General Camp Knife?

B

beta_medic88

Joined
Nov 11, 2008
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So I'm sure there are threads here about this, but seeing as how I can't find any I'll just start a new one.

I'm looking for a general camp knife. I have a SAK, but I need a larger fixed knife to supplement it. I'd be using it for the usual backwoods stuff: some wood chopping, batoning, rope cutting, food prep, you know, the good stuff. Something in the 4"-6" range is optimal, fixed blade, and if possible under $200. I really like drop points, so I was looking at like the RAT RC-5, maybe a Bark River Bravo-1, or the Becker Campanion. Anyone who has or had any of these who can give me some pros and cons of them would be very helpful. I'm super indecisive about this kind of thing; I've been mulling over this knife thing for about 2 months now haha. Thanks guys.

Brian
 
I'd go for an RC-4 for a factory knife, or you also may want to check out the custom makers that are frequently seen around here. Stomper, Bryan Breeden, DP Knives, and several others I can't think of at the moment make great knives, a lot of them are actually more around 100 bucks as well.
 
There are some really good knifemakers on this forum. For your price range you can get quite a bit.

Check out the knife maker area for sale area here.

The Becker Companion is a great knife, I owned and used one for a while but didn't like the sheath at all.

I'm slowly getting rid of all my knives with black coated blades and picking up knives with no coating. It's just a personal prefference with me. I will, however, keep my BK9 because I love it. I've heard a lot of good things about the Bark River Bravo-1 but have never handled it. My goto knife used to be my RC3 at the campsite but I've since got rid of it. I've got a couple of customs on their way to me that I plan on cycling through to see how they work.
 
I think a thin bladed type Nessmuk like Fiddleback among others makes is a great camping knife for slicing and food prep.

For chopping and batoning I'd go with a larger blade like a Fallkniven S1 or something like that.
 
What's your guys' opinion on the Campanion being 1/4" thick? That seems mighty hefty. Did it ever feel too heavy or awkward to really work with?
And I think I'm with you on the black coating. I have a Gerber Hinderer CLS which has a black coating, and at first I thought it was cool, but it shows scratches so easily I'm kind of getting sick of it already. Not the end of the world, just an observation.
 
beta_medic88 said:
What's your guys' opinion on the Campanion being 1/4" thick? That seems mighty hefty. Did it ever feel too heavy or awkward to really work with? And I think I'm with you on the black coating. I have a Gerber Hinderer CLS which has a black coating, and at first I thought it was cool, but it shows scratches so easily I'm kind of getting sick of it already. Not the end of the world, just an observation.
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Yes, I thought it felt very heavy. No, it didn't feel awkward at all it was actually very well balanced and was easy to work with. The handle is super comfortable and it's build like a tank.
 
I really REALLY like my fixed Rittergrip. Its blade is midway in thickness. Not as thick as the Beckers.

Its a really nice knife. Great blade shape, length, and steel (S30V). Great handle shape and material (G10 - fits big & small hands comfortably). A pretty OK sheath (not the best, but I've come to appreciate the utility of mine).

Lots of details here: http://www.equipped.org/rsk_mk3.htm
 
I love the Bravo-1 myself. It is my smaller camp/hiking knife. I also carry my Scrapyard Scrapper 6 if I may need to do heavier work. It will be much harder to find because it isn't currently in production though. I don't think you can go wrong with the RAT line either. However, if I had it to do over again, I would get a custom makers knife here on the forum. JK Knives(Stomper on the forums) makes a great looking blade that others seem to like and I think you can order one from him. Koster is another. Other makers knives that I have found appealing either don't take orders or have a long back log. Just my observations. I think I am close to deciding which JK I want myself.

Some think the Bravo-1 is a bit thick, but I think it is perfect for an all around camp knife. I love the grind, it's easy to keep sharp and the fact that it doesn't have a choil is a plus for me. I like choils ok on larger knives but nothing under 5 inches.
 
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As was stated earlier look into Stomper, Breeden, Fiddleback, Koster etc.
John(Stomper) is really close to you in IL and is looking for a project with some large 1095 right now. He may make just what you are looking for. For a good price you will have a hand made custom made to your specs.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=613714
 
There are a buzzilion good choices for under $200.

