bushcrafter or survival knife... if you only had one?

$300 is from Tops own site, dear.

Its your money, spend it on a gimp suit all I care.

There had been some good argument and debate on this thread between the two styles, and then you drop in with a ninja mall radical design.

From my experience they aren't a good choice. I've seen worse.
 
I don't own an SXB and I can see how some people would discount it without ever using it but there is one thing. The guy that designed it and used it is ej Snyder. EJ has completed the naked and afraid challenge for 21 days twice and 40 days. He has used this knife on two of those ventures.

This is a knife enthusiast web site and I think someone acquiring a knife with those credentials should be fairly acceptable.

We all like to play in the woods with knives, why bash something as "mall ninja" when you've never used it?
 
I realize that knives are "tools", but the Tops SXB is just plain ugly. Aesthetics matter to me especially when I have to plop down $300 for a knife. I believe the handle would be uncomfortable if using the knife for more than a couple cuts/swings.
 
22-rimfire said:
I realize that knives are "tools", but the Tops SXB is just plain ugly. Aesthetics matter to me especially when I have to plop down $300 for a knife. I believe the handle would be uncomfortable if using the knife for more than a couple cuts/swings.
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Yeah, I too am not a fan of that handle design. The Tracker design is loved by many but I enjoy more traditional big blade patterns. Now owning an E-nep and Golok I can't say which I enjoy more but they are both comfy for hours of use at a time.
 
The SXB isn't EJ Snyder's M18. Snyder seems to have got out there and done some stuff but with an American slant. No indigenous people that I know of use such tools and they survive in their environments well enough. Snyder is married and needs to make a buck and this is one way..entertainment.
Others have slagged it off before I even knew about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHFOGBHhey4

The M18 reminds me of the Chris Caine Survival Tool (which I actually quite like). Well, the weight forward chopper style. Both to me are too short for an all out chopper. The full sized Lofty Wiseman, BK Machax, and my Blackjack Marauder II are to me more efficient.

Esee Junglas if you want a tough large truck knife.

Now the SXB isn't all bad as its a weight forward steel bar with an edge. Its just that I think there are better offerings even from Tops. Simpler classic styles generally work better. The rest is how they are made.
Its your money buy what you like. A rubber gimp suit can carry water, make a slingshot, make a shelter and keep you warm. But just not for me.
 
Moras from my abuse pile, wish I had kept others from over the years as I've bust a few and from quite a few manufacturers, Al Mar, Blackjack, Gerber...:
IMG_5056.jpg
 
"Got out there and done some stuff but with an American slant".

Ok, your posts seem a little more apparent now.
 
Just in case you thought "American slant" was some kind of negative. I've served with some excellent US Marines and travelled and worked with enough Americans to have huge respect. There are some American knife makers that are producing some of the best stuff ever, be that user knives or exotic master pieces. My comment was more to do with the media and the way the media has used survival, and bushcraft for entertainment. Suppose we have our Bear Grylls for that. There is a whole industry behind it all. Not all the stuff pushed is that great.

For example Ferro rods are a must have. Why? To me a Ferro rod is a back up to a lighter, or better still two lighters.
 
I do not understand a short, fat knife being marketed as a "chopper." If you're going to be in woods, and you're going to be chopping, a longer, less fat blade in the same weight class will be world's better IMO. Personally, I'd use a saw if I had to choose between that and a tracker design knife. That blade pattern is a prime example of adding weight without adding much function.
 
GREENJACKET said:
Looked up E-nep, now I can see why these might work. I like.
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They are quite varied too. Used for farm work, combat, survival, you name it variations in the design much like a variation of a Khukri are abundant. Generally I find that tools designed the same way for decades or centuries tend to be the most versatile.

Next on my list is own some traditional Parangs and Billhooks. Both of which seem like very useful outdoors tools. The tracker design just has too many barriers to entry for me to find it useful. Carry an ax and Silky Saw instead and all of sudden if you have those on your backpack, you are best prepared for whatever you might need to do, foreseen or not.
 
