Best Knife for war zone <$125

geekswithguns

geekswithguns

Joined
May 24, 2005
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Ok lets hear your opinions- especially you who are serving/have served. A friend of mine has joined the army and I wanted to get him a knife, I'd love to buy him a Strider- but the budget just won't allow it (thinking about trying to get a couple of people to chip in with me though...). So- what's the best knife for a war zone for under $125 and why? I have plenty of experience with knives for law enforcement, camping, etc., but clearly this is a different animal.
thanks
 
something out of the becker line i'd imagine, maybe a crewman or bk7. I say this because most of the use a combat knife gets is utility oriented ie prying things open, chopping vegetation, opening mre's (a challenging proposition!) etc. All of the beckers available are very reasonable price-wise and are up to almost any task, durability wise. I've heard very good things about swamp rat and ranger knives also. If you need a knife in a hurry though don't count on srkw though, speaking from personal experience.
 
The Becker is a good product. If I was going over there, I'd consider taking my BK7 with me. You might, too, consider one of the fixed blade Buck-Strider collaborations. Some people don't like the Bos heat treated 420HC steel, but I think it would serve well. It's plenty tough with very good corrosion resistance. I like the design of the sheath too.
 
The military doesnt operate in fields where objects exist that civilians never see. A good knife in the civilian world is a good knife in the military. The only extra need might be for a camo/black blade if actually seeing combat. The whole idea of military tactical knives is rediculous. Unless it attaches to the barrel of my m16, it is no more fitted for military use than for civilian use. And there are many civilians that would put much more stress than anyone in the military might on a knife. That said, the swamp rat fixed blades seem to be very tough knives for a good value, try looking into those or maybe a cheap strider fixed blade.
 
For a fixed blade, something from Swamp Rat, or Becker.

For a folder, a Benchmade 710, or a Spyderco Military or Manix. Personally, I'd take any one of those 3 knives over anything made by Strider, regardless of price.
 
No joking here

Go to the himalayan imports forum, or email Yangdu at Himimp@aol.com and explain the situation. you will get a load of knife for that much money and alot of us here at the forums swear by them. Look at British army service , 18" gelbu specials, 12" ang khola's to start with.
You're money will go a very long way there.
 
As a Infantry Medic with the 101st Airborne I found anything over around 5 inches in blade length to get in the way. My 1st field problem I was all gung-ho and excited and took my Al Mar Warrior. Well as I sat down in the Chinook the handle was jabbing the crap out of my ribs. Movement to contacts were uncomfortable (chalk that up sheath design more than the knife). I ended up stowing it in my Rucksack and never used it. Granted it provided a funny moment when the Platoon Sgt saw it. He saw that big knife, looked out at his guys and said "Don't break your arms or legs guys cause it looks like the new Doc likes to amputate."

Back on topic:

If I was still in I would feel ready with three things.

1) Heavy duty locking folder. Al Mar SERE 2000, Emerson CQC-7, or a Spyderco Para-military. My favorite is the Emerson CQC-7.

2) Good quality Multi-tool or Swiss Army Knife. Essential tools would would be the saw and scissors. Love those tweezers in SAK's

3) Stout fixed blade with a blade around 5 inches in length. Benchmade Nimravus, Gerber LMF II, Spyderco Fred Perrin or Temperance, Cold Steel SRK, Falkniven S-1. I really liked the new Gerber LMF II I saw at the blade show.

As a soldier a knife is used more as a tool than a weapon, granted I want to know it can perform in that capacity too. If it has come down to me needing a knife to defend myself then I am out of bullets for the M-16, my Beretta, and somewhere along the way it has really hit the fan.
 
That's an easy one...

The Spyderco Pacific Salt.

It will not rust, it's light-weight, it's very sharp, it's tough, and it's affordable!

Good luck,
Allen.
 
Similar questions to these have almost always been answered (by people who've been over there) with the response "Get him a good multi-tool".

I am partial to the Leatherman Wave, but probably just because I've not seen the Charge in person.
 
