Yes, full tang. Muela is another great maker as is Cudeman. The Spanish in general make great knives. The styles are similar. You can’t go wrong with any of them. Have mostly Jokers and a big Cudeman Bowie. My next Spanish knife might be a Muela
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Best full tang stainless bowie <$300?
- Thread starter y53p
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On a completely unrelated topic, the Android BladeForums app kept crashing on me. I had to uninstall it today, and go back to using my Chrome browser. But, even on the Chrome Browser, this website often crashes. My phone is a brand new Moto Stylus 5G 2023. Has anyone else experienced these issues on Android?
Helle also has smaller knives comparable in price to the Jokers, but your photo has me looking for other birch-handled 5"+ bladed options...will report back.
edit: You called it, Joker makes the only comparable knives to that Helle, three of them to be specific. They aren't really bargains though, some quick math puts them at around $30 per blade inch, and the Helle is less than $2 more.
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I was wondering what you were going to come up with regarding this style of knife. Those curly birch handles in particular are my favorite. I take your point about the blade per inch metric. Jokers actually have gone up in recent years but they still hover around the $100 price point. Hopefully they stay there for a while. Give one of their curly bitch models a try, I predict you will be impressed when you get one in hand
Edit: Here is a good example regarding the comparable price of two models from Joker and Helle that are an apples to apples comparion; the Joker Ember S and the Helle Didi Galgalu.
Both have the same steel, same grind, same handle materials, same blade length (4”) and both full tang. The Joker comes in at $110 (which includes an excellent fire steel with matching curly birch) vs. the Helle at $240. Btw, if you are in the market for a traditional scandi knife, you’ll really like the Ember. The ergos are near perfect
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Yeah that particular Helle is definitely overpriced, compared to the Joker and even the Nord.
If I was looking for under 5" my pick would be the Montanero:
Two reasons I'm leaning toward the Nord; the blade is bigger, and it's polished.
I'm not sure I'm aloud to say the name of the knife reseller company, but I know where you can get the Joker Nomad 6.5" for about $105 with free shipping. The Joker has a convex grind, and nicer handle scales IMO. The Joker is Bohler N695 steel, while the Helle Nord is 14C28N. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe those steels are very comparable. Both come from reputable German steel companies. My understanding is that Bohler N695 is a slight upgrade to 440C. Bohler has a significantly higher carbon content than Sandvik steel, and a higher chromium content. I'm unsure which steel is better. It seems to me, that if you want a true stainless steel survival knife, you would buy the Joker Nomad 6.5. But, if you want a bushcraft knife, you buy the Helle Nord. The Joker Nomad 6.5 has a better sheath from what I've seen. It has a contoured plastic insert inside the leather, that keeps the knife from falling out if the sheath is upside down. It's not just a typical plastic insert. It's formed to the blade, like a Kydex sheath. I don't know what kind of polymer it's made from.Yeah that particular Helle is definitely overpriced, compared to the Joker and even the Nord.
If I was looking for under 5" my pick would be the Montanero:
Two reasons I'm leaning toward the Nord; the blade is bigger, and it's polished.
The Buck 124 is 420HC, with a hollow grind. It's an excellent hunting knife. I'm not sure it would make a good survival knife. I know Buck has their 420HC steel down to a science. However, I would prefer a higher quality stainless steel for a survival knife. Thank you for the suggestion.
Ebbtide
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 7,942
I humbly suggest the Ontario 10” machete.
Chop and baton to your heart’s content. Sharpen with a file (or rock in a RLSS).
While not stainless, the parkarized finish provides adequate protection. And one can always hit it with some spray paint for additional protection.
Cardboard and duct tape can make a decent storage sheath (and source for duct tape in that RLSS).
When I first got mine I was all fussy about the polished edge and edge holding. But soon realized that the slightly softer 1095 responds well to a couple swipes with a file, which takes no time at all.
And it’s not like one is leaving a couple hundred dollar investment in the truck tailgate for a just in case scenario.
Chop and baton to your heart’s content. Sharpen with a file (or rock in a RLSS).
While not stainless, the parkarized finish provides adequate protection. And one can always hit it with some spray paint for additional protection.
Cardboard and duct tape can make a decent storage sheath (and source for duct tape in that RLSS).