The old woodsman that I grew up watching had the traditional/victorian billhooks, saws and axes. I always when in a new environment look at what the locals are using. They tend to know what works. Sometimes its a cultural thing, and some tools are best left to those who grew up with them. Kukris is one type that I'm not good with, best left to Gurkhas. (I've been bayonet charged by Gurkhas in training, and the impression I got was that the only reason they didn't stick me was they were told not too. Respect.) One thing I can do is pay more for quality, many people just don't have that kind of disposable income, but make do with what they can. Pretty good job of it they do too.


EJ Snyder is a big bloke and he could probably bludgeon his way through anything with a iron bar.

I prefer a bit more finess. If I'm doing the miles then weight matters. For sustained endurance work then KISS works best, and no place for novelty over function. A lot of it is companies need to sell stuff, trouble is a lot is not much cop, more ninja mall than practical. Give me a SAK, a good saw, a good sheath knife, a good machete/parang/skrama and a good axe any day. Not saying I'll take it all! One knife does it all is Rambo baloney.

I don't have lanyards on any of my blades, unless climbing. Its a new fangle that people have thought up because they had nothing better to do. Landyards are a pain, and more trouble than they are worth. On a sword then maybe if cavalry but please not on a work knife. To me its a sign of insecurity. Yes, a whole lot of people will pile in singing their virtues, but I've yet to see any farmer, yokel, woodsman, bushman, or anyone who uses a knife everyday use one. They are only used on tools that are all wrong ergonomically and in balance; poor design.
 
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GREENJACKET said:
$300 is from Tops own site, dear.

Its your money, spend it on a gimp suit all I care.

There had been some good argument and debate on this thread between the two styles, and then you drop in with a ninja mall radical design.

From my experience they aren't a good choice. I've seen worse.
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Haha are you for real , guy ? The knife is @ $200 at a number of online dealers. The manufacturers price is always higher. Smarten up. And your lame mall ninja comment (which you messed up btw) was a jab at me because you don't like the knife I like ? Haha you need a time out , little guy. Not everyone likes what you like. Do you understand ? Probably not.

But your pathetic display of ignorance is keeping me entertained. So please continue , dear ...
 
SXB works just fine.

Knife%201_zpshn3qfjqa.jpg


Knife%204_zpsl2bj9m4b.jpg


Knife%203_zpswoxfu9st.jpg


Handle is comfy with gloves; without gloves it would be a different matter.
I tend to wear gloves, especially when it's cooler out (my favourite time to head out :) ).
Even in summer I tend to wear gloves, as it keeps splinters out of my hands, and spiders from biting me when gathering firewood (used to get bit rather frequently on my hands...it sucked).

Here it is next to a couple of other large knives:

Knife%207_zpssjx6mdry.jpg
 
Can't really add much. Dear Wolverine666 thinks the SXB is Awesome. I can't better that.

Had a quick look at the E-nep. Condor does their version. This style should be quite light weight and I'm pretty sure have a hand stop. Traditional village grips usually have something to check the hand on the grip. It might just be some cord wrap as these tools are light in the hand. Often interpretations miss these details.
Thin machetes sure can work. They do struggle on harder wood types. Just beefing them up is not a good solution often as they lose the control they require.

There does seems to be a trend at present of design through computer CNC design, rather than from the practical.
 
GREENJACKET said:
Can't really add much. Wolverine666 thinks the SXB is Awesome. I can't better that.
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I brought other knives the first times I took the SXB out...ended up not using the other knives, because the SXB was working so well. :)
It's one of those knives that looks a way which make folks say "Movie knife! Impractical!!!", but ends up actually performing well.

EJ Snyder did indeed use the SXB on the 40 day Naked and Afraid show, and I am not ashamed to admit that it was the use on television which prompted me to buy it.
It turned out to be a good tool though, which was a nice surprise. :thumbup:
 
Stabman , I'm in agreement about wearing gloves even in summer. My knuckles got torn up a bit from brush the first day. Gloves made all the difference the next day. Maybe that's why the SXB handle felt just fine to me. Also , those pics are great. Just ordered my own SXB. Heading north end of the week to break it in 😃
 
Stabman, would you chose the SXB over the Junglas if you could only have one?

I didn't completely rubbish it. There are features that are hopeless but it would work. Its heavy for what it can deliver. I think I would prefer a Chris Caine for front forward chop. I'm also quite like reverse curve edges, but not as aggressively done as the SXB.
 
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