Good knife for sf selection

[erhodes]

Hey guys. As the title states I am looking for a good knife to take with me to sf selection. I am going in February so I have some time to choose. We are allowed to take a multitool and a pocket knife but no fixed blades. I just ordered a hinderer xm 18 3.5" which should be here this week. i was thinking of taking this and my leatherman charge. The only thing holding me back is I wasn't sure if the hinderer would hold up to hard use in the cold or if it would rust since I have been told I will be crossing small rivers several times while I am there. If you guys can think of anything that would better suit the challenge or if you would have other preferences please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Spiggles]

Spyderco Pacific Salt H1.
Will do everything that a knife is needed to do, and will not rust.

 

[evilgreg]

Hey guys. As the title states I am looking for a good knife to take with me to sf selection. I am going in February so I have some time to choose. We are allowed to take a multitool and a pocket knife but no fixed blades. I just ordered a hinderer xm 18 3.5" which should be here this week. i was thinking of taking this and my leatherman charge. The only thing holding me back is I wasn't sure if the hinderer would hold up to hard use in the cold or if it would rust since I have been told I will be crossing small rivers several times while I am there. If you guys can think of anything that would better suit the challenge or if you would have other preferences please let me know. Thanks.

I'd suggest something solid but not incredibly valuable. You will likely get wet, and you'll probably be going so hard you won't have time to be worrying about maintaining an expensive knife. Guys at the end of selection always looked pretty raggedy.

When I was out at Mackall when SFAS groups were taking their beating (thousands of years ago, admittedly) I don't remember seeing any valuable knives that stood out, FWIW.

Good luck with selection! It's a huge physical challenge, to be sure, but the guys that just refuse to give up are the ones that make it through when everyone is hurting. They're always watching behavior too, so make sure not to be a douche

 

[MJF]

I'd suggest you get the best multi-tool you can and not worry so much about what knife you bring along. You'll more than likely get more use out of the multi-tool than the blade.

 

[jjoanty01]

I agree with both points above. The last thing that you will need to be thinking about is your knife. Especially if you lose that $200 + knife in some muddy ditch or something. You will be responsible for all of your gear, but if you were to lose it, it would just add to the psychological weight that you will need to carry.

And a big thank you for being out there, standing watch, so that my family and I, may rest peacefully at night.

 

[erhodes]

The price of the knife is something I had thought may be a drawback because if I lost it I would be very upset. I was thinking of getting a cheaply like a cold steel or crkt that I wouldn't mind abusing if I needed to. Any recommendations in this department would be helpful as well.

 

[leghog]

Victorinox Mauser if you can find one --- two blades and a root saw and stainless. Whatever folder to take, ensure it has at least two blades. Might consider a Case yellow trapper in stainless too which you can find for 35 bucks or so.

 

[Surfingringo]

Spyderco Pacific Salt H1.
Will do everything that a knife is needed to do, and will not rust.

I would second a pacific salt. Serrated edge h1 holds a great edge, will cut anything, and the knife's around $70, so no catastrophe if you lose it. It's my favorite hard use folder. I beat it like a rented mule and it's held up like a champ.

Cowboy up.

 

[echoone]

I'll throw out the ZT 0350. Beefy hard use folder with S30V, which I THINK should serve your purposes well without spending a fortune in the event it gets lost.

 

[Trout Tamer]

Congrats and good luck with selection, erhodes! Here are a couple features you may want to consider for your selection knife:

- Take something with a large-ish handle. In February, it'll be cold, and you'll either be wearing gloves/mittens or you'll have cold fingers. Either way, your dexterity will be compromised, and you won't want to bugger with a dainty handle.

- A decent forefinger guard goes in the same vein - you'll be tired and cold, and you'll want a knife that you can use without giving it too much thought for basic safety.

- A knife that opens easily with gloved fingers may be quite appreciated.

- A knife that's easily maintained is also a plus. Like others have said, you'll have plenty to think about, learn, and overcome, and fighting against your knife is wasted energy. You can take this different directions - get a knife with high wear-resistance steel so you don't have to sharpen much; get a knife with softer steel so you can sharpen it quickly and easily; get something partly serrated so you've got a usable edge during those days when you can't spare the time to sharpen your blade; get a stainless steel so it's not rusting; get a knife with a good coating... and so forth. I know what I consider to be high maintenance (a knife that dulls too easily) and what I consider to be low-maintenance (a blade with decent edge holding ability that's not so hard I'll chip it or am afraid of it snapping.) Get a knife with a blade that places no extra emotional stress on you.

