Newbie needs a camping knife.

G

ghart999

Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Messages
9
Hi all. I am very new to this world. I camp and backpack quite a bit and am looking for a high quality, low maintenance fixed blade. I always carry a swiss army knife for the little stuff.

I won't hunt with it and thus no animal skinning, etc. I want something hardy that I can chop kindling and cut veggies as well. Blade size I am thinking between 5" and 6.5". Cost? Well this is a gift from my uncle and he said to spend up to $200.

I was originally dead set on the Cold Steel Outdoorsmen San Mai.

After reading the forum a bit I am realizing that many aren't fans of CS.

The top choices now, from the reading forum posts are:

Cold Steel Outdoormen San Mai
Cold Steel SRK San Mai
Fallkniven A1
Fallkniven S1
Esse-6
KA-BAR 2 or 7

People on the foum also seem to love Benchmade and I forget the name but something River?

My main concerns are this. I would like something that does not need much maintenance if that makes sense. Something sharp and stays sharp.

I want this to be a knife that will last me a lifetime.

Also I know very little about different types of steel. If there's any of the knives I listed (or one's you recommend) that requires knowledge about the steel, feel free to let me know.

Thank you so much for the help and let me know if you need any more info.
 
Maybe a Bark River Bravo-2...

or

Swamp Rat RatManDu (sheath extra).

For blade maintenance you can carry a cloth lubrication @ virtually no weight.
 
The Fallkniven S1 would be perfect for you.

Bark River makes great knives. Their Bravo-2 is a great knife. Its just that its not made for what you want to do with your knife. Bark River does make a bunch of phenomenal knives designed specifically for what you want to do with your knife. Take a look at their NorthStar, Aurora, and LitenBror. (or Fox River, or Canadian Special....)

Of course they don't have awesome tacticool names like "Bravo-2"....that seems to be the most important thing about a knife to people for some reason. :confused:
 
Check out the Makers for sale area, there are many different makers here that could offer what you're looking for.
 
If you got a budget up to $200 from your uncle (very cool uncle!) maybe get a great versatile fixed blade 4-6inch. blade and a real chopper also.

Fallkniven S1 or A1 would be great if you want less maintenance and a Cold Steel Kukri Machete (or Ontario, Condor, etc.) to just hack away at the rough stuff without care.

If buying American and/or great warranty is more important Bark River Bravo 1 or 2 since you have the budget...or ESEE 4 or 6 with fire-kit, sharpening supplies, and Ontario Machete.

Maybe next time at a store handle a couple of knives at different sizes and see which one seems best for you to have strapped on your body or stuffed in a pack. For me I don't like even a 7" blade's sheath on a belt, so consider how you are going to carry the knife definitely. Imagine all the cool knives always left at home because people realize they get in the way during normal movement.
 
Thanks all. I will consider the posted knives from Bark River and look in the maker's section too.

What about the Bark River STS-5. Would that suit my needs? Looks nice.

The Bravo 2 certainly seems decent too.
 
i agree on the machete. another of my want list is a condor hogsticker. but 18 inches hanging on your side?. i carry a 16 inch modified tram and it is too big. i think 14 inches is about right.see if you can sew something on your pack for over the shoulder draw.just my 2 cent.

joey
 
Bark river or ESEE Great prices on outstanding USA made knives,both with great warranty's.
BTW ESEE's warranty is freakin amazing. If you somehow manage to break it, they'll replace it no questions asked :D
For your purposes, I would go with either the ESEE 5 or 6 and/or BRKT Bravo 1,or Bravo 2.
 
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The STS-5 is a fighting knife. Like the Bravo-2 it's the wrong design for your needs.

Yes, it looks cooler and has a cool name, but you want a camping/hiking knife, right?

Bark River makes camping/hiking knives.
 
Yeah I do want a hunting/camping knife. Thanks marcinek.

Is there a general difference between the 2 types? I would think hunting/camping is tougher but less sharp maybe with fighting being the opposite of those? Maybe a poor generalization...
 
You just have to consider blade geometry/design and how effective it would be for different tasks. Consider the old Ka-bar which is fine for camping/woods and fighting but there are definitely better for camping/woods use and you don't really need the sharpened upper swedge or a upper false edge of some designs for what you want. You can use your Swiss Army for delicate, fine tip work.

You can check out some YouTube videos and see how some of the knives handle for them, and how they perform at light chopping and other tasks, it's a good tool.
 
