best survival folder

[Kwon Kwang]

I have to defend RAO , ( I am not trying to make sale here )
If i were stuck in woods for a week I want my knife to be strong as possible , your life will depend on that tool .
You may go thru extreme situation, RAO or similar knife can be used and abused you can button with it ,you can pry and you not gonna break a tip , it gets you close to fixed blade .
and you can keep it on your belt not in the pocket .

or maybe I just like my knives big and overbuild .


Sergey.

You can do the same thing with an $80 Recon 1. In much more conventional and proven blade shapes, no less. Not that you should; I am a firm believer in using the right tool for the job. Knifeworks, which I believe is an authorized dealer here, sells the RAO for $385.95. MRSP is just under $500. By contrast, KW sells the Recon 1 for $71.95, and MSRP is $121.95. My point is that, when we're strictly talking function over form, what does the RAO give me that the Recon 1 doesn't? Better blade geometry? Nope. Lighter weight? Nope. Better ergonomics? Nope. A stronger lock? Nothing except maybe the Ram Safe lock is stronger than the Tri-Ad lock. I'd put Benchmade's Axis lock as maybe a close competitor. Better steel? Maybe for some applications, but for what these knives are supposedly for, I don't really think so. At its price point though, the RAO's blade should be crafted from the bones of Greek gods rather than N690. I'm sure a few guys here will disagree with me on the steel, which is fine.

I like my knives big and overbuilt, too...but form should always follow function.

 

[dkb45]

I'm looking for your opinion:
As part of a residency for graduate school, we are headed up into the mountains. After signing all the AD&D waivers, we are allowed to bring one folding knife. No lodges, no cell phone coverage, no Leathermans, no guns, no fixed blades. Animals: bear, mountain lions, wolves, coyote, fox, etc. What is the FOLDER YOU would take and why? I'll be up in the Uintas for a week.

The people running this are either psychopaths or just stupid. A folder is pretty much useless for any real survival situation. What you need is a decent sized (~4") fixed, and a hatchet or ax for proper wood processing. You also, being in mountain lion and bear country, really should have a rifle. I have been stalked by a mountain lion once and it is not fun (luckily it never came close enough to really worry about). If an animal attacks, the knife will be completely useless.

 

[ExtremAddiction]

Absolutely ! Recon would be my second choice ! I have one and it was abused just to test how far it can go . its still alive .
only thing what I like about RAO more is aluminum handle, and bigger size . I don't trust g10 that much . ( we not talking about price)
hey it just me.
price wise cold steel clean winner .

btw, there is safety pin on RAO , you have to screw it in the handle and it makes it pretty much fixed blade . (or close to it)

 

[Dieselashi]

I would suggest either a Victorinox Farmer or a Spyderco Manix 2.

I saw a very clever trick once for "batonning" with the humble SAK - carve a wedge-shape out of one block of wood, and use the saw to start a groove in the piece you wish to split. Smack the wedge with another stick or a stone and voila. Obviously you would only be able to split relatively small pieces of wood relatively slowly using this method, but it could work!

I take the Manix 2 as my own "hiking" knife when going for day trips or overnights within walking distance of towns/etc. The grip is well suited to any number of holds and the shape of the choil(s?) and aggressive jimping of the frame and blade and texturing of the handle scales really lock the knife in your hands. The lock is solid, smooth, and strong, and mine at least exhibits no vertical or lateral play. The smaller blade-to-handle ratio makes the edge and point easy to control and the pointy leaf shape (almost a spear point?) is great for any "woodsy" things you might need to do (carve, drill, puncture, slice coarse or fine). It's definitely my preference over my Spyderdo lockbacks and the pointier but thinner-tipped military and para-military.

 

[Kwon Kwang]

Absolutely ! Recon would be my second choice ! I have one and it was abused just to test how far it can go . its still alive .
only thing what I like about RAO more is aluminum handle, and bigger size . I don't trust g10 that much . ( we not talking about price)
hey it just me.
price wise cold steel clean winner .

btw, there is safety pin on RAO , you have to screw it in the handle and it makes it pretty much fixed blade . (or close to it)

G10 is a very strong material, and I think it's actually better at handling lateral stress than steel is. Busse uses it for their handles. I can certainly see why you'd like the bigger size on the RAO; I like bigger knives, too, and Cold Steel released an XL version of the Recon 1 just this year! Comes in tanto point and FFG clip point. I think that's pretty awesome, and it bothers me that I can't carry one of those without it getting me into trouble if the police see it.

For the record, I have begun to enjoy aluminum as a handle material. I've got an aluminum handle on my Code 4. I just really like the way it feels. It's slick but with properly designed ergonomics it's not a problem. I do think the RAO's ergonomics look uncomfortable, but they do, at least, appear to keep you from going forward onto that big blade.

How does that safety pin on the RAO work?

 

[dragonram7]

The last residency was at Camp William doing team obstacle courses. The outfit that is running this one does survival (team building) self reliance type activitites. A few days in the woods isn't bad. I think I have some good direction from this forum. I let you know which gear I choose. Hopefully I'll go tomorrow.

 

[boobins]

My go to war knife is the Graymen SATU. Enough said.