For a general camp knife, I am seriously considering a Buck 103. I know, it isn't a custom or a RAT or any other trendy blade (And there is nothing wrong with the bevy of great blades from Rat, Bark River, CRKT etc.)

But I have always loved the blade profile.

$50 and it will do everything you need.
 
As someone else said you should check out Stompers ( JK knives ) mine is the Hiker plus and is a perfect camp knife size. Someone mentioned the RC4 but when I tried one the handle was way too thin and short, IMO there's no contest between the handles that Stomper makes and those on the RC4, to me that issues alone let's down an otherwise decent knife !

You mention battoning, that's a breeze also with Stomper's......

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P1120004.jpg
 
I love my old Swamp Rat Camp Tramp. She's a great do-all kind of blade. A Busse Skinny ASH or Sarsquatch would also do very nicely.


Here's my Skinny ASH: ;)
Busse%20Skinny%20ASH-1.jpg


Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I find myself leaning more and more towards Stomper's designs. The Hiker looks great, but does anyone know the specs on it? I can't find them on his site. He also lives 3 towns away from me so that's a plus haha.
 
beta_medic88 said:
So I'm sure there are threads here about this, but seeing as how I can't find any I'll just start a new one.

I'm looking for a general camp knife. I have a SAK, but I need a larger fixed knife to supplement it. I'd be using it for the usual backwoods stuff: some wood chopping, batoning, rope cutting, food prep, you know, the good stuff. Something in the 4"-6" range is optimal, fixed blade, and if possible under $200. I really like drop points, so I was looking at like the RAT RC-5, maybe a Bark River Bravo-1, or the Becker Campanion. Anyone who has or had any of these who can give me some pros and cons of them would be very helpful. I'm super indecisive about this kind of thing; I've been mulling over this knife thing for about 2 months now haha. Thanks guys.

Brian
Click to expand...

Try this guy out, he makes handmade knives and will make you pretty much what ever you ask for. The first link is a vid of his drop point hunter cutting rope, second link is his site. I think his drop points start around 130 with micarta handle.

http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r65/pcrknives/?action=view&current=HPIM2527.flv

http://www.patrickknives.com/
 
The Becker Campanion is a very nimble blade for it's size. John (Stomper) will make anything you want and you will love it. Bryan Breeden (sicily02) will do the same. So will charlieridge-I just used his survival knife to chop up food and it is a delight to work with! These 3 guys all hang out here---it won't be difficult to catch up with them, plus they are all very easy to deal with.
 
Personally, I think it's hard to find a better all purpose knife than the Fallkniven F1. They're about $100, wicked sharp, hold an edge, and are air crew knives for the Scandinavian air force.

I don't get the whole chopping thing, I use a Gerber's retractable pruning saw. You can split wood with this knife and a baton if you need to.

Check into one before you buy anything. Big knives don't make much sense for most bushcraft projects or survival needs but they seem very popular here for "chopping".
 
So how does this sound for a custom:
Blade profile of a Bravo-1
Bravo_1_Blk_Grn_Linen.jpg


including the thumb ramp on the spine (something I've always loved on a knife), but out of 1/4" O1 and maybe 5" long? Black micarta scales. I can picture it now....
 
You can't go wrong with the Bravo-1. The handle is amazingly comfortable and the convex grind gets wicked sharp and it's really easy to keep it that way.

I'd rank the Fallknivens and RATs equally with the Bravo as well. If you don't like the black coating you can get the best of both worlds by having Bark River convex your RAT. They remove the coating from the blade and fully convex grind it. On my RC-4 they left the coating on the bottom half of the exposed tang which I like cuz it will keep my finger sweat from rusting the metal in the handle. In my opinion any knives by these three makers will not disappoint. :thumbup:

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beta_medic88 said:
I find myself leaning more and more towards Stomper's designs. The Hiker looks great, but does anyone know the specs on it? I can't find them on his site. He also lives 3 towns away from me so that's a plus haha.
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Here's a link that shows the specs. Keep in mind if you want something different he'll do it. His email is in his signature and he responds quickly.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611777

Hope you find what you like!
 
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