Need help selecting a knife

It seems most people recommend a multitool, a folding knife, and a small fixed blade or SAK

Going with Cliff's statement that having a Rucksack and another folder wouldn't be a large benefit. I'm more or less settled on a Charge Ti, unless there is a great reason to take the XTi instead that I don't see. For the SAK, I am leaning towards the Rucksack, but I am also considering the one hand Trekker. I've only used straight blades previously, and I'm wondering if the serrated blade of the Trekker or the Rucksack's straight blade would be more useful in most situations. Also, would the serrated blade require a different sharpening method than just drawing a straight blade across a whetstone to get all the serrations sharp?

When I get my commercial licence I think I will add a small fixed blade since I am hoping I'll be getting a bit farther away from the farms, communities, and highways I'm almost always over now.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan?
 
mharris said:
I'm wondering if the serrated blade of the Trekker or the Rucksack's straight blade would be more useful in most situations.
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I compared plain vs serrated on a bunch of material awhile back in several reviews :

http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/delica_se.html

The big drawback to serrated is durability, you can crack the teeth off much more easily than you can damage staight edges and :

Also, would the serrated blade require a different sharpening method than just drawing a straight blade across a whetstone to get all the serrations sharp?
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Yes, you can restore them somewhat by honing the back of the blade, but to restore them to optimal you need to work inside the scallops which requires a sharpener with a small radius to fit.

It however takes a truely massive amount of work to dull serrations unless you cut really abrasive material like dirt (can be in used carpet or rope) or steel banded rubber ot similar.

You can easily carry a small sharpener for this, DMT makes a really nice folding tapered rod.

-Cliff
 
good choices all around but...stainless doesn't spark (flint and steel) my
choices sog powerlock,old timer 3 blade either sog magna dot or (dh russell
canadian airbourne knife 4' fixed blade) think strong bucks great but...
hollow grind is a little thin
 
If you're talking REAL flint, stainless doesn't spark. But it seems that a lot of folks, when talking "flint" and steel are actually referring to ferrocerium rods, which will throw sparks with *anything* that has a sharp edge, including glass and rocks.

If you were to find yourself in an area where chert or flint abound, then having the extra option of using a carbon steel knife to strike sparks from the flint would be a good thing. But the files on any multi-tol (at least those I'm aware of) are made fo high carbon steel, and will work with traditional flint just fine. The sharp corners of a file also work really well to throw sparks wiht a ferro rod. Which should always be tethered to your SAK or multi-tool as an alternate form of firelighitng. I keep a BSA Hot Spark on the fob kit of Ranger SAK, along wiht a small block of fatwood and some jute twine wrapped around the rod's handle for tinder. A "survival kit" can be pretty small if you put your mind to it, and still cover most of the bases.
 
Any survival tips from V Shrake, I'd listen to them carefully.

When I do get the chance to rought it, my cutting gear consists of:

Small fixed blade: Probably the most essential. From the top of my head though, Bark River Knife and Tool makes a lot of handy and functional ones.

Folding: I'd also go for Vic Trekker or from Spyderco, the Manix or Endura 4 (I got the 3rd gen)

Multi-tool: a lot of guys went for Vic or Leatherman but I'd also humbly recommend the SOG tools. I've got the Powerlock and its just darn plain solid reliable.

BTW, somebody recommended watching "The Snow Walker". Do so.

Good luck with your search and happy flying!
 
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