Looking for honest and good straight forward advice!!

J

JRJ5784

Joined
Dec 31, 2013
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4
I am looking to start a good solid collection of knives and machetes and other blade's like them but I do not want to end up buying garbage and have something that will leave me defenseless when I need it most. I have purchased my first knife already it is the Gerber Fixed Blade/DP - Clam Fixed Blade. It seems to be a good quality mid-range blade if you have any experience with this particular blade let me know what you think of it please. What I am looking for is survival, self defense, and hunting blades of all types. Basically think we are in a "zombie apocalypse" haha. What would be the best blade's to choose for my arsenal? Now I do want to say lets not turn this into a pissing contest over who's brand is better. All I am asking for is solid real world experience with blade's you have used or know others have used that are available to any civilian. When describing please specify Brand name, knife style/name, average price, and any pros or cons you may have for the blade your describing.

As a side note I am a bigger guy and I am able and willing to handle heavier types of blades but any suggestion is greatly appreciated!

Thank You
 
Welcome!

First, avoid gerber. They just aren't what they used to be.
2nd, read as much as you can, especially older threads, very helpful.

As for outdoor knives, there are many good ones depending on how much you want to spend, carry, etc.


If you have lots of cash, busse supposedly has very abuse resistant knives that has a lot of followers.

I like MLL (custom maker, affordable) who caters to every need you want.
 
You sound like you're in the market for some sturdy blades - in no particular order you should take a look at - Becker, Esee, Fallkniven, Swamp Rat, Scrap Yard, and especially custom makers here on the forum :P
 
Just about anything from ESEE, Kabar/Becker, Falkniven, Scrapyard, Swamp Rat, Busse, or Bark River would be a huge upgrade from a Gerber. AVOID GERBER ON ALL FUTURE PURCHASES!

How about a Becker BK17? They cost about $70 and have about a 5 inch blade.
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/bkt-shrtclippnt-bk17.html



Also consider a BK14 ($30, 3 inch), BK9 ($75, 9 inch) or any of the other Beckers.

For a little more money, look at the ESEE lineup. Here is my ESEE 6. It has custom handles, but a 6 with stock handles will cost about $120. It has a 6 inch blade.
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/eseeknives.html



For a budget knife, check out Mora. The one pictured is a standard stainless model--$10, with about a 4.5 inch blade.
http://www.baryonyxknife.com/comgst.html



Welcome to Blade Forums, the place where your wallet will die and your knife collection prosper!
 
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First, welcome to the forum.

After reading your intro my first thought was to wonder who you plan to kill? I'm assuming you're not military so what type of regular fighting do you expect to be doing with a knife? Most of us see knives as a tool, although there are a few pugilistic types on the forum.

As far as hunting and survival knives, you'll find lots of good threads on that subject already. And I'm sure you'll get a lot of good answers here as well. Knowing your budget will probably get more appropriate responses. That classification of knife can run anywhere from cheap Gerbers (guys, hold the snickering down please) to sky-is-the-limit Randalls (and up).

And last, pissing contests are what we do best around here. But then everyone has to have a hobby. ;)
 
I don't get too much into larger, heavier blades, but I can recommend a few from my small collection. First, a kukri or kukri-like-object (KLO) of some sort. They were designed for combat and defense, and work amazingly well as choppers in a wilderness environment too. I really like the Ontario Kukri because it is 1095, USA made, and a sort of middle-of-the-road kukri (1/4" stock, so it's much lighter than true 5/8"-1/2" thick kukris). You probably want to avoid kukri shaped machetes, like those from Cold Steel. Second, if you want a ton of value for your money, Becker! I have the BK7, because I wanted more of a woods-use knife. If you want something more directed towards combat, BK9 or even the Machax. If you want something small, as a backup defense knife (concealed or not), take a look at the Ka-bar TDI series. They are small and quite effective for their sizes. Good luck!

ETA: A step up from some of these options would be the ESEE Junglas. Do some googling and let us know what style, size, and budget most interests you.
 
If I had to give general advice on such broad question, I'd say in general avoid buying knives made in China. Some are pretty good and many are very cost effective for what you get.

I would look at such brands as Spyderco, ESEE, Fallkniven, Kabar Becker, Mora, Condor, and avoid such brands as S&W, Schrade, Colt (even though I have read good stuff about Colt brand lately), Winchester, and similar. Most are made in China and the trademark is owned by a company after their bankruptcy. I have read good things about the more expensive Bear Gryliss knife made for Gerber.

