Knife for Iraq

Get a good multitool with a knife blade, like a Victorinox Swiss Tool. You'll be using that for a lot of things. And then get a fixed blade that you can beat on - anything from Fällkniven S1 or A1 to Ranger Knives RD6 or RD7, or even a Busse Badger Attack if you can find one quickly enough. Remember to get good sheaths that work for you and give quick deployment for the blade.
 
Bkultra said:
That is not a scientific test by any means, its should only be viewed for entertainment purposes. Only the knifes toughness is being tested and none of the other factors that make a great knife are even being looked at.

Careful you are sounding like a fanboy your self, comparing Cold Steel to a Strider (ya like there is no bad blood between those two).

I do collect many high end knives and Strider is included in that. I also had a few CS knives when I first started collecting knives (we all have to start with the lower cost knives). The difference is I would not buy another CS and continue to buy Striders. Don't get me wrong CS's low cost knives have a niche, but claiming they are equal to a Strider is far off base. Its bad enough that CS rips off others designs but the fact they make their buyers believe they are equal quality to the original through a unique marketing style :rolleyes:.
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I am going by what noss said, he did the same test on the cold steel as he did on the Strider, i didnt make a claim without evidence supporting my statement unlike the fanboy, so dont lecture me if u didnt bother watching the video i posted, they may not be scientific but they sure as hell are consistent which works for me and others on here
 
dpimpc said:
How is stating facts being a fanboy? Justin (Ranger Knives) makes fantastic blades at a much lower price to anything that could be called comparable in quality by Cold STEAL.

My best friend is deploying Nov. 26 for his train up and leaves December 3rd and wont be back until January 09'. He has a Ranger RD9 that I bought for him and couldn't be more pleased with it. I highly endorse Ranger Knives, great quality, design, affordable, and made by a great guy to boot. Hard to beat the way I see it.

Thanks for your service and all the best in your search.
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its fanboyism because he, like you, cant over look his bias against the company and acknowledge a good knife when he sees one. Basically your claims are nulled when you make statement like Cold STEAL, shows a bias and your opinions and experience are looked at with suspicion and mistrust. See where im coming from? Objectivity is key when you recommend a knife/brand. Bare Rib did an excellent post he likes Ranger knives and showed why, objectively.
 
I am not saying the Carbon V blades are bad. They were made from ball bearing steel 52100 similar to SR101 IRC. This was a high Carbon steel. The fact is that you give him advice to buy a Cold steel knife NOW. This means it will come in AUS8 steel, and AUS8 steel is a "stainless" steel. Stainless steel is not very suited for fixed blades over 4 inch, and they don't perform well in lateral stress due to it's larger carbides.
You are comparing apples with pears. It might look the same knife, but it will not perform the same in SHTF situations.
It's not because you like a Busse in INFI steel that you like the knife if they made it out of 420 J, or that it would perform the same.
AUS8 is IMHO not a good steel for a large fixed blade. I don't like CS knives because LT is know to blatantly copy other peoples designs. If someone thinks it is acceptable to copy a well known patented feature and use it in his own knives, you could ask yourself if he doesn't applies the same principles in his knives?
Why would he have different moral values for his customers and his fellow knifemakers?
If he tries to cut corners financially by copying other makers why would he not cut corners on production techniques or QC?
 
I never told him to buy a cold steel i was simply counter-acting what you had said about cold steel being bad(because of your bias as you clearly indicated above about not liking LT, thus your convictions against it are unwarranted, thus unproductive to the conversation in giving advice to the Hero), so i showed him a video of one of their cheapest knives besting a knife that was 20 times or so more expensive than it. so lets stick to the advice
 
My dear friend i have been collecting and using knives for more then 20 years (yes exactly the same as your age) . I have used them in my line of duty as a high risk intervention LEO. And i started with Cold Steel too, but found out from my own experience and from what i have learned during those years that Cold Steel knives are portrayed as the toughest, best knives on the planet, but that it is just not the truth.
You might call it biased, but it's MY conclusion from years of using and collecting knives.
 
fdd19 said:
Bare Rib did an excellent post he likes Ranger knives and showed why, objectively.
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fdd19

Thank you for the complement.

