camp/survival knife for $250 what should i get????

Blood_Grooves

Blood_Grooves

Joined
Oct 28, 2007
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for chrismas i can buy a knife for $250 and this is my only chance for awhile to get a knife that costs this much. what knife should i buy for he purpose of camping, bushcraft, and survival. it has to be very dipendable and no less then 4 in. fixed blade. i was looking at Chris reeves shadow IV. if anyone could tell me what i should get or just stick with the reeves oh and plz supply me with a review on the reeves knife and any one you recomend. pics would be even better. i am also probably going to get the friskers hatchet to pair it up with.
 
I would say one of the best bushcraft/survival knives out there would be the Fallkniven F1 (just at your 4" blade, 3.8 really). You could also look at their S1 or even A1 depending what size you want.
 
Also take a look at Fehrman knives. I have the Peace Maker, and it's a great knife with a great steel !
 
i think you should get a kershaw outcast, or an ontario rtak-ii and combo them with a smaller fixed blade like a rat-3.

i recall you listing that you lived in a heavily wooded area over in the survival knife thread u made. an axe might be the wiser choice in this case. a gransfor bruks small forest axe is light enough to pack on a trek but versatile enough to do alot of your camp chores.

i dont think you'll find one "perfect" do-it-all knife for the above tasks you listed and will most likely end up making a combo or trio like nessmuk.

cheers
 
beluga said:
Also take a look at Fehrman knives. I have the Peace Maker, and it's a great knife with a great steel !
Click to expand...

Also a great choice of knife, the 3V is a very tough steel. I own a few of their knives and I'm very pleased with them all.

EDIT: I have noticed that we are getting into a few larger blades.. A typical bushcraft knife has a blade 4"-5" and has a simple and straight forward style to them. You might want to state what you plan on using said knife for instead of just naming a category of knife (survival/bushcraft/camping). The reason I say that is everyone's idea of a certain style of knife varies
 
lots of options already mentioned and here is another.....a Bark River Bravo-1. My personally favorites presently are my Busse BATAC, Bravo-1 and Fallkniven A1. Great field knives.
 
try a swamprat chopwieller (co. store=$198, after market=$225+), but blade is a bit bigger @ 7.5". good chopper! good steel. good warranty. all around good camp knife. if you are firm on the blade size ("no less then 4""), swamprat also has smaller knives. also try ranger knives ready detachment series (4", 6", 7", 9"). also very solid brand imho.
 
The swamp rat company store is selling mini mojos for 198. i have one and i love it. I would definitely recommend it. Or poke around on the busse/swamprat/scrapyard for sale board. I love my rats.
 
my choice in your place would be the Gerber LMF II that is currently in use with our armed forces in Iraq and Afganistan with great results. i have two and am never very far from one or hte other.

Gerber_LMF_II_Lrg_pic.JPG


this knife was put through some very rigorous testing and passed with flying colors. Have a look at this article/reveiw of the LMF II:

http://www.policeone.com/police-products/duty-gear/knives/press-releases/120430/

Get this knife for between $75 and $100 and save the rest for another knife... another Gerber maybe? or ammo, etc. - Eric
 
If you can afford that amount of money, go to Busse / Swamprat / Scrapyard Knives For Sale and see what available there for this amount of money. You may find larger knives, mostly from Swamp Rat, which fall in your price category and have blades larger than 4". Anyway, you look at it, I strongly believe that the best bang for your buck lies with Swamp Rat.
Concerning Busse's, they are fantastic knives, no question about it however, they are pricier.
If you finally find more than one knife that fall in your list of specifications and yet its cost is such that you can buy only one, I would strongly recommend you buy the one with the biggest blade. The reason is simple: the large knife can perform almost all of the tasks of the small one but, not vice versa.
Alternatively, for this amount of money you may opt to go with a different approach: look for a Spyderco Temperance at the Exchange. It is a fantastic knife for the money. Then, with the rest of the money go for a Gransfors Bruks Axe (any model you like). They are amazing axes. Everything I have mentioned thus far comes from personal experience, not from hearsay.

Just my $.02;).
 
My suggestion is the Fallkniven F1 as mentioned before. For 250 bucks you can get two (one in your belt and one in your pack as spare) and/or a Gransfors axe or a Laplander folding saw.

My Nessmuk trio is the F1, a LM Fuse and a Laplander type saw (same thing but not green)
http://hem.passagen.se/nodh/trio.jpg

If you want bigger knives you have the S1 and the A1.
Third option is the get an F1 and an A1 and an WM1. One in your belt and one in your pack and one around your neck. Then you will never be without a knife. Keep a firesteel in your pocket and a (unused) urine test tube with a "naked" scout fire steel and some cotton duct taped to the WM1 sheath.

