Outdoor/Camping/Survival Knife Preferences

B

B.F.U

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Jan 1, 2013
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I am looking for a fixed blade for general outdoor use, camping, some bushcraft, some hunting, and survival type stuff. I guess to put a name to it, a survival knife.

I was wondering what steels, handles, blade styles, blade lengths, and blade thicknesses you much more experienced knife enthusiasts prefer, or would suggest. Also, specific knives that you prefer would be interesting to see.

I seem to prefer drop point or spear type blades, between 4 and 7 inches, from .15 to .25 inches thick, and with a longer yet thinner handle. The problem with that, however, is that it is a wide range of preferences.

So basically I would just like to read what you all have to say about a knife for such purposes.

Thanks

ALLHSS
 
Simple question that should result in only a couple hundred responses. :)
Denis
 
Well I think you should study the Becker BK2, BK7 and BK9 to start with. There are lots of good answers to this question and these are good answers and probably the most cost efficient answers.
 
I looked at the BK2, actually got to mess with one. I can't remember if it was at a gun show or if my friend had one. Anyway, what do you like about them other than the cost?
 
We have a BK2, BK7, Ontario RAT-7, Mora's, a Martini, and just added Enzo Trappers. The Beckers are beasts, and seem to have good steel. Love the stock handles. I don't care for the false edge on the back by the BK7 tip though. The RAT-7 is lighter, and a bit softer 1095. The micarta handle is too square so just for fun I'll probably re-handle it. All 3 are big knives and need good equipment / technique to sharpen. These we usually won't take on 15 mile / day backpacking trips because of the weight, but they go on all the others. To be honest though, they have seen more backyard playing the last year than real-time in the woods.

Middle of the road for us are the Enzo Trappers, zero-grind Scandi, in 01, but we don't have scales on them yet but they have quite a following, and should take abuse rather well. I have a hunch these will become our in-the-woods regulars.

Light weight and inexpensive are the Mora Clippers, laminated traditional Mora, and a small Martini, all with zero-grind Scandi. These have served us very well, but won't take the abuse. (Note "abuse," as opposed to excellent workhorses when used for cutting things.) The are our EDC - light weight, great edges, easy to sharpen, comfortable and well balanced. Everyone should have at least a couple Mora's and Martini's around. The laminated Mora is something like 60RC in the middle, just a little brittle, but holy cow what a nice hard edge. However I bent it prying some frozen food and just bent it back w/o damage. Heh.
 
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Honestly, for my use, most any quality knife will do fine for ordinary outdoors tasks. I can only think of one occasion where my knife choice mattered and I wished I had a different one. It was cold and rainy and I wanted a fire. Only large, wet pieces of wood were available, and my only cutting tool was a BRKT Mini Canadian.

Considering the pros and cons and minutia of various knives is half the fun for us knife knuts, but it is pretty hard to go totally wrong, particularly since the OP's criteria are for a pretty versatile size and shape.

I have found that I like a small 3"-4" blade teamed up with a bigger wood processing tool of some kind.
 
Buddy, I have fumbled around with knives for a while. Some useful buys, some more in the toy category, all were fun though so no loss. What people here have guided me toward is my present incarnation of a basic kit. 1. A smaller knife that can slice, like a Mora (get an extra back up, they are inexpensive). A hatchet or mid sized axe. But for Gods sake learn how to use it safely. I truly love my little Wetterlings hatchet. And a decent quality folding hand saw. So basicly a 4 inch slicing knife, a hatchet, a folding saw. Or whatever variation on these themes make sense to you.
 
I think questions like these almost always dwell in the hypothetical realm. they're fun though.

I have found that when I'm outdoors for an extended period of time, I get plenty of use and utility out of a 7"+ bladed knife for fire prep tasks but I don't like to carry one unless I have a pack. I like to carry a 4" or shorter blade on my belt for incidental use or for carving and I can do fire prep with it. I like to use a kitchen knife for camp kitchen chores, I like to use a saw, I like to use an axe. Each have their uses but in terms of what I'm likely to have on me, it's a 4"er or smaller with a 1/8" thickness max in carbon steel with either a convex or scandi edge, I can maintain either. What I won't compromise on is a full size handle.
 
For hunting, you really don't want a large blade. You could get it done with one, but they are not ideal. I've used a Buck Vanguard for hunting and that pretty much is the best knife I have used for that. (Deer, smaller animals I'd use an Izula.. though the Vanguard would work fine) I;m sure it could handle any other tasks you may have within it's limits, too.
 
I have been checking out different knives too, but after some experience with different grinds it seems that I got the roles of some of my knives reversed. I used to watch Nutnfancy on Youtube, and he seems to really like full flat grinds on some of his wood processing blades, but I have seen pictures of broken knives (like the Cold Steel Leatherneck) with full flat grinds from battoning with them.

I got this Spiderco Endura 4 that is fully serrated that has a saber grind, and it really seems like a good saw that is low maintenance that also has thicker metal towards the cutting edge. I wish I would have bought the full flat grind/plain edge on my first Endura though. Im just getting used to the serrated one now after a few months. It lives in my shorts I wear around the house, but doesn't slice that well in food prep.

So I ended up getting this Blackjack Halo 14 for my outdoors knife, and I'm still getting used to it too. Its almost full flat grind. There is only about 3/8 of the saber grind that is near the back of the blade. This knife isn't a good chopper, and I think I may sell it along with the Endura and go with Becker or ESEE for my shorter outdoors blade, then buy an Endura or Delica for food prep and finally a chopper that is thicker than my Cold Steel Kukri... Maybe an Onterio SP-53.