- You'll definitely want a knife with a reliable lock that won't jam when dirty and/or can be cleaned easily.

Final thoughts before listing knives: to me, serrations will be unnecessary because you'll have a multitool that probably has a serrated blade, as well as a plain blade, in the event your main folder bonks.

What will you have for a field sharpener? I have a DMT two-sided diamond hone with rough and fine diamonds, and it's my go-to for fixed blades and folders alike. The stone folds into the handle, and the package is around 5" when closed up - small, light, manageable, and effective.

I can't readily think of a knife that has ALL the features I would consider, but many come close:

Dendra Deer Hunter or Defender (I've read nothing but good about them)
Ontario RAT I (cheap, great blade geometry, surprisingly tough)
Cold Steel Voyager/Recon I/American Lawman (pronounced forefinger guards, AUS 8 which I've found to be an acceptable compromise, excellent lock)
Spyderco Manix 2 XL (nice and big handle, easily opened with finger hole, good edge holding)
Spyderco Endura (a friend went through Marine boot camp and swears by his Endura)
ZT 0560 (my favorite of the bunch, although it's also the most expensive)
Benchmade Adams - THICK handle, but a rock-solid knife

One last, enterprising thought - if you were to take the time to e-mail the owners of a few knife companies, like Lynn Thompson and Sal Glesser, and tell them what you're doing, I wonder if someone would want the good mojo and would give you a freebie

Again, good luck!

 

[caldwelr]

I'd recommend a Benchmade Griptilian. I've taken mine out in the field for a couple of months and it worked great. Definitely got a little gritty after a while, but it still worked and it still locked up. Easy to sharpen, holds a decent edge. Good quality knife, but it's not hundreds of dollars, so that's a plus.

Good luck!

 

[sideways]

You will have enough junk to carry around anyway. Only bring the multitool.

 

[Franciscomv]

I'm sure the Hinderer will be up to anything you might expect a folding knife to do. I mean, it's suppossed to be made for this type of use. It might rust a bit if it's wet for a long time, but that will happen to any steel (except H1) and it won't really affect the knife's performance. I'd just take the XM 18.

If you don't want to risk damaging or losing the Hinderer because of how expensive it is, there are a lot of good options already mentioned here. These are some I think might work for you (disclaimer: I know ZERO about military use, I'm basing my recommendations on hard use outdoors):

-Cold Steel folder with Tri-Ad lock. Strong, affordable, not too heavy (there are linerless G-10 models), tough steel (not the best edge retention or corrosion resistance). Voyager, American Lawman, Recon 1, etc. I'm fond of the Voyagers and the AL, myself.

-Spyderco Pacific Salt, basically a lighter Endura (no liners) with H1 steel. No need to worry about rust, but you do give up some edge retention when compared to VG-10 or S30V. An Endura would work, too. Perhaps a Para 2, the tip is thin but the steel is excellent, so is the lock, and it's light weight.

-Benchmade. The Adamas seems like an obvious choice. You might get a bit of rust on the edge, since it's D2, but other than that it seems perfect for your needs. It's also very comfortable to use with cold or gloved hands. I'd recommend a Griptilian as well, much tougher than they seem, great steel and lock, not heavy.

-Zero Tolerance has several models that can take a beating: 0300, 0350, 0200, 0560, 0550. I'd go for a 0560 or 0300 in your situation, they are tough and big. Very easy to open with gloves, excellent steel, etc. The 0560 is a bit lighter than the 0300. If you want to save some money, go for the 0200. The only drawback on ZTs is that they are heavy and bulky.

As a knife junky, I'd love to hear what you pick and how it performs.

 

[ron_m80]

SAK with a split ring to tie and tether it to your BDU's.

If you want to go stealth paint it flat black with DuPont flat black.

 

[orca8589]

I'd leave that Hinderer at home. It'll either get lost, damaged, or "grow legs". Great knife, to be sure, but to my mind, too much money invested to risk it.

A friend of mine was a marine in Afghanistan years ago, and his exact words were: "everybody had all kinds of cool s*** - back home." (Back home = here in the states) Anything too heavy did not get carried unless it was really necessary. He sent a picture back to his wife of him out on some kind of walking patrol, and he said he was carrying 80-100lbs+ of gear.