The reason for not spending 250 bucks on ONE knife is not those expensive knives are bad, if you come above 100 bucks you are into the range with "real" survival knives anyway, but if you drop one 250 bucks knife in the river you are toast, if you have two 100 buck knives one might still be with you. Someone on this forum stated the fact that you should always have a backup that is equal to the knife you usually use. If your primary knife is a 4" and your secondary is the 2" on your multitool a three week hike will be quite hard if you loose your knife. If you have a second 4" in your pack you have saved the day.

A survival knife should not be bigger than 4" anyway, then it gets too heavy to drag along all day.

Good luck with your choice. The F1 and the LMF II are developed for the same thing, the F1 for the Swedish AF and the LMF II for the US AF. One thing that really differs in design is that the F1 has the tang come out in the back making it great if you need to pound it into something, the LMF II has the butt cap separated from the blade. The F1 is more developed for "survival" when the nature is your "enemy", it doesnt have "skullcrushing", "stabbing" and "penetration" as its main features.

A "smaller" knife might also not draw attention to you too much. If you are dragging along lots of guns and stuff it might not matter but if you use in civilian life.
The F1 have different sheaths for different uses and On Scene Tactical has great kydex sheaths if you want to carry the knife upside down on your west or need a great "survival" sheath with firesteel holder and such. Neat and streamlined.
 
There is another option too, not that expensive though. A Hultafors GK. I guess Eric at On Scene Tactical soon will have a cool kydex sheath for them, right :)

You stated camping/bushcraft/survival and that can only mean the F1 or some of those "bushcraft" type knives that are popular in the UK. I think Bark River has one or two models.

Another good contender, even so not a 250 bucks knife is the Mora 2000 knife.

So take your 250 bucks, get a F1, a Hultafors GK/Mora 2000, a folding saw and a multitool and you will about 50 bucks left for a WM1. Then you use the F1 as your primary knife, the GK/M2k as your backup/lend to people who are not prepared and keep the WM1 as SHTF knife.
 
I think you are on the right track with a Chris Reeve knives. They have served me very well. A great company to deal with, the knives come with really nice sheaths, blades are very sharp and strong. The one peice design is unique and I pesonally like the hollow handle. Check out the Skinner as well. The Shadow, Aviator and Mountainer Chris Reeves all would be good choices. The 5" Green Beret is also a very well made knife. One of my good friends had one in Iraq and he used it constantly and beat the hell out it basically and it held up real well.

Actually though IMHO, may cost a little more, but I would instead of a fixed blade, get a Chris Reeve Large size Sebenza. That combined with a Axe (and a leatherman or Swiss Army Knife) will cover all your wilderness/camping/survial needs. And with the Sebenza, you can carry it with you and use everyday, not just when you go out camping.

As for the Hatchets, I prefer GB. Have one and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Have used it to crack sternum on dear, cut limbs for shooting avenues, cut small trees and branches and if held up at the head can use like a knife for skinning or cutting.
 
SWAMPRAT OR RANGER....but thats just my opinion.

the differentially heat treated sr101{52100} that swamprat uses holds a great edge and is tough as hell.

with the heat treat that ranger gives its 5160 it holds a great edge and is bullet proof.an rd-9 with a 9 inch blade runs for 120.00,a 7 inch blade for 100.00 and a 6 incher for 90.00,not to mention,justin at ranger knives will make you a custom that could be done in a week or two for around the price you originally mentioned.

good luck and happy hunting
 
So far a lot of good options. If you really like the CR Shadow then by all means get it. I have yet to meet anyone who regretted buying a CR although I would not bother with a folder for bushcraft(maybe a Buck110).

My favourite bushcraft combo is a smaller knife and a hawk. In my case I use a Scrapyard SS4 and a CS Norse Hawk that has been modded. I would suggest for you though a smaller high quality knife like the Busse Gamewardens(the thinner 3/16th model)
which was available in the store yesterday for under 200$ and a H&B hawk. You could also go with either a CR shadow or Fallkniven.

Here is a Gamewarden.


I love my SwampWardens ,a great value if you can find one. They should be back in the store before Xmass.
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If you are into Bushcraft knives here id the Skookum tool.
[URL=http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=6477352]
 
Pardon me if you are a Ferrari driver but I may just recommend standard chevrolet
models such as the incredible deal Marbles Trapper at less than $25 and 5.5 inches folded
length. Or the $75 Benchmade LFK (Lg F***n Knife). I personally would use a machette from Cold Steel in a camp situation along with folding saw from HomeDepot that uses replacement blades for the Milwaukee Sawzall and a hatchet along with a $7 dollar Winchester lock back ( thats right $7 ) for dressing deer and also a multi tool and hatchet. Toss in a folding Contractor folding razor knive and a multiblade pocket knife
like the Marble's Sowsbelly and I think I could do it for less than $100 ( without the
LFK ) I've only said these things because it sounded a little like there were
some budget constraints instead of just wanting one very nice collectors knife.
If I am wrong, I apologize.
 
The skookum tool looks very much like a Fallkniven H1 and a rehandled Mora. The H1 being stainless and about half the price of a Skookum.
 
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