Looking for a beater knife to keep in get home bag/survival kit

Larger knife mainly for splitting wood, and the sh*t really hits the fan, for defensive purposes (but that's if, and hopefully it will never have to be used in that capacity)

I have looked into the BK3, but that err's a little too heavily on the side of tactical, which is really not what I'm looking for. I think the Ontario Marine Combat (the equivelant of the Kabar) is what I'll be getting. Have one for home, and one for the GHB.

I'm not sure about breakage of the kabar, I've never had any trouble with the kabar or the ontario. I've batoned through so much wood with each they look as if they have been run over by a tank but they never complain. I've hacked through knots with both and done some stuff with them that I probably shouldn't mention. They seem to hold up fine for my purposes. After all, the Marines use and abuse this knife and I figure if a Marine can put his life on the Kabar, so can I. Not to mention that a kabar that sees real combat is likely to be used for worse things than batoning.
 
Those are good looking knives but those are in the upper limit of the price that I could spend on a knife that will likely sit in a bag, unused unless I want to use it for something else. The ontario can be had at my local cabelas for $48.

Should've mentioned that earlier. I'm looking to spend less than $90-100, and that's at the high end of the scale. Anywhere around $40-50 is ideal. The Ontario sp1, the gerber strong arm are all in that range.
 
No way I'd stake my life on a 420 blade, HC or not. Go with any Becker, feel totally confident...and never have to look back.;)
 
Keeping it in the $50 range check out some of the newer schrades. Like the schf 36,37,38,&42, they're not the best knives out there but great options for knives in the lower price range and I think those are all 1095.
 
Bobby3326 said:
Keeping it in the $50 range check out some of the newer schrades. Like the schf 36,37,38,&42, they're not the best knives out there but great options for knives in the lower price range and I think those are all 1095.
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I've been meaning to try one of these as well, as they have a nice look, good features and , let's face it....they're cheap. ;) Should add however... Expect to spend some time on lack of out of the box sharpness, and unevenness of grind. Not particularly a problem with 1095.
 
ichor said:
No way I'd stake my life on a 420 blade, HC or not. Go with any Becker, feel totally confident...and never have to look back.;)
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The OP is looking most seriously at an Ontario SP1, which is made of 1095, the same stuff as the Becker.

I'm not sure where 420 came in to play here.
 
bowieknifenick said:
Larger knife mainly for splitting wood, and the sh*t really hits the fan, for defensive purposes (but that's if, and hopefully it will never have to be used in that capacity)

I have looked into the BK3, but that err's a little too heavily on the side of tactical, which is really not what I'm looking for. I think the Ontario Marine Combat (the equivelant of the Kabar) is what I'll be getting. Have one for home, and one for the GHB.

I'm not sure about breakage of the kabar, I've never had any trouble with the kabar or the ontario. I've batoned through so much wood with each they look as if they have been run over by a tank but they never complain. I've hacked through knots with both and done some stuff with them that I probably shouldn't mention. They seem to hold up fine for my purposes. After all, the Marines use and abuse this knife and I figure if a Marine can put his life on the Kabar, so can I. Not to mention that a kabar that sees real combat is likely to be used for worse things than batoning.
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Again, I'm not talking down to the USMC. Its a great knife (I own one). Its just also a knife that when someone sees a broken one, everyones reactions are "ah yes, that can happen from time to time with those". They almost always break at the same place, from the same types of work. One guy here used one to split wood for his stove (they heated their home with this stove), for 3 full years before his broke. So clearly they can handle some abuse, but weren't really "made" for that type of work. Which again, is fine, as all designs are compromises of certain traits. No harm, no foul.

For heavy work I prefer a full tang, or at least a stick tang with rounded junctions, especially in an emergency scenario.

If it helps at all, the Becker BK7 is now one of the issue knives in the military, essentially a heavier duty version "replacement" of the USMC. It is a bit more than you want to spend, but less than your listed maximum price.

Lets see... other large and solid options...

Kabar Heavy Bowie ~$50
Ontario Marine Raider (SP10) ~$50
JAB Potbelly (made by Kabar, just like the Becker). ~$60-70
Kabar Zombie Killer War Sword (looks gimmicky... its not. Just a solid 9in full tang knife with funny green scales. It does come with a pair of black scales as well that you can install if you want). ~$60

Anyway, just some more options :).
 
How about a Mora. Cheap, not much weight, and dependable. Doesn't meet all your requirements but a "get home" bag should be on the less heavy side of things. It's just to get home to your big/heavy knives.
 
AusLoX said:
How about a Mora. Cheap, not much weight, and dependable. Doesn't meet all your requirements but a "get home" bag should be on the less heavy side of things. It's just to get home to your big/heavy knives.
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Already have a mora in my bag, was looking for a beefier knife to stand up to rugged tasks. I ended up buying the Ontario SP1, partially because my local Cabelas has them in stock. But all of your recommendations did not go to waste! I now have more knives to buy!!

I was partial to the SP1 the entire time, but I wanted to hear others opinions, and certainly got a lot of insight. Thanks all for that. I have an Ontario sp1 already, and i've used and abused it at home, and now the new one resides inside my get home bag. I think the next knife i'll be buying is a becker bk2
 
19-3ben said:
The OP is looking most seriously at an Ontario SP1, which is made of 1095, the same stuff as the Becker.

I'm not sure where 420 came in to play here.
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Well, if you've been following the thread, you should know that several folks have recommended/said positive things about the Gerber Strongarm, with which I totally disagree. Hence I felt it "came into play". Plus, I don't personally agree that the 1095 used by Ontario is up to the quality/dependability of the 1095 Cro-Van used by Becker.
 
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bowieknifenick said:
. I think the next knife i'll be buying is a becker bk2
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You can't go wrong buying a bk2, especially for a knife you can rely on.


NkrXhN5.jpg
 
Bobby3326 said:
The strongarm recommendations
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ichor said:
Well, if you've been following the thread, you should know that several folks have recommended/said positive things about the Gerber Strongarm, with which I totally disagree. Hence I felt it "came into play". Plus, I don't personally agree that the 1095 used by Ontario is up to the quality/dependability of the 1095 Cro-Van used by Becker.
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Ahhhh... my bad. I missed it. Thanks for the correction. Mea culpa.
 
Bobby3326 said:
You can't go wrong buying a bk2, especially for a knife you can rely on.


NkrXhN5.jpg
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That picture just sealed the deal. I'm a knife addict. Thanks for aiding my addiction haha. I like what you did with the sheath with the allen wrench to adjust the handles and the firesteel.
 
bowieknifenick said:
you're bringing the cocaine to the drug house lol, aiding the addict!!! luckily ive gotten to the point where my collection is so large they cant tell what knife is new and what knife is old
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It's more like one addict sharing his stash lol
 
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