- Joined
- Oct 24, 2004
- Messages
- 3,318
Well, I've had my Swamp Rat Camp Tramp for several months now. And with hurricane season officially starting in 4 days (June 1st) I have made a decision to make the Camp Tramp my official new Hurricane Knife, replacing the extremely serviceable Cold Steel SRK that served that function for me last year. Here's a couple comments on why for anyone interested:
As I have stated on other threads, we lost power for extended periods here on two seperate occaisons last August & September due to the storms. 7 days the first time & 5 the second... In addition to a sharp fixed blade knife, we found that having a flashlight on you was very helpful even during the day, when you have no lights indoors. Same goes for a lighter (for candles). So, last year I rigged up my Mini-Maglight pouch to the front of the SRK's sheath so I had both with me at all times. I also kept a lighter & a length of paracord in my pocket in a ziplock baggie.
I've been looking at whether or not some of my other similarly sized knives would be better suited as a EDC fixed blade for this year's Hurricane Season ever since. Of the ones I consider to be contenders, I have the SRK of course, a (Warner) Blackjack Grunt, an older original Blackjack AWAC, a Cold Steel UWK and the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp (7.5" blade, 12.75" OA).
Because one tends to get wet & dirty while doing storm cleanup, I decided that if it aint got a synthetic sheath, I aint going to EDC it. Leather is just too hard to clean up & too high maintenence for my environment (at least for cleanup duties). Also, I need some ability to attach or store a couple of things 'piggyback' fashion to the sheath.
Unfortunately I don't have the time or money to spare on a new aftermarket kydex sheath, otherwise the BJ Grunt would be much more of a contender. I will have to get the kydex job for that one sometime soon - too bad too; I really like the Grunt.
The BJ AWAC will fit in the UWK's sheath or the SRK's so it doesn't exactly fail the sheath test due to interchangeability. And it is a fine knife, with stainless steel construction which has it's benefits. Beadblast finishes aren't so hot for corrosion protection though. And the micarta handle is a bit thick in back & would definately be more slippery when wet then the kraton handled knives. Plus I may need to pry with the knife & while stainless would probably be sufficient (especially with a wide blade like on the Grunt), the piece of mind that comes from stronger carbon steels appeal to me. So I am going to pass on the AWAC as the EDC knife too - primarily due to the handle but in part due to blade type.
Of the two Cold Steel knives, both have Carbon V blades* similar in length, and serviceable kydex sheaths that are easily 'rigged up' to piggyback other small-ish pouchs & ietms. Nevertheless, SRK seems far 'beefier' in comparisson to UWK. The UWK would be a better fighter IMO but I can't see any real benefit over the SRK as a hurricane knife. Sure it could be a last ditch weapon if needed but that is far from it's primary function - way down the list.
So it is really between the SRK & the Camp Tramp. SRK is far lighter which is a plus, but it lacks the raw chopping ability of the CT. Those 2 factors could sort of cancel each other out. Also, they both have synthetic sheaths and are made from thick carbon steel. CT is a bit thicker and has a differential temper though, making it simply a larger, stronger & heavier knife.
Regarding the CT: Initially, I took full advantage of the large-ish storage pocket on the front of the knife sheath: I had an old Gerber Multi-tool, a Mini-Maglight and a mini-bic lighter in there riding piggyback on the CT. Only trouble was, this made the package too heavy for comfortable EDC. So I took the multi-tool out. Heck I wouldn't have wanted to let it get wet anyway...
And I got some more use out of the CT today in the yard - nothing too strenous but I cut some 1" thick softwood shrubs that were growing thru the fence, trimmed up some grass growing around the pool pump, transplanted what appears to be a little maple tree (which entailed prying up a pavement stone to get the root & some digging), dug & cut up some thick rooted weeds from the back fence line etc...
The edge of the CT did get distorted a little as a result of coming into contact with rocks & such in the soil. However, I don't know if I have just gotten alot better at using my Sharpmaker or what but it was like nothing to put this 7.5" long x .25" thick blade (bigger blades are normally harder for me to sharpen) back in hair shaving condition with less than 5min work on the fine ceramic rods. Maybe it's the convex edge...?
The little bit of chores I have performed with the Camp Tramp have impressed me greatly: the heavy blade performs well. The choil is very useable and makes finer work a suprisingly easy proposition for such a thick, heavy blade. The edge holds up well & is very easy for a relatively unskilled knife sharpener (me) to return to shaving. All in all, I have decided that the little bit of extra weight when compared to SRK is far outweighed by the superior chopping & prying of the CT.
My decision is admitably subjective. I can't say anything bad about the SRK - it is still a favorite of mine - whether in part because of or despite it's workman like appearance. And SRK throws well, which is entertaining when you have nothing better to do than 'setin' n' sweatin' (!) with no power.
Grunt will definately be a contender once I upgrade to a new sheath. However, I might have decided to pry that patio stone up with a stick instead of the flat of my blade if I were using Grunt rather than mar up the finish of the blade... So crinkle coat does have it's benefits. I also have one of the Kabar heavy bowies on order. If it ever gets here it would be a contender too. It will probably fit in the Camp Tramp's sheath well enough...