Fact of the matter is I'm not what I would call a Ranger knives fan. I did what I think most should do when asked for advice on a knife purchase. I put my personal preferances aside listened to what they said they needed and think about what will preform for them the best. I do this by drawing upon my knowledge, experiance, & by listening to others knowledge and experiance, and then make my recomendation.

I think that everyone should remember that just because you like a knife, and it works well for you doesn't mean that it'll work well for everyone and everything.

If a that was the case there would only be 1 type of user knife. It would only come in one blade style, with a set size, and would use only one kind of steel and one type of handle material. There is a reason there are: scapels, choppers, and everything in between.

Cheers
 
fdd19 said:
I am going by what noss said, he did the same test on the cold steel as he did on the Strider, i didnt make a claim without evidence supporting my statement unlike the fanboy, so dont lecture me if u didnt bother watching the video i posted, they may not be scientific but they sure as hell are consistent which works for me and others on here
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Quote: Mike Stewart

Do you want to see a knife that can be the hands down winner of that crap?

Here is all you need to do.

Look at the things he does.

You take a bar of spring steel--Heat treat it and temper it--like a stiff spring--Not a knife.

That would be about 38-40 RC.

Grind and sharpen it to a heavy but sharp edge.

Attach a Micarta or G-10 handle with Epoxy and Corby-Bolts so it can't come off.

Leave the handle Scales shorter than the Butt end of your Spring Knife.

You then slice some apples with it.

It will do that Fine.

Then Cut some cardboard with it.

It will do that Fine.

Then Baton it through some Wood--In Fact--A Wood Maul is about 40rc.

It will do a Great Job.

Then bang it through some Sheet metal--it is softer than a knife so it will go right through with no problem--You may turn the point a little but you won't break the point off.

Then Chuck it up in a Vise and Slam it all you want with a Sledge--as many times as you want--it will not Break because it is soft.

Then Beat it through some mild steel--it will dent but it is harder than the mild steel so it will go through.

Then Bang it through a Folding Chair--it is harder then the Metal of the chair but softer than a knife so it will take the chair apart.

Then get some concrete Blocks--Beat Away

You might dent the edge but it won't Chip or Break the thing--it is tempered exactly right for breaking up concrete.

There--that is the winner of the Great Test.

You have just proved that a Spring Steel thing that is Shaped like a knife is Better than any knife on the market.

Right?

That is the Conclusion that young folks and folks that are not experienced with knives will draw.

It is all wrong but who cares--it was Entertaining--Right?

The whole thing has nothing to do with Testing knives--it is just a Test of Who makes the Toughest(Softest) thing out of metal.

I'm sure it will be helpful in choosing your next bushcraft or hunting knife.

EDIT: The only thing this test proves is the Cold Steel knives are made from a softer steel (If you consider that a good thing)
 
Forgot to mention Bark River's knives...his Bravo-1 is another great example of a hard use, compact user's knife.

I too started with Cold Steel knives, and my SRK is still a great knife, but for the price and quality, you can do better. I think their folders are decent cutters despite the mediocre steel.

ROCK6
 
Bkultra said:
Quote: Mike Stewart

Do you want to see a knife that can be the hands down winner of that crap?

Here is all you need to do.

Look at the things he does. [...]
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I like that. :D

Continuing to follow Mike Stewart's philosophy, what is the proper way to test a knife? Take it out and use it -- hard -- at the tasks it was designed for and for which you bought it.

If you test two or three knives at bushcraft and only one turns out to be convenient, comfortable, effective, then the others can go back in the box till you need a knife that does what they were designed for.

Testing knives as if they were anvils or prybars or hammers will not tell you if they can skin a deer or slice vegetables or clear brush.

* ****** **** ****** *

How do you test a knife for Iraq?

Find out what you'll be using it for in Iraq and ask people who have been there what worked for them. You will probably get recommendations for knives that could be improved on, being all that was available at the time, but ... they did work.

Everyone else chipping in with what we use and we like and we can afford ... fantasy.
 
Bkultra: Yes The Destruction test tests for strength and toughness. I do not skin deer during a destruction test. Skinning deer is a different type of test.

I have never tested a knife at the was advertised 38-40 RC this is Mike Stewart bending the facts. This is completely false. Just check all the manufacture web sites on the knives I have tested. You will see this is bogus.

