Cheap, fixed-blade survival knives for a weekend survival course?

S

surfrider

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Amongst my peergroup, I am know as the "outdoors guy." I certainly don't claim to be a guru (edit: ...although, as Mike made me realize, I should disclaim I have learned a thing or two over the years...), but the friends in question are all urbanite computer programmers and desk jockeys, so to them, anybody that can make fire without a lighter is a real, live "mountain man." :rolleyes:

Anyway, several of these friends have convinced me to do a weekend-long "Introduction to Wilderness Survival" course for them and a few of their co-workers. I am going to charge them for my time, but for that fee, I am including a magnesium firestarter, a paracord bracelet, and a free fixed-blade "survival knife." Now, I would love to be able to buy them all Ka-Bars, Beckers, Busses or, hell, even Cold Steel blades, but I can't afford that. Nope, what I need are cheap fixed-blade knives that only have to stand up to a weekend of general use; making fire sets, various small animal traps, and a little bit of chopping/batoning. I would like to give them a blade that will suffice for the weekend, but wouldn't necessarily have to be reliable enough for many future excursions.

Suggestions?
 
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Look at Mora Knives. For around $10 you get one of the best values in fixed blades around. They are swedish made knives that many people here on the Forums use. Excellent steel, useful blade shapes, so-so sheaths. Mors Kochanski uses them for his courses. So does Cody Lundin. Check out Ragweed Forge http://www.ragweedforge.com/ for a range but you could do well with a Clipper model or #1/#2. Good luck with the course:thumbup:
 
+1 on Mora Ragnar has several that are $8-$12
 
Benchmadebob hit the nail on the head. Rageweed forge is the way to go.

For chopping, I would NOT haved use the Mora Clipper. Because the blade only goes in to the tang for about 1 and half.

I would go with something like this. It has a integral guard for safety. SS steel for low maintenance. Most importantly, you can baton is knife better because it has a much long tang.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/711g.jpg

God Bless
 
I like the Mora Triflex Craftsman #780. Differential heat treated blade, takes and holds
a great edge. Only problem with nearly all Mora knives is the cheezey plastic sheaths.
But for $11, you can't go wrong. I rehandled mine and made a leather sheath for it.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/780.jpg

Rich S
 
Let's move this on over to the sub-forum with the best fit for this topic.

Great suggestions so far from my own personal experience in the field.
 
Mora, definitely. Although they are not choppers. They will do all else, though.
 
Yep, definitely a Mora, and Ragnar's the man.

As an added bonus, you can show them how to field-sharpen a scandi. Bring a ceramic stone and / or strop for use throughout the trip, but towards the end (when you don't expect to do much more cutting), you could show them how to use a flat rock.

Sounds like a terrific trip. Have a blast, take many pics, and report back to us!

All the best,

- Mike
 
The moment I saw the title, I knew the answer would be Mora.

And when one thinks of Mora, the mind automatically thinks of RagweedForge,as has been mentioned.

I would suggest the Craftsman, better guard, in case they (your students) are clumsy, mal-adept or simply not accustomed to a guard-less knife.


But, as well, I would also make some other suggestions....

R Murphy Boning Knife.

Cold Steel Finn Bear and Finn Wolf

Kellam S Line which is also the Ahti Finman

Good luck,
Marion
 
What M.D.P. said except scratch the finn wolf(too long a blade for beginners) and add the cold steel canadian belt knife(more suitable for peanut butter)
 
In addition I would add the Murphy Canadian. Found at Bens Backwoodsman site it has been an excellent knife for us. But at 17$ compared to a Mora, I would probably still go with a Mora. Carbon Steel Clipper is my favorite.
 
Blues said:
Let's move this on over to the sub-forum with the best fit for this topic.

Great suggestions so far from my own personal experience in the field.
Click to expand...

Oops, my apologies; I should have posted this there in the first place. I dunno what I was thinking. :jerkit:
 
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is there a Mora that anyone (MIGHT??) feel ok with chopping/batoning? Or no, not at all, it'll never work, too dangerous, not at all built for it.. and just plain NO????
 
