Knife for buddy heading to Afghanistan

thedmasterr

thedmasterr

Joined
Oct 13, 2010
Messages
347
My best friend is heading to Afghanistan in two weeks for his first tour.

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That's the bastard on the left. He honestly is the greatest friend and it will suck that he will be gone for an entire year. However, I want to get him a decent knife to take with him to kill some Nazi zombies with. Here are the specs I was thinking:

Fixed:
Sub 7", something that can be batoned.

Folder:
Must be incredibly heavy duty, partially serrated, G10 handles or some incredibly grippy micarta.

Would prefer to keep it $60 or under.

My top contenders are as follows:

Classic Kabar

Cold Steel Recon 1

Cold Steel SRK

ORC Ranger Bush RD6 or RD7

Thoughts and suggestions?
 
In terms of folders, the CS Recon 1 is a beast of a knife, but IMHO a good frame or liner lock would be better since they're more robust than backlocks in the face of dirt and other stuff that the knife will almost certainly be exposed to while he's in the field. ZT, Strider, or Emerson folders would all be great choices in that regard, but unfortunately they're all quite a bit above the price range you're looking at.

Have you considered getting him a Leatherman or other multitool instead of a folder? That plus a good general-purpose fixed blade should have him covered in pretty much any situation.

EDIT: Completely forgot about the Ontario RAT-1 as a folder option until another poster mentioned it below. That gets my vote if you decide to get him a folder.
 
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More on the heavy duty side, less on the Combat side...
( Troops dont really get in hand t hand knife fights often any more)
I would say the BK2. Cant break it, amazingly durable...Performs like a frigging GOD.
And it hits about 60.
 
I considered the BK2, but I'd want to get him new scales for it so it doesn't become slippery in the dirt/dust/ice.
 
neuron said:
Have you considered getting him a Leatherman or other multitool instead of a folder?
Click to expand...

I agree. I work a fair amount with vets, many having come back from the Iraq and Afghanistan. NONE of them wanted a big knife. Geared up, they told me that their total patrol gear hit about 80 - 100 pounds depending on where they were going and how long they would be out. A larger knife was out. A fixed knife was out (although they did see some that carried them) as it took up too much room and was too heavy.

All of them favored smaller folders (say, 3" blades) they could clip within easy reach of their dominate hand. Although they appreciated a good knife, they weren't knife guys and didn't know how to sharpen one well. So they weren't concerned with steel, brand, style, name or anything else besides bottom line utility.

I asked them and they all told me they like a medium folder with a serrated blade to cut strapping, cordage, cloth and open packages. Almost all carried a multitool with their folder.

Not one carried a large knife, not one carried anything that would be considered a zombie killer or other such nonsense. Not one had any ideas of being in knife fight. The place for a fighting knife was taken up by an additional clip of ammo.

Ask your buddy what he wants. Ask other vets.

Godspeed to your friend and I hope he has a safe rotation.

Robert
 
id vote bk2 with filed or rough sanded handles to improve grip, the micarta is already 45 bucks itself..
otherwise the SRK or kabar bowie are solid choices.
i recently picked up a kabar fin fixed blade in tanto and drop point, both are excellent knives with unique handles. they were $28 and $35 respectively so it was hard to pass considering it was a kabar in d2 steel. but the problem would be trying to sharpen d2 overseas if hes not already skilled at it. im planning on hand fitting the handles for a better fit but they are a steal at their amazon prices.
 
He has a multitool that I got him like four years ago. It is a decent leatherman and it will go with him. The knife is for utility, survival in the boonies in the mountains, and for playing with during his downtime.

I suppose a decent folder may be more practical than a big knife. Kabars don't weigh that much though. Any super suggestions for folders? I'm leaning Cold Steel Recon 1 and will probably buy in a couple days unless I can think of something better. Hmmm maybe I'll peruse the exchange for a bit...
 
I say spend a couple more bucks and bag an esee 3 or 4...or even the izula 2 is a great small blade.
 
eccvets said:
clip of ammo? do they use clips anymore in the military?
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I can't always tell when someone is being facetious here... I will take the high road and assume you aren't.

If you are a regular trooper, you will be outfitted with a automatic firing (selectable) Ar15/M16 variant, much like the M4. All of the variants are clip fed 5.56mm. Today's carry systems are infinitely variable, and it is easy enough to mount a pouch (molle compatible) just about anywhere on their gear.

When I posted that, I was thinking of the Master Sergeant that told me he carried a small issued pouch attached to his pack strap that contained two clips for his Barreta (mil issued) pistol that he favored for confined area work. He kept his folder clipped to his pack strap in the horizontal position just over the clip pouch.

He told me that large knives were kept at the base (although not without exception) and used to open crates and boxes, prying, and used for opening cans and gear containers in the field. According to him, most of them used the current Army issue knife for that. He would know; he did two rotations there, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

Robert
 
Gerber LMF2, I wouldn't recommend it as a bushcraft knife, but for a soldier in the field I think it's a good choice. It has the serrations you wanted, insulated grip for cutting electric wire and such, pommel design for hammering and glass breaking, molle compatable sheath. Good all around knife for a soldier or someone in an urban environment.

For a folder a RAT 1 or just the leatherman.
 
For a folder,the Cold Steel voyager would be a sound choice as well.They come in different sizes and feature the bomb proof Triad lock.
 
Hi
ESEE 3 or 4, that is your best choice for a small yet functional fixed blade.
As for a folder, to be honest, when I do my army reserve service, I need nothing more then a multi-tool, Leatherman wave is my current choice, a folder is always nice as a last resort blade, CS have plenty of good ones, but so do Kershaw, if you will go for 8CR13MOV, and a liner lock, you can find plenty of good blades
 
I'm not in the Army, and I know they do things a little different, but if he'll be carrying it in his luggage, it needs to be <6" blade. Customs (Al Udeid) has imposed this limit, some time between '06 and '10.
 
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