Recommendation? new knife choice

K

kueller351

Joined
Nov 22, 2014
Messages
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Hello guys!
It is that time of the year again! I starve a new knife and you can't decide myself so I thought I'd ask for recommendations and advises!

So this time I'm going on a bushcraft / survival knife. I have everything I need so far for outdoor camping and trekking (axe and folding saw always worked for me) but I never owned a big boï bushcraft knife and want to try it out. I've seen quite a lot, Esee 5 and 6, Ontario rat 7, Schraders, Ba-kar, BM 162 and so on and feel quite undecided so far. There are so many I cant list them all So what's your favourite one and why??

Ah just a little trouble: it needs to be findable in Europe! For example I saw the Ratmandu which looks absolutely perfect but impossible to find here :(

Thanks,
Have a good one
 
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ESEE has the best warranty out of those mentioned and the ESEE 6 is thinner than the 5. I'd go ESEE 6.
 
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Kabar Becker bk series for me. If you want a smaller more bushcrafty blade the BK16 or bk62 would fit the bill. Bk2 if you want a sharpened pry bar. Bk10 if you want a good all arounder. Bk7 if you want slightly bigger than a 2 or 10. Bk9 if you want the big boy.
 
A good size puukko or leukopuukko should do the job nicely. Easy to find on your side of the pond. I like Lamnia, good place to find everything.
Rich
 
If you like the Ratmandu there you might keep an eye out on the exchange for one for sale by someone willing to ship to Europe.
 
Thanks for your answers guys! I'll look into your recommendations. I didn't know there were so many puuko on lamnia!
About the ratmandu I'll keep an eye but it seems rather unlikely :)
 
Just for fun, I looked for a knife sales website that looked like it was from Europe. One that I found has a phone number in Slovakia. I know that a lot of companies have their telephone in one place, their warehouse in another, and their business office in a third place, but it's a start.

If you're willing to pay for a Ratmandu, go look at "TRC" knives. They may have something you like, and they are at least easier to purchase.
 
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soc_monki said:
Kabar Becker bk series for me. If you want a smaller more bushcrafty blade the BK16 or bk62 would fit the bill. Bk2 if you want a sharpened pry bar. Bk10 if you want a good all arounder. Bk7 if you want slightly bigger than a 2 or 10. Bk9 if you want the big boy.
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Shorttime said:
Just for fun, I looked for a knife sales website that looked like it was from Europe. One that I found has a phone number in Slovakia. I know that a lot of companies have their telephone in one place, their warehouse in another, and their business office in a third place, but it's a start.

If you're willing to pay for a Ratmandu, go look at "TRC" knives. They may have something you like, and they are at least easier to purchase.
Click to expand...

Wow I didn't know those! They are so nice waow bit out of my budget tho, wife won't let that happen unfortunately
 
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Two hands down for BK62, Kephart is a knife with history and this is probably one of the best production replica of the real deal. Perfectly balanced 5" 'bushcraft' knife.

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Another brand I do like is the Brisa Enzo, and this is Camper model. Generally they are full tang knives with scandi grind, perfect for woodcraft.

Bushcraft may mean different things to different people, but a lightweight Mora with Scandi grind is, by no mean least, of great value and performer.
 
All right, then. Information about cost is helpful!

Give the Condor Bushcraft Bliss knife a look, then. It should handle similar to a Rat', for much less money!
 
Have you ever seen the Gerber "StrongArm" knives? I have a previous version called the LMF II. You can still get the LMF II, it's the first set of pics.
I like it because it has a built in sharpening steel, and the sheath holds it VERY well yet is easy to draw if you attach it to a backpack strap tip up.
For me, this is the perfect "beater" knife, it has a glass breaker type pommel striker point not tungsten or anything, just a nice pointed chunk of metal to use as an impact tool. I also generally hate serrated knives, but the partially serrated last inch or so has come in useful for cordage etc. VERY easy to sharpen yet holds a good edge, the price is right, no corrosion, chipping, good ergonomics...
Just generally a great all-purpose hiking/camp knife that has taken a lot of abuse and has lots of options on the sheath to attach it a bunch of ways to however you want to attach it.
Probably my favorite thing is that it is so secure in the sheath yet I can reach up to my shoulder and draw it in less than a second. I took off the strap and just tied it to my shoulder strap with some webbing.
I think they might have done away with the built in ceramic sharpener of the LMF II on the newer Strongarm.

EDIT: YOU CAN GET DIFFERENT COLORS... green, tans,brown, black at least

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Here's the "Strongarm":

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Thank you all for your recommendations, I love this community <3
About the Kabar, I am certainly sure they are of great quality but I find their handles so ugly! Personal taste of course, I might get one some day but will have to replace those!
I already own a mora companion which I use on a regular basis and love it. Now I want just to offer myself something fancy! Lets say less than 200€ to put a limit :p
Thanks again for all the messages
Edit: bk62 and condor look both nice! The more you guys help me the harder to choose it gets lmao
 
I collect green elder burl Barkies with convex grinds and usually in 3V. My picks:

Large: Bark River Tundra for me. A 'Canadian' blade combined with an Aurora handle.
I also like the Aurora 2, but it is almost big enough for a camp knife IMO.
The Bravo 1 LT or the 1.25 LT are also good.

Medium: the Gunny Hunter or the Mini Tundra.

Small: Ultralite Bushcrafter.

My budget knives are the Hultafors OK1, the OK4 and a Mora Bushcraft.

edit: If in Europe, check out the Terava Skrama and definitely consider a matching Puukko/Leuku. Maybe even splurge on a Malanika Puukko in 4V.
 
Ohhhhh so you want something a little "fancy" then do ya? I got it now.
I think one knife that gets overlooked WAY TOO MUCH is the

Gough Made Resolute Mk. III
This guy make -ONE- knife. But he makes that knife very well! You can get a bunch of different colors, liner colors, etc.. I think he is just about to start taking orders for a new run. Note that the price is Canadian so not sure how that translates into your money. Very cool video of how he does his work:

https://store.goughcustom.com/pages/behind-the-scenes


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Here's a nice writeup:

https://www.alloutdoor.com/2018/07/...ent=2018-07-24&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter
 
Benchmade Fixed Adamas is also visually similar to the Ratmandu.

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Not as indestructible, sure. But also not as expensive. I don't know if there are any aftermarket scales for it, that may be a deal-breaker.
 
How about Buck?
Can you get them over there?

The Buck 120 is a big honker that can handle anything you might find in the outdoors.

I had one years ago for a few days - - but - - an all too often occurrence that goes by the name, "I was drunk at the time......" left me wondering what became of it.
;).

(you live long enough & you end up with way too many of those times..)
 
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