Pocket knife for the Borneo jungle?

When I was in the Philippine jungle 2 years ago I had a Victorinox soldier with alox scales. After about a week that knife was incredibly hard to open. Expansion , humidity...I'm not sure. I kept it cleaned and lubed it every couple of days and still was stiff. Just was my experience.
I left it with a friend who needed it more than I. He was very happy to get it.
 
I have both the farmers and one handed trekker. both are very solid but for the wet, humid environment, I would go with the one handed trekker.
 
RescueRiley said:
my vote is for the sak Forrester.. Out standing folding knife with a saw and a large stout locking blade.
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Good advice, but I don't relly like the serrated main blade on the Forester. Of course, I could grind it down to a plain edge.

Balldboy said:
Another vote for the Vic One Hand Trekker.
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Same as for the Forester.

Brad "the butcher";10362100 said:
You may want to consider a multi-tool over a SAK, pliers will come in very handy
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I thought about a multi-tool, but find it too heavy and clumsy to carry around as a pocket knife.
Maybe both...
Will pliers really come in that handy?

hiwa said:
When I was in the Philippine jungle 2 years ago I had a Victorinox soldier with alox scales. After about a week that knife was incredibly hard to open. Expansion , humidity...I'm not sure. I kept it cleaned and lubed it every couple of days and still was stiff. Just was my experience.
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That's very interesting.
I always thought the alox SAKs were pretty much as low maintenance and indestructible as pocket knives go.
Have to have a think about what could have caused that. Dirt is, of course, the first thing that springs to mind, but if you kept it clean and lubed that really shouldn't be a problem.
As for expansion, that definitely can't be it. The only thing I can think of is corrosion due to the knife being constantly wet/humid, either the aluminium or the steel being attacked. Perhaps the knife was often in contact with sweat as well (like lying in a sweaty pocket or such)? That would in such a case also add salt to the story, i.e. easier to end up with corrosion.
Hmmm, really need to think about that one.


Thanks for all the good advice guys.
Keep'em coming :thumbup:

/ Karl
 
Would say you cannot go wrong with a SAK but if 2 blades are supplied ....... what about a Letaherman? Still have a blade if really, really needed but the tool s do come in handy.
 
I'd have to vote for the SAK Farmer aswell. I've never been in any sort of jungle, but it has worked great for me in the places I've used it. The tools are just awesome. Also, on the point of the SAK becoming hard to open, that most likely came from complete lack of maintenance. I'm not saying anything about the guy who said that, but alot of people just use and abuse their SAK. Not thinking about lubing it up or anything like that. I say that, because I'm one of them, BUT if I was in the jungle...I'd probably take some lube and possibly something to try and clean the dirt/mud out of it when it gets bad.
 
I don't know about the Forester, but the OHT comes in serrated or non-serrated. I just received two more of the non-serrated in the mail last week for a total of three...one in each car kit and one as my EDC.
 
I would agree with others who've said either a Leatherman of some sort or a Vic One Hand Trekker.

As far as the OHT serrations, I really didn't think I'd like them but after using the knife a while they grew on me. They also make a non-serrated version (you can find in on that South American River website).

Of course I lost mine somewhere. I miss it and now I have to decide between serrated vs non-serrated.....

Whatever you choose have a great time and take LOTS of pics to post for us.
 
Unless your looking for the extra tools, why not give the Spyderco Salt Series a look. Their H1 steel wont rust. In fact, the knives are completely constructed of rust proof materials. Worth a look IMO.

-sh00ter
 
sh00ter01 said:
Unless your looking for the extra tools, why not give the Spyderco Salt Series a look. Their H1 steel wont rust. In fact, the knives are completely constructed of rust proof materials. Worth a look IMO.

-sh00ter
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+1 on the spyderco salts. That my go-to knife whenever i trave to tropical places.
 
Provided that you already have a machete and a smaller fixed blade, as a backup pocket knife I would choose a SAK. I love my Farmer its size is perfect, but I love even more the Victorinox scissors, so normally I compromise and carry a Huntsman.
Best Regards
 
I had an alox pioneer with me when I was on a little island in the middle of the Indian ocean. Carried it for the year I was there and never had any issue with it. It stayed perfectly functional for me. A buddy who was also there carried a plastic handled SAK ( probably a farmer) and he had no issues that I know of either. Ther was never a time that I was not carrying mine. It also went to costa rica with me and accompanied me on several research trips to the coastal areas of Texas. Unfortunately I misplaced it or it fell out of my pocket several years ago. I replaced though because it never failed me. My new one hasn't really seen much action but I would imagine that it mirrors the construction of my previous one. I don't know how it would have held up in Borneo, but it definitely does well on a tropical island that was anything but dry.
 
Karl5 said:
Good advice, but I don't relly like the serrated main blade on the Forester. Of course, I could grind it down to a plain edge.



Same as for the Forester.



