in praise of military & tactical knives for the woods

B

Bushman5

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Oct 31, 2007
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The Trads & Bushcrafters might choke on their beers when they see this..... ;) :D

I've always liked military & tactical styled knives for civvie woods use. My SOG Tech Bowie, Gov-Tac, Seal Pup Elite, and my Emerson PUK and similar have never let me down. Tough, easily sharpened, aggressive styling all get a "Bushman5 :thumbup:"

I see a few people here in WS&S with military blades: 6shooter with his Gerber LMF, Mistwalker with his SOG Seal Team (and i do believe a SOG Team Leader Survivor) and numerous others.....

simply put, military knives like the ones above make fine shavings like a "bushcrafter" knife, they split wood like a "bushcrafter" knife, they do everything a "bushcraft" knife does, and have a great aggressive military styling.

YMMV as to knife design, but dont rule out these blades. :thumbup::cool:

Mistwalkers:
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my SOG Tech Bowie
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Emerson PUK
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SOG GOV-TAC


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Love my SOG Tech also. Even had the Super Bowie do some tree trimming this spring before I upgraded to a bigger chopper.

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Good observation. I like to haul tactical/military knives out in the woods periodically because otherwise they wouldn't get enough use. I can't carry a concealed fixed blade in the PRK and open carry might panic the local urban trail hikers. When I depart LA I may be able to put a little more mileage on them.

DancesWithKnives
 
I think the point to be stressed here is a knife works like a knife. We put too much stress on what we can and can't use in the bush. This is because we have an obsession. We like knives for the reason they are such a simple and basic tool, with so many drastic variations for different tasks. We get caught up in that we must use the right knife for its intended purpose with no variation. A well made military knife should certainly be just as functional in the woods. I haven't seen you using your Kabar, or an m9 often. The Emerson PUK which much of your military knife experience is with has many similarity to a bush crafting knife. strip off the black coating, add wooden handles you and wouldn't know the difference. It's mostly just cosmetically different. Throw one of your favorites, a bk7 into the bunch here too. A military knife similar to bush craft knives.

Many military knives would just be utterly useless. Then again so are half the "Bushcrafters". Don't get caught up on labels.
 
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I really like the look of the military knives too ! :)
But I find most of them have too thick grind for easy cutting and whitling.
Then again,my most udes woods knife is the M95 Sissipuukko,which is a combat knife used by some of the Finish troops.But it has a nice full flat ground blade,which makes cutting easy.
Many folks like the RAT and Becker knives too - and they seem quite military to me :)
 
You gotta use whatever works for you...

I really Like that Emerson PUK

How's it cut like??
 
The only thing is here in jersey. You can't have a military combat knife on your person without getting to trouble with the man. That doesn't really stop me in using them when we are at a camp sites though. I guess I really depends on the places you are at, at the time. And if the Officer want to push the issue. IMO, a knife is a knife.
 
eh who cares.....Use what ya like. I hate labels. "survivalist" "Trads" "bushcrafters", all human beings who enjoy being outside, and practicing skills, observing nature, and just escaping for a bit.....

Military knives are KNIVES. A piece of metal with a sharp edge. No doubt some cut better then others. All hand shapes and personal tastes are differant. I like the looks of a military knife, but also can appriciate an old hickory skinning knife. My big thing is supporting the "local" makers and the soul that goes into each blade. They are about the same price, and feel alot more personal....Thats just my preferance. Most of my blades have a Military, utilitarian look to them, but are generally smaller in blade length, thickness, and overall size. Best of both worlds I guess.

Its like boots. Military, cowboy, Hikers, motorcycle, etc....differant tastes for differant folks. All performing the same task generally speaking. Its not a fashion show out there...

If you got skills you can make anything work. Some people use their gear as a crutch IMO.....
 
Yep, I'd say RAT's, Beckers and Fallkniven get their fair share of play here and they are military designed. RAT claims that is the majority of their business model - military/rescue/LEOs.

I do have a penchant for micarta. Hate the rubber stuff that cold steel uses. Don't like swedges too much. Prefer plain edges to serrated, although serrated have their utility on some things. Don't like guards that much. Coatings are not my preference, but I have enough coated knives that I recognize the utility of corrosion protection. I think a coating on stainless is silly.
 
It would make sense that military knives would be good in the woods, because that's what they're for.
 