For traditionals, Great Eastern Cutlery, Buck, Queen, Case, Canal Street. I pretty much stay away from things made by Bear & Sons even though their factory is in AL.

It boils down to choosing and buying knives is a journey and you learn from your purchases as to what you like and what you don't like. There is a tremendous amount of personal preference involved beyond manufacturer.
 
well thanks everyone this is basically what i needed. and to the person that thought to them selves who am i gonna kill....... lol....... i am probaly more parinoid than anything i guess i do have a collection a firearms that i have carefully selected as carefully as the blades i want but during one of my days at the range when breaking in a new pistol it jammed on me and i thought what if that happened to me when i needed it most..... then i remembered somthing i heard some time ago...... blades dont jam, dont run out of ammo, and are quiet. ever since then i have been looking around. i went to local flea markets and swap meets and found a bunch of options and 99% of them were obvious garbage. so i was kinda lost on where to go from there. i know i wanted good quality and didnt want to waste money finding out what was garbage thats is when i found myself here and the rest is history haha..... now as far as size and cost go i am very open to both...... i eventually would like to have 3 or 4 blades with different purposes, long range, melee range, and close quarters.
 
spydercobenchmadekai said:
"Long range" tactical knife?!?!:eek:
Click to expand...
I'll bet Cold Steel is already working on a video for that.
slider_popcorn.gif


To the OP, I'm glad you got what you are looking for. And yeah, flea markets and gun shows typically are not the place to look. 90% of them will be cheap Chinese junk.

And if I ever run out of ammo it can only mean I'm in deeper yogurt than can be fixed with a knife.
 
For 40 to 50 bucks you can get a Kabar heavy bowie, seriously underrated chopper and all around big blade(9 inch).
Great handle with good retention with the pommel
Cheap, tough and good......before you start dropping heavy cash on other options it is a good start.
I have had one for many years and is my loaner camping with my brothers.

Stuff from condor is a good option, many designs.
I have a golok from them and its awesome.

Beckers.....one of my favourite's, great quality and good pricepoint.

Get a couple mora's, cut like a laser and you may get into woodwork, they are awesome in the kitchen and fishing.

I have esee's, bark rivers etc but starting off go with the tough, reasonably priced ones before you find your niche in what you like and actually use.
Will save you cash and a box of crap you don't really want.
 
If I woke up tomorrow and all of the knives I currently own were mysteriously gone, I'd be deeply bummed, but would start over with these three:

-Ontario SP8: awesome chopper, blunt tip for digging and prying, saw-back spine (not a great saw, but it's there) good 1095 carbon steel 8 inch edge that is a hefty 1/4 inch thick, not difficult to sharpen and holds a good edge, costs around $50 bucks.

-Victorinox Swiss Army Huntsman: an essential EDC knife. Two blades, a great saw, scissors, an awl, can opener, bottle opener, flat-head screwdriver, tweezers, a corkscrew (handy when the lady wants wine), costs $35- $40.

-And the essential tactical / practical folder, a Spyderco Delica 4 flat-ground in plain-edge. They go for around $65.00, and you can pick from several different handle colors.

For around $150, you get three great knives that I don't think I've ever heard anyone on here make any serious complaints against.
 
lol by long range i mean 6-8 ft distance from opponent..... couldnt find a better description for it..... as i stated i am new to the blade game
 
and yes i am only interested in fixed blades...... i already have enough moving parts in the firearms to tend for i dont need to have more to worry about
 
Instead of looking to spend money on a bunch of knives, I'd highly suggest you take that money and seek actual training in the use of a knife. Long range? Melee Range? "Close quarters"? First of all, long range is what firearms are for. Melee/close quarters are the same range, and not somewhere I'D personally want to be if I had no knife training. So, if you want to be a mall ninja and buy a bunch of sweet knives for self-defense so you can think of yourself as prepared, please go right ahead. Can't tell you how many Youtube videos there are out there with super obese guys waving an expensive combat knife around, talking about how they'll be using it in "CQB", when they're already huffing and puffing just trying to talk to make the video. A guy with training and good conditioning who has a sharpened butter-knife will be on an entire other level than a guy who's untrained who has a super expensive combat knife.

If you want anything you buy to be worth anything "when you need it most", then it's worth actually going to get trained.
 
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