Choosing a "Survival" knife...

ROCK6 said:
I can only carry so many blades:D That's a good point as many Khukuries will measure up to and over 5/16". My 15" Ang Khola is a beast!

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ROCK6
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Ah,you only have a small khukuri then.;)
 
Rock that was an outstanding post. You seemed to cover most of the bases and I like the fact that you are respectful of a diversity of different types of survival knives. It is pretty clear you will keep buying up every great knife that comes into existence, but that you also like to really use them and see if one style tops another. Good luck on your journey and keep us informed of your discoveries!
 
I like the longer ones only for the added reach and leverage,my go to is a 20 1/2 inch HI sirupate. Works on everything I've tried it on thus far. :)
 
I assume we are not limiting the other gear we carry. In this instance, the survival...or as Brian suggested, bushcraft, knife that I will reach for if I can only take one is my Frost Survival Knife.

I believe it's a 14" blade, perfect for pretty much any task I can come up with in the woods. I can slash/chop brush, etc with it. I can use it, and have, as a fillet knife in a pinch though it has ugly results. It has the typical serrations on the back, so it can potentially be more useful for shelter prep. It has a wide enough blade to be used to dig and a good enough point to drill as well.

Now, OTOH, I don't even go to work without at least 3 or 4 blades on me, so...I will break the carry down by the task I intend to use them for:

1. Clearing/Chopping: 24" Tramontina machete
2. First Aid: SAK Tinker, Super Tinker, and a little one that I cannot recall
3.Food prep/light cut: Mora 850 (?)
4. Heavy fire prep: Generic garage sale hatchet with custom elec. tape grip
5:More for food: Ozark Trail Hobo tool
6. General camp tool: Frost survival
7. Because I always carry it: CRKT M16-14D or M16-04Z or Kasper and Schrade Uncle Henry slippie.

All of these knives have been field tested and brutalized and I have made as sure as possible that they can handle pretty much anything. Having a farm comes in handy.

While I was typing that, a few questions came to mind to consider when choosing a blade:

1. How much do they weigh? Is it feasible to carry 1 or more of the same blade in the event that I lose one? (happened to me, it sucked. I lost my primary woods blade while huntings. Ever skinned a deer with a Schrade? :mad:)

2. Is the knife sufficient in multiple tasks? I mentioned using the Frost to clean fish, it works, but you have to catch twice as many to get the same meat as you would with a regular fillet knife, at least I had to...:o

3. Is the cost an issue? If I lost a Busse, or RAT or Fiddleback or other such custom knife, I would be out a few day's worth of pay. Is it better, in my situation, to buy "lesser" knives and carry more than one?

4. What kind of retention options are there for my blade of choice? All of my sheaths are getting retrofitted and I am always finding that I need to zip-tie this, bind that, change a snap out here. Are the sheaths gonna work well? For me, baldrics and neckers are dangerous in the field and have the possibility of hanging on everything, so I opt for belt/pack mounted sheaths.

That's just my .02 or .03...

PeACE
Dougo

EDIT: I forgot the most important part that ROCK6 already mentioned, but I am gonna reiterate it because it is one of my primary rules of knife ownership that I express to friends, etc when they ask for my blade advice.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR KNIFE???

Do not carry a knife in the woods that you picked up at Academy...or got in the mail from Koyote that morning and walk into the woods with it. The miles and miles of review pages on here should be enough of a testament to this. I usually suggest my friends use the knives for about a week or so to see how it works out before "fielding" it. That's is why I buy soo many knives. They can test mine and, if they like it, they can buy mine or I will point them towards the right vendor.
 
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dougo83 said:
I assume we are not limiting the other gear we carry. In this instance, the survival...or as Brian suggested, bushcraft, knife that I will reach for if I can only take one is my Frost Survival Knife.

I believe it's a 14" blade, perfect for pretty much any task I can come up with in the woods. I can slash/chop brush, etc with it. I can use it, and have, as a fillet knife in a pinch though it has ugly results. It has the typical serrations on the back, so it can potentially be more useful for shelter prep. It has a wide enough blade to be used to dig and a good enough point to drill as well.

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you classify a 14'' knife as a bushcrafter?
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
you classify a 14'' knife as a bushcrafter?
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As I stated, and you quoted, I classify it basically as a knife that will do anything I can throw at it...:D What I was referring to was the observation by Brian that maybe our forum should be re-named as 'survival' implies wanting to get out of the woods while we are generally trying to stay in the woods. I cannot find the post at the moment, but that's what I am talking about. Quite honestly, I have no idea what would qualify as a 'bushcraft' knife. Hell, for years all that went in the woods with me was the SAK BSA Tinker and a big lockback Schrade Old Timer...To me, those were my 'bushcraft' knives...Now, I have more options available and I don't believe I have one 'bushcraft' knife, I have several sharp, once shiny, pointy things that complement each other to make up a 'bushcraft' package...
 