Military knives and "tactical" knives often get a bad reputation from many of the purists...and rightly so considering the marketing strategies I've seen. I own my share, but I don't have any of the quadruple-layered, surgical stainless, charcoal blackened blades with alligator teeth serrations and double edged including a skull cracking pommel :D

A knife is a knife, but there are some differences. Most military blades tend to have larger guards and more grippy-grips and yes, they tend to be thicker. SOG has done a great job at marrying their combat blades with the functionality of a large woods blade…the bowie design is quite versatile. I need to find my camera cord, but of the less utilitarian tactical/combat blades I have:

Buck Buckmaster (I gave it to my son and it’s his cool, knock-around blade)
Buck M9 Bayonet
Strider, short tanto model…thick as a pry bar!

Other than being a tad thick, and with a re-profiled convex blade, they would probably perform much better:

Busse Steel Heart II (older A2 steel)
Becker (BK Crewman, BK7, BK9)
Ontario/RAT series (some of them are thinner and excellent utility knives)
My Randall #15 (love that blade)
My Mad Dog PATAK…excellent profile even if a little thick (it’s my EDC for work)
Blackjack #5…actually a great blade and comfortable round leather-washer handle
Mission MPK10 and 12 (5” and 7” models) with the A2 tool steel are very under-rated in my opinion
Cold Steel and TOPS both make functional knives, but they do tend to be quite thick

My most interesting outdoors blade that is very tactical/fight-knife looking is my Bark River Evolution-1. It’s also a very effective blade and the convex grind will make fuzz sticks with the best of them!

Not all are perfect bushcrafting blades, and can even do some of tasks quite well with practiced techniques, but they sure do look cool:D

ROCK6
 
Good points.

In was thinking about this the other day.
B.BF. (Before Bladeforums), I had a Buck 110 on me at all times, and carried a Ka-Bar USMC (later replaced by an Ontario RAT-7) and an Estwing hatchet in the woods. The Ka-Bar (RAT) getting the lion's share of the workout. It wasn't until I came here, that I learned that only traditional styled knives cut wood, and I "needed" a "bushcrafter".

After reading Pitdog's first use of his Tracker, I started thinking "Well, if that POS can (with a proper grind) actually work, what other knives also work?"
Answer: pretty much all of them.

My first one I tried and am quite happy with its performance in woods tasks was my Busse Hellrazor -- nothing if not a military/fighting style blade:
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Another not generally thought of as a woods blade is my HI Kerambit, which has turned out to be quite a good utility knife:
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So, my general knife advise now is: Buy what you like, and learn to use it. Don't listen to what people tell you it can't do.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
My first one I tried and am quite happy with its performance in woods tasks was my Busse Hellrazor -- nothing if not a military/fighting style blade:
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Click to expand...

I use my Kabar a lot.
Also have a BK9 that used to get used quite a bit.
Would love someday to get a HellRaiser. For some reason, that knife
just speaks to me. I have a buddy who has one, and I love the way it
feels in my hand.

Cheers
 
My fave things to take into the bush are military variants...mostly beckers which i consider to be along the tactical lines.
 
theedge13 said:
My fave things to take into the bush are military variants...mostly beckers which i consider to be along the tactical lines.
Click to expand...

Like I mentioned, I have a BK9, and my brother has a Brute. We've been taking them "camping" for years and they haven't let us down yet.
For some reason, the BK9 when you take the coating off of it, reminds me of a short Roman sword
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Lately I've been getting into Goloks a bit, but I still take my Kabar ARMY as a backup blade.
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d_filgate said:
Like I mentioned, I have a BK9, and my brother has a Brute. We've been taking them "camping" for years and they haven't let us down yet.
For some reason, the BK9 when you take the coating off of it, reminds me of a short Roman sword
IMG_0975-1.jpg
Click to expand...

It really does look like a short sword...bad ass! :thumbup:

cant wait for my Heavy Bowie...would like a BK9 but the heavy bowie should work out too!
 
theedge13 said:
It really does look like a short sword...bad ass! :thumbup:

cant wait for my Heavy Bowie...would like a BK9 but the heavy bowie should work out too!
Click to expand...

Earlier this year, a friend came to me and asked me to recommend a good
starter knife for his son. The boy wanted something big that he could use
for chopping, but didn't have Busse type money to spend. I picked up a
Heavy Bowie for the boy. It's a great knife for the money in my opinion.

The boy loves it and has taken it on a couple of camping trips and a hunting
trip so far.
 
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