- Joined
- Feb 7, 2005
- Messages
- 1,086
I would not consider myself a survival expert at all. Can I survive in most conditions? Yes. Have I been in survival situations before? Yes, in both friendly and hostile environments.
Here's my $.02:
I'll start by saying, I'm not a traditional style knife fanatic like some are, which is fine because it's a personal preference concerning usability and aesthetics. So, I'm not going to hammer you because it doesn't look like a leuku or Bark River varient.
Overall, the knife is way to large/heavy for me to carry anywhere, that includes the woods, or a hostile environment. It's just too big for me. I personally like a 4"-6" blade, preferably thinner than 1/4", but not much; depending on the knife, 1/4" is acceptable also.
Saw teeth, while I have never used them on a knife, do not seem that usable. Like I said, I've never used them, so I could be wrong. I would rather have a nice flat part on the spine that can be used to scrape up tender, and can be batonned.
For a survival knife, I would keep the Japanese influence, but change the blade shape entirely to more of a traditional tanto shape. That would give it a nice sharp tip, with enough of a curve into the belly to be usefull.
To me, the grind of the blade should be symmetrical, chop and slice good, and easily sharpened in the field.
The guard doesn't need to be so big. I can not imagine myself doing a lot of stabbing in most survival situations. In fact, I would be doing more chopping, and draw cutting. Don't totally leave the guard out, though. Add enough to protect the hand in forward thrusting/cutting motions.
The handle should be strong and comfortable in a variety of cutting motions, and made of a durable material. Personally, I like to be able to remove handle scales; but, not everyone cares about that.
The pommel should be shaped so that is holds the hand during draw cutting and hammering, and should be strong enough to hammer with.
There should be a lanyard hole big enough to run at least 550 cord through.
The sheath should be sturdy, able to withstand the elements for a reasonable amount of time, have drainage holes, and have a sturdy retention system. I also like to be able to carry the sheath in different ways, and be able to tie the sheath down in different ways, so lanyard holes are nice.
Ok, that's my constructive criticism, coming from a knife consumer, and someone who has a small amount of survival experience and skill.
I think some of your other knives would be better suited for survival/bushcraft. I like the Rambo golok, with a convex grind, rounded off corners, and handle slabs with a palm swell. I also like the Stinger knife, and the Baby Hornet.
Here's my $.02:
I'll start by saying, I'm not a traditional style knife fanatic like some are, which is fine because it's a personal preference concerning usability and aesthetics. So, I'm not going to hammer you because it doesn't look like a leuku or Bark River varient.
Overall, the knife is way to large/heavy for me to carry anywhere, that includes the woods, or a hostile environment. It's just too big for me. I personally like a 4"-6" blade, preferably thinner than 1/4", but not much; depending on the knife, 1/4" is acceptable also.
Saw teeth, while I have never used them on a knife, do not seem that usable. Like I said, I've never used them, so I could be wrong. I would rather have a nice flat part on the spine that can be used to scrape up tender, and can be batonned.
For a survival knife, I would keep the Japanese influence, but change the blade shape entirely to more of a traditional tanto shape. That would give it a nice sharp tip, with enough of a curve into the belly to be usefull.
To me, the grind of the blade should be symmetrical, chop and slice good, and easily sharpened in the field.
The guard doesn't need to be so big. I can not imagine myself doing a lot of stabbing in most survival situations. In fact, I would be doing more chopping, and draw cutting. Don't totally leave the guard out, though. Add enough to protect the hand in forward thrusting/cutting motions.
The handle should be strong and comfortable in a variety of cutting motions, and made of a durable material. Personally, I like to be able to remove handle scales; but, not everyone cares about that.
The pommel should be shaped so that is holds the hand during draw cutting and hammering, and should be strong enough to hammer with.
There should be a lanyard hole big enough to run at least 550 cord through.
The sheath should be sturdy, able to withstand the elements for a reasonable amount of time, have drainage holes, and have a sturdy retention system. I also like to be able to carry the sheath in different ways, and be able to tie the sheath down in different ways, so lanyard holes are nice.
Ok, that's my constructive criticism, coming from a knife consumer, and someone who has a small amount of survival experience and skill.
I think some of your other knives would be better suited for survival/bushcraft. I like the Rambo golok, with a convex grind, rounded off corners, and handle slabs with a palm swell. I also like the Stinger knife, and the Baby Hornet.
