Knife recommendation for jungle

A

Anthroman

Joined
Sep 6, 2002
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120
Hello all,
I'm going to bolivia this year to stay for about a year in the rural jungle/rainforest area. I have a swiss army knife I am taking with me but I would also like to take a fixed bladed about 4'' in length. I was wondering if anyone would have any recommendations. The area I am working is along a river so there will be a fair amount of water travel involved and hiking about. Thank you.
Anthroman
 
Take a bunch of knives... one inexpensive choice is the swedish army utility knife that's sturdy, stainless and sharp. At under $10 USdollars, you can bring half a dozen. If you're in a jungle area, you're gonna need something more than 4 incher. You're going to need a machete and/or an axe as well.
 
Dozier D2 with thermal-molded sheath is a great classic knife and the sheath will take anything the jungle has to offer.

Or the Camillus talon (3.75 inches) with the Tek-Lok thermal-molded sheath, which can be attached to anything. The Talonite blade won't rust and holds a good edge and is easy to resharpen.
 
We have machete's down there already and the area I am working in is fairly cleared away, I'm just looking for something a little smaller to carry around with me.
 
Anthroman,
have you ever been in the jungle before? how rustic is your living arrangements going to be?

I ask this because one can live in a totally modern building in the middle of the jungle, or, one might have to live in a stilt hut with only the bare basics. Appropriate tools, are therefore, going to be different.
 
MelancholyMutt,
I have been there before. It is going to be in a hut, with a gas stove, no electricity. Pretty much down to the basics beyond that. Whatever I bring is pretty much what I'll have. The only thing I'll be able to trade locally for is food.
--Anthroman
 
You're a brave man to be able to do this for a year... I'd take a few knives and a very good set of diamond sharpening stones. The thing about knives is that even the very best of them break, and while many knifemakers have replacement warranties, it won't help you if you're far and away.

Also, lots of antibiotics and antibiotic cream... little scratches always get infected in the jungle... always.

Gee, if I had to spend a month in the jungle, I'd have to bring the contents of a full shipping container...
 
In addition to knives and tools, put some money in an off-shore account to bargin with when the drug cartels capture you. :D
 
If it were me, I would take the following:

1. A Spyderco Sharpmaker - An easy way to keep your blades sharp
2. DMT folding diamond hones - Coarse and fine
3. SAK with a bunch of tools
4. Gerber Multitool
5. Ontario Machete - Inexpensive and good quality
6. Spyderco Military - To carry around daily
7. Spyderco Endura - Backup Folder
8. Spyderco Temperance - Medium sized fixed blade
9. Cold Steel Trail Master in Carbon V or a Swamp Rat Howling Rat - Good all around large blades.
 
Anthroman, I've never been down there and can't even imagine what your life will be like for the next year but I wish you good luck.

If it was myself going that far away, I think I'd bring a few good knives that didn't cost a lot that could be left behind or possibly traded if needed.

You already have a SAK so here's a list of what I think are good but cheap knives...

Folders...

Opinel No. 8 in either carbon or stainless steel...approx. $8.00. simple folding knife that's sharp like a razor and very light weight but with a nice size handle.

Buck 110 folder...$30.00 at most department stores including Walmart. It comes with a belt sheath and is almost as tough as a fixed blade.

Fixed blades...

Swedish Mora knives or the Swedish Army Knife..."SWAK"...under $10.00. light weight and razor sharp.

Mora 2000...$30 from Ragweed Forge. It's just as good as a regular Mora knife only tougher and a little uglier.

http://www.ragweedforge.com/2000.jpg

As far as other 4" fixed blades, none will cut as well as the Mora knives but if you must have a 'tougher" fixed blade then I'd suggest something from Buck or Schrade. Both offer good stainless fixed blades for under $50 and are available at most sporting goods stores.

There are a lot of other knives that can be considered but they are going to cost more and frankly, they will perform only marginally better than the knives I mentioned above.

Good luck,

Collecter
 
What lights do you have?

