Help me choose a knife

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floydfloyd

Joined
Jul 5, 2011
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I would like to get a survival/camping knife, but need some suggestions.

I'm really very drawn to the Gerber LMF II because it seems to be a very sturdy, field-proven knife with an excellent sheath (a must for me). My big hesitation with this knife is that it has a partially serrated edge and I would really like something with no serration.

This then led me to look at the Becker BK2 Campanion (great sheath, no serration, good blade length for me), but it seems kinda klunky and overly thick/heavy. Granted, I've not had either of these knives in my hands.

Then I looked at the Ontario RAT 5 and the Ranger series, which seem to be the kind of knife I'm looking for, but they have awful sheaths (nylon that don't retain the knife).

So, is there the equivalent of a Gerber LMF II out there with no serration? Or any other suggestions that you guys might have for me?


Note: I am not very experienced with knives, but have been camping for much of my life and have just used whatever knives are at hand. Also, if more info is needed about what I plan to do with the knife, just ask.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! What's your price range? Do you have a size preference? The Ontario Rat 5 does come with a kydex sheath, but you could buy another one aftermarket for $30-$50 if you don't like it. You should also take a look at ESEE knives, they make a great product and they have an outstanding warranty. You could also try a Becker BK9, if you don't mind the length. maybe even a Mora, which is a swedish knife; very high performance for being so cheap (Some are less than $20!) They also come with some sort of plastic sheath.
 
Price range is under $100 (starving student budget) and I'd like a blade that is shorter than 6 in. If I need to do some crazy chopping or wood splitting I'll use a hatchet, so 6 in. or less should be plenty for me.

I guess I missed that the Rat 5 has the kydex insert in the sheath. Does that mean that the sheath has good knife retention? Even upside down? I'm having trouble finding videos showing it.

The ESEE knives look really nice and just about exactly what I want, but a bit pricier.

Thanks for the reply.
 
I guess I don't really understand what your using it for. Light wood chopping and camp chores?
If so, the Rat 5 should suit you just fine. The blade retention of the kydex liner really depends on how well it was molded. I haven't fit one into the sheath, but other than that I like the sheath design a lot.
Another option is the SOG tech bowie. My dad has one, it's got a pretty nice sheath, and the handle is comfortable. I can't speak to it's performance, though. Honestly, it'll probably go unused until he passes it down to me or sells it.
 
how about the famous good old ka-bar. It comes in straight edge and you can get the hard sheath
 
The ka bar was designed as a fighting/utility knife for the US Marines. It doesn't do so hot when it comes to wood chopping. (Speaking from experience.)
 
yeah, the ka bar looks nice, but probably too much a combat knife for what I am envisioning. Those ZT knives look interesting too. Thanks for the suggestion.

I envision me using this knife for light wood chopping, camp chores, maybe some carving, and for making small wood bits for fire starting (probably mostly camp chores and batoning of already small wood pieces). Seems the RAT 5 would be capable of all those things. As far as the LMF II, do you suppose that the serration would bother me at all for these activities? As I think about it, I can even envision it coming in handy for some of the camp chores like cutting rope, etc.

Thanks again everybody for all the replies. This seems to be a good, active community.
 
The ESEE is a little out of your range... but if you can come up with the cash it is worth it. Buying a knife that like once is cheaper than buying a half a dozen $50 knives over the course of that ESEE's life.

You could find an ESEE 4 for right around $100 if you look in the right places. I don't think we're allowed to link to them though. :cool:
 
I love my BK2, it is stout, but it handles well, and can carve pretty well, for a wide blade. For the money, its almost impossible to beat. Not to mention, its a great knife to modify later on, and there is a bunch of after market gizmos for it. The sheath is very good to.
My vote, in what you have mentioned, the BK2 is the best IMO.
 
If you do some careful shopping you can land a Fallkniven F1 for just slightly over $100. You can't go wrong with the F1.
 
How about a Condor Rodan? Not quite a BK2, but it's only about $35 shipped. I'm thinking very seriously about getting one. I can't decide between it and the Mora Bushcraft Force. I know they are two different knives and I guess I should just buy them both since they are inexpensive.
 
I'm fixing to send some money Condor's way myself in the near future. Probably the best bang for the buck out there right now.

The ZT fixed blades are also looking good.
 
The LMF-II was my first "real" fixed blade knife(still have it), and honestly, I like it. The handle is really comfy, and it's a good size blade. It feels solid, but like you, I didn't really like the serrations. I even emailed Gerber asking if they had plans to come out with a plain edge model, but they didn't. I had a BK2, but found it was too thick and clunky for my liking, so I sold it. The handle ergo's on the Becker line are absolutley fantastic, and if they came out with a model the same as the BK-2, but in 5/32 or 3/16 thickness, I'd be all over it.

Right now my favourite woods blade is an ESEE-3 with custom scales from The Knife Connection. For the blade and scales it was about $100, but no sheath, so I had to make a leather one for it.

