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Recommend a knife (survival, Camp, SHTF, etc)
- Thread starter adrock1978
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 166
Another vote for Esee, unbeatable warranty, that you'll never need to use 
Below are some affordable choices - KaBar, ESEE RC-5, and Buck 650 Nighthawk. I am not fond of the Gerber LMFII, but it was a gift from #1 son - and is shown for scale.
My favorite? I think the RC-5 would be great - but my experiences with an old WWII KaBar my Dad had then in the S. Pacific made it a hard act to follow. I am sure there are millions of good stories of the wartime non-strategic material containing 'Utility Knife', too, but my uses were in camping. I never needed more knife - or a hatchet - but a pocket knife was handy at times. I dulled it often, through careless use, but it came back easily enough - and was more forgiving than a pocket knife to sharpen. Sure - there are better 'bushcraft' knives - and SS has it's merits in woods use, but I never remember seeing rust on it - or much Parkerizing. Current KaBars are made to the original spec - still in Olean NY, I think - and run ~$60 with a decent leather sheath.
Stainz
My favorite? I think the RC-5 would be great - but my experiences with an old WWII KaBar my Dad had then in the S. Pacific made it a hard act to follow. I am sure there are millions of good stories of the wartime non-strategic material containing 'Utility Knife', too, but my uses were in camping. I never needed more knife - or a hatchet - but a pocket knife was handy at times. I dulled it often, through careless use, but it came back easily enough - and was more forgiving than a pocket knife to sharpen. Sure - there are better 'bushcraft' knives - and SS has it's merits in woods use, but I never remember seeing rust on it - or much Parkerizing. Current KaBars are made to the original spec - still in Olean NY, I think - and run ~$60 with a decent leather sheath.
Stainz
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2009
- Messages
- 707
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If weight is not an issue, an ESEE-5 and Izula would make a great 'do anything' pair of knives.
For 99% of "survival, SHTF, hiking, camping" etc. chores a Spyderco Delica will get the job done...
An ESEE-3 is a good middle ground, and doesn't take up much space on a belt, pack, or wherever.
For 99% of "survival, SHTF, hiking, camping" etc. chores a Spyderco Delica will get the job done...
An ESEE-3 is a good middle ground, and doesn't take up much space on a belt, pack, or wherever.
You've already had some great suggestions, all of which would be excellent choices. Don't see any low cost options so I'll add a few. For around 25 bucks the CS GI Tanto or Bushman are great. Buck's Paklites are 15 to 20 bucks. If you want to go serrated for urban environments the Gerber Prodigy can be found for around 40 bucks and you can still find them in 12c27 sandvik at that price if you look around. Condor makes some nice blades for the price as well, usually under 50 bucks. Mora of course.. heck everybody should have at least one of those. Any of these will do 90% of what a higher priced blade will though maybe not with as much style, fit and finish, they will get the job done well and safely if he's concerned about cost. All that being said, if he's just going to buy one spending a little more on an ESEE or something similar might be a better option.