Buying 1st knife, from Australia. Total noob.

A

Ash0

Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
6
Hey guys,

I'm Ash and I have spent a little time reading this forum after I stumbled over it while looking for reviews on the Bear Grylls Ultimate knife.

Now I was all set to buy it until I found this place and the review so I'm happy happy about it.

I have just started camping again after I convinced my woman she would have a great time which she did and I'm slowly acquiring everything that goes with it.

Anyway I'm really confused about where to start plus I'm on a limited budget and in Australia.

I know I want a fixed blade knife and have max $80 (like $70 us) to spend. I don't know if there are alot places to get a decent knife in store or online in Australia or if I can even buy something online.

Ok this is long, so any advice would be great for a general purpose knife.

Thanks in advance.

Ash
 
Get a good old Mora. You can find them everywhere on the internet ((( not a paid BF Dealer ))), they are great for camping stuff, and they are also relatively inexpensive. Have fun man.
 
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Hey Ash and welcome to the forums!
The Mora is a good start. Svord knives are also worth looking at. Unfortunately knife prices tend to be higher here than the States. What sort of stuff will you be using it for? Do you specifically want stainless?
 
Chris Larrikin said:
Hey Ash and welcome to the forums!
The Mora is a good start. Svord knives are also worth looking at. Unfortunately knife prices tend to be higher here than the States. What sort of stuff will you be using it for? Do you specifically want stainless?
Click to expand...

Hey Chris,

thanks for the reply. I'm I like to camp in the bush so something that handle that environment, my in laws hunt so something that might be good in that situation. I know I'm probably asking a lot on a little budget but I guess I just don't want to buy something crap it dosnt have to be great at everything . I don't know anything about stainless haha

Do you buy online or walk into a shop to buy yours? Will customs take anything I buy only from me ?

Thanks heaps. And I will look into the above recommendations
 
from another aussie , hi and welcome aboard

as above , grab a mora , its cheap , will put up with a lot , and not let you down .

I found buying online will get you knives at around 1/2 the cost of buying retail locally , you get more than the excalibur or muella or "made in pakistan" brands to choose from , and you dont have to set foot out of the door , pay parking , deal with traffic etc .

You also dont get to handle the goods prior to purchase .. you win some you lose some

there are a couple dedicated forums to bush stuff , under " great outdoors" section HERE youll find some stuff hat is applicable to the bush and camping here , well worth a read .

Oh yeah .. get ready to need a bigger budget just for funs too .. joke kinda ... itll happen tho

have fun
 
Myal said:
from another aussie , hi and welcome aboard

as above , grab a mora , its cheap , will put up with a lot , and not let you down .

I found buying online will get you knives at around 1/2 the cost of buying retail locally , you get more than the excalibur or muella or "made in pakistan" brands to choose from , and you dont have to set foot out of the door , pay parking , deal with traffic etc .

You also dont get to handle the goods prior to purchase .. you win some you lose some

there are a couple dedicated forums to bush stuff , under " great outdoors" section HERE youll find some stuff hat is applicable to the bush and camping here , well worth a read .

Oh yeah .. get ready to need a bigger budget just for funs too .. joke kinda ... itll happen tho

have fun
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Thanks Myal!

Questions about online thou.. Customs I'm worried about them taking the knife from me as I have noticed online is way cheaper
 
a mora will get trhough aus customs no worries .ive got three.
 
And from across the Tasman Sea we have a nice little utilitarian number, designed for cutting rope, & castrating & slaughtering livestock. The gently curved blade & 3/4 tang is made of differentially heat treated Swedish axe steel. It comes with a sheath & should last the discerning buyer many decades.
FK-500x.jpg

(FK2) Farmers Knife 5 "
http://www.svord.com/
http://www.australianbladeforums.com/vb4/forum.php
 
gadunz said:
And from across the Tasman Sea we have a nice little utilitarian number, designed for cutting rope, & castrating & slaughtering livestock. The gently curved blade & 3/4 tang is made of differentially heat treated Swedish axe steel. It comes with a sheath & should last the discerning buyer many decades.
FK-500x.jpg

(FK2) Farmers Knife 5 "
http://www.svord.com/
http://www.australianbladeforums.com/vb4/forum.php
Click to expand...

