Good, Affordable Survival Fixed Blade?

One of my favorite fixed blades, has also been the cheapest.
You might try a Mora 510. Even if you want to pic up a nicer blade, you might as well get this one, it's only $11. It will allow you to practice your sharpening skills, so you don't mess up a nicer knife.

You can get it at www.ragweedforge.com , you might also want to browse the other brands that are sold there. You can find anything from $11 to $100+, and some of the more expensive ones are really nice.


Other than that, I would highly recommend looking at some of the makers on this site. They put out some quality stuff at an affordable price.
 
Lots of good advice here:

Scandi's:
Mora 2000 (See Bens Backwoods or e-bay) for ~$30
Jarvapaa puuko 4"for~$45
Kellem Puuko ~$80
Custom Scandi's - (in the $100-$150 range): Koster Bushcrafter; Charlie Ridge; Brian Andrews (off the map outfitters) bushcrafter; DP-knives (Campmaster)

Tactical/Oudoors
Rat Cutlery RC4~$90 (I think the RC-4 is the best all rounder; RC-6 better camp knife)
Fallkniven F1 ~$100
Ranger RD4 (see Ontario's version of them - Knifecenter)
Kabar -Impact spearpoint series
Becker Companion (a bit big IMO but great knife)
Buck 119/Kabar (Good all round knives, but guard & swedge a bit annoying - still great performers though and very economical)

Traditional Outdoors
Bark River (any model but ones I like that are a bit lower cost): northstar, fox river, EDC seax, highland special
Blindhorse knives - bushcrafter

Custom Makers (in the $100-130 range)
-Bryan Breeden - CUB model, pathfinder model, PSK or small peacemaker
-JK knives - 4" kephart (awesome blade)
-Koyote knives - any of his EDC models
-DP knives - has several models that are very good (I've handled a few but down any yet)
-Several others - more pricey but awesome blades: Ray Layonico; Fiddleback; NWA knives

Good Luck!

Picture below: Breeden Pathfinder, Buck 119, Custom Breeden 'Big Paw' model, JK Kephart

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A couple of more Breedens - 6" peacemaker and 3.75" kat knife

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Some Beckers (manufactured by Kabar): Becker Companion and BK-9; third is JK Kephart

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I heard the Gerber LMF IIs were pretty nice. They have an infantry and ASEK model.
 
Wow guys, that's a lot of blade being slung my way :D Really appreciate all the recommendations.

I knew a Mora would be a good idea to have, and for so cheap, why not =P Also figured once I got up near the $100 range, a RAT RC would likely be one of the best options (don't know anyone who would ever look down at a RAT). I guess I was just a bit curious as to whether there was a high performance / lower priced option in those other ranges - that would be a suitable replacement for a RAT. I know you get what you pay for, but spending less isn't always a bad thing if you know what I mean :)

Also, for the Mora, are there any larger dealers that carry them (Like Knifecenter, Knifeworks, etc.)? Thinking of buying a couple of other small blades and might as well save on the multiple shipping costs if possible :) Knife Center has a Frost of Sweden brand, but it seems that they don't have much of anything there :\
 
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Noooo, Frost isn't anything like a Mora, so I've heard :o

ragweedforge is one of the only places I've ever heard of that carries Mora's, I'll have to use the almighty google and see what I find :D

RATs are very good knives, for around $100, they get talked about as much or more than Busse around here, and that says a lot ;)

Good luck shopping, J.
 
Let me throw in stuff from another outfit here: check out Himalayan Imports here on Blade forums. They sell a lot of different styles of knives from small to huge, most $100 or under.

Some possibilities:
Chopper: Bura Bowie or Kumar Karda ( bottom two in pic):
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Bushcraft/utility:
R-10:
R102.jpg

R-6:
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Gool:
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R-3:
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So ragweedforge is the only option as far as acquiring Moras?

And as far as ordering a custom knife, I'm just not comfortable enough with doing so at this point (only recently gotten into knives at all), I'd rather stick to productions for right now, stay in my comfort zone =P

Again, thanks to everyone for their input =)
 
Yeah man - Buck 119, Mora, Ka-Bar, Custom from one of the makers here. Stomper, Breeden, Koyote (in no order) are all great choices. Can't go wrong with a BRKT either - check the used section on this board.

