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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Recommend a solid fixed blade under $75 for backpacking, mtn biking, camping
- Thread starter csisland
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
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- 2,090
Svord hunter. 15n20 carbon steel. Less than $50. Solid, simple, cheap.
seems that the strictest knife laws are in nyc and not the outer lying areas. i should be good to go because i hate manhattan.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2006
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- 8,250
Izula or Izula 2 is the perfect backpacking companion imho, combine it with a SAK (Huntsman or Farmer) and you can take on anything.
I've been playing with my setup lately because I just haven't been content with it. Do I carry my silky, my scrapper 711, BHK belt knife, etc...The other day I came to a realization. I've been trying to get the best survival setup bladewise and figured, "well if it's too big/heavy/awkward I'll put it in my pack." The other day I realized that if I have a survival blade in my pack...I'm WEARING A PACK. And if I'm wearing a pack why carry steel when I can carry a tarp and some extra clothes? So I realized that any survival gear needs to be on me which is restricted by what I will actually carry on my person. Can't do belt carry and baldric is okay but not really a fan of the blade flopping about, no on neck carry too. So that means my pockets. Long story short, what you've described is exactly what I'm going to be carrying from now on as my survival blades. SAK Farmer and Izzy 2. I'll probably carry extra blades here and there in my pack but they will be for projects/fun and not for survival.
any problem with handling the izula 2? i'm concerned that because it's a little smaller than some of the others, that it would be harder to handle and my hand might slip.
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- Feb 3, 2006
- Messages
- 8,250
No. I have medium/large hands and it's pretty hand filling. Plus it has a really prominent guard. I actually use the guard when choking up on the knife and is one of the features I like about it. I've heard from a lot of guys who have used it hunting and they haven't had any problems either.
ok thanks for the feedback.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2013
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- 158
I'd just continue to lean further in that direction, cause you're headed the right way. If you'd like something beefy, and a true all around knife, the BK7 would fill more tasks than a tweener. But the 7 would not preform as good as a tweener in small tasks, and not as good as a large blade on the chopping/batoning, but it can do everything.
I think the question of "survival" changes depending on whether you look at it as a bushcrafter (reading Kohanski, Mears and such) or as a mountaineer (reading Manning, Chouinard, Messner).
For the mountaineer, the pack is life. It contains shelter and fire (stove) and clothing. IMO, it was the adoption of mountaineering tools that made backpacking and self-contain bike/ski touring possible. Also enabled low(er)-impact camping (or at least impact elsewhere).
The SAK is probably the most common choice among mountaineers but a light locking folder backed up by a small mutli-tool is also possible for the same weight. A pocket knife has the advantage of always being on your person without any conflict with pack straps.
I've been in several places that could go really bad. Snow slopes where a fall could turn into a slide for life. I've seen people gathered up and spit out by avalanches. Been in parties on winter trips where people have fallen into streams (single digit temps, both times). Been on winter trips where we ran out of drinking water and needed to melt snow to hydrate. Camped in -10F ranges multiple times and -5F temps more than I count. I've been involved with winter rescues and have seen folks go into shock. I've never once been in a situation that demanded the construction of a shelter or the making of a fire. Nice skills to have and plenty of fun in their own right. But not needed for survival from the viewpoint of (pedestrian level) mountaineer.
No right or wrong here. Only choices and what makes a person happy.
Here's my US made fixed blade. I paid less than $20 for it on an auction site. I had to redo the edge and I filed it to a drop point. Just shy of 5". Batons just fine (within reason). The old Schrade-Walden 1095 is very hard stuff, almost to the point of being brittle. Baton wood, shave arm hair to check edge, repeat. This comes on hunting trips and some winter trips where a fire might be a sustainable option for fun.
H 15 drop point 2 by Pinnah, on Flickr
Big note, the only point of this post is open up options. It's your pack, your enjoyment and your trip. Hike your own hike!!