Knife question

M

mlu359

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Hi all. I am having a tough time deciding which knife to buy. I will only buy one of the following two knives so please dont list a long list of other knives cause i have my heart set on one of these. Particularly because of the blade thickness as the knife will be used for splitting wood, hacking down trees and general camping and survival usage. Once i decide on the knife it will be my one and only fixed blade "one knife does it all" knife. Please list why you think i should go with either knife. I am willing to spend $200 on a knife and that is plenty for a great knife. Both knives are below $200 so the price doesnt matter as this will be my one and only fixed blade knife hopefully ( touch wood ) for the rest of my life. That being said, onto the knives.

1.) KA BAR Becker BK2 Campanion.

Blade Length 5 1/2"
Overall Length 10 1/2"
Blade Shape Drop Point
Blade Thickness .25 inches
Blade Steel 1095 cro-van high carbon steel
Grind Flat
Hardness 56-58HRC
Handle Material Grivory
Weight 1.0 lb
Sheath Material Glass Filled Nylon

2.) Rat Cutlery RC-5.

Overall length: 10.88"
Blade length: 5.25"
Blade thickness: .25 inches
Blade width: 1.56"
Steel: 1095 carbon
Handles: canvas micarta
Sheath: Molle cordura with pouch on front for tools, survival kit, etc.
Weight: 1.0 lb

Both look like great knives. The kabar retails for about $65 and the RC-5 for around $155. But as i stated before, spending $200 on a good knife that will last you for the rest of your life is priceless so lets just say that both knives cost the same cause price doesnt matter at all in this scenario.

I like the kabar and ive seen a couple reviews on it on youtube. Looks like a great, extremely touch knife. I actually havent heard 1 bad thing mentioned about it.

I prefer the way the RC-5 looks. The blade designs, the micarta handles, the window breaker on the back of the handle, and of course the life long warranty is great.

But all that aside. Forget about warranty, handles, designs etc. Which blade do you think was made the best. Who makes better knives? Ka Bar or Rat Cutlery?

In your honest opinion, which one of these knives would you choose to carry with you for the rest of your life?

Thanks for taking the time to read my essay. I hope to make my decision from your input.

Bryan
 
From my knowledge they are both good knives, but I have to vote on the Rat, they are highly regarded around here. If you want a good knife to last forever, from what I hear, that would be a knife from Rat Cutlery. RC-5 all the way! :thumbup:
 
Rat would get the vote between those two, but really, you should look at the Knifemakers fixed blade for sale area on Bladeforums. For $150-200 you can get a lot nicer knife and with better blade steel too. At least check 'em out.
 
"one knife does it all"
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No such thing. Limiting your choice to those two knives isn't the best start (not that they aren't both great, I would pick the RC-5 personally). And about your flexibility, you really ought to open yourself up more to the advice and input of the folks here. Welcome to Bladeforums, there is a WORLD of amazing blades out there and cumulative knowledge base here is nearly infinite. Broaden your horizon a bit and give the question more flex. Good luck on your purchase.
 
I had the Bk-2 and I didn't care for it too much.

I don't have the RC 5 but do own a few RAT knives and they are really nice knives.

I'd go for the RC 5
 
Iboschi said:
No such thing. Limiting your choice to those two knives isn't the best start (not that they aren't both great, I would pick the RC-5 personally). And about your flexibility, you really ought to open yourself up more to the advice and input of the folks here. Welcome to Bladeforums, there is a WORLD of amazing blades out there and cumulative knowledge base here is nearly infinite. Broaden your horizon a bit and give the question more flex. Good luck on your purchase.
Click to expand...

Could you maybe point me in the direction of a good choice?
At the moment i am leaning towards the RC-5.
 
I would recommend a full flat ground knife. It's just a better utilitarian grind (for both splitting wood and slicing).

If you're interested in a RAT knife, consider the RC4/RC6. There are a ton of guys who have them and love em. If you have questions, then check out the RAT subforum.

Since bushcraft is the purpose of your purchase, you should consider a Bark River knife. There's a large number of different models and the prices vary. Be warned, they are more expensive than other comparable knives but Bark River offers very strong steels, good ergonomics and a convex grind (a hand-finished grind that makes splitting wood and slicing even better).

Take a look over at Knivesshipfree.com. There's a big selection of Bark River and RAT knives there and the prices are good. :thumbup:
 
Particularly because of the blade thickness as the knife will be used for splitting wood, hacking down trees and general camping and survival usage. Once i decide on the knife it will be my one and only fixed blade "one knife does it all" knife.
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Considering your needs, I would suggest two knives would do the job better than one. For batoning wood, and chopping trees, you might go a bit larger. Something in the 8-10 inch range with a full-flat or convex grind. Then for more delicate tasks, something in the 2-5 inch range (it is all about personal preference really, so you could go the one knife route if you like). However, you'll have more options with two, and there are plenty of good production knives and even some customs that are so affordable that you could buy two knives in your budget. As for the larger knife, you definitely want a 3/16 or thicker knife. I like the RTAK-II, Cold Steel Trail Master, and Ontario Ranger RD-9 for a few. Then for the smaller knife, you could try a Mora, RC-3, 4 or 5, Ranger RD-4, and lots from Bark River Knives. Check out the Wilderness & Survival Skills for a week and see what people are using. So many options, some of which are even custom knives from Makers here. Poke about for a while, you'll possibly find you want more than just two, maybe more than is even reasonable. You can even have custom sheaths made from one of the custom makers here, and piggyback those babies. Best of luck!
 
