Choosing a survival knife

gundude73 said:
F&F = Fit and Finish, i can see your point, but for comparison an ESEE junglas, to be released shortly, will run for $168~ a busse BWM is $387~ same blade length, same thickness. same handle material. the only differences are the grind, steel and blade shape. now is the BWM bad? not at all. but really $219 more for INFI? i personally dont see it. and i dont think battoning through steel pipe proves anything.
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Yeah, I totally agree with Junglas to BWM comparison.

But lets remember everyones entitled to their own opinion.

:):):)
 
Alberta Ed said:
I'd vote for an axe as the most useful survival tool.
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Ah, Finally! :thumbup:
If you were in the wilderness for substantial amount of time (let say a month+) you would not argue. Good axe will do what a knife would do and then.

Not to say I disagree with OP. Many points are correct IMO. :)
 
gundude73 said:
well to say you cant trust your life on an ESEE is gonna stir a hornets nest,
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You seem to be the only one stirring up a hornets nest, most here agree the ESEE/Rat knives are just fine...

gundude73 said:
but really $219 more for INFI? i personally dont see it.
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Okay the other steels are too expensive for you to consider. Nothing wrong with that, ESEE offers a fine value for the money.
 
I agree with most of the points. 1095 is just fine with me. A Rat or Ranger knife is good enough for me.

Not sure I'd want a D2 survival knife, too brittle from what I've seen.
 
Just remember all those high end steels are going to be hard to sharpen in a survival situation unless you happen to have a diamond sharpening rod with you.
Where as 1095 will sharpen up a lot easier especially without a special sharpening tool.
Nothing wrong with all those high end steels, but in a survival situation it's little easier to sharpen the 1095 or similar steel. It just makes good sense.
 
definitely agree^

Super steels are (difficult) to sharpen, if you dull a thick blade of INFI in the bush your gonna have a hard time getting it sharp again. Unless of course you packed your Edgepro Apex.
 
Well if I was new and shopping around for a good survival blade.. After reading your post it looks like I would have to pick INFI and then I'd be set.... However in real life adventures and testings, infi doesn't really hold an edge compaired to other steels...even their own SR101 smokes it in cutting and real world sernarios... Now if I fell asleep in the woods and little goblins built a cinderblock castle around me, and I had to chop my way out, then yea I'd probably want my Busse... By the same token, I wouldn't really wanna be lost or not have access to anything that couldnt resharpen the real hard steels either... Me personally I'd take the middle road,, give up some toughness, give up some edge holding, and take what you mean as the low end 1095.....
 
Gress said:
Good axe will do what a knife would do and then.
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This is true in the same sense that a good knife will do what an axe could do. There is in fact very little overlap between the two different tools. If you are really saying any axe is as versatile as (let's say) a 9" blade knife, then I would totally disagree with that.
 
Micro-Bevel said:
No, I must have not explained myself too well.

I WOULD trust my life on an ESEE.

BUT

If I had a choice I would prefer the Busse.

See what I mean?

Also, what is F&F? I dont know that abbreviation.

Lastly, while you probably wouldnt have to baton through a steel pipe, those tests DO show just how far a knife will go, however irrelevant it may be. Talk is cheap.
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So are irrelevant knife tests!
 
I think you make some good points...though it is worth considering that the frontiersmen who actually were out there actually surviving in the scenario you pose did it without any of the high-performance metals or handle materials you are a fan of.

Something to think about.

Another consideration is where one is surviving. Not everyone "survives" in the context you propose. Your Busse would be darn near worthless for someone surviving, say, in Lappland or in tropical rain forest.
 
It's how you use the tool, ...not the tool you use.


Too much time is spent discussing brand names and specifying high end steels.

Better to spend your time learning to use the tools you carry.


As we all know, the best "survival" knife you can have is the one you are carrying when you need it.



Big Mike
 
Big Mike said:
It's how you use the tool, ...not the tool you use.


Too much time is spent discussing brand names and specifying high end steels.

Better to spend your time learning to use the tools you carry.


As we all know, the best "survival" knife you can have is the one you are carrying when you need it.



Big Mike
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Yeah but which one is that? And what's it made of, and by whom? LMAO!
 
Big Mike said:
It's how you use the tool, ...not the tool you use.


Too much time is spent discussing brand names and specifying high end steels.

Better to spend your time learning to use the tools you carry.


As we all know, the best "survival" knife you can have is the one you are carrying when you need it.



Big Mike
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:thumbup:

Couldn't agree more. Like I said earlier, a lot of people did just fine with an ax, a carbon sreel slipjoint, and the equivalent of a cut down Old Hickory butcher knife.
 
Great Post!

Where I am currently living, a cheap carbon steel machete and a small 3"-4" bushcraft knife is my favorite combo. The bushcraft knife is no where near bulletproof, but it slices and carves with control and finesse. The Machete does the hard work of blazing trails, and if need be, building shelter. What the knife cant do, the machete can and visa-versa.

I really like the concept of survival knives and I think they are a great piece of gear for anyone to have, but I rarely ever use one personally. Rather than having a knife that I would take with me if I were to be randomly dropped anywhere in the world to survive, I prefer to specialize my woods tools to fit my particular environment. Sometimes it can be a "survival knife," but generally I specialize my woods tools and find that "survival knives" can be a little unspecialized.
 
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i can see your point, but for comparison an ESEE junglas, to be released shortly, will run for $168~ a busse BWM is $387~ same blade length, same thickness. same handle material. the only differences are the grind, steel and blade shape. now is the BWM bad? not at all. but really $219 more for INFI?
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Thanks for posting right after I took delivery last week on my new BWM! :o

I have a Junglas on pre-order so I guess I'll know the differences when I get it. One is, G-10 handles on the BWM whiich I like better when offered over canvas Micarta. Easy to maintain in "like new" condition. The blade steels - I don't have a clue about the difference. :confused:
 
The Government said:
Great Post!

Where I am currently living, a cheap carbon steel machete and a small 3"-4" bushcraft knife is my favorite combo. The bushcraft knife is no where near bulletproof, but it slices and carves with control and finesse. The Machete does the hard work of blazing trails, and if need be, building shelter. What the knife cant do, the machete can and visa-versa.
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Even better post! Because you said "Where I am currently living..."!

A machete is a perfect "survival" (whatever that means) knife for you.

It wouldn't be for someone in Lappland. But one of their leukus wouldn't work ideally in northern Minnesota.

No such thing as a "best" survival knife.

Unless you are one of those people who could get dropped in the middle of the desert, rain forest, tunda, New York City overrun by zombies, artic circle, Pacific Ocean, etc etc etc without any warning.

The only people I know of who that happens to are on TV shows.

Skill and preparation always beats technology.
 
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