I'm not sure how useful multi tools are in other fields of the military, but I know I use my Fuse all the time in the hangar. It is invaluable, and everyone carries some kind of multi tool. I think multi tools are highly underrated. I'd drop either my delica or bm42 before I gave up the Fuse.
 
sorry fellas, there have been some good points, but some of you guys are not really giving the best advice. while i admit freely that i have never been in theater and dont have first hand experience, i am pretty educated on military things and have quite a few friends who have been there and done it. the most recent of my friends, a marine infantryman who saw combat clued me in to a bit of "truths". bayonets and the like are tossed aside and never carried, most choose to carry large blades that are used more as tools rather than just cutters. he carried a strider mt and used it regulary to pry open doors and windows in addition to cutting and chopping tasks. this is what he said he used the most. while this is a bit pricey and obviously is not an option considering the budget, there are many that would fit in your plan. try the buck strider fixed blade knives, they carry the same warranty and fit the bill nicely. TOPS and Becker are always favorites as well. if the pocket book can afford more, of course i would reccommend busse, strider, jones brothers entry tool, to name a few.
so i guess the next question that you need to ask is what is he going to be doing there. if its infantry, or front line assault work, they do mostly policing and patrol and do tons of entry. this also brings up another option, mini axes, pry tools and the like are one thing my buddy would have liked to have had on hand. a folder and a multi tool will definitely see use, but im getting the impression that you want to get him something with a bit more heft. hope this helps.
 
My son spent 14 months in Iraq and pretty much confirmed that the Recon Scout, while nice and functional was bigger than he ever really needed and at times not even taken with him. He said he got more use out of his Sog Multitool and his folder. (which was a Kershaw Blackout primarily among others of around the same size)
 
I'm not in the military, but I believe Halfneck pretty much summed it up in post #9 above.

Depending on where you shop, you can probably get a Leatherman Wave and a Benchmade Griptilian for your targeted range of $125.
 
Having said what I did above, if you are focused on getting him a fixed blade prying-knife, look at a Howling Rat from Swamp Rat. Only 4.5" blade but 3/16" thick, tough as rocks, and well under your price range. You could perhaps squeeze in an HR and a less-expensive Leatherman for $125.
 
Doorkicker that is what I liked about the new Gerber LMF II. It has a stout 5 (5.5 inch?) inch blade (Sandvik 12c37?) that could tolerate prying. The handle is a brown colored polymer with a stout pointed butt that was made to smash through a aircraft's lexan canopy. The pointed butt could also double as a effective skull crusher. Also the sheath was nicely thought out and had a pull through sharpening slot. While it would not put a razor edge on the knife, at least it could keep it using sharp.

Larger blades are nice but inconveniant to carry. With my additional Medic Aid bag strapped to me ruck the only 1 humping more weight was the M-60 gunners and Mortar crews. The most common large knives I saw carried were either Ka-Bar pattern knives and the Glock knives. Most soldiers only carried a multi-tool or a folder or maybe both. The only soldiers who routinely carried larger blades were the guys I met in 5th Special Forces along with some guys in the 160th SOAR. While I never saw combat I assume that if things have gotten so bad that I am relying on my knife to defend myself that 5 inches vs 6-7 inches won't make that big a impact.
 
Whenever this question comes up around here, the responses from thoise with experience are pretty much in line with what STR and Halfneck have said.
With that in mind, you can do very well with $125 & have it delivered within days:

1. Camillus CUDA Black Ops, I love this knife, great ergos:
http://www.1sks.com/store/camillus-cqb-3.html
or a Cold Steel SRK.
http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1166
(good design & same steel as the CUDA but I find the checkered handles irritating after long use)
or a Becker Crewman or BK-7
http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=395
(no personal experience but they have a great rep here on BF).

These can all be got cheap

2. Multi-tool, probably a leatherman WAVE would be my first choice b/c of the one-hand opening blades, so you don't really need a knife in addition, but if you want one . . .

3. should have enough $$ left to get a locking folder with a 3-4" blade, there are tons of these for less than $50, a Kershaw Vapor is about $25 and has a simple open design that would serve well in sand.

But, if you HAVE to get him an indestructible prybar for under $125, and need it delivered in a timely manner, your best bet is to check out Ranger knives (must get from a dealer since the maker himself is currently deployed):
http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/results.tam?rlk=7216735
and
http://www.sagecreekoutfitters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SC&Category_Code=RK
 
I'd keep it simple and keep it light weight.

Lots of guys have a multi-tool of some sort, this one is my favorite,
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=SOG44

Also, this would be considered very delux,
http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=BM551P

The power plier is $50 and the 551 Grip is $70, add few $ for shipping you'd be at your $125 limit and he'd be the envy of every guy there.

If he needs a fixed blade he can get a kabar on base for fairly cheap.

I said the 551 Grip would be consdered delux because the last time I was on a base (about two months ago) they had only two types of folders and they were cheap replicas of a Spydeco, one with the hole and the other with a thumb stud...$7.00 each! The also had two kabars, an original with leather handle and with a black rubber handle. That's the guys had to choose from!

For me, light weight stuff is better than heavy stuff!

Collecter
 
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