I'd recommend you take an Opalec Newbeam modded mini-mag. 10 hours of regulated light.
The Underwater Kinetics UK4aa ELed is another light that runs for over 10 hours, giving regulated light. Bigger but brighter than the Opalec..
 
here are the knives I would bring:

- machete (sharpened up real good) - anywhere from 10-14inches. A good traditional hand forged parang (see valiantco survival golok or parang borneo) will outchop any of those stamped steel sugar cane machetes. however, it'll rust like hell, but heck, the tree limbs aren't going to complain. I would try and "oxidise" it with lime juice first so that it develops a patina before using it for the first time. bring a file or medium-coarse sharpening stone/puck to touch up the edge from time to time. diamond sticks and 4x1 DMT diamond stones will take too much time. Sandpaper works really well (fold a shirt over wooden planks as the base).

- STAINLESS STEEL knives (cos the humidity and moisture will just rust everything away) - cheap ones are best. I used the Spyderco Endura VG10 to great effect my last few trips into the jungle. I think D2 will not survive high humidity, warmth and constant moisture as well as S30V or VG10 or 440C.

- I would also bring a cheap stainless steel kitchen knife (say the Victorinox paring knife / 5 inch chef's knife, plastic handles) for food preparation. This will also be the knife everyone will abuse in camp.

- lastly, an SAK - the scissors, saw, file, tweezers (what a lifesaver) are particularly useful. Also, my SAKs seldom rust in the jungle.

well....that'll be me anyways (I live in the tropics). My very last trip in the jungle tho' - I just carried a cheap forged machete (10 inch), a sharpening stone used by rubber tappers, my SAK and my buck mayo. I realised that S30V on my buck mayo lost its edge very quickly (for that matter any steel) when I used the bottom of the mess tin as a chopping board :mad:

oh...bring some cheap stainless steel knives (opinel or SAK) to trade with the locals or as gifts.
 
I carried an Ontario Pilot Survival Knife for two years in the jungle. I had a bit of a problem with rust, so it required a daily oiling. The leather sheath held up fine. Other than that, I'd have to go with Collectors' suggestion of the Mora knife. This type of knife has ben recommended by Ray Mears (British survival expert and author of Bushcraft). Either one would be an inexpensive purchase too. :)
 
Don't forget to bring some oil to keep the rust at bay on whatever knives you bring with you.

My suggestion for a 4 inch knife would be take two 5 inch CS SRK's. They'll rust pretty quicklywhen being used hard, bring the oil.

Pretty indestructable baldes, short enogh money to buy a few for 100.00.

Good luck in the deepest darkest. My brother spent a year in Guianna [ spelling? ] 12 miles up river from the nearest civilization by boat for just over a year. Slept on the ground in a tent. Minimalist attitude when he left for parts unknown but he took those two SRK's I sent him before he left.

When I next heard from him upon his return to the states, he mentioned the SRK's and was happy he had taken them along. They dug, scraped, cut, poked, etc and held up well. The kraton handles were pretty beat up and starting to get loose but they lasted his tour to dark territory.

Brownie
 
Well, I've never been to any jungle (except here in the Carolinas), but I hear that it rains ALOT--and everthing you own will eventually get wet and probably stay that way.

You already have the Swiss Army Knife and the machetes.

So I would recommend:
A Spyderco Temperance for your fixed-blade knife and a Spyderco Salt for a small handy one-hander folder.

The Salt is supposedly rust-proof and is about the same size as the Delica.

Happy hunting and good luck,
Allen.
 
The 2 knives to get are a Spyderco Salt 1, and a Benchmade 100SH20 as both are VERY rust-resistant.
 
If you already have a machete I would bring...

· Frost Mora - for abuse and they are very inexpensive and do well. Maybe buy a couple and leave some at camp.
· Neck Knife - perhaps a Simonich Crowfoot in S30V. Great performer and decent corrosion resistance.
· Multitool - Leatherman Wave
· Diamond Sharpener – maybe one of those DMT sharpeners that fold.
· Marine Tuf Cloth
 
I would use whatever the native population uses. However, bringing some stainless steel knives to trade would be a good idea. If you want a nice knife a Swamprat or a Ka Bar would be really great. Granted that they are carbon and will rust. However it is a nice thing to be able to sharpen your knife on a smooth sand stone if you lost your diamond hone.
 
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