TF
 
Smoky Mountain Knife Works has a decent collection of Moras at good prices. My recommendation for backpacking/camping is get yourself a Mora and a folding saw - a Bahco Laplander or Silky Pocketboy or Bigboy if you're going to be collecting wood for fuel.

Nice thing about Moras is all you need to sharpen them is a various grades of sandpaper (400/800/1000/2000) and a hard flat surface. So easy to sharpen a Mora you could do it with your eyes closed :D
 
Hey forget the Mora's buddy, sounds to me like you are wanting something that can handle a little more work ! Suggesting a Mora is akin to ya wanting a new bike helmet and someone saying use a bucket, sure you'l be fine with the bucket till ya fall off !!!!

Let me suggest something from JK knives, this is his Hiker......

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Great all round knife and plenty tough enough for anything you can throw at it !

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They are even Russell proof !!!!!!!!

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+1 on the Becker BK2 or BK7 for $50-75 price range
+1 on the Mora2000 for the $30-35 price range
and +1 on the RC-4 in the $100 or slightly more price range
 
chewbacca said:
+1 on the Becker BK2 or BK7 for $50-75 price range
+1 on the Mora2000 for the $30-35 price range
and +1 on the RC-4 in the $100 or slightly more price range
Click to expand...

I'll +2 the BK2, it's about the same size as a RAT RC-5 at about half the price.
 
I have the JK Hiker and Hiker backup. Perfect knives. These have Black Micarta scales.
 

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Lock1454 said:
So ragweedforge is the only option as far as acquiring Moras?
Click to expand...

No there are other places to get them. What the other poster was saying is that you need to make sure you know what you are getting. There is BIG difference between "Frost's", and "Frost". The first one, being a true Mora and a great knife. The two Mora companies "KJ Erickson" and "Frost's" recently merged into "Mora of Sweden". But a lot of companies still label them under there old brand names.
 
Just a quicky to add into the mix. Is the only real problem with the KaBar fighter the fact that it has a full guard which prevents you from properly choking up on the back part of the blade for a more precise and controlled cut? I mean, is it a strong blade that will physically be able to handle the duties? For some reason I kind of like the idea of the knife, the tradition behind it. The reason I ask is because there is a review up which shows that knife literally broke in half when the pommel was lightly smacked a few times (but that was the stainless next gen).

And also while it's on my mind - what are some good machetes to look into? Several people mentioned that they can be had for cheap, what are some to check up? (j don't remember any being named specifically, I'll reread to make sure)
 
I have batoned a standard Kabar through wood, chopped with it, and generally beat it up, and I have had no problems with durability. So, based on personal experience alone, I would definitely vouch for it.

That being said,

Aside from the guard issue, I find that the standard Kabar is a bit 'in the middle' from a size perspective. It's a jack of all trades, in that you can chop with it or do finer work, but if you're going to carry a dedicated chopper anyway, you will probably find that a shorter fixed blade will provide more control for smaller stuff. Also, I find that flat grinds and scandi grinds - as opposed to the Kabar's hollow grind - are a bit better when it comes to food prep and finer woodworking, but your mileage may vary.

A Kabar is still a great knife. If you're pining for one, I say go for it.

All the best,

- Mike
 
Lock1454 said:
Just a quicky to add into the mix. Is the only real problem with the KaBar fighter the fact that it has a full guard which prevents you from properly choking up on the back part of the blade for a more precise and controlled cut? I mean, is it a strong blade that will physically be able to handle the duties? For some reason I kind of like the idea of the knife, the tradition behind it. The reason I ask is because there is a review up which shows that knife literally broke in half when the pommel was lightly smacked a few times (but that was the stainless next gen).

And also while it's on my mind - what are some good machetes to look into? Several people mentioned that they can be had for cheap, what are some to check up? (j don't remember any being named specifically, I'll reread to make sure)
Click to expand...

There have been a few threads that have reported kabars breaking (both 1095 and next gen). Then again, they are a knife that almost everybody has so likelyhood of breaking reportage is high simply because there are many such knives in service.

They are pretty cool knives. I think that Fonly has a few reviews of his USMC kabar being used for bushcraft chores that can be found in the archives. A good knife overall. The issues of the guard and swedge are minor annoyances that can be overcome. When people use their knives often for woods work they eventually tend to dislike these features on a knife.

Machete - check out the Tramontina machetes - cheap and great value! Its the main brand that the RatCutlery team use on their Jungle Training School. Also condor has some really interesting machetes.
 
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