Looking for First Quality "Bushcraft" Knife

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leisure0123

Joined
Jul 25, 2014
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This is my first post on here and I am relatively new to collecting practical knives. I am currently looking to get my first quality Knife for using outdoors. I have been looking for awhile now and I think I have narrowed my choices down to a few. I would like some reccomendations, pros/cons for the following

Becker BK9
Becker BK7
Mora Pathfinder
Esee 6

Thanks in advance
 
Out of the ones listed, ESEE 6. I wouldn't say any of those knives are what I would call "Bushcraft" knives. Why are the ones you listed so large? I would go much smaller, an ESEE 4, BK16. If it were me, I'd get a BK16, and a folding saw.

More info please, what will you be doing with these? Thanks!
 
ESEE Laser Strike.

If you want a real Bushcrafting knife, get a TOPs BOB or save up a little extra and get a Blind Horse (or whatever they call themselves now, Battle Horse Knives I think?) Bushcrafter. If you prefer one from a "name brand", the Benchmade or Spyderco Bushcrafter knives are both very good, but will cost a bit more than any of the ones on your list.
 
As others have mentioned above, a traditional bushcraft knife is usually about 4-5 inches and is used mostly for carving, shelter building, featherstick making, and other relatively small camp tasks. All the knives you listed are great for their intended purposes, but they're not really suited to what most people would consider bushcrafting.

Some of my top picks for a bushcraft knife would be a Mora Heavy Bushcraft, TOPS BOB, or an ESEE 4 or laserstrike. The mora is the most affordable option, but none are exceptionally expensive. If you plan on doing a lot of batonning/heavy woods tasks, I'd lean towards the BOB or laserstrike, as they're a bit thicker and better suited to that sort of abuse.
 
I like combos of larger knives with small knives for out in the woods.

My favorite two:

- Becker BK-7 with a BK-14 piggybacked onto the sheath
- ESEE 6 with an Izula piggybacked onto the sheath

The ESEE combo is probably a better pick for general bushcrafting. MY BK-7 is the older Camillus model with an 8" blade. It's a good short machete but might be a bit much for those woodsy people who prefer hobbit knives. The ESEE 6 is a good all-around size.
 
Thanks for the advice so far. I think I'm leaving more towards the ones the I can get for under 150 shipped.
I like the idea of piggy backing. I'm kinda stuck on the BK9 but still open to input. I was hoping to piggy back that with a Mora Bushcraft.
 
leisure0123 said:
Thanks for the advice so far. I think I'm leaving more towards the ones the I can get for under 150 shipped.
I like the idea of piggy backing. I'm kinda stuck on the BK9 but still open to input. I was hoping to piggy back that with a Mora Bushcraft.
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Good idea! I love my BK9, a really great blade. It has a elastic band on the front pouch that you can clip a Mora sheath to. For 150 you can probably get a Kydex sheath rig for your mora/ BK9 piggyback.

Good luck! :thumbup:
 
Hope you don't mind but some of us got the impression from your question that maybe you haven't yet really experienced a knife for the bush/wild woods.

First, don't fall into the trap of buying too large a knife, especially for your first. Yes, it happens all the time. if you want something approaching a machete, buy a bolo or a khukri; or a.....machete.

While I haven't seen a single turkey in the thread, be sure to get the right knife. Heed those who are advising that you not go for the larger knives.

I go with piggyback combo sheaths in the wild--e.g. Ka-Bar USMC/BK-11 or 14; a khukri with a Ka-Bar Acheron replacing the karda....etc. You may be able to squeak a piggyback pair to your specs into your budget if you shop it right.

As far as brand of knife, try to look at the DPx HEST line of fixed blades before you buy. I can also vouch for the J. Martinni leukus and that the already mentioned B.O.B. is likely a great bush knife.

Deja vu...I swear I just posted nearly the same stuff in another thread today....
 
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amg137 said:
As others have mentioned above, a traditional bushcraft knife is usually about 4-5 inches and is used mostly for carving, shelter building, featherstick making, and other relatively small camp tasks. All the knives you listed are great for their intended purposes, but they're not really suited to what most people would consider bushcrafting.
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Nicely put. They are camp knives, not bushcraft knives. Different things.
 
Ok then how about the recommendations based on the above mentioned knives being used for camp knives? Not to sound rude but I did a lot of looking around at knives before narrowing it down to the ones I originally mentioned. I thank everyone for their suggestions but I am only interested in the ones I mentioned originally at this point.
 
welcome to the forum i would recommend a mora classic #1. it s about 12 dollars and it almost comes hair whittling sharp.
 
Becker BK9: Great chopper, great big knife in general. It can do fine work with the required skill

Becker BK7: Great Survival knife, not as good as chopping as the 9, but OK. I would get the BK9, anything the 7 can do the 9 can do better

Mora Pathfinder: Having a 6" mora seems very silly to me, I would not get this, it won't be good at much.

Esee 6: Great knife, handle will not be comfortable for some. Great sheath, This will be the best all around-er, but IME it does not chop well for its size.

If your taking one knife into the woods, I'd say ESEE 9 or BK9, I think the ESEE 6 offers more usefulness for it's weight. Good luck! :thumbup:
 
mountainmist said:
Out of the ones listed, ESEE 6. I wouldn't say any of those knives are what I would call "Bushcraft" knives. Why are the ones you listed so large? I would go much smaller, an ESEE 4, BK16. If it were me, I'd get a BK16, and a folding saw.

More info please, what will you be doing with these? Thanks!
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I agree with this and I might add the BK-17 to the list. The ESEE 4 is a good general purpose woods knife. I tend to lean toward the Becker knives for knives in this sort of price range.

My other thought is... Mountainmist, I see you are gaining some experience using your blades. When you first started, it would have been BK-2, BK-2, BK-2. I do like the BK-10 for a general woods knife which is the same as the BK-2 with thinner steel.

We all have an idea of what we think would be useful for bushcraft or general woods knives. So, I think you should get what you think you will use and be happy with. It is a learning experience in terms of use. My experience has been that you will use a 4-5" knife far more and with much more dexterity than a 7-9" blade. The whole idea is that you want something to use and to use for many different kinds of activities. You loose the chopping use with a 4" knife, but you can still baton them very well. Carrying a 4" knife is much easier in the woods versus a larger knife. I use a short machete for chopping when I "think" I might need to take along a blade for chopping. A small folding saw is also quite useful in the woods and they work for dead wood better than a chopping knife.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I decided to go with the BK9. It showed up today and pretty much left me speechless. Absolutely shave sharp. I can't wait to get out and run it through the gears.
I'm going to definitely piggy back it. Was thinking of using My Light My Fire Mora, but the sheath that came with the BK9 already had the additional carrier for the BK13CP.
 
I have a TOPS B.O.B. and a BK9. I love both but I use the BOB for 95% of what I do in the woods. If I had to choose just one I would without a doubt choose the BOB and I highly recommend it. The BK9 is a great chopper and batoner but the BOB beats it in almost every other aspect. I love my BOB
 
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