Best survival folder?

H

Hoodoo

Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Messages
2,355
Rules: One folding knife with one blade (this rules out SAKs and multitools). What would it be and WHY??



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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
How about "whatever you have on you?"

Ok, if I knew I was going to be in a survival situation, and for some unknown reason I could only take one knife, and it had to be a folder, I would look for something in an integral lock, since they are very easy to clean. Benchmade 750, Sebenza, who knows. Folders are not really ideal for these knids of situations, and I basically never have only one knife, so that limits this to the world of 'what if'.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
Well, the Sebenza would not be on my list as a survival knife. I think the lockup and handle are rough and tough enough but the blade is too thinly ground to be classified as a survival folder. I wouldn't be doing any prying or hammering on the spine of this blade. It would be the perfect complement to a rough, tough, fixed blade though.

The military sounds interesting although I'm leery of liner locks in general (but not framelocks). How about the BM 710? With a little reprofiling, it could slice pretty good, it has a tough lock, and a fairly stout blade. Any of the Axis lock models might suffice, I would think. From most accounts, they seem pretty durable.


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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
Look back on all the other "Best knife for survival situations" and you can find my list of requirements. The one I carry daily is a Spyderco Native. For survival/camp uses, one downfall of it's style is the fals edge, which will chew up a beater stick real fast when splitting wood with it. The false edge does, however, give a secondary edge to use on a ferrocerium rod, instead of destroying my main edge.


Stryver
 
Stryver, can you get sparks with the spine of the native? There was a recent debate in TK about knives used as strikers. The harder the better was what I got out of it. I guess that's why hacksaw blades work so well. I now own over a half dozen different ferrocium rods but nothing I own throws a spark as big as my Gerber Strike Force. Problem is you have to have a separate backpack to lug it around.
smile.gif


After looking at all my folders, I've come to the conclusion that the best folder I have that might be considered a "survival folder" is my Kershaw 1050 lockback. It's a bruteforce folder with a heavy brass butt that could be used for hammering. I believe the steel is 440C but I'm not sure. The grind on the blade is good for slicing too. It was designed as a flat ground drop point hunting knife. I can definitely get big sparks with it too by using the sharp edge of the spine.

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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
Yup, yup. I screwed that one up. No wonder I was confused when I read those letters. All is clear now.
biggrin.gif
Thanks Jeff, for clearing the cobwebs out of my brain.


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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
That's easy... it's the knife I carry all the time into the outback... the Gerber Parabellum. It's my all time favorite. I've always been partial to Gerbers. If I'm outdoors, you can find a Parabellum on my right hip. My backup is a Schrade Mustang.

IMHO the Parabellum and the Mustang are two of the finest folding field knives existent.

I wish I had an original Al Mar Sere. I'm hoping that the Sere 2000 lives up to my hopes. And I've never used a Spyderco Military.



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-Kevin
Oderint dum metuant
Riddler, Hoodlum, Bon Vivant.
The Polly Klaas Foundation
 
The Ti Mission MPF, very tough blade and strong and secure lock.

The Gunting, can open off of objects with ramp, a strong and secure lock and an ergonomic and secure handle. Blade durability might be low.

I would also bet on the Busse Combat folder, whenever it comes out. I would expect a strong blade, secure and strong lock, and high performance cutting.

I have never used any of these blades, just going off of specs. and discussions with the makers .

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

I'm not familiar with any of those knives but I'm really looking forward to seeing them, especially the Busse.



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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
Jeff, it appears the depths of my ignorance know no bounds! I was just skimming through the Sept. TK issue again and I discovered your survival column. The first time I read through the mag I had completely missed it. The only thing I had read on flint and steel was in the letters to the editors. I thought that was kind of strange because the cover specifically mentioned "blades that make the sparks fly" so I assumed that there must be an article about it inside. But all I found was the lengthy discussion in the letters section. Then on the reread tonight I discovered your article. No wonder you picked up on my previous faux pas so quickly.
smile.gif


BTW, congrats on the new column. It's a great addition to TK. One suggestion though. I caught your nifty article in the July American Survival Guide and IMHO, you need to smile more.
biggrin.gif
Oh yeah, one more suggestion: tell TK you want your pic as a header to your column. They need to start personalizing that magazine more.
wink.gif



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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
For me: the spyderco dragonfly.
Others might say it's too light or small...but, because of its size and weight I can carry it anywhere. Your big heavy folder won't do you any good sitting on top of your coffee table.

 
Hi Guys...

Hands down..
Buck 110!!

ttyle Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom made, High Quality
Concealex Sheaths and Tool Holsters
Canada's Only Custom Concealex Shop!

 
Originally posted by Granite:
Your big heavy folder won't do you any good sitting on top of your coffee table.
I'm thinking much the same. In many cases, for the weight of a Pinnacle (which would be my choice if weight doesn't matter, but it has to be folder -- not that it's very large for a folder) I can get a small, good, fixed blade knife, like for example WM1 with belt kydex sheath and with the neck sheath it's even lighter and can be put in many pockets.

So in practice it's my Delica which fits the bill for me, as I can put it in "the box" with the other stuff.

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Urban Fredriksson
www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
Latest updates Al Mar Falcon Ultralight, Moki Hana, Fällkniven WM1 neck sheath

"Smooth and serrated blades cut in two entirely different fashions."
- The Teeth of the Tyrannosaurs, Scientific American, Sep 1999
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hoodoo;

I'm still waiting on my Carnivore from "the4th" to arrive but right now I have to agree with Normark the Buck 110 will always be the folder that all other utility folders are judged against. For light weight carry I like a plain edge Spyderco Endura.

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Where no law exists there still must be justice- Dan Mahoney
 
Since I don't think abuse for a folder is as important as cutting ability, my vote goes for my Spyderco Calypso Jr with Micarta slabs. The flat ground blade cuts incredibly well and I have used it for camping quite a bit with no complaints. Micarta is also DEET resistant.
 
I don't really like the Buck 110. It is very heavy, but More importantly, I have seen MANY of them with broken or seriously chipped blades. Probably more broken 110's than all other "decent" knives put together!

I have never broke one myself, so maybe my sample is off.
 
As for the 'knife on the coffee table' thing, I don't really worry about getting into survival situations on my way to work. I keep a Gerber Ultralight LST in my mini-kit, but it's my last resort. Otherwise, it's my faithful Parabellum that accompanies me into the wilds.

I've got to second Normark on the Buck 110. Before I became a huge fan of the Parabellum, I wore a Gerber Folding Sportsman, which is a thinner version of the 110. I loved that knife... gave it to my sister. You'll find it on the belts of tons of outdoorsmen (and women) for good reason... it performs as advertised. Knives like that don't stay around this long without a darn good reason.



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-Kevin
Oderint dum metuant
Riddler, Hoodlum, Bon Vivant.
The Polly Klaas Foundation
 
Hey Guys...

Yup,, the 110 has been around for a lot of years. Probably the most copied knife in existance....

Spydercos are great knives,, but not much first pick for a survival knife, although if it's all I've got I'll take a plain edge over serrated Anyday....

A serrated knife in the wilderness in a survival situation is next to useless. For one it's Very hard to sharpen without at least a properly improvised tool.

The Buck 110 can be sharpened Anywhere, with practically anything, and would only require a few seconds on a smooth stone to bring back to hair popping sharp..

A Serrated blade however would take much more time with a tool to get sharp...

ttyle Eric...


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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom made, High Quality
Concealex Sheaths and Tool Holsters
Canada's Only Custom Concealex Shop!

 
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