When I first got mine I was all fussy about the polished edge and edge holding. But soon realized that the slightly softer 1095 responds well to a couple swipes with a file, which takes no time at all.
And it’s not like one is leaving a couple hundred dollar investment in the truck tailgate for a just in case scenario.
I have the 1075 version with the D-handle. It's in one of those old hard plastic sheaths, with the drainage holes, Alice Clips, and the carbide pull through sharpener on the side. It's definitely beastly, as it can do a lot of different tasks, with the exception of fine blade work. That said, I'm sure someone out there knows how to make feather sticks with it! I was going to pick up another one with the regular handle. But, the only ones I can find are the sawback versions. I don't really need a sawback, and it would get in the way while batoning wood. Ontario changed all these machetes to 1075 high carbon steel a few years back. However, there are still some out there that are 1095. It's impossible to determine the difference, as far as I can tell. I prefer 1075 for toughness, even if it's more difficult to sharpen.I humbly suggest the Ontario 10” machete.
Chop and baton to your heart’s content. Sharpen with a file (or rock in a RLSS).
While not stainless, the parkarized finish provides adequate protection. And one can always hit it with some spray paint for additional protection.
Cardboard and duct tape can make a decent storage sheath (and source for duct tape in that RLSS).
When I first got mine I was all fussy about the polished edge and edge holding. But soon realized that the slightly softer 1095 responds well to a couple swipes with a file, which takes no time at all.
And it’s not like one is leaving a couple hundred dollar investment in the truck tailgate for a just in case scenario.
Even though those old plastic sheaths have old school Alice Clips, they're actually pretty nice. You can customize them in all sorts of ways. I've seen people attach slings to them, and attach camp saws and smaller knives to them, typically with bicycle tubing, but quality duct tape works just fine. I actually bought one of the Rothco MOLLE sheaths for this machete. I immediately returned it. It was a complete piece of garbage. The plastic insert doesn't even protect the tip of the blade. The machete would have ripped the sheath apart easily. I'll stick with the old school polymer sheaths!
I think the small Boker Arbolito can compete with both of them
and the big one satisfies your Bowie criteria:
I'd love to have one of those Boker knives, especially the El Gigante. They're a bit out of my price range.I think the small Boker Arbolito can compete with both of them
and the big one satisfies your Bowie criteria:
I have to be honest. While it's a nice knife, the handle, blade shape, and sheath, leave a lot to be desired for that price. The thickness is 0.25", but it tapers quickly, and has a fairly weak tip. I have XXL hands, so the handle size would not work for me. The Joker Nomad 6.5 has a nice handle, a convex grind, and the thickness doesn't taper. That, along with the blade shape, makes for a stronger tip. I'm sure the El Gigante will be great for some people. It's just not what I'm looking for, in terms of a survival knife. As a self defense knife, I'm sure it would be great.
Perhaps the real question is this: In a survival situation, can a CPM-3V survival knife get the job done for a few days, without rusting? Even if it does rust, would it be a big deal with respect to utility? It has a decent amount of chromium, but not enough to be considered stainless. I'm wondering if I could keep a CPM-3V fixed blade in my vehicle, and not worry about it rusting, assuming it is slathered in petroleum jelly. I'm going to do some research on how bad CPM-3V actually rusts, if it has a good coating of oil, wax, or petroleum jelly.
adluginb
Platinum Member
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- Nov 12, 2009
- Messages
- 2,295
It wouldn’t if kept that way.. Same with any carbon steel also.
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2016
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- 670
3v isn’t very rust or stain prone. Barely even patina. A2, 1095, O1, 52100 are the one I’d stay away from if you’re worried about rust. If you can get your hands on delta 3v it’s damn near stainless. You won’t need to lube your 3v
Who cares? If you are worried more about rust than surviving it can't be much of a survival situation. Use a non-stainless knife for what its intended for and take care of it properly and it will turn gray, but it won't really rust. The gray patina is a form of corrosion that actually protects the blade and prevents red rust from forming. Non-stainless knives have been used in the outdoors for extended periods of time for centuries believe it or not.
I slather all my high carbon steel blades with petroleum jelly! I'm sure there's better blade protection greases and waxes out there. However, petroleum jelly is dirt cheap, and it lasts a longggg time. I used to use mineral oil, but I got tired of oiling all my blades every 4 months. That was probably overkill for a home with AC, but I didn't want to take the chance.