Well thanks for listening to my hurricane knife ramblings
Seee Ya!
As I have stated on other threads, we lost power for extended periods here on two seperate occaisons last August & September due to the storms. 7 days the first time & 5 the second... In addition to a sharp fixed blade knife, we found that having a flashlight on you was very helpful even during the day, when you have no lights indoors. Same goes for a lighter (for candles). So, last year I rigged up my Mini-Maglight pouch to the front of the SRK's sheath so I had both with me at all times. I also kept a lighter & a length of paracord in my pocket in a ziplock baggie.
I've been looking at whether or not some of my other similarly sized knives would be better suited as a EDC fixed blade for this year's Hurricane Season ever since. Of the ones I consider to be contenders, I have the SRK of course, a (Warner) Blackjack Grunt, an older original Blackjack AWAC, a Cold Steel UWK and the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp (7.5" blade, 12.75" OA).
Because one tends to get wet & dirty while doing storm cleanup, I decided that if it aint got a synthetic sheath, I aint going to EDC it. Leather is just too hard to clean up & too high maintenence for my environment (at least for cleanup duties). Also, I need some ability to attach or store a couple of things 'piggyback' fashion to the sheath.
Unfortunately I don't have the time or money to spare on a new aftermarket kydex sheath, otherwise the BJ Grunt would be much more of a contender. I will have to get the kydex job for that one sometime soon - too bad too; I really like the Grunt.
The BJ AWAC will fit in the UWK's sheath or the SRK's so it doesn't exactly fail the sheath test due to interchangeability. And it is a fine knife, with stainless steel construction which has it's benefits. Beadblast finishes aren't so hot for corrosion protection though. And the micarta handle is a bit thick in back & would definately be more slippery when wet then the kraton handled knives. Plus I may need to pry with the knife & while stainless would probably be sufficient (especially with a wide blade like on the Grunt), the piece of mind that comes from stronger carbon steels appeal to me. So I am going to pass on the AWAC as the EDC knife too - primarily due to the handle but in part due to blade type.
Of the two Cold Steel knives, both have Carbon V blades* similar in length, and serviceable kydex sheaths that are easily 'rigged up' to piggyback other small-ish pouchs & ietms. Nevertheless, SRK seems far 'beefier' in comparisson to UWK. The UWK would be a better fighter IMO but I can't see any real benefit over the SRK as a hurricane knife. Sure it could be a last ditch weapon if needed but that is far from it's primary function - way down the list.
So it is really between the SRK & the Camp Tramp. SRK is far lighter which is a plus, but it lacks the raw chopping ability of the CT. Those 2 factors could sort of cancel each other out. Also, they both have synthetic sheaths and are made from thick carbon steel. CT is a bit thicker and has a differential temper though, making it simply a larger, stronger & heavier knife.
Regarding the CT: Initially, I took full advantage of the large-ish storage pocket on the front of the knife sheath: I had an old Gerber Multi-tool, a Mini-Maglight and a mini-bic lighter in there riding piggyback on the CT. Only trouble was, this made the package too heavy for comfortable EDC. So I took the multi-tool out. Heck I wouldn't have wanted to let it get wet anyway...
And I got some more use out of the CT today in the yard - nothing too strenous but I cut some 1" thick softwood shrubs that were growing thru the fence, trimmed up some grass growing around the pool pump, transplanted what appears to be a little maple tree (which entailed prying up a pavement stone to get the root & some digging), dug & cut up some thick rooted weeds from the back fence line etc...
The edge of the CT did get distorted a little as a result of coming into contact with rocks & such in the soil. However, I don't know if I have just gotten alot better at using my Sharpmaker or what but it was like nothing to put this 7.5" long x .25" thick blade (bigger blades are normally harder for me to sharpen) back in hair shaving condition with less than 5min work on the fine ceramic rods. Maybe it's the convex edge...?
The little bit of chores I have performed with the Camp Tramp have impressed me greatly: the heavy blade performs well. The choil is very useable and makes finer work a suprisingly easy proposition for such a thick, heavy blade. The edge holds up well & is very easy for a relatively unskilled knife sharpener (me) to return to shaving. All in all, I have decided that the little bit of extra weight when compared to SRK is far outweighed by the superior chopping & prying of the CT.
My decision is admitably subjective. I can't say anything bad about the SRK - it is still a favorite of mine - whether in part because of or despite it's workman like appearance. And SRK throws well, which is entertaining when you have nothing better to do than 'setin' n' sweatin' (!) with no power.
Grunt will definately be a contender once I upgrade to a new sheath. However, I might have decided to pry that patio stone up with a stick instead of the flat of my blade if I were using Grunt rather than mar up the finish of the blade... So crinkle coat does have it's benefits. I also have one of the Kabar heavy bowies on order. If it ever gets here it would be a contender too. It will probably fit in the Camp Tramp's sheath well enough...
Well thanks for listening to my hurricane knife ramblings
Seee Ya!
