Moine said:
... Sorry for the rant. It's not pointing at you, I'm just kind of fed up to hear people say you have to pay 300+ bucks to get a real serious blade.
Cheers,
David
No, you don't have to pay 300+ bucks to get a serious blade.
The Swedish Army Knife (FB) is a 10 buck serious blade. Serious enough for the Swedish Army, anyway.
One tenth the price of the knife you suggested. Does that make your knife overpriced?
[What? It won't stand up to the abuse you say?
Well, I wouldn't know. I don't abuse my knives. From the lowly SwAK, to my forged bowies...I cut with them. I don't dig holes, chop cinderblocks or pry things apart with them. And when it comes to "what if" scenerios, I'd rather think "what can I do to avoid a what if situation" A smart man said that you shouldn't plan to improvise.]
Then there is pride in ownership. You are obviously proud of your purchase. And if your purchase makes you happy that is good.
Just as I am proud of my 300+ buck forged blades and the $70 Marbles that I won for designing a logo on one of the other forums. And my SwAK makes me happy everytime I use it in the garden and garage. It'll probably come fishing this weekend too.
Let's not down talk other folk's choices though...
One has to keep things in perspective.
So back to the original question.
The KBar has been around for years for good reason. It is a good knife.
I fished, camped and hunted for ages (before the forums
) with a Schrade Sharpfinger and folding bow saw (Svensaw) I never felt like I was lacking. The Sharpfinger never rusted badly...once it had a light dusting of orange on it that came off with WD40 and 000 steel wool. (That was after a day of saltwater fishing, hot sun and too much beer. I didn't wash it with fresh water when I got home.)
If I'm out in the woods this is what I'll take in my pack & pockets.
Queen D2 Canoe Slip Joint, Helle Jegermester 5" 12c7 Stainless and Gransfors Bruks Mini. The 2 knives are around 50 each the mini is up to around 90. All well worth the investment.
If the car is nearby then the bigger stuff comes along, like the axe, hatchet and golok.
At the East Coast Custom Knife show I overheard Bob Dozier talking to a perspective customer. He was explaining his choices in steel, grind and handle materials. At the end he said:
"And after all that, it's just a knife."