Rock, Incredible collection. Speaking of survival knife, if I had as many knives as you I would not survive - my wife!:eek: Naw, actually she is quite cool about my infatuation.
 
Great reply doug...price does come into play however I think you can find the right tools at the lower end that will perform as well as those at the higher end. With a SAK, Mora and Ontario 12" machete, they could get me through just about anything.

If you've never seen a somebody well versed with a machete work, you're missing out. I've seen (what looked to be) a Tramontina machete used so many ways and for so many tasks it's mind boggling. I really comes down to the user's skill not necessarily the knife.

I too like having more than one tool (or knife), but regardless of what or how many you carry, you need to "know" your knife/tool and what it's capable of and what its limitations are. I do like the term "bushcraft package":D

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
Great reply doug...price does come into play however I think you can find the right tools at the lower end that will perform as well as those at the higher end. With a SAK, Mora and Ontario 12" machete, they could get me through just about anything.

If you've never seen a somebody well versed with a machete work, you're missing out. I've seen (what looked to be) a Tramontina machete used so many ways and for so many tasks it's mind boggling. I really comes down to the user's skill not necessarily the knife.

I too like having more than one tool (or knife), but regardless of what or how many you carry, you need to "know" your knife/tool and what it's capable of and what its limitations are. I do like the term "bushcraft package":D

ROCK6
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I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to go visit/work with pict next year some time and I am sure that someone in Brazil knows how to 'wow' with a Tram. I have seen some pretty intense artwork done with them, but nothing practical...
 
dougo83 said:
I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to go visit/work with pict next year some time and I am sure that someone in Brazil knows how to 'wow' with a Tram. I have seen some pretty intense artwork done with them, but nothing practical...
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That would be a great trip. I didn't make it over to Brazil, but I was all over Ecuador and Peru. Machete's are pretty indespensible to those that live in the bush and smaller villages.

ROCK6
 
ROCK6 said:
If you've never seen a somebody well versed with a machete work, you're missing out. I've seen (what looked to be) a Tramontina machete used so many ways and for so many tasks it's mind boggling.
ROCK6
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Like what? Sounds like you've seen some interesting things, and I'm sure there are others here who'd love (and benefit from) your list.

I'll kind of start by reporting that my parents were pretty surprised, on a recent medical-mission trip to Central America, to watch a couple of men with machetes (no further description of the knives) cut down a very large tree with them. Not just for springy vegetation!
 
Return of the J.D. said:
Like what? Sounds like you've seen some interesting things, and I'm sure there are others here who'd love (and benefit from) your list.

I'll kind of start by reporting that my parents were pretty surprised, on a recent medical-mission trip to Central America, to watch a couple of men with machetes (no further description of the knives) cut down a very large tree with them. Not just for springy vegetation!
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It has been mentioned, I think, that they are pretty handy in skilled hands for kitchen tasks where cutting is needed and even for cleaning fish. I saw an elderly Viet gentleman make a rocking chair using a 16 or 18" machete.
 
Return of the J.D. said:
Like what? Sounds like you've seen some interesting things, and I'm sure there are others here who'd love (and benefit from) your list.

I'll kind of start by reporting that my parents were pretty surprised, on a recent medical-mission trip to Central America, to watch a couple of men with machetes (no further description of the knives) cut down a very large tree with them. Not just for springy vegetation!
Click to expand...

I was "stationed" in Patuca, Ecuador and it was a pretty small village (it did have a mililtary camp there, but it was pretty regulated and closed off to us). I saw kids as young as 8-9 using machetes. As mentioned, they used them to clear land, chop down trees, harvest bananas/bamboo, dig up plants, crack open some funky nuts and fruit, clean pigs, poultry and fish; heard goats (slapped them on the flanks with the flat of the blade)...of course your regular cutting chores for cord, firewood, plastic tarps, and used as your common kitchen cutlery. It was a real eye-opener:eek:...and I developed a new respect for simple tool that use to just hang in the shed or garage back home.

ROCK6
 
Rock6, Excellent post! Good to see a sometimes volatile subject like survival knives get addressed with some square thinking and fairness. Really enjoyed the read! :thumbup:
 
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