There are so many variations of blades that you may want to figure out what roles each blade will play

I'm still loving the Paramilitary 2 though, it's a good pocket knife paired with an SAK Classic, but I have been wanting a 3 bladed Stockman lately. so I can do some carving.

I'd just recommend to get the general idea of the blades, and try some out.
 
Tim Smith, from Jack Mountain Bushcraft has an excellent podcast on practical survival here:
http://www.jackmtn.com/podcast.html

In it, he makes a compelling argument (to my mind, anyhow) that a survival knife is any knife you can use to make wood shavings, since with wood shavings, you can make a fire and a fire can save your life.

I've been backpacking for over 30 years and winter camping for over 20. I've made a bunch of campfires but have never had to do so in order to stay alive. Once, I had to cut saplings to make a litter to assist in an evacuation but I've never had to make an emergency shelter or split wood to stay alive.

Given the ounces add up to pounds and given that "speed is safety" [1], I'm fairly judicious about what I carry. I find that a light locking folder with blades in teh 3" to 4" range, like an Opinel #9 or #10 is more than enough to make wood shavings. In the winter, I'll back this up with a light folding saw, as I find that busting up dead fall is the most labor intensive part of making fires in the New England woods. I expect that different woods demand different tools.

In the end, people should carry what makes them the happiest. If that's a fixed blade, that's OK. I could see a light fixed blade finding it's way into my pack too.
 
There are LOTS of choices... litterally hundreds.

The BK-2 is a tank. Just depends on how good you are with a heavy knife in terms of using it.

My old beater/use for everything woods knife was a SOG Seal Pup Elite. It always worked for me. Certainly not as "pretty" as my current knife. If you are on a serious budget, many of the Condor knives would serve your purpose. Some like the Condor Hudson Bay for a general use camp knife, but I wouldn't choose it for hunting. But then, you can field dress an animal with a sharp hatchet... so it is all about preferences.

I got a BlackJack 125 in the spring of this past year and it has become my woods knife of choice. It just feels really good in my hand and cuts well. I also like the Fallniven F1 and A2. Either of those are all you need. I like the BK-2 and it might well be a good choice for many. It is just a bit heavy for me and I don't do a lot of chopping with knives unless its a machete. I very much like the short machetes for woods use, but I wouldn't want to carry one a lot (unless I am chopping a lot) or it was in a pack and I could get in out when the need arises.

I tend go with a two knife approach; folder and fixed blade in the woods. And frankly, I use the folder more. I usually use the folder for field dressing as well.

If this knife is primarily for skinning or field dressing, than I would lean toward a smaller knife (3" blade) unless you are talking "really" big game.
 
How much do you want to spend? That will help narrow it down.

The above suggestion of a general-use fixed blade, coupled with a good folder, is solid advice. And, as you can probably gather from a number of the posts above, a lot of people tend toward the smaller end of the 4" - 7" scale for a general outdoor knife. You really don't need a large knife for most tasks if you know how to use it well. Couple it with a larger tool specifically for wood-processing if needed. It's a tried and true kit that will do lots of things.

Btw, I would not recommend the BK2 if you want to also use it as a hunting knife. Too big, too thick, too heavy for normal dressing chores imo. Maybe if you were dressing a Cape Buffalo you could find a use for it. Nor would I really want to do a lot of hiking with a knife that big and heavy.
 
I like the Esee 4! Mine came with the jump proof molle sheath, and I like how secure it is. I put it on my pack often and don't worry about it at all. Slow to get to, but I know it will be there when I look for it. And it is a solid knife. Great warranty if I ever need it.
 
I like a blade length between 4 and 4.5", a thickness between 0,1 and 0,2" and a good handle that fills my hand and allows for various different grips. A drop point blade is a good thing because it gives the point a lot of strength for prying and drilling.

A good example is the BK-16 which I got recently and come to like a LOT. There are a few things about the handle that led me to the decision to make my own handles for it. I also really like the EnZo Trapper in O1. Both are great knives.

Of course, I like to combine those knives with a folder or multitool (often my Victorinox SwissTool) and a large tool, like a machete, axe or hatchet, or just a simple folding saw. I have a Sierra 180 that I like a lot, even better than the Bahco Laplander which I've handled a few times.
 
maethor said:
A good example is the BK-16 which I got recently and come to like a LOT.
Click to expand...
That Becker BK-16 looks like a heck of a bargain. It's their Cro-Van right? Did you get the full flat grind? If would have one if it had been on the market when I purchased my RAT-7.
 
Becker makes a good knife as mentioned above.

Thin has its advantages.
 
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I really like the stainless version of the Mora Clipper.

I use my Benchmade 710 folder the most often because of how available it is, always ready and handy to open and close. I carry the More because it makes cleaning fish, preparing food and kindling prep easy and fast, I hate the way gunk gets packed into the open frame of my folder, I would rather keep it clean and use it for small tasks at hand.

I keep the fixed blade in my pack and wear it around my neck when I am actually using it. I used a Carbon Clipper for years and it was excellent but I got tired of wiping the rust off the blade while out in the woods. I fish a lot and the carbon steel rusts very quickly, although it is light and comes off easily. I have found no difference in sharpening or edge holding between the two different steels. They are both great.

Personally I gave up on big choppers and went with a saw for heavy cutting, it is quiet, safe and easy to use in awkward angles when working on dead wood still in the tree.

From what I have seen the tool matters less than the skill of the user. People do good work with whatever tools they like the best. If you hanker for a big knife and spend the time to learn how to use it then it will serve you well, the same goes for a tomahawk, a machete, a folding saw or a small knife. It's all about whatever you take the time to learn the best.
 
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