Rugged & Durable Fixed Blades

Most of the suggestions here are very good (dark ops, you were doing so good until that!
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:D )

As you check out all the companies/makers consider the warranties they offer,
a good company/maker stands behind their product,
Life-Time and more warranties say a lot.

Good luck and let us know what you get and how it works for you.
 
IMO one knife will always stand out as the king of super tough survival knives and that is the Swamprat Ratweiler, either the origional clip point or the newer Chopweiler Drop point.
I have never felt the need for any other knife in that size !!!
 
If you could afford a busse go for it, some times people here sell them for a little less. Other then that, I go with an RC6, great knife, good geometry out of the box, great handle shape and good stock sheath.

I have used mine lots and with a higher grind, the knife cuts very well.:thumbup:
Very good cutter, first pic is the moded edge, second is stock.
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Plus its a looker.;)
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And chopping is nice with a thiner grind, both had 8 hard chops, works good me tinks.:D
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Any of the Bussekin blades in your size will be good and you can find a blade to suit your budget....scrapyard....swamprat....busse....in order of cheapest to dearest....the NMSFNO reccommended earlier at the Busse Company Store is best for availability....and probably performance as well.....plus the warranty is superb.
 
RC4 or RC6. If you wanted really great performance out of em convex the edges. I've done it on mine and they work fantastic. Personaly I prefer the sheath on the RC4 so I carry it more often.
 
I would suggest the RAT Cutlery RC6 and Izula combo...Excellent knives.....as are the othere brands you mentioned
 
This is coming out 'soon' from scrapyard. Price is expected to be under $100. I have issues with the scrapyard business model, but I may swallow my pride and get one myself.

Steel: SR101
Handle: Resiprene C Mudder Style
Blade Length: 5 1/4"
Blade Thickness: Approx. 3/16" Possibly thinner at .165"
Overall Length: 10 1/4"

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Another questions guys....I know I am hopelessly undecisive. What is the difference between Ranger Knives & Ontario Ranger knives? Are the made at the same location? Is one better quality than the other? If anyone can clarify the difference I would really appreciate it. Thanks ONCE AGAIN, you guys have been a tremendous help and I will let you all know what I end up going with when I pull the trigger!
 
Another questions guys....I know I am hopelessly undecisive. What is the difference between Ranger Knives & Ontario Ranger knives? Are the made at the same location? Is one better quality than the other? If anyone can clarify the difference I would really appreciate it. Thanks ONCE AGAIN, you guys have been a tremendous help and I will let you all know what I end up going with when I pull the trigger!

Depending on model, I think most of ontario knives are made in the states, where as all the ranger models are made in the states.

If I were picking from an ontario knife and a Ranger, I would go for a Ranger.
 
Ranger got bought out by Ontario , Justin & Crew still makes them just under Ontario's name I believe ....
 
I went with RAT cutlery and will never look back. Check out the RC6 or the new RC5.both are awesome. And with the coating I had no problem with rust. I would stray away from the ranger knives for now due to them now being produced by ontario just to see if the quality drops off at all. But one of his knives pre-ontario are solid.
 
ChopWeiler pics that I missed from my previous post !

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And here is me giving it a little gentle persuasion through some tough wood !

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Wow pitdog, gorgeous knife...
If you don't mind me asking, how much does one of those run and where can I get one?! Looks extreme heavy-duty by the blade thickness.
 
I could be wrong but I think the Ontario Rangers are made BY Ontario under Justin's supervision. I haven't heard anything negative about them at all. I've got a few of Justin's Rangers and they are beasts! I've got a bunch of RATs and Bark Rivers as well. All of these are outstanding knives with great warranties. One important question how much you want to spend. If you want a good all around outdoors/camp knife you definitely can't go wrong with RAT. If you want a really heavy duty knife/chopper I'd say go with Ranger. If you can spend just a little more and want some more handle options and an insanely sharp knife out of the box, check out Bark River. Their convex grind is tough to beat for initial sharpness and ease of edge maintenance.
 
Wow pitdog, gorgeous knife...
If you don't mind me asking, how much does one of those run and where can I get one?! Looks extreme heavy-duty by the blade thickness.

Wow I had to go back on the exchange a while to find one, last one went for $175. If ya can find one they really are worth the money, the SR101 steel takes a real keen edge and maintains it for ages ( I've still not had to touch mine up yet ) and yet the Swamprat heat treat creates a real tough blade that resists snapping under load ( prying etc )and chipping !
 
I got bunches of knives (certainly not the collection most here have though) and I could buy a custom if I wanted, but to tell you the truth, I really like my Ontario Pilots knife. Can it baton a railroad tie? No. Is it made of "ubersteel?" No. but I have been beating it pretty good for a few years now and the 1095 keeps saying "thank you sir, may I have another?"

The blade profile is great. The sawback sucks for chopping down trees, but works GREAT for cutting figure 4 notches. The sheath is good once you hit it with linseed oil. And you can't hammer in a tent peg easily with most other "bushcraft" knives but this thing could build a small rancher if you needed to.

Not suggesting you buy what I have, just saying buy what works for you.

Mine works for me.
 
The bussekin models in the 7" size are great knives and the king of indestructable. They aren't easy to find, but the scarpyard scrapper 5 will be on the website soon and you will have a unique opportunity to order a super economical busse at the factory price. The window will probably be about 4 weeks to order one. You will probably have to wait 2-3 mo before you get it. But you will have a kick ass knife that is worth every penny and more.

Then there is Rat Cutlery - which I think serves different purposes, but is no less a knife. They have every bit the warrenty that Busse does, and by all accounts of the reviews that are out there live up to the reputaton of toughness that Busse has. The difference is that they are less pricey, though made of 1095 steel (the coating removes maintenance), and can be had immediately from many suppliers. The RC-5 is available in super thick 1/4" steel. My Recommendation would be for the RC-6 thoug. I just think it is a superior knife that optimizes blade length, cutting performance and weight.

Ontario rangers have a good reviewes - Spookypistolero just provided a review of the ranger Afghan model. They are great knives too - more of the 1/4" variety.

Beckers are great knives. The BK7 and BK-9 are perhaps the deal to be had, low cost, full tang, very robust and dependable and good steel. The only think I'm less enthusiastic about them is the plastic handles - although they are essentially bomb proof and yet comfortable.

Notice how all these knives - and most of the recommendations are for tool steels? Yes they require a little bit of maintenance but they are awesome. Their toughness is worth the little bit of fuzz that you take off with a brillo pad after you came home from the wilderness. A little rust fuzz never really hurts the blade and if you are actually using the knife, you find that the rust never has an opportunity to form.

Finally - the fallkniven mentioned. If that corrosion resistance is of absolute importance to you, then this is the knife the A1 or the A2 is mighty fine. Nothing wrong with them. I'm not in love with their plastic handles - but the blade is superb, the steel is superb. It is a great knife.

Good luck.

Bravo-2 - awesome blade as is any 6" and above Bark River...Okay, I'll just shut up now as I haven't really helped you in anyway or form.

Given the blades I have already, I'd re-buy my RC-6 if I lost mine if that makes any sense. Then again, I just might contact a great custom maker. There are a few around you you realize ;)
 
Sorry for the thread drift on this.

So I have looked at Scrapyard before several times and they never have any for sale. I've read that they sell fast (in hours?) once they get put on the site.

So I have a question: How do you know when they post them? Just check their site every day around the time they are supposed to post them?

Is there a mailing list or something?
 
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