Budget survival knife?

Thomas Linton said:
"Seriously"?

So:
The shoes you happen to have on when it rains are the best for rain.
The car you happen to be driving is the best car.
The PM you happen to have is the best PM.
The Loonie has the best exchange rate 'cause that's the rate it happens to have.
Rob was the best Mayor 'cause he was the Mayor they happened to have had. (The drug he was using . . . .)

Compare: "The knife you have IS the knife you have. The others you don't have are not relevant at that moment."

Besides, were what you say true, we have zero need for a forum. :eek:
Click to expand...

You seem to have missed the point entirely. It's not about the knife, but about knowing how to use it. Once you learn the necessary skills, you can "survive" with a piece of sharpened rock and questions like "what is the best survival knife" become moot.
 
No, I just disagree. I think some knives are better than other for typical survival tasks, like firewood processing. I think it's worth considering what those knives might be.

Not that being able to improvise is a bad thing. To the contrary. But where I can improve the odds, I see no reason to refuse to do so.

Obviously, YMMV.
 
I think it's just a matter of terminology. Nowadays the words "survival knife" are used by marketing departments everywhere to represent anything from a big chopper to a small neck knife, all of which can be used for "bushcraft" tasks with varying degrees of success.
 
I will agree with the fellas who said Mora and Fiskars. You can develop a lot of skills with these tools. Here's my $50 Nessmuk trio:
plastic_nessmuk.jpg


Here is a 4.5" camp knife I modded (with basic hand tools) from an $10 Old Hickory slicer:
OH2_2.jpg


I would consider the Cold Steel True Flight Thrower as a budget survival knife. It is a solid 5mm thick slab of steel, twice as thick as the Bushman. I'd also consider the shorter CS machetes. I need to spend more quality time with my 12" barong machete.
Wood_Chopping.jpg


At heart, I'm a hatchet/hawk guy. Here's my CS Frontier Hawk, which sells for about $25. Pair this with a pocket knife, and you have lots of capability.
hawkfeather.jpg
 
Last edited:
The argument isn't that the one you have on you is necessarily better for a task than another you may have. However, it will be if it's the one you have. Having a BK9 as your survival knife is useless if it's not with you when you're put into that situation, eh? However, if you have a Kershaw leek in your pocket when the SHTF, it's a more effective survival knife because you had it with you. Obviously it's inferior to the BK9 at the actual tasks, but that isn't the comparison.

A Mora 511 alone would do everything required in a survival situation, but it's more fun to have a knife that can baton :D

I got my CS trailmaster for <$80 shipped, I'd say it's a hell of a blade for the money.

It's more important to know how to use or maintain a knife. Ancient man used stone tools, and they got along okay.
 
G III said:
The argument isn't that the one you have on you is necessarily better for a task than another you may have. However, it will be if it's the one you have. Having a BK9 as your survival knife is useless if it's not with you when you're put into that situation, eh? However, if you have a Kershaw leek in your pocket when the SHTF, it's a more effective survival knife because you had it with you. Obviously it's inferior to the BK9 at the actual tasks, but that isn't the comparison.

A Mora 511 alone would do everything required in a survival situation, but it's more fun to have a knife that can baton :D

I got my CS trailmaster for <$80 shipped, I'd say it's a hell of a blade for the money.

It's more important to know how to use or maintain a knife. Ancient man used stone tools, and they got along okay.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree about big knives in general as I tend not to carry them unless I have plans on using one. I sometimes sort of chuckle to myself when I am hiking and some younger person has a BK-9 or similar knife strapped to his belt. I mean.... we're two miles from the trail head and a paved road.... what on earth is going to happen to absolutely need that knife short of an accident? But I have to admit, I love having big knives. I just don't use them very often and that is usually a short machete type blade. It is true that you can do many small knife tasks with a large knife and not vice-versa. But you have to be willing to carry that big knife.
 
A good pocket knife is versatile. This one even has a 5 shot .22 revolver built in.

vehicle12.jpg


Then there's the Neanderthal Army Knife.

prehistoric-swiss-army-knife.png
 
22-rimfire said:
I tend to agree about big knives in general as I tend not to carry them unless I have plans on using one. I sometimes sort of chuckle to myself when I am hiking and some younger person has a BK-9 or similar knife strapped to his belt. I mean.... we're two miles from the trail head and a paved road.... what on earth is going to happen to absolutely need that knife short of an accident? But I have to admit, I love having big knives. I just don't use them very often and that is usually a short machete type blade. It is true that you can do many small knife tasks with a large knife and not vice-versa. But you have to be willing to carry that big knife.
Click to expand...

Why wouldn't one want to carry his BK9 or other large Knife on a hike or outing? Any chance to use it is not only fun but good practice for skills and usage of your chosen Blade. Not only that but it's always a test of your tools knowing their limitations and that they will be there and be ready when needed.

These are the very best situations to make use of your tools when your not so dependant on them. I'm not going to bring gear that I haven't used more than a couple of times on a 30 mile 3 day outing. I need to thoroughly know my competence with the gear and its limitations beforehand.
 
I have an old Cold Steel SRK. Has been abused for over 10 years now. Affordable and gets the job done.
 
NCSlice said:
Why wouldn't one want to carry his BK9 or other large Knife on a hike or outing? Any chance to use it is not only fun but good practice for skills and usage of your chosen Blade. Not only that but it's always a test of your tools knowing their limitations and that they will be there and be ready when needed.

These are the very best situations to make use of your tools when your not so dependant on them. I'm not going to bring gear that I haven't used more than a couple of times on a 30 mile 3 day outing. I need to thoroughly know my competence with the gear and its limitations beforehand.
Click to expand...

What you say is true about learning to use a large knife. I do like the BK-9; just don't own one. Have a BK-7 and others. The short machetes are my thing and I do occasionally carry one on a hike especially if I believe I'm going to be doing some chopping. The latest is the Condor Kumunga with a 10" blade. I have fun with it.
 
Can't go wrong with a mora, but instead of the schrade I would go for the Cold Steel GI Tanto. You can get them for under $30 and it is far tougher than the schrade.


IMG01044-20110602-1807.jpg
 
Cobalt said:
Can't go wrong with a mora, but instead of the schrade I would go for the Cold Steel GI Tanto. You can get them for under $30 and it is far tougher than the schrade.
Click to expand...

What isn't the GI Tanto tougher than? Maybe (big maybe) a Busse?
 
You can get a bk5 for 60 bux now on the big river website. It is a heckuva knife.

The Condor Varan will also meet you needs for 50 dollars.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top