I've done some light batoning with a Mora 521, but I wouldn't try it on anything more than a couple inches thick and I wouldn't try to force it through any knots or anything. As for chopping, I think there are a few larger models available, but I think all of the ones that have been recommended have blades that are too thin and light to be effective choppers.
 
surfrider said:
Amongst my peergroup, I am know as the "outdoors guy." I certainly don't claim to be a guru, but the friends in question are all urbanite computer programmers and desk jockeys, so to them, anybody that can make fire without a lighter is a real, live "mountain man." :rolleyes:

Anyway, several of these friends have convinced me to do a weekend-long "Introduction to Wilderness Survival" course for them and a few of their co-workers. I am going to charge them for my time...
Click to expand...

Where’s Kevin or Marty Simon when we need them?

Good luck to you my friend, but teaching wilderness survival is more then sparking a fire without a match.

These people may someday need to rely on any skills they might learn to survive in the wilderness.

I can only hope you take your reasonability as a paid survival teacher as serious as need be.



This is not somthing to take lightly.



Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream
 
Big Mike said:
Good luck to you my friend, but teaching wilderness survival is more then sparking a fire without a match.

...

This is not something to take lightly.
Click to expand...
As I said in my original post, I am most certainly not a survival guru, but I'm no slouch either. I grew up in the rural Pacific Northwest on a piece of property that bordered a vast swath of BLM land, and have been in love with bushcraft since before I can remember. I've been running off into the woods, seasons be damned, with nothing other than a knife and the clothes on my back since I was 12 for lengths of time ranging anywhere from two days to two months with little to no support from the outside world. I certainly don't think that such an upbringing makes me special in any way shape or form, but it *has* given me enough experience to pass on some of the core skills I've learned.

I wholeheartedly agree that wilderness survival is indeed more than just making fire without matches, and while this outing is more "fun" than "hardcore" (hell, I'm even going to treat them -- once we're done for the evening -- to two bottles each of my own personal homebrew!), rest assured do I take the responsibility very seriously indeed. If I was not 100% confident in 1) my mastery of the skills I am going to pass on to these guys, and 2) my ability to teach them in a proficient manner, there's absolutely, positively *no way in hell* I would be doing this. I truly appreciate your concern, but you can rest assured I'm not going to steer them wrong.

The whole thing is going to be ultra-basic because I'm dealing with soft, squishy urbanites who's primary exposure to mother nature is through city parks and arboretums; these guys are the greenest of the green. We're only going to cover the most foundational of skills, starting with the importance of keeping a level head in an emergency situation, and the importance of clear, rational, methodical thought. From there, we'll be building debris shelters, securing water, firemaking, and then going over basic traps, and proper set placement. Although I would love to have these guys catch their own game, it's not the proper season for trapping in my area (plus, the cost of a permit is prohibitive for a one-day use). Fortunately I have raised meat rabbits for 15+ years, so I'll be supplying each of them with a rabbit on the morning of the second day, and then showing each of them how to prepare it for breakfast. Like I said; this super entry-level stuff that most rural kids learn on their own, and although that *certainly* doesn't make it any less important to pass on the knowledge properly, it's not something that one needs lots of fancy-shmancy certificates to teach. :)

Whew!, quite a tangent you got me on there. Sorry.

Anyway, after all the input, I think I'll be picking up a few Moras for the guys to keep. There won't be too much chopping or batoning of big stuff, so I'll just bring a few of my larger bush knives to loan out when the time comes, and they can practice said skills a couple guys at a time. Thanks for all the recommendations, everybody! Man, this forum kicks ass. :cool:
 
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It is not a Mora, but I like my Victorinox 6inch stiff wide boning knife. It comes sharp, is indestructible and only about $15.
 
No offence intended, and none taken.

After all, this is the Wilderness and Survival Forum.


As a new poster, and base on your original statements, you can see my concern.
Take your responsibilities seriously, and take pride in what you do my friend.

But most of all, remember that the skills you teach are what these folks may have to rely on.
 
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