Looking for a survival/general wilderness knife for use primarily in Norway

M

mrinsano

Joined
Aug 3, 2008
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I live in Norway and I want a knife for general survival/outdoors stuff. Not a hardcore survivalist by any stretch of the imagination, but I was a boyscout so I know some of the basics and I'm a hunter so I get out into the wilderness a bit. Sometimes on a private island with inconsistent cellphone coverage (ie a situation where if the boat fails we're very stuck alone) other times in mountainous areas with no cell phone coverage, so if shit happens I might be on my own. My father took a fall during a hunting trip a few years ago, landed on a sharp rock and tore some stuff in his chest/arm. Had it been his leg, I might have been in the position of trying to build him a shelter and making a fire, so I've come to the conclusion that I should always have a knife up to the task.

Summers are mellow and pretty short, winters are cold, snowy and pretty long and the terrain tends to be pinewood and/or mountainous for the most part. I'll definitely be using it for making fire during hunting trips etc as a routine, but as you're always only one fuckup away from an emergency, I want something that can do the job.

What I'm currently looking at is the RTAK2 from Ontario, the ESEE 6 and ESEE 5 from ESEE (obviously). As I said I'm of limited experience when it comes to survival stuff, so I don't have the experience to make a judgement call on what size I want it. I'm hoping you guys can help me out with that. Obviously the size separates the first from the second two, whereas the difference between esee 5 and esee 6 is the weight and the thickness/shape of the blade. From what I know of it I'd think the esee6 is better for battoning, while the esee5 should be sturdier. Do I need that extra sturdiness? Take into account that there's a good chance I'll be battoning frozen wood with the steel at temperatures far below freezing.

I'm not a prepper, but I don't take it for granted that things can't go wrong, so as a very distant secondary purpose it's not bad if the knife would also be a decent self defense weapon.

Thanks in advance.
 
Check out Helle and Brusletto; both made in Norway. Wide variety of styles and excellent quality.
Rich
 
If you live in Norway, what if you give Fredrik Haakonsen a call? May have (very few) others like him, but none better than him.
 
Rich S said:
Check out Helle and Brusletto; both made in Norway. Wide variety of styles and excellent quality.
Rich
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Was going to suggest the same thing... You live in Norway, you should only buy "made in Norway" to support the local economy!

Just kidding, but seriously though, some folks do sound a bit ridiculous to me with the "only made in ____" argument, but they do both make quality knives locally for you, using a tough and sharp 12c27 for their stainless I believe.

Falkniven is worth giving a look to as well.
 
You're in the land of the leuku. IMO, the best outdoor/survival knife, whatever the size.
 
strategy9 said:
Was going to suggest the same thing... You live in Norway, you should only buy "made in Norway" to support the local economy!

Just kidding, but seriously though, some folks do sound a bit ridiculous to me with the "only made in ____" argument, but they do both make quality knives locally for you, using a tough and sharp 12c27 for their stainless I believe.

Falkniven is worth giving a look to as well.
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Yeah, I hear the same thing, but it's faulty logic because I support the local economy just as much anyways. If I buy a japanese knife, japanese people will end up with norwegian kroners, and kroners are only good in norway so for them to spend it, they have to buy from us. So whether I buy here or there it must make its way back to norway sooner or later. However, this is if you dont care about what gets made where, buying a norwegian knife would decidedly support the norwegian knife industry, whereas buying a japanese knife would support whichever norwegian export japanese people buy, salmon probably.
 
Yeah, fallkniven are awesome. I should have mentioned it in the original post, I meant to but forgot, but I already have a fallkniven f1, so the plan is to use both the f1 and whichever one of the bigger ones I end up with as a two knife system. The big one for the jobs that require a big knife and will put a lot of wear on it, and the little one for the delicate work that requires precision and a very sharp blade that hasnt been worn out making a shelter or cutting firewood. I'm also reluctant to try batoning with the f1 as the steel is a laminate and I hear that's not exactly a good combo.