Gadunz thanks for that!

I like the look of the fk2, I found it online for $66 plus $10 shipping. This might seem like a really stupid question but of they come with a case? Or is that something extra I will need to get.

I like the thought of buying a good knife bought close to joke :)
 
Customs isn't much of an issue when it comes to fixed blades as long as they aren't what they class fighting knives. Folders are more of an issue but that's manageable too. The Customs website has some good lists of what they wont allow or will need you to get police permission to import. It is worth having a look online to see what your police have to say too. It isnt really a big issue.
I have never had issues importing knives.

I would also strongly recommend you spend some time browsing here as well, to get an idea of what's around as well as how to maintain your knives. I would hate for you to find a knife you're happy with only to ruin it by sharpening with a carbide V sharpener :)
 
Chris Larrikin said:
Customs isn't much of an issue when it comes to fixed blades as long as they aren't what they class fighting knives. Folders are more of an issue but that's manageable too. The Customs website has some good lists of what they wont allow or will need you to get police permission to import. It is worth having a look online to see what your police have to say too. It isnt really a big issue.
I have never had issues importing knives.

I would also strongly recommend you spend some time browsing here as well, to get an idea of what's around as well as how to maintain your knives. I would hate for you to find a knife you're happy with only to ruin it by sharpening with a carbide V sharpener :)
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Thanks Chris, I'm looking towards getting svord fk2 and think I will buy close to home to start with.

I will be honest I still don't know what makes a good knife and was just thinking what the hell goes into sharpening a knife! Is a matter of having sharpening stone? Sorry about all the questions but thanks heaps
 
Basic sheath included. I would get a better sheath made which included a mini-whetstone pouch.
mcintyrecustom1a_grande.jpg

Joshua Leather, Brisbane.
http://www.joshualeather.com/
Sharpen with whetstone & oil, wipe down, then finish with diamond stick.
BU97044nw.jpg
 
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Thanks gadiunz!!

That's great stuff and I will def have to look into maintains the blade.

A questions to everyone, a friend of mine mentioned I might have a look at other survivalist knife as that's what kind of brought me here.

The Gerber Prodigy was mentioned and comes in at price point. Seems like a very different knife then the ones above, especially with the serrated edge..... Was hoping on a opinion or two on the knife?

Thanks heaps guys!

This is a great forum.
 
Hi Ash

The advice that you have been given above re importing fixed blades into Australia is pretty well spot on - it is not a difficult thing to do and can save you some cash.

Having said that, most people don't buy a lot of knives ( yes I know that will come as a shock to some here) so paying a few dollars more for a knife that you buy in a store might not be such a big deal, particularly if you get a chance to handle the knife first.

Australians, in general, tend not to carry big fixed blade knives. They don't go over well in public places like national parks etc and they rarely get used in the same way that you see large knives being used on knife forums. By that I mean knives don't commonly get used for cutting live trees down, chopping firewood or splitting limbs and logs. Partly this is due to a different way of thinking about the bush and partly because Australian hardwoods are bloody hard to cut and chop and other kinds of tools do it more effectively. The exception to this would be pig hunters who hunt with dogs and use a knife for killing.

There is a lot of crap for sale in camping shops and gun shops but in my area brands like Buck, Svord, Becker etc, are available in store. There are also quite a few good on line sellers in Australia who don't charge that much more than you will pay for an overseas buy once you factor in postage, conversion etc, plus you don't need to worry about import regulations. I import knives personally but it is more related to specific brands and models that I can't buy in Australia rather than saving a few dollars.

Good luck and have fun with whatever you eventually get.
 
Ash you can actually hop on down to Bunnings and get a few different grits of sandpaper, they'll do just fine for sharpening. Chuck me an email if you want me to demonstrate in person, or prefer that I not clutter the thread with prolonged explanations.

You're welcome to test drive my Fallkniven F1 so you have a reference to work from.
 
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