Of these two knives which would you choose?

T

TropicHeat

Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
13
Okay I'm looking for a TEOTWAWKI blade. If it going down all out chaos and YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONE of these 2 knives and only one as your ONLY blade. (I know... Who has just one blade :p) but for the sake of the hypothetical, you can have only one of these two as your only blade for defense hunting survival the whole deal.

Entrek buffalo
1/4" thick 7" long blade of 440c with excellent heat treat
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Tops steel eagle 107E
1/4" thick 7" long blade of 1095 with excellent heat treat
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Which one and why?
 
I only see one knife but I'd definitely go with 1095 over 440c if I only had one knife and had to rely on it.
 
1095 steel is much better for a survival knife as it can take more of a beating so I'd go with that and I think Tops makes a great knife.
 
mcrow said:
1095 steel is much better for a survival knife as it can take more of a beating so I'd go with that and I think Tops makes a great knife.
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More of a beating and, depending on heat treat, still be easier to sharpen. Especially in a situation where proper sharpening gear might be a scarce and valuable commodity.
 
I would go with the 1095 steel for sure. Takes a beating and easy to put an edge back on.
 
roughedges said:
More of a beating and, depending on heat treat, still be easier to sharpen. Especially in a situation where proper sharpening gear might be a scarce and valuable commodity.
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Yes, you can sharpen 1095 fairly well with just about any sharpening device you come across. Even those cheap $10 things at walmart will put a decent edge on 1095 in a pinch.
 
It won't get hair popping, or even anywhere close, but with 1095 you can even get a useable edge with concrete to sharpen and denim to strop or using glass and sand. Heck, probably even thicker bailing wire. That is probably possible with 440c too but it would take dang near forever in comparison.
 
Not saying I'd choose the Entrek, but you better keep your 1095 steel clean and dry (something that may be hard to do in TEOTWAWKI) or you're gonna rust out fast. You won't have that problem with 440C.

I used to be a die-hard 1095 guy and I still like it but ever since I got my Fallkniven A1 I'm finding it hard to go back to high carbon steels. I'll put the Fallkniven's laminated VG-10 stainless steel against any high carbon blade any day of the week. I've used it on multiple camping trips, batoned through some really hard wood, and have yet to sharpen that thing and it still takes hair off my arm. Not one spec of rust either despite being left wet. There's a reason why the Swedish Army adopted it as their official survival knife.
 
Why spend so much? There are a million heavy use knifes aroud 100 or less. Look at Esee, Becker, Condor, and others. They all make excellent knives that fit your needs.
 
The Entrek looks like a nice knife, tho I never heard of them. I never cared much for Tops....Personally I would look at other options like ESEE or Bark River.
 
I would go for ESEE knives. Shoot, you could both large and small for that price, and have the best warranty in the knife world!

I have Busse, but I don't "need" them.

Also, in that price range, take a hard look at Swamprat and Scrapyard knives!
 
Of those two, I'd go for the TOPS. The 440c's corrosion resistance isn't a good trade-off for the 1095's durability since knives tend to rust less when they're used regularly.
 
jonnyt16 said:
Not saying I'd choose the Entrek, but you better keep your 1095 steel clean and dry (something that may be hard to do in TEOTWAWKI) or you're gonna rust out fast. You won't have that problem with 440C.
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get some staining or rust spots? maybe/probably. "RUST OUT"? not even close.

leave a 1095 blade outside in a monsoon for a week and you'll need ten minutes to get it back in use... People way overblow the rust issue on here.
 
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