Why not a sami knife? Well the sami knife is basically the reason why I thought of the RTAK2, because the RTAK2 seems to me to be pretty much just a high tech sami knife. Compared with the RTAK2, the sami knife just seems like an inferior version. Softer steel that dulls rather quickly, no protective coating, a grip that's much more prone to slipping, no lanyard options, and a leather sheath that has a reputation for being cut by the knife, will degrade from the elements and will stay wet longer. So technically the RTAK2 seems better, concept wise I cant tell much difference except the RTAK2 is an inch longer than sami knives usually are. If RTAK2 was made up here, I think they'd probably be marketing it as precisely a high tech sami knife.

And strictly speaking the land of the sami knife starts a bit north of here, but it's not that far, especially where I hunt is pretty close.
 
"I'm also reluctant to try batoning with the f1 as the steel is a laminate and I hear that's not exactly a good combo. "

Where did you hear this?
 
If the knife is going to be used in temperatures below -15 C, then you might avoid the simple steels as some become brittle (more danger of failure). I think the laminated F1 helps with the softer outer layer protecting the inner core. Also a softer temper will help.
 
TravisH said:
Fallkniven A1 Army Survival, F1 Pilot Survival, or S1 Forest knives should be what you need.
http://www.fallkniven.com/en/shop/category/24/fixed-blades/survival-knives

You don't need any 'tank' like an ESEE 5 or Becker BK2. I'd prefer the ESEE 6 - longer blade and plenty thick enough for batoning.

But batoning frozen wood isn't going to end well. Get a small forest axe like a Gransfors or Hults, or Husqvarna.
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Yeah I'm leaning towards the ESEE6, just paranoid about breaking it in an emergency, but you're probably right that the extra clunkyness and weight of the ESEE5 is wasted.
I do have an axe already, a norwegian made one by a company called Øyo. If I know I'll be doing a lot of wood processing I'd bring it with me of course, and maybe a small saw as well. But in the context of a days hunting it makes little sense to bring it with me and carry it with me for 8 hours if I'm not planning on doing more than making a little fire to make some coffee, whereas a knife on my hip is a handy thing to have in a lot of situations. A lot of the point here is to get a blade that will make sense to carry often, and can also do the work in case of the unforseen.
 
KenHash said:
"I'm also reluctant to try batoning with the f1 as the steel is a laminate and I hear that's not exactly a good combo. "

Where did you hear this?
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Guy at the wilderness store told me, that sometimes laminates can be damaged by getting battered like you do when you baton.
 
KenHash said:
Never heard such a thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT-WBngyKFQ
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Well... from the way he spoke of it I got the impression that it wasn't so much that it wasnt strong enough then and there,but rather that the lamination would be like a point of weakness when subjected to the stress of batoning over time, like days and weeks and months, that a laminated blade could over time have a problem that a single steel would be less prone to, but I'm no expert so he may well have been wrong.
 
mrinsano said:
Well... from the way he spoke of it I got the impression that it wasn't so much that it wasnt strong enough then and there,but rather that the lamination would be like a point of weakness when subjected to the stress of batoning over time, like days and weeks and months, that a laminated blade could over time have a problem that a single steel would be less prone to, but I'm no expert so he may well have been wrong.
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Chances are that if the laminate delaminates in time, most knives would have broken long before that. I would not worry about that.

But I would recommend the ESEE Junglas. Better than the RTAK that you are thinking about.
 
mrinsano said:
Well... from the way he spoke of it I got the impression that it wasn't so much that it wasnt strong enough then and there,but rather that the lamination would be like a point of weakness when subjected to the stress of batoning over time, like days and weeks and months, that a laminated blade could over time have a problem that a single steel would be less prone to, but I'm no expert so he may well have been wrong.
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OK thanks. I believe he was/is wrong. And I would consider the A1 and A2 as possible candidates especially since
Fallkniven put alot of emphasis on their ability to withstand their winter conditions.
 
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I've been through the large tactical stage and stuff and I find a mora to be perfect any need for something bigger I suggest carry a machete as well. Hell Moras are cheap enough buy two in case you're with someone else who needs one. I hear good about the bk2 knives but never tried one
 
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