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For the uses you listed I'd get something bigger. A 5 inch blade can split wood and hack trees, but its not going to preform nearly as well as a larger blade.

I've chopped and battoned a lot of stuff with my BK-9 I would never do with my BK-2. Not because the BK-2 is a bad blade, but it would take sooooo much longer than doing it with my BK-9.
 
mlu359 said:
Hi all. I am having a tough time deciding which knife to buy. I will only buy one of the following two knives so please dont list a long list of other knives cause i have my heart set on one of these. Particularly because of the blade thickness as the knife will be used for splitting wood, hacking down trees and general camping and survival usage. Once i decide on the knife it will be my one and only fixed blade "one knife does it all" knife. Please list why you think i should go with either knife. I am willing to spend $200 on a knife and that is plenty for a great knife. Both knives are below $200 so the price doesnt matter as this will be my one and only fixed blade knife hopefully ( touch wood ) for the rest of my life. That being said, onto the knives.

1.) KA BAR Becker BK2 Campanion.

Blade Length 5 1/2"
Overall Length 10 1/2"
Blade Shape Drop Point
Blade Thickness .25 inches
Blade Steel 1095 cro-van high carbon steel
Grind Flat
Hardness 56-58HRC
Handle Material Grivory
Weight 1.0 lb
Sheath Material Glass Filled Nylon

2.) Rat Cutlery RC-5.

Overall length: 10.88"
Blade length: 5.25"
Blade thickness: .25 inches
Blade width: 1.56"
Steel: 1095 carbon
Handles: canvas micarta
Sheath: Molle cordura with pouch on front for tools, survival kit, etc.
Weight: 1.0 lb

Both look like great knives. The kabar retails for about $65 and the RC-5 for around $155. But as i stated before, spending $200 on a good knife that will last you for the rest of your life is priceless so lets just say that both knives cost the same cause price doesnt matter at all in this scenario.

I like the kabar and ive seen a couple reviews on it on youtube. Looks like a great, extremely touch knife. I actually havent heard 1 bad thing mentioned about it.

I prefer the way the RC-5 looks. The blade designs, the micarta handles, the window breaker on the back of the handle, and of course the life long warranty is great.

But all that aside. Forget about warranty, handles, designs etc. Which blade do you think was made the best. Who makes better knives? Ka Bar or Rat Cutlery?

In your honest opinion, which one of these knives would you choose to carry with you for the rest of your life?

Thanks for taking the time to read my essay. I hope to make my decision from your input.

Bryan
Click to expand...

Think about it! All Gods creatures have brain!
 
mlu359;
Well, it seems most people are pulling you away from the BK2 and RC5, when you specifically stated it was down to these two.

Both of these knives have a great reputation. Don't worry about the BK2 not having micarta scales as you can buy some at http://www.tomarskabars.com/BK-HNDL-INFO.html . I believe they are ~$37 or so. So now your still <$100. You can buy the BK2 at Tomars as well (~$57).

If you have a $200 limit, you could use the rest of the money to buy other camping/hiking items or another knife(s), such as a good SAK (Swiss Army), Multitool or a quality folding knife.

I have the BK2 and love it, but as stated both the BK2 and RC5 are great blades.

Vinny
 
vba said:
If you have a $200 limit, you could use the rest of the money to buy other camping/hiking items or another knife(s), such as a good SAK (Swiss Army), Multitool or a quality folding knife.
Click to expand...

Since you have it narrowed down to these two I would certainly weigh in the price of those micarta scales -they are totally worth it.

I also agree about getting another knife, or more equipment as vba said. A good backpack, flashlight, raincoat, tent/ shelter, and so forth. Since both of those knives you listed are extremely thick, I would consider buying a slimmer knife as well -like a Mora, Swiss army knife, buck 110, or anything along those lines since they perform at many tasks better than "one knife does all" knives.
 
I know for sure the BK-2 is .25" thick...

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I have the BK-2 and it is an impressive chunk of steel. I find the handle very comfortable, it is a tough steel which holds an edge quite well and will handle anything you throw at it. I got it instead of the RC-5 because I wanted to buy other thing too. :p

I say which ever one you choose, you can't lose.
 
Not wishing to sound trite, but I would buy both and put them through some hard use testing. In a survival situation, the best warranty in the world is worth squat when you are holding a broken or badly chipped blade.
 
Hey UpChuck, is that other knife in your pic's a ZT350 or 200-300? I agree, don't have micarta on my BK2 and it feels good to me. I can see if your hands are sweaty or very cold the grips on it may be difficult, this is why I'll eventually get the micarta.

Vinny
 
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