 

[ExtremAddiction]

How does that safety pin on the RAO work?

its 6mm steel pin , you have to screw it in the hole in finger guard it prevents blade from closing even if lock fails .
and you can carry it in open position in the sheath just like fixed blade .

of coarse carrying fixed blade is better to begin with it

 

[Fanglekai]

its 6mm steel pin , you have to screw it in the hole in finger guard it prevents blade from closing even if lock fails .
and you can carry it in open position in the sheath just like fixed blade .

of coarse carrying fixed blade is better to begin with it

Too bad it looks about as useful as carrying a rock.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Not that anyone exaggerates.

 

[ishiyumisan]

You can do the same thing with an $80 Recon 1..

Not really, lateral stress and impact toughness are not even close.

Better blade geometry? Nope.

How did you come by this conclusion? I understand that you're a cold steel fascinado ( so do I) but compare an hollow grind vs almost a full flat grind... you don't' get anywhere.

Nothing except maybe the Ram Safe lock is stronger than the Tri-Ad lock.

I would leave the answer to the experts, leave them decide which one is the best in all count.



conclusion both knives are great but, No doubt in my mind that the Rao are the toughest of the 2.

Did I mention that I own a recon 1 too

 

[Kwon Kwang]

its 6mm steel pin , you have to screw it in the hole in finger guard it prevents blade from closing even if lock fails .
and you can carry it in open position in the sheath just like fixed blade .

of coarse carrying fixed blade is better to begin with it

Oh, I see. That's pretty interesting. I've never seen that before.

 

[richdkao]

Svord Peasant Knife, it's basically semi fixed blade and real resilient steel, no lock to fail.

It'll rust easily though but I don't mind. Cleaned mine up with toothpaste last night after a bout of rust.

Same thought

 

[drvoxmentat]

Just to exaggerate the size of your cahones, your "knife" should be a p-38 can opener. Then use it on a can of tuna, eat the contents, fold the top of the can in half and sharpen the edges on some granite to create a rough Ulu.

Seriously, those are some ridiculous rules ;-) But now I'm thinking about tuna can knives...

I'd take a Manix XL if you have one. Good s30v for edge retention, great blade shape for a multitude of purposes, and big enough for heavier work.

 

[Buffalohump]

Take the one with the strongest lock - Tri-AD!

If you dont have a Tri-AD Cold Steel, then roll with the Zero Tolerance 301 you already own. That is billed as heavy duty, so let's see how it holds up!

Dont baton anything with it, that's just a good way to break a $280 knife. I dont get this obsession with batoning. Every time I went out to the woods, there was plenty of dead fall around to make fires with.

Only choose a SAK if you need to open tin cans.

Personally I think you should be allowed to take a hatchet, much more versatile.

Good luck!

 

[jdh4659]

CRKT M16-04Z

Its a big, robust knife with a nice sharp AUS-8 (I believe) blade.

Double lock on it, so you don't have to worry about it giving out. I've batoned with mine many times.

 

[outdooredge]

I'm looking for your opinion:
As part of a residency for graduate school, we are headed up into the mountains. After signing all the AD&D waivers, we are allowed to bring one folding knife. No lodges, no cell phone coverage, no Leathermans, no guns, no fixed blades. Animals: bear, mountain lions, wolves, coyote, fox, etc. What is the FOLDER YOU would take and why? I'll be up in the Uintas for a week.

It doesen`t write that it needs to be the strongest knife in the world. Maybe it will be used for carving tent pegs and food prep. Anyway if you have got Extrema ratio RAO and a bear standing in the front of you knife wont help.

 

[lmalterna]

SAK OHT- I carry the German Army Knife version and use it every day. It just works.


Bill

 

[MatthewSB]

I would bring a knife that is least likely to break in the first place, a simple design like a Liner or Compression lock. I would bring my Spyderco Military or Para2, with a Vic' Tinker (2 cutting blades) stashed somewhere in case my primary knife broke (incredibly unlikely).

That said, before I got "into" knives I used to carry whatever department store junk I could find and rarely had a problem. As long as I kept them sharp, they all cut fine. I never realized how underequipped I might have been because I was equipped fine for real life cutting chores.

If I were worried about bears, my pocket knife would be the last thing I'd worry about, as I'd be carrying a long, pointy, fire hardened stick.

Sorry to say, but if it's not axis, you will break your knife.

Lots of people have had their Axis lock knives rendered non-locking when the teeny tiny springs break. Benchmade makes pretty, smooth opening knives with liner locks, but not durable ones due to the "weakest link" being that spring. Compared to a Compression Lock, which is one strong piece of spring steel, the axis is far too complicated and fragile.

An axis lock is one of the last designs I'd choose for the woods, or anywhere else I wouldn't be able to mail my broken knife to benchmade to have more springs installed because they refuse to sell or send out springs.

 

[Lee D]

I'm looking for your opinion:
we are allowed to bring one folding knife. No lodges, no cell phone coverage, no Leathermans, no guns, no fixed blades. Animals: bear, mountain lions, wolves, coyote, fox, etc. What is the FOLDER YOU would take and why?

first i'll answer the one knife...SAK Farmer, handy and capable of performing many camp chores, but I cant imagine going in to a situation like that without a camp axe/chopper of some sort. is there some safety/liability issue that isn't allowing for a firearm to be brought along? i ask because theres no way id go in knowing that im in wild critter territory without bringing some sort of equalizer. I know the odds of an attack are slim, but im one of those "better safe than sorry" kinda guys.