riverotter said:
tknife & skammer , if the swamp rat is the same as the busse, why the cost difference?
As noted, different materials give the Swamp Rat blades a cheaper price point = great value "high bang for the buck" knives. They are pretty indestructible under human power and are backed by a "if you break it, we'll replace it" warranty.
riverotter said:
I took a look at the swamp rat camp knife and I like its looks. Can you get it with a saw back and serrated edge?
As Tknife said, knife sawbacks are not very good and a folding saw will outperform a knife sawback in efficiency and overall performance. Knifeback saws are inevitably a poor substitute for a saw designed specifically to cut wood. The folding Japanese pruning saws are very lightweight, adding neglegible weight to your pack. I sometimes carry a Tashiro folding saw in a BDU pocket & will forget its there due to its light weight. The efficiency of energy exerted & control of cutting offered by a pruning saw (vs an axe/hatchet) is especially important in a survival situation where you may be injured, massively fatigued, hypothermic, dehydrated, or otherwise impaired.
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You didn't say if your wilderness trips are car camping or backpacking, so I will make a recommendation for a large blade to take backpacking because it has the tighter weight restrictions.
Of the blades mentioned already, I would recommend the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp as a blade that offers lots of durability and performance for a nominal price. After that, IMHO you should check out the Busses, then Fehrmans. The Busses get the nod for their INFI steel. While 3V is tough (my EDC folder has it), INFI offers some really desirable characteristics for a big blade. (i.e. hard carbides in a very tough semi-ductile matrix so it wears well, but resharpens readily)
You asked about Livesay Knives or (I assume the Ontario version of his) RTAK.
- The Ontario RTAK's had a spotty record of durability due to possible QC inconsistency. Searching the web should locate reports on that issue.
- Newt Livesay: I like Newt personally and think he makes very pragmatic "not made to be pretty", reasonably-priced, user blades that the working soldier/hunter/outdoorsman can afford to buy without breaking the bank. Newt's proficiency at heat-treating 1095 steel, which he uses in many of his knives, is top-notch. But lots of people report trouble with his customer service, delivery delays, lack of communication, etc. Again, a search of the web (or the Good, Bad, & Ugly forum here on Bladeforums) will return you a bunch of info both positive and negative. Because I admire his work so much, it pains me to see his reputation in the knifemaking community taking a beating for non-workmanship issues.
As a recommendation for more than one tool, I'd go with:
1. large blade for wood splitting - Swamp Rat Camp Tramp or equivalent
2. folding pruning saw for sectioning out wood - Corona, Felco, Silky, or Tashiro Hardware
3. small thin fixed blade for most of your cutting/slicing chores - Swedish Army Knife, other mora, or whatever other skinny-bladed knife suits your purposes
4. tool for equipment repair - SAK or Leatherman type multi-plier
