Hollow Handle Survival Knives

B

bigcountry73

Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
133
I'm looking to buy a hollow handle survival knife. Don't ask me why, I've always been intrigued, ever since my father bought me a flea market version when I was a kid. I know these knives aren't too popular. I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations? Either production or custom? Thanks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rob
 
There are so many great hollow handle knives out there. It is hard to pick just one. :D
What price range did you have in mind ?
How big do you want it ?
Would you use the knife or is it just for your collection.

Cheers,

André
 
The finest and best well known is the Chris Reeve Project 1. There are other models he has as well. His website is www.chrisreeve.com

I feel hollow handled knives are more of a gimmick than anything. There don't have very good ergonomics and are limited in practical function(often times quite heavy.
Just my 2 cents
 
From what I remember as a kid those hollow handled knives were pretty aweful. The Chris Reeve ones, however, get good reviews and they are Chris Reeve knives, so you know they are high quality.
 
Gentlemen

There are pleanty of good quality hollow handle knives.
To name a few:

Jimmi Lile
Jack Craine
Robert Parrish
Collin Cox
Gene Baskett
Barry Dowson
Bill Sanders
Randall #18

Cheers,

André
 
How bout this baby? :D :rolleyes:

survivalknife.jpg


Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Glenn
 
If you're looking for just the novelty associated with a 'survival knife' you might try an Esparcia, they have a model that has a secret compartment in the knife handle, a hidden slide out draw in the sheath, and the sheath turns into a working mini-crossbow. I think they were originally designed as Spanish Aviator Survival Knives. Anyway, it's a pretty well made knife, got a wickedly sharp point, and makes quite a conversation piece too. :cool:
 
Bladewolf,
I thought about purchasing one. I just don't know much about the company. They retail for about $150 or a little higher. I'm wondering if there worth the price.
 
Chris Reeve Knives definetly. No handle to blade joint to be weak. Made from a single bar of steel. I have Buckmaster, Randall 18 and several others but none are as tough as the Reeves, in my opinion. They will take some serious abuse and are not as hard on the bank account as most others.
 
I have a Chris Reeve Nkonka and it's a beautiful piece. Perfectly balanced, sharp, and big enough to get 'er done as they say.

I would recommend one of those to anybody looking for a lifetime investment.

bankonka.jpg
 
bigcountry73 said:
Bladewolf,
I thought about purchasing one. I just don't know much about the company. They retail for about $150 or a little higher. I'm wondering if there worth the price.
Click to expand...

$150 is to high. You should be able to get one for under a $100 (without shipping). The fit and finish are basically good, but weird. For instance on the few I have the blades are good, 440C, but it looks like the saw teeth on the spine were cut as an afterthought by hand. They're even, but there's small inconsistencies in the cuts themselves, I cleaned up one with a dremel in about 5 minutes. The handle design is pretty good, for a hollow handle, and fairly strong. The crossbow actually would give a squirrel something to worry about. If you decide you want one, Email me (in my profile), I think I still have one NIB, I'd sell or trade for. Again, these knives are 50% utility, 50% novelty. My really serious survival knife is a custom Gil Hibben hollow handle Tanto, it's stronger than some of my full tang knives ;)
 
Believe it or not, Microtech just started making a small hollow handle knife, currently they are sold out. They have blades hand ground by Tony M. himself and are similar to the CR one piece line, Chris gave Tony permission to use his basic design I've been told, but they're also a little different, with decidedly Microtech blade grinds.

However, if I were looking for a tough, do anything HH knife, it would be the CRK Nokonka in 3V.

product_image.php
 
I have avoided hollow handle knives for all the usual reasons, although I have a custom Fehrman with removable scales. That doesn't do it for me.
But the Chris reeve 1 pieces look exceptionally solid. It does make sense to have a place to put some essentials like matches for emergency situations. For example, if you are doing whitewater and you get dumped down the rapids, especially in a cold river, one of the first things you'll need to do is make a fire to warm up, if you can. There are many other situations like that. Having some gear in the handle is convenient. I can think of at least one situation where it would have come in very handy.

I like the aviator, but I would prefer S30V to A2.
 
Megalobyte, are those knives in your pic the microtech ones, and if so do you know if they plan to make more and what they are retailing for? They look sweet. BigCountry 73 try the link below for an Esparcia, it's under $100.

http://www.worldknives.com/product.asp?produid=15&manuid=3

For Aitor's I would personally recommend www.cutlerytogo.com. I've done business with them twice and they're great. They also have a large number of the Aitor Hollow Handle knives as well as the Cuchillo de Monte. This one isn't hollow handled, but it does have a sawback which functions pretty well. I have to say that if you can afford one though I'd also suggest a Chris Reeve. Another company you might want to check out is Martin Knives www.martinknives.com. They make a copy of the Randall model 18, but IIRC it's about $50 - 100 dollars cheaper and the wait is only a few weeks instead of a few years.

Lagarto
 
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