I thought about a multi-tool, but find it too heavy and clumsy to carry around as a pocket knife.
Maybe both...
Will pliers really come in that handy?



That's very interesting.
I always thought the alox SAKs were pretty much as low maintenance and indestructible as pocket knives go.
Have to have a think about what could have caused that. Dirt is, of course, the first thing that springs to mind, but if you kept it clean and lubed that really shouldn't be a problem.
As for expansion, that definitely can't be it. The only thing I can think of is corrosion due to the knife being constantly wet/humid, either the aluminium or the steel being attacked. Perhaps the knife was often in contact with sweat as well (like lying in a sweaty pocket or such)? That would in such a case also add salt to the story, i.e. easier to end up with corrosion.
Hmmm, really need to think about that one.


Thanks for all the good advice guys.
Keep'em coming :thumbup:

/ Karl
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They say that in the Phillipines, electrical equipment doesn't last longer than about about 9 months due to the relative humidity and corrosion. If it lasts 2 monsoons, you're doing really well. With pocket stuff, you are definitely also adding salt to the mix. Constant sweating and very little evaporation. Maybe you want to consider something in stainless with Ti handles. Or maybe a Spyderco Salt?
 
Hi,

in 2010 I used a Ka-Bar Mule 3050 in the Philippines. A little bit heavy, but build like a tank and out of the box incredible sharp and easy to sharpen. From my point of view one of the most underrated folders.

An other option is the Ontario RAT 1. Having said this, I haven't used this knife in the tropics yet.

I had also a Leatherman Wave with me and it got quite a lot of rust. Take some kind of oil with you.

Best regards,

tuxtex
 
Since a student at forestry faculty on conservation (1993) until now, i am wandering Indonesia's jungle from west (Sumatra) to East (Papua). Started on 2008 i am in Borneo after 9 years in Sumatran jungle as biologist of US oldest science based conservation organization. With them i spent my time mostly in in the jungle (we have a research station, where can be reached by walking 5km from the nearest village by a small patch). But i had to do survey in Bukit Barisan Selatan Mountain range as well, where lies in 3 provinces.
At the moment, I am managing a conservation program. So i have to have to go to the "real big jungle", but for daily basis I have to check our facilities and my staffs. My office is just in the border of small forest (60hectares), but our facilities more than 400 hectares of forested land (we have several separated areas). My staffs and me working on that areas.
This experiences taught me that just bring as simple as you can, don't overkill and don't be minimalist.
When in Sumatran jungle, i used to brought golok/parang (mostly West Java or Eastern part of Sumatra's style, a SAK (Climber) and copy of herder solingen fixed blade (4"). That's enough.
At the moment, for Bornean jungle my list is still about the same.

For pocket knife, if i didnot bring small fixed blade (usually spyderco bushcraft's size), i will bring my Buck 112 or my spyderco endura. For the multitool, i will only bring a SAK which should be has; can opener, saw, crockscrew (if i have wine in my bag LoL), awl and of course blade/s. Not really need a scissor in that multitool.

Respects from Borneo,
Anton
Danish
 
Bill Siegle said:
I will ditto the SAK advice but I would go with a locking blade. I just prefer that extra bit of safety to make sure I don't fold up my blade before I am ready. Had it happen when I was a kid and I never forgot it.
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I really prefer the locking blade version of the Rucksack or Outrider. I like the more svelte Rucksack and it has the much used saw and excellent awl; so does the Outrider, but with the addition of scissors...very handy at trimming nails, cutting out mole skin, etc. I would also add that the locking blade models (Trekkers, Rucksack, Soldier, Outrider, etc.) are larger and more hand filling than the Alox models and it's been my experience that the plastic handled models (rougher type plastic, not the shiny models) are easier to grip when your hands are sweaty and wet.

Another option that I prefer over the Farmer is the older "Electrician Plus" model...I don't think it's a common offering anymore. It had a short wharnecliffe type blade for wire stripping, it's a good Alox model as well.

ROCK6
 
Why take anything extra? They are already providing the equipment they will be teaching you on. The only think you can possibly do is add confusion into the learning process.
 
Not to add more confusion to the mix, but I believe I'd be thinkin' more towards small fixed blade over multitool for jungle use. Maybe a Becker Necker or similar.
 
With the wide selection of SAKs out there, I would choose a ruberized grip big sized one hand opener Victorinox. Not sure of the model name but you will easily find them. If you don't find what you want, the Wenger brand of SAKs has a few more that might be worth looking at. I own one I bought in my last trip to Chamonix (climbing) and I don't use it much since it is heavier and bigger than the Victorinox I own... but you might find that it suits you better (bigger checkered grip).

Mikel
 
Never been to a jungle. But i realy like my SAK outrider. I like the size as it fits in my hand better also the blade locks. One of the tools i used alot more then i expected were the scissors.


Sasha
 
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