is my knife worthy?

M

mounteveriss

Joined
Feb 20, 2003
Messages
49
Dear all,

First of all this is my first post. I have been a viewer for a while but i finally decided to post. Thank you for letting me join such a knowledgeable group. I am a freshman at the Virginia Military Institute, and you guys come highly recommended from the prior service and survivalists here. My question is....I want your opinion if the combination of a Cold steel UWK, a Buck 110 folding hunter, and a Leatherman multitool will be sufficient to tackle the basics for the mountain area of VA? I am talking about camping, hiking, and some activities around the lake. I just dont want to be out camping away and using my UWK when the disaster strikes and my knife breaks or something of that nature. Any advice is welcome advice.

Jonathan
 
Hi Jonathan,

Welcome to BFC & the W&SS forum. The multi-tool & Buck are somewhat classic choices whose use in the field speaks for itself.

The concern I had on the CS UWK is whether the rather pointy tip will hold up, depending on your use of the knife. The UWK is a pretty tactically oriented knife. Do you plan to use it for martial arts work or anticipate a fighting need for this knife? If not and durability is going to be important, you may want to consider a drop point blade or a less pointy clip point blade.

For indestructo drop point mid-size blades on a budget, I recommend Swamp Rat Knives costing about $80-$125. For a clip point blade that should fit a student's budget, what comes to mind are Cold Steel SRK factory seconds or Kabars in the $30 price range or two of the Becker Knife & Tool blades: the new BK10 Crewman 5.5" blade with MSRP of $66 (expect lower web prices) and the BK7 Combat/Utility-7 about $50 with its 7" blade. However, none of these are made of stainless steel, as is the CS UWK. So if corrosion resistance is a big deal in your plans for the knife, the CS has the advantage in that respect.

Becker BK10 info: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=241731
Swamp Rat Knives: http://www.swampratknives.com/

HTH, -- Greg --
 
You're going to get a lot of advice on what knife you should look into, but I'm going to tell you that the UWK, and the other 420 steel knives are good for being in and around salt water, but are seriously outclassed compared to your other options. 440 steel is also good around salt water, but requires more care than 420 and would be a good compromise. Aus series steels are similar to 440 in performance and rust resistance so you can take a look at those as well. If you're stomping around the mountains, I would suggest you take along a small axe or tomahawk as well.

You will also find that there are a few members who venture out into the virginia mountains on occasion. Mtnbkr is one of them. He's a nice guy and would probably know a lot about them virginia woods. He might even tell ya if you ask nicely.
 
Thanks for the advice fellas. I have been looking at the Swamp Rat knives and at the Marble's Fieldcraft. I have also been toying with the idea of upgrading to a better CS, such as a SRK. However right now my funds are limited and so I am hoping that I can make do with what I listed in the orginal post, until I acrue a little more cash.

Thanks again,
Jonathan
 
Keep them sharp, and your knives will serve you well...while there are better knives to be had, you have enough to do the job as it is....
 
a few year ago i hunted in south africa, i had a chance to interact with some bushman for about 10 days, if you saw the P.O.S. (piece of s@#t) knives thay used and saw what they were able to accomplish with them and the bushman axe you would not worry about what you have. i was amazed ath their skill with theior minimal tools, and their tracking abilities are unbelievable,just incredible skills. and a small amount of equipment that they had, the head man carried a small revolver looking knife in a type of holster sheath, you would not be caught dead with this knife. he also carried a bushman axe, wow could they make their tools work. start fires, make bows and arrows, just great. so i would reccomend a slicing knife and a chopper/ axe/tommahawk. and you will be able to get along just fine.

alex
 
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Originally posted by mounteveriss
I have also been toying with the idea of upgrading to a better CS, such as a SRK. However right now my funds are limited...
--------------------------------

Jonathan, I appreciate the limitations of a student budget. I remember that all too well. ;) :rolleyes: That's why I specified the Cold Steel SRK factory seconds at about $30, as opposed to the SRK's that passed QC and are being sold in the $65 range. With the seconds you get the functionality of the SRK and a budget price. ;) IMHO the SRK factory seconds represent one of the most unbeatable "bang for the buck" deals in the mid-size knife market these days.

If you get a chance to handle a SRK before buying, be sure to do so. Some folks (me included) do NOT like their handles. YMMV so check them out. Handles are a major portion of a knife's ergonomics. And ergonomics are a huge part of how we feel about using (or avoiding using) a given knife.

To order the SRK seconds, I believe they are listed in the CS Special Projects catalog which you can order from CS. You could also try calling the Cold Steel 1-800 order line and asking about buying a SRK second. FWIW, the reason the seconds didn't pass QC is usually something cosmetic, not something that is going to affect the functionality of the knife.

Best of luck with the search for a knife to meet your needs,
-- Greg --
 
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