The toughest strongest knife I tested is one of the hardest I tested not the softest.
the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 58-60 RC.

There is much more to it then just the RC
 
Holy crap Noss, I can't believe that that scrap yard knife took so much. No one can say you are a quitter, that is for sure. I have had my eye on them for a long time, and judging by that performance they are well worth the money. I was especially impressed with how much that res-c handle took.
Do you know what type of steel that Scrapper was (I think they use different steel, what ever is available as scraps from Busse- which uses great steel).
Keep it up.
I can't wait for the Busse Battle Mistress test.

As to the original post, for what fixed blade to take to the Desert, enough good advice has been given on that.
I can say that for the money, the GI Tanto is unbelievable. You would want to get another aftermarket sheath if you decide to go that route (even with the new sheath, you are still out only like 50 bucks). A Recon Scout from cold steel will work for you also, I have the larger trailmaster and like it.

Scrapyard would be a great bet. I would have recommended them before seeing the destruction test video, but the though part is finding one before you have to deploy. There is a scrap yard scrapper on Ebay right now the price is at 78$. search Busse and it comes up.
 
Hey man, good luck over there. I was in the Army 5th battalion 10th infantry during the Gulf war in 90 and 91 and before we left from Ft. Hood we were issued a Pilot Survival knife made with 1095 steel. I still have mine and it served me very well over there. Doesnt the military still issue knives to the soldiers? You should not have to buy one at all. My advise is to take a good multitool. You will use it more than anything else and belive me you will have enough gear on you that you dont want to take much extra. Youll be wanting to shed what you have off. But dont, it will save your life. Good luck and God bless.
 
Bigfattyt: The steel is SR-77 a modified S7 tool steel. Very tough very strong. The Stuff just does not quit.

To the original poster Be safe over there and thanks for fighting for our country.
freedom is not free.

I would recommend a Scraper 6 as well in a fixed blade if you can get one in time. And a good multi tool as well.
 
I've never been to the desert but I have been to Bosnia, Macedonia, and dozens of field exercises. A small folder and a multi-tool should get you through your daily tasks without weighing you down or drawing attention from the brass. Get something good but inexpensive because it will likely get lost, stolen, confiscated, or run over by a tracked vehicle. Good luck and stay safe.
 
noss4 said:
The toughest strongest knife I tested is one of the hardest I tested not the softest.
the Scrapyard Scrapper 6 58-60 RC.

There is much more to it then just the RC
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I agree there is more to a knife then the RC, just like there is more to a knife then toughness. The knife that you say tested the best used modified S7 tool steel.... Sure this is a great chopping steel (Hell I have a hatchet made from it), but would I want this steel in anything but a heavy chopper... Nope. Why you ask? Every steel has its pros and cons, and each will excel or fail at given tasks. S7 for example has very low wear resistance, see here http://www.crucibleservice.com/datash/dsS7v6.pdf. This is why I think your tests lack a lot when it comes to rating a blade, they focus on one and only one aspect of knives.

I also find it hard to believe that a single knife was BOTH the strongest and the toughest. The knifemaker will be making a tradeoff of strength versus toughness. Generally speaking, within the hardness range that the steel performs well at, as hardness increases, strength also increases, but toughness decreases. This is not always strictly true, but as a rule of thumb is generally accurate. In addition, it is possible for different heat treat formulas to leave the steel at the same hardness, but with properties such as toughness, wear resistance, and stain resistance significantly differing.

noss4 said:
I have never tested a knife at the was advertised 38-40 RC this is Mike Stewart bending the facts. This is completely false. Just check all the manufacture web sites on the knives I have tested. You will see this is bogus.
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He never stated that one of the knives you tested had this RC, only that if one was to make a knife with these stats it would excel at your "test".
 
Bkultra: Of course there is more to a knife then strength and toughness Maybe this is why I have chopping tests and outdoor tests and I'm working on adding very accurate cutting tests. Go to mt site and see the other tests besides the Destruction tests.

About my ratings: See this page on my site it is self explanatory if you can't comprehend this then I can't help you.
http://knifetests.com/Aboutratings.html

This thread is not about my tests so I'm going to leave it here.

To the op the CS GI tanto would also be a good one for you as Bigfattyt already recommended and gave examples of.

Be safe
 
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