My son wants a survival knife...Help, please.

if you can source the kraton handle Navy Knife from Ontario Knives, "Freedom Fighter" range...
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or the "Freedom Fighter" varient of the jet pilot survival knife
reason being that leather might not be his thing at his age.
 
manowar669 said:
Hollow handle knives are the worst. Discourage that. Something like a victorinox one-hand trekker or a Vic farmer would be much better. And a small plastic plastic match vial for the other things.

One hand trekker
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Farmer
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match vial
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I don't think you can fault this recommendation. I might substitute a fire steel for the matches, but that is a matter of choice. Just as an FYI, the Vic Alox Farmer has a space for engraving on the back.
 
Hello again and Thank you all so much for the help and the info. My son has informed me that he does know better than to want a hollow handle for his knife. It will help with the choices out there. I think the idea of building his own caught his interest. I think this site is wonderful and I am sending happy vibes to all who took their time to respond.
 
3 that I would recommend for around or under $50:


First choice: Gerber Prodigy - closest to the BG knife but much more of a real deal survival knife with a very good sheath.


2nd: Buck Nighthawk - very good heavy duty knife,though the sheath is not that great but serves its purpose adequately.


3 rd: Ontario 499 Air Force survival knife - this is the bolt knife used by the military for many years, ususally comes dull and will take some work to get it sharp, fit and finish are kind of rough and the tang is not the strongest design, but it does have a saw back, though it will not cut wood very well at all (it is supposedly intended to cut aluminum aircraft fuselages).


All 3 of the these knives are made in the USA.


For a saw, I would recommend the Swedish laplander sold by Bahco and Kershaw or the Gerber/Fiskars sliding saw made in Finland.
 
KeithAM said:
If you get your son the hollow-handle Schrade linked several times above, he'll be delighted. By all accounts, it's a decent knife that actually works, and it fits his current 14-year-old vision of a survival knife. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

If you get him a different knife--a more practical outdoor knife--he may be dissapointed, but then again it may be a valuable life lesson that the knife you want as a 14-year-old boy isn't necessarily the best choice.

Only you know your son well enough to know which is right.
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This is solid advice.

There are any number of quality fixed blades I would recommend before a hollow handled survival knife. (even a very very expensive hollow handled knife has a basic design flaw when it comes to strength).

It it will be enough for a kid. My hollow handled survival knife (dad bough me and my brother when we were kids), both broken.

The Cold Steel bushman (bowie style blade) has been mentioned already. Super strong, and you could get two in your budget.

Some other great knives listed as well.
 
thebeck said:
Hello again and Thank you all so much for the help and the info. My son has informed me that he does know better than to want a hollow handle for his knife. It will help with the choices out there. I think the idea of building his own caught his interest. I think this site is wonderful and I am sending happy vibes to all who took their time to respond.
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Yea Why not have a go. Pick a Swedish Mauser bayonet M96/M42. If he wants a hollow handle job.
A young man one a survival knife competion years ago in England by remodeling one.
They are super strong, Very high quality & excellent steel in the blade.
 
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thebeck said:
Hello again and Thank you all so much for the help and the info. My son has informed me that he does know better than to want a hollow handle for his knife. It will help with the choices out there. I think the idea of building his own caught his interest. I think this site is wonderful and I am sending happy vibes to all who took their time to respond.
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Good for him. Here link to some supplies/kits for good outdoor knives in your price range:

http://www.ragweedforge.com/BladeCatalog.html

I've bought numerous knives from Ragnar, and he has an excellent reputation here.
 
bush-haus said:
Did you and your son make a decision/purchase? Curious as to the route you went !
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She posted a "thank you" in another thread. Her son read through the thread, and has decided that he's now interest in making his own knife. I directed her to the knife making forum.
 
Hi, im in a similar situation. I'm 15 and in the scouts looking for a first fixed blade. I have been looking at the gerber big rock and the gerber prodigy. I dont know a whole lot about the quality of them but i have heard some good things. if money was no object then i would go for the ESEE 4 or 5. you might be able to get one cheap on the trade section. If you have the ability to then you could suggest he makes his own. I found it can be suprisingly cheap If done in the right way. theres some good tutorials and links to tutorials on this website.
Good luck
 
esee izula or the eskabar for a longer blade, add a SAK with a saw like the farmer or trekker and that's it
no need to go heavy :D
and both are also cool, of course
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wolf trait choose a good survival knife i have one i bought on sale at big 5 the paracord isnt very useful though
 
I did not read the previous posts but i would recommend a Becker BK7 ($70) or the Classic 7 inch Kabar ($50-60) (I have the USMC Kabar). If you want to pay ~90-100 on an Esee 4 it would definitely be worth the money and has a better sheath than the USMC Kabar and BK7 in my opinion. I would recommend a non-serrated blade because its easier to sharpen and maintain. Regarding the saw I would (generally) refrain from getting a knife with a sawtooth spine just because it is kind of hokey and enables you to baton easier. (these are just my opinions)
 
Ethan_Hardy said:
I did not read the previous posts but i would recommend a Becker BK7 ($70) or the Classic 7 inch Kabar ($50-60) (I have the USMC Kabar).
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These are the two suggestions I would have made.

The Ka-bar is probably the ideal knife for a boy your son's age; it's big and flat-out mean-looking, and he'll definitely want to show it off to his friends. To many people, especially younger ones, aesthetics are just as important as utility.

The Becker, however, is basically the full-tang version of the Ka-bar and is much stronger. In my opinion it looks nicer too. Unless your son plans on getting in some fights soon I think he'll find the guard on the Ka-bar a bit restricting when he's trying to whittle or do other fine work.

I think Beckers are the way to go here. But if you get the BK2, you'll have to get a better sheath to go with it. The sheath that arrives with the BK2 from the factory is made from glass-filled nylon, which will dull the knife as it's being drawn. This will easily add at least $30 to your purchase, which puts you over your budget.

Here's the BK5, which is designed for camp chores, whereas the BK7 is designed for a balance between fighting and utility. Though both are of excellent quality. I ended up getting the BK7 simply because I prefer the classic bowie design.

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speaking as a retired Scout Platoon Sergeant with son's who went through that. Get a K Bar, they can grow from there, it will always be useful.
 
My first "survival knife" was a USAF Pilots Survival knife. That was many years ago before the Rambo movies made hollow handles cool. I had no clue how to care for it and really beat the heck out of it. Still have it though and it's still 100% functional. Why don't you consider building an Altoid Tin survival kit to go with whatever knife you choose? More room in one of those tins then you would think and you can attach them to a sheath easy enough.
 
I also have a son who is a 15 year old Life Scout. If his heart is set on the hollow handle knife for he money you want to spent definately go with the schrade. I have had a bunch of knives with the"saw" on the back and never really found any of them a good reliable saw. But I got my son a Bacho Lap Lander folding saw for Christmas and he loves it (as do I). As your son learns more he will find the survival kit is more with the sheath than in the knife handle. I also like the idea to encourage him to spend time on the blade forum and he will learn so much from the folks here (as I have). It is nice to hear another boy reaching his Eagle Rank.
 
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