New survival Knife (Bush Craft/BOB)

B

Ben W.

Joined
Jun 13, 2016
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So, I've been looking to buy my first Survival Knife lately, and have slowly started to narrow down choices. I would prefer something with a thicker blade, as I am in a suburban, for prying and such. I have it down to the Ka-Bar BK-22 (Or the 10, again open to suggestions), the Gerber LMF 2, or the Ontario ASEK. I would prefer to stay in the 120$ and below range, but I can go up to about 250$. I really need to stay in the 5~ inch range as well. Any suggestions for just a do-it-all survival knife?
 
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Maybe you can tell us what a "survival" knife does, so we know what you are looking for. :thumbup:

Does it mean camping? Combat? Zombie apocalypse? Bushcraft?

Its really just a marketing term at this point, so if we know what you really want/expect to do with your knife...then we can help you.
 
Ah. I see you edited the thread title after my post. Good.

So you want a knife for outdoor recreation like camping. Kabar Beckers are excellent, but many seem to find the BK22 Campanion not ideal for camping. Little heavy.

The LMF 2 and ASEK are not for camping. They are survival fantasy knives.

Out of curiosity, what prying is involved in the camping you do?
 
Well, it's more of a Bush Craft blade, it would go in a BoB pack. I'd just like it to second as a Camping knife however. I don't mind weight. In a real SHTF situation it would be used, or just in a day hike, or something similar.

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Well, no knife does everything well, so not entirely sure what would make a good bushcraft/BOB/camping/SHTF/day hike knife.

Sometimes it help to have a realistic list of tasks that you would expect the knife to be performing 99.999% of the time. That seems to help one get a better grasp of what design elements in the knife they are looking for.

Do you camp a lot? What do you use now and what do you do with it?

Do you have a reasonable expectation of "bugging out"? And to where? And under what circumstances?
 
Not exactly camping a lot. I'm mainly looking into a Knife I can just keep in an EDC Pack that is a fixed blade that is pretty versatile. I wouldn't mind a Jack-of-all-trades syndrome knife. I'd like something easy to contain, and that would keep an edge. 1095 steel is what I'd prefer, I'm willing to oil it. An Air-Crew knife looks about what I need, and I know the Becker is a tank.
 
Fiddleback Forge Production Duke. Kind of a "does everything well" type of knife. Not too heavy, and good size. A hair over your max at $275, but it sports a 5 1/4" blade and is well worth the price.
 
You can find some great custom bush craft/ hunting/ camping knives for under 250. Get a nice CPM3V knife. Take a look around the knifemakers selling fixed blade forum on here before you buy anything, might give you some ideas. I am buying a knife from Robert Martin tearsofthesword.com
He will make you the knife you want, a true custom knife, for a good price. Definitely worth a look!!!
If you spend over 150, personally I would get a custom, but just my opinion. Good luck!
 
Any feed back on the three I'm looking at currently? Or something that would do something better than those?
 
Out of the 3 you listed, I've only handled the LMF and I didn't really care for it.

My favorites in the 5-6" range right now are my Ratmandu and Jackmandu from Swamp Rat.

sy5b1f.jpg


In the Becker line, I'd be more inclined to go for the 16 or 17 than the 22. They just offer more all-around utility, imo. I have the 15, but they're discontinued at present.

Here's a comparison shot of some more blades that I had handy from another thread:

16to2v.jpg


At the end of the day, there's generally no harm in just buying what you like. If it doesn't work out for whatever reason, just sell it or gift it and try something else. Most of us end up buying more than one, lol.
 
The Gerber Strongarm would be my suggestion over the LMF. It's a do it all blade at an affordable price point. Get the no serration version in whatever color floats your boat. You can spend more money but there is little reason to do so other then being a collector.
 
LMF2, didn't care for the combo edge and wasn't sure about the handle material and the reduced tang.

BK22 at .25" seems too overbuilt and heavy for it's size, just personal preference. Between that and the 10, I'd take the 10 for the reduced weight and stock thickness. I've never felt .187" was too thin for anything I'm likely to use a knife for, even heavy batoning and some prying.

I do have some blades in .22" and .25" thickness, but they're all a good deal larger.
 
Fallkniven S1 , Spyderco Bradley bowie or have member CharlieMike make one in the STEEL n style of your choice.
 
If you really want to be in the $120 range give or take. Maybe condor, Ontario, buck, cold steel, spyderco. I have only used the first three in fixed blades, and their HT's are great. The first two only machetes, great HT though. Not badly priced.
 
Ben W. said:
What about a BK-17? I heard it's a great EDC knife?
Click to expand...

You might be thinking the BK 11 or 14 for EDC. I guess some people might carry a 16 or 17 daily, but with 4 3/8ths blade length, they're more woods knives to me.

I only have the 15, but it's a great blade. Same handle as the 16 and 17, just a different blade shape. My 15 above has been lightly modded. I stripped the coating, thinned and convexed the edge, reground the primary a bit to take out the grind lines, and smoothed out the jimping to be less aggressive. I think either the 16 or 17 would be a solid choice, but there are tons of good options out there.
 
I'd look at a tops fieldcraft aka bob. More versatile of a blade while being robust still...out of what you mentioned the becker bk2/22 (only difference being the included sheath.) The Gerber lmf2 is junk and a waste of money for any real intended use, only if you planned on stabbing living things then the lmf2 would be more suitable..

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
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