If you're just starting out and don't really know what you like, I'd take that $100 and buy a couple of different types of knives. Mora's a fantastic knives, and the more I spend on knives, the more I wonder why I didn't just get a Mora and call it good. Condor has a good range of different types of blades for good prices. Check out Baryonyx Knife store, a Bladeforums supporting dealer, and they carry Mora and Condor knives. You could try out the Condor Bushlore, Condor Rodan, Condor Nessmuk, and grab a carbon Mora companion, all for $100. That'll be 4 fairly different, quality knives, for $100. You'll be able to figure out what you like, what you don't, and go from there. Not to mention it'll take a while to get bored of the 4 knives.
 
The thread opened with the OP declaring he was “very drawn to the Gerber LMF II”.

He went on to say that what was holding him back was that it “has a partially serrated edge and I would really like something with no serration”.

On that, it is sensible to conclude that a plain edge LMF II would be attractive to him.

In lieu of a plain edge LMF II the ZT ZT0160 is a very similar type of knife with a plain edge.

The OP says he “is not very experienced with knives” and that shows. He's opened the question up with “is there the equivalent of a Gerber LMF II out there with no serration?” and there is. Unable to find that himself though he's started looking at very different types of knives such as the BK2 and the Ontario RAT 5. That is quite some drift from what he was originally looking for.

And regarding the “chopper” aspect, well none of the knives mentioned above are adept a chopping, they have neither the length or the mass. Still, no matter, if he needs to chop he says he'll use a hatchet. He is clearly looking for something that is principally a cutting tool.

If anything that ZT sticks to the brief rather well. If it were about our own egocentricity I would have said get an F1 too because I believe it is the best knife of all these. But it's not about me it's about him and what he wants.

It's also worth noting that the “facepalm stainless” codswallop is all fun in threads that only have those of us in that have a bit of experience, it just tells us about you. Not so good to fill a n00b with that kind of thing though. Someone could take that seriously.
 
floydfloyd said:
Price range is under $100 (starving student budget) and I'd like a blade that is shorter than 6 in. If I need to do some crazy chopping or wood splitting I'll use a hatchet, so 6 in. or less should be plenty for me.

I guess I missed that the Rat 5 has the kydex insert in the sheath. Does that mean that the sheath has good knife retention? Even upside down? I'm having trouble finding videos showing it.

The ESEE knives look really nice and just about exactly what I want, but a bit pricier.

Thanks for the reply.
Click to expand...

Ok I could be wrong but from what you said it sounds to me like you need more of a bushcraft knife. If you are going to bring an axe/hatchet for chopping then you really only need a 4 to 5 in blade that can handle shores around camp...ie. make traps, food prep, detail work. If that is the case I would look at some of the hosted makers. They all have great products and have reasonable prices.

If you are looking for a knife such as the Gerber LMF II or the BK2 Then I would have to recommend the ESEE. you said your limit was $100...I did a Google shopping search for and ESEE 4 and told it from $0-90. Lots of results came up...looks to be about $88.00 before shipping and taxes. I have used this knife and own several ESEE products. I carry my ESEE3 on my LBV for work. They are good knives.

The next knife I would suggest, and the one I recommend after the ESEE knives, is the SOG Seal Pup Elite. Google shopping is your friend... I found it listed for around 60 or 70 dollars. This is a great knife and I love mine. You can find it in plain or partially serrated edge. It has two sheath options. One Kydex, and one nylon...both work great. I have both for mine, but prefer the nylon. IF you get this knife make sure you are buying the Elite model and not the standard Seal Pup. They made allot of improvements when they come out with the elite model.

My next recommend would be the BK2. This is also a good knife, and while I do not own one I have used them on several occasions. High carbon steel, good sheath, lots of loyal supporters of the brand so it must be good. I just don't happen to own one.

My recommendation for the Gerber LMFII is that you NOT get it. It is extremely heavy for its size (IMO). Also It is made from 420HC stainless. Both the BK2 and the ESEE are made from 1095. It is personal preference, but will always recommend a high carbon blade over a stainless in a knife like this. I had a friend who got this knife to take to SERE school. he told me when he got back that it wasn't worth the money he spent on it. He ditched it so he wouldn't have to carry it around with him. Nothing against Gerber...Just sharing what I have experienced and heard from friends. Also the sheath comes with these crazy leg straps I dont know if the one I was holding had the belt strap removed, but that just seemed kind of pointless to me (YMMV)

Another road you can look down is Cold Steel. They (IMO) have some decent blades for the price. They make a knife called the SRK which is really nice. They have changed the steel since I bought mine, but I still hear good things about the knife. It too can be found in your price range if you search Google shopping for it.

Good luck. I hope this helps, and happy hunting

Best,
Alan
 
made a decision yet? For your use i would highly recommend a new KA-BAR adventure series Potbelly fixed blade, or the LMF 2. i find that serrations can be very helpful. if you need to saw through a stretchy thick vine or rope then serations are a life saver. i also am interestd in the lmf 2 and am trying to sell my USMC ka-bar to get one
 
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