Knife:
I'll put my vote in for the SALT series - you should get one with a serrated blade. They can be had in all-black finish as well. H1 work-hardens, so as it's used and sharpened, it (the edge area) gets a little harder. Definite plus. A plain edge is good, but the serration design Spyderco uses will continue to cut well even when a little dull.

Multitool:
For a good multi-tool, I'd look at what your needs are, and find the best, lightest tool that will meet those needs. You can always upgrade to a different model later if you need it to do more. Maybe get something with a clip like the Leatherman Wave - it comes with decent a sheath, and you can get a removable clip as an aftermarket item.

My friend said that Gerbers were available, and the guys liked them for the out-the-front pliers and scissors, and that was all. The knife blades sucked: they wouldn't take or hold an edge, and would bend to easily. The Fiskars scissors on the tool were okay, though.

Good luck to you, and thanks! :thumbup:

~Chris

 

[Franciscomv]

I'd leave that Hinderer at home. It'll either get lost, damaged, or "grow legs". Great knife, to be sure, but to my mind, too much money invested to risk it.

I've seen this piece of advice several times in threads like this one. Honestly, I don't understand owning a great knife designed for hard use in tough environments, and then being afraid of using it.

If you're a collector that keeps everything NIB and never touches anything without gloves on, I guess it makes sense, but otherwise I'd just use the knife.

 

[jjoanty01]

I've seen this piece of advice several times in threads like this one. Honestly, I don't understand owning a great knife designed for hard use in tough environments, and then being afraid of using it.

If you're a collector that keeps everything NIB and never touches anything without gloves on, I guess it makes sense, but otherwise I'd just use the knife.

I wouldn't be afraid of using it... I would be afraid of losing it

 

[sideways]

I am more worried about the weight. Every ounce adds up and they already give you a lot of ounces worth of gear from the get go.

That swiss army knife weighs less than a multitool so if you don't need the pliers...

 

[mugsie]

I was former SF - served in Nam in 68&69 on an A team in the Delta. As far as a knife goes, you're going to be chopping branches and making firewood / kindling and maybe cutting some rope. You're not going to have a lot of time to do much of anything as they are going to constantly play with your mind, keeping you tired, frustrated, giving you problems that don't have solutions and oh yeah, did I mention playing with your mind? Besides cutting some wood, on one of my FTX's during training / selection, we stole a farmers goat, slit it's throat, bled it out, butchered it and had it for dinner. That, and some snapper turtle one of the guys caught too. Take along something you don't mind losing, something sharp (you can always sharpen it on a local rock if you need to) and something that will hold up to very rough abuse. The choice is yours, but for me it would be a fixed blade. We had K-bars issued back then, and some of the guys had Gerber Mark II's, but they were mostly for show as they were useless for a training exercise. In Nam it was different, they served their purpose well, but you're not going to be dispatching any sentrys (at lease not really eliminating them in training). A fixed blade, something to pound on to split wood etc.. Trust me when I say it will be the last thing you're going to need to worry about. As I said, no sleep, critical decisions, problems with no workable solutions - it's all about attitude. Teamwork is what counts. Attitude is what counts. Stamina is what counts. Leave no one behind, offer encouragement, follow directions and improvise. Never quit.

I wish you the best of luck. Should you make it to being awarded the beret, know that the men who have gone before you were the best, and that you need to strive, every day, to earn your right to wearing the Green Beret. It's a small, tough community of men, who in some cases have given their lives to protect their comrades (several of my close friends are on the Wall in Washington). It's all about teamwork my friend, being an individual with an ego is the fastest way to get you eliminated from the course.

Good luck, stay well and let us know how you do when it's all over.

I wish you the very best.

 

[orca8589]

I've seen this piece of advice several times in threads like this one. Honestly, I don't understand owning a great knife designed for hard use in tough environments, and then being afraid of using it.

If you're a collector that keeps everything NIB and never touches anything without gloves on, I guess it makes sense, but otherwise I'd just use the knife.

I understand your point. jjoanty01 said it best: it's a matter of losing it. I totally agree about hard-use knives in tough environments, but if a $50. knife will do the job just as well, take two $50. knives, save a few hundred $$, and still have a backup.

Hinderers, Sebenzas and similar production-custom knives are tough, cool and plenty capable of handling most any cutting job in today's military, but I'd be paranoid of losing one in the field. (And their style doesn't appeal to me anyway.)

To my mind, a Spyderco SALT model, or even a Cold Steel Recon 1 would be ideal knife for a soldier. And Ontario RAT 1's are some of the best values on the market today. All would do what a more expensive knife will do.

~Chris