one knife

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pikey30

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Sep 9, 2004
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I am having trouble figuring out my next knife purchase. I am getting more and more into survival everyday and my bushcraft knowledge is coming along as well. Is there a perfect knife for both? Money is an option and I was looking to purchase one knife that would be ideal for both. I have been digging through old posts but can’t come to a decision. I had a few companies in mind, but not to many specific examples. I have had my eye on the tracker for a long time but I am not sure. I thought I might like something from Emerson but they don’t have many fixed blades, I looked into swamp rat and have had bark river’s northstar in mind in addition to some TOPS models. Any help would be greatly appreciated. My primary hard use knife now is a USMC ka-bar.
 
My advice is stick with the KA-BAR. That's cause I'm a Jarhead, but to be perfectly honest, that knife will do ANYTHING as far as I'm concerned. Hammer, cut, chop, and destroy to your heart's content and if you lose it, you're only out about 45 bucks as apposed to one of the 3 digit others.

I seriously don't think you can find a better knife for a survival situation on a tight budget. I've had mine for years and it only cost me 30 bucks. I've used it for everything and haven't had to buy a new knife yet.
 
The Kabar is a good blade, no doubt about it and it has a place in survival and the woods. Except, for bushcrafting (carving, trap making etc.) a blade that's around 4" might be better suited for your needs.

I bought the NorthStar and it's a tough blade. Because of the convex grind, its a much better slicer than the Marine blade, but many find the handle a bit small for their taste. I wear a large sized glove and there are times when making a power cut, that I want a beefier gripping surface, but otherwise, it's a great knife in my opinion. Plus, Mike Stewart may be making a larger version of the NorthStar in the near future.

Allan Blade of www.bladecutlery.net makes a knife especially for wilderness bushcrafting and survival that he just started putting a scandi grind on. I'll be looking at his scandi ground Pack Pal with a horizontal carry kydex sheath. I've read good reviews on his work.
 
seems like the blade you have is a good one for most anything anyone will come up on, maybe a chopper would be better in the woods but the k-bar will butcher game and just about anything that anyone needs to do.
 
Ive had my SHORT USMC Kabar for a couple of yeats and love it. It's good at about everything. Like "longbow" said it would be better to get a smaller knife for wood work but it can still be done easy with the Kabar. Stick with the Kabar.
 
Ka-Bars are very good knives - but Swamp Rats are better. Take a look at the Howling Rat or (if you don't the extra length and weight is acceptable for your purposes) the Camp Tramp. These knives won't break your bank either.
 
KA-BAR 1211 is the model I have. There's a LOT of different lengths, sizes, blade styles, etc. take a look at any KA-BAR dealer. Like just about everyone including me said, one of the best all around survival blades you can buy.
 
Ka-Bar are great! From Ka-bar, if you can get in touch with a "warthog" try it, you'll love it! It's compact enough so you can have it everywhere, and it's a great razorsharp working knife. If you know a good bladesmith, ask him to remove the topguard and you'll get a knife with a top of the top perfect balance! Randall's survival school tested it in hard conditions during a jungle class and the knife did great, it outperformed many much bigger knives!
Otherwise, my personnal favorite survival blade is my Battle Rat from Swamp Rat, a bit big, but I carry it in my Bug out bag so it's not a big problem for me. You can also take a look at Ontario's survivals blades, here is a link:
http://www.jungletraining.com/links.htm?
have fun and good luck in your quest!
 
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