My brother needs a camp beater

RustyFenrir

RustyFenrir

Joined
Jun 14, 2010
Messages
110
Hi all. I'm in the process of turning my brother into a knife knut (or at least trying to get him to stop buying gas station specials. :eek:) I just got him to buy his first quality pocket knife (Kershaw Leek on the exchange for a good price - not what some of you think of quality but it's a HUGE step up :p). Now he needs a stout camp knife. He's been eying my BK2 but doesn't want to spend that much.

So I guess the requirements are:
- tough
- 4+" blade
- Easily maintained (doesn't need to be highly corrosion resistant - I can keep it oiled. But chipping or non-existent edge holding is bad.)
- less than 40 bucks

A couple I've been looking at in his range are the Gerber Big Rock and the Condor Rodan. Another more expensive one is the Buck Nighthawk, but I've seen it on the exchange for less than 40.

Any ideas? :confused:
 
Buck 119 ain't a bad beater. 420HC is a snap to resharpen and the 5" blade is pretty tough. $40 at Walmart.
 
True, I hadn't thought of that one. I've got one kicking around that I've batoned with a bit. Nice knife :thumbup:
 
+1 on the Buck 119.

It's a lot of knife for the money. If you can afford more, there are better options (RAT RC-4 comes to mind) but at a $40 price point, I think the Buck 119 is a great knife.
 
Much love for the 119 I see :thumbup: I might just give him a deal on mine. I don't use it much since I got the BK2. I always like options though! Any more suggestions? :cool:

EDIT: Any thoughts on either the Short Kabar in plain edge or the Ontario SP2? I like the thickness of the SP2 and blade length, but I'm not so sure about the saw back.
 
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There is a destruction test of Air-force survival knife on knifetests. you can glance at it. As far as the saw back, well what are not sure about? Its there, but it will be useless for most camp chores, it was designed to go through aircraft carcass.

I handled the older one with leather handles, it felt kinda heavy, but at the same time nice.
 
Go for the Condor :thumbup: Awsome for the $$$ spent...you will be surprised at the quality you get for the money ;) I have the Condor Nessie & it's sweet !
 
Depends on what he's going to do with it. He could do worse than a Becker Necker in that price range. He won't be batonning anything huge but whatever - great for camp chores. Of course, for a few dollars more (good movie title, that) he could get a BK-2 and be a very happy camper.

Failing those options, he could do a heck of a lot worse than a Ka-Bar Bowie (< $50). My son has one of those and it's solid.
 
Volk said:
I think you can find Ka-Bar's for around that much as well.
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2nd this. I think this is where just about everybody should start in the fixed blade department. They'll probably still have it throughout the whole life of their addiction too.
 
I showed him all of the suggestions so far and he really likes the Ontario Air Force Survival knife. Anyone know if this is a full tang? :confused:

The KaBar is probably out because he'll want his to do everything mine can do, and the KaBar tang probably isn't too great for batoning.

Tried to get him interested in the Condor Rodan but he's not a fan the looks I guess. :rolleyes:

He's neutral on the 119 after letting him use it for a bit. Not sure what he doesn't like about it.

I contacted a member on the forum about an Ontario Air Force knife he was selling that had no replies, but the listing was a couple months old so I won't know anything until he contacts me. I'll keep the thread updated. :)
 
Bobby Craig said:
The USMC Ka-Bar is a good fighting knife but limited in the woods. You can get buy with one but I would not want a first time person thinking its a great all around knife and then it fail on them then them get ruined on the sport. The tang can be a little week when splitting wood. Its a good knife but like I said, its for fighting.
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We are limited to budget, I take Busse with me camping, but its slightly out of the price range. As long as the limits of the knife are explained to him then, he shouldn't run the knife.
 
Gerber Prodigy, about $50 at LAPolicegear.com

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i'd suggest a Mora Clipper 860 or a Triflex Bushcraft.

both are very inexpensive, of surprisingly high quality and offer unmatched value-for-money.

@ ~US$15 for the clipper, you can beat the hell out of it and really not care.
 
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