I learned a lot for next time. Reading all of those prep plans really makes me wonder how the native americans and so many millions like them in other/past cultures could possibly make it without all of that stuff. :rolleyes: Get a good knife, gun and a few other simple necessities/tools, learn what is most important in order to use common sense to adapt and the rest will work itself out for as long as you are able. After that, it really won't much matter.
 
taiChiFighter said:
Ever gone on a trip and wished you had planned better? The trip I'm planning won't be for fun. I definitely do not want to be in the middle of it and finding myself wishing I'd taken the time to plan through the details when it was possible to do so in a calm and reasoned way. Weapons, tools, mil spec clothing, lighting, solar charging, water purification, warmth, shelter short term rations, specialized training etc etc etc. Each and every one of these "details" has, is or will be getting days, weeks or even months of attention.
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Save yourself some time, buy a swiss army knife and rent the mcgyver series, watch and bam, an apocalyptic asskickin machine overnight.
 
If you are planning to go on a synthetic Bug Out, you picked the right knife for the job... IMHO, you will also need a machete of some sort

The machete is the second most efficient utility/weight ratio tool you can bring along with you after a good knife.

when you find yourself making a shelter, you'll be very glad to have the longer blade for clearing and chopping tasks, and a good machete will be well under 1#

I'd recommend one from Condor.

One can survive in the woods indefinitely (if not comfortably) with nothing but a good knife, a machete, 100' of para cord, and a good firesteel.

Everything else is luxury, but with what you can fit in a backpack under 30#, you can live quite well for a month with no trouble.

If you've never done real world woods survival, I'd recommend you pick up the small version of SAS Survival Guide Handbook. It's about 4 ounces of EPIC WIN.
 
Basic 7 paired with a good, solid folder.

At 1/4" blade thickness and weighing 12 oz with Resiprene-C handle, the Basic 7 is lighter and as strong or stronger than anything else in the 7" blade range, long enough with enough forward balance for efficient chopping/batonning but not so long that point work is awkward, has the best of all Busse ergonomics IMO plus insulation from cold/vibration/electrical shock, and a standard asymmetrical edge grind which is one of the strongest, most efficient cutting edge geometries and the easiest to sharpen in the field.
 
taiChiFighter said:
I wonder if one of my Emerson or Spyderco folders would suffice as a secondary food prep blade. I suppose not... because of all the cracks and crevices that would harbour bacteria.
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No problem ... they would work fine ... I used a bechmade folder and a SAK ... cleaning the blade is all that is needed ... the handy thing with folders is that you can drop them into a mess tin and boil them out after things like a river crossing or anything where you're soaked to the skin in "gunk" ...

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Use a lock knife where you can dismantle it for drying the inside off ... I carryed a folding set of hex keys in my rifle cleaning kit ... great for the knife and taking the rifle out the stock to dry the bedding ... ditto shotgun but stock and pistol grips ... cleaning kit gives you something to do when there is no lap top and no TV :D
 
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Will York said:
Basic 7 paired with a good, solid folder.

At 1/4" blade thickness and weighing 12 oz with Resiprene-C handle, the Basic 7 is lighter and as strong or stronger than anything else in the 7" blade range, long enough with enough forward balance for efficient chopping/batonning but not so long that point work is awkward, has the best of all Busse ergonomics IMO plus insulation from cold/vibration/electrical shock, and a standard asymmetrical edge grind which is one of the strongest, most efficient cutting edge geometries and the easiest to sharpen in the field.
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Must try a Basic 7 at some point :thumbup:
 
AZTimT said:
Yeah, but that trip was called a deployment and I didn't get to do any planning for it. Trips I have more choice on, I can't say that I ever have, no matter what happened that didn't fit the plan, but I learned a lot for next time. Reading all of those prep plans really makes me wonder how the native americans and so many millions like them in other/past cultures could possibly make it without all of that stuff. :rolleyes: Get a good knife, gun and a few other simple necessities/tools, learn what is most important in order to use common sense to adapt and the rest will work itself out for as long as you are able. After that, it really won't much matter.
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It's a given that one's plans NEVER match perfectly with the reality of the situation. On the the other hand I think at least trying to anticipate the basic variables gets a closer match than just winging it. As for what natives needed... I'm not going to delude myself about who they were and who I am. I'm a white boy who grew up in the softest society in human history. They, on the other hand, were exposed from birth to the accumulated wisdom of a culture that had thousands of years of experience living off the land. I don't have the beneifit of that experience so I'm going to take advantage of every edge that I can give myself with modern gear trimmed down to the essentials in a reasonably workable load out.

Ps. I have extensive training and experience of my own but I'm not going to list my credentials and open up a debate that will go on forever and waste everybody's time. My purpose here is to deal with a very specific aspect of the equipment side of the equation. It's a given that this is only one component of the big picture.
 
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Hi,

Just my two cents. I have a lot of knives, and I have to say that the NMSFNO is hard to beat.
So far I have been using the NMSFNO and a multi tool in all my fishing and hunting trips, and this is all that i need.
About corrosion, trust me , this is not an issue.

Cheers

Alex
 
PeterPHWS said:
Must try a Basic 7 at some point :thumbup:
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You'll be glad you did. :thumbup: :D

Haven't had time to check in here for awhile. Caught a break and thought I'd pop in this afternoon, and I've enjoyed catching up on some interesting threads--many with your input. I always enjoy and value your advice, Peter. Your extensive experience in the field and your knowledge of the intricacies of tool and weapon design/construction put your opinions at the top of my list. Thanks for taking the time.

Will
 
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