- Joined
- Oct 21, 2021
- Messages
- 151
Having grown up with the Action Films of the 80s and 90s, I'm a sucker for the old Survival Knives which were featured prominently in such films during the time, most notably beginning with the first Rambo movie, First Blood, hence the common colloquialism "Rambo Knives" for the design.
These knives typically had hollow handles with threaded waterproof caps used to store miniature survival kits and stainless steel blades with serrations or sawteeth on the spine. Unfortunately, due to the inherent weakness of the design coupled with the sheer amount of cheapo chinese knives which had flooded the market at the time, they have become somewhat synonymous with being brittle or easily broken, although there were a few high quality examples of such blades such as the Buckmaster 184, the Randal 18, or the authentic Jimmy Lyle "The Mission" Knife featured in First Blood.
As much as I love these knives, I don't actually own a high quality example of one, simply because many of them are no longer in production, expensive, or both. However, some still remain in production which are both affordable and high quality.
Currently, the only such knife I own is the Rothco Ramster, a cheap Taiwanese clone of the Buckmaster 184, which while awesome, and surprisingly durable, just hasn't quite scratched the itch.
Based on my research, the two best examples of such knives which are still in current production are the Boker Apparo and Aitor Jungle King I. The question is, which is better?
The Aitor Jungle King I is substantially more expensive ($230+ vs $130+) and made in Spain (rather than China) which would seem to indicate higher quality, but both seem to be fantastic knives, and I've never heard of either breaking.
I'm probably grasping at straws here, but I'm curious if anyone here owns either or especially both and could provide me with some impressions on them.
These knives typically had hollow handles with threaded waterproof caps used to store miniature survival kits and stainless steel blades with serrations or sawteeth on the spine. Unfortunately, due to the inherent weakness of the design coupled with the sheer amount of cheapo chinese knives which had flooded the market at the time, they have become somewhat synonymous with being brittle or easily broken, although there were a few high quality examples of such blades such as the Buckmaster 184, the Randal 18, or the authentic Jimmy Lyle "The Mission" Knife featured in First Blood.
As much as I love these knives, I don't actually own a high quality example of one, simply because many of them are no longer in production, expensive, or both. However, some still remain in production which are both affordable and high quality.
Currently, the only such knife I own is the Rothco Ramster, a cheap Taiwanese clone of the Buckmaster 184, which while awesome, and surprisingly durable, just hasn't quite scratched the itch.
Based on my research, the two best examples of such knives which are still in current production are the Boker Apparo and Aitor Jungle King I. The question is, which is better?
The Aitor Jungle King I is substantially more expensive ($230+ vs $130+) and made in Spain (rather than China) which would seem to indicate higher quality, but both seem to be fantastic knives, and I've never heard of either breaking.
I'm probably grasping at straws here, but I'm curious if anyone here owns either or especially both and could provide me with some impressions on them.