All great suggestions so far ... questions like this usually lead to even further confusion on what to actually buy.
 
Here's what Mors Kochanski (who literally wrote the book on bushcraft) says...

The general-purpose bush knife should have a blade as long as the width of the palm, although blades half or twice this length are within acceptable limits. A blade five centimeters long would be an excellent survival knife except for being too small to fall and limb trees of wrist-thickness. A blade 10 to 15 centimeters (3.93 to 5.90 in) long will do intricate work like carving a netting needle, yet be large enough to present a good target for a baton when cutting down small trees. A blade 20 centimeters (7.87 in) long is a superior tool for heavy work, but awkward to use for fine work.

All general-use knives should have the blade tip close to the profile centerline of the handle. The back of the handle and the back of the blade should be on the same line. The back of the blade should not be thinned down or sharpened so that a baton can be used more effectively without being cut up. There is no advantage to a two-edged blade in bush living.

The blade should be of a good quality carbon steel, from two and a half to three millimeters (0.010 to 0.012 in) thick and about two to two and a half centimeters wide (0.787 to 0.984 in). This size of blade is light in weight, yet difficult to break. The steel should be soft enough to be maintained at a shaving edge with common sharpening tools, without frequent sharpening. Such steel is found in Mora (Sweden), Solingen (Germany) or Sheffield (England) knives. Carbon, unlike stainless steel, can be used as the striker in the flint and steel method of fire-lighting. Inexpensive stainless steels have had a bad reputation with respect to producing a keen edge let alone holding it. The Mora stainless steels however, are every bit as good as their carbon steels.

The metal of the knife blade should extend for the full-length of the handle (a full tang) for strength. The handle should be a durable, water-resistant material that can be shaped to the user’s hand if necessary. The knife should have a strong pommel that will protect the handle if the knife is driven tip first deep into wood.

The curvature of the cutting edge should extend for the full-length of the blade. This cuts well and is one of the best shapes that quickly sharpens to a razor’s edge. The knife blade should have a sharp enough point to penetrate deep into wood with a minimum of effort.


A guard on a bush knife is in the way and detracts from many operations. It prevents the use of a simple, secure deep sheath. Some people prefer a guard for fear of slipping forward onto the knife edge, but unless the knife is used for stabbing, the hand should never slip in this way. In all my years of instructing I do not recall an injury due to the lack of a guard.

As a test of strength, a good knife should not break when driven four centimeters into a standing tree at right-angles to the grain, and the handle bears your weight as you stand on it."

Mors Kochanski, Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival
Click to expand...
 
heres the set-up the famous outdoorsman Nessmuk used...

woodcraft-and-camping.bmp


His knife is very close to a current Old Hickory. Its a kindling maker/skinner/food prep knife.

I'm not sure where people have gotten the idea that you need a tacticool bomb-proof assault knife to go hiking/camping. If you are going to chop veggies and make kindling, you want a thinnish, uncoated slicer.

If you have a gassed up car full of beer within 50 yards at all times and your camping entails bashing the bejeebus out of stuff (which certainly is a great time), then get yourself one of those thick black-coated "chopper" knives. They are perfect for that kinda stuff. They are an absolute blast.

It all depends on what you want to do.
 
If you are thinking about one of the makers here....I think this Kephart from JK Handmade knives would be almost impossible to beat. Its blade thickness and full grind are perfect for the slicing jobs that hiking/camping entails and it no doubt would handle kindling-making very well.

5my7h1.jpg


Sure....it doesn't have a cool name with "Spec", "Gov", "Ops", "Mil" or "Tac" in it, you can't break down a door with it or stab a 55 gallon drum with it, its noncoated surface will give away your position to enemy sentries, it doesn't have a barb wire/fence cutter built in, and there are no skulls on it...but I think it will do what you want it to.

At a pretty reasonable price!
 
$200 will get you at least one very nice custom blade from several of the makers on this forum, and possibly could get you two.

I agree with OrdnanceBubbaUSMC. I've get a 4"-5" bladed knife for all around general use and then get a bigger blade for a chopper. You won't always need the chopper, but since your uncle is footing the bill, might as well make the most of it. :D

Maybe pick up the smaller blade from a custom maker and then get something from Condor for the chopper. One of the machetes, the Hudson Bay, or the Kumunga. All of those are under $50, much less than that for the machetes.
 
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