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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.
Society is breaking down, ya have to move on...what knife ?
- Thread starter pitdog
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I wrote this a year or so ago, mostly for amusement at the time, but it pretty much explains what I feel is most important in this scenario. I should probably edit it at some point, but here it is.
Wood, steel, and staying alive.
More and more often I hear people talking about what they are going to take along if the world as we know it comes to an end for whatever reason, and they have to bug out. It seems that the primary thing they all talk about is firearms. It also seems to me that they’re all overlooking something pretty basic when it comes to survival and self sufficiency, and that’s steel for cutting. Sure, defensive and hunting weapons are important -- and I wouldn’t leave mine behind -- but a good knife is far more important in my opinion.
Lets forget about raging hordes of rampaging zombies or gangs of whacko’s for a while, and think about what you really need to concentrate on: water, fire, shelter and food. Those things are of primary importance, and a good knife can be the key to securing at least three of those things -- fire, shelter and food -- and, indirectly, contributes to sterilizing the fourth; water.
If the stuff should hit the fan and you do have to bug out, you may not have time to gather anything more than what you can put on your belt and stuff in your pockets, and even if you do have time to grab a pack full of gear, the steel you can carry just might make all the difference between life and death. Certainly it will make life easier and more comfortable.
Let’s envision a scenario where you have to get out of Dodge, but vehicles are not a possibility. Let’s imagine for the moment that the power grid goes down: there’s no electricity to pump water to your home, or pump gas for your vehicle. Let’s say that the roads and freeways are hopelessly clogged by other people trying to escape, so even if you did have fuel, you couldn’t drive to wherever you have selected for you and your family to ride out whatever is causing the current emergency. What then? Well, then you’re on foot, my friend, with only what you can carry.
So, here you are implementing your magnificent plan to get to whatever location you’ve chosen to weather the storm till it’s safe to go back home, but it’s a long way away. Travel time to your special place will be measured in days, not minutes or hours. Along the way, as you make your way to that location, you’re going to need shelter, and that probably means working with wood. Yes, wood. Forget all the politically correct views on never harming nature: this is a life and death emergency situation, so Mother Nature will forgive you just this once. She’ll recover nicely after it’s over. Honest, she will. Whether you want to construct a debris hut, a simple lean to, or just need tent poles and stakes, you’re going to have to cut them, and that means using a decent knife. Your .45 simply won’t cut it (excuse the pun), but a good knife will.
You’re also going to need fire for warmth, cooking and simple comfort. In some locations you might be able to make do with branches you find on the ground, and that’s the best way, but in other places you’re going to have to cut wood. If all the wood around you is wet, you might have to fell a small dead tree, cut it into sections, and split it to get at the dry wood inside. Once you’ve split it to expose the dry portion, you’re going to need to shave off thin pieces for tinder and kindling to get your fire started. Your M16 or AK simply won’t do the job but, again, a good knife will.
How about food? A good knife can be used to make traps or sharpen spears to secure food or for defense, and helps with gathering vegetation for the pot. Once you’ve gotten an animal or vegetable to cook, a knife is essential in preparing it for cooking. Imagine trying to prepare a meal without a knife (remember, you don’t have frozen food and a microwave oven in your pack). While your shotgun may help in getting game, it really isn’t up to the task of cutting up that nice, nutritious fare you’ve managed to collect.
All in all a good knife is, in a fundamental way, far more important than firearms to basic survival. Don’t get me wrong: firearms are important, both for bagging game and for self defense, but to me they pale in importance to good cutting implements in a SHTF scenario.
What kind of knife do I recommend for this scenario? I don’t. That’s something that pretty much depends on the individual, and what their needs are. I can tell you what I think is best for me, and why. If it works for you, too, then that’s great.
If I was limited to only one knife to see me through, it would be something around five inches long, made of really tough carbon steel that would hold an edge, yet be easy to sharpen. I would want it to have a fairly thick, heavy blade for chopping and log splitting, but be able to handle other camp cutting chores, such as food prep, with equal aplomb. For me, that knife is the Ka-Bar Becker BK-2. That’s one tough, dependable knife, and at a reasonable price, too. Frankly, it’s more knife than many others at four or five times the price. If I wanted to go even cheaper, it would probably be one of the Mora* knives at around $15. They’re decent, serviceable knives, and dirt cheap. No, they’re not as tough as the Becker,* but then again, few things are.
Others may decide on smaller knives, thinking them lighter and more manageable. Well, they may be, but let’s keep in mind what we need a knife to do in this scenario. Remember that we need to be able to deal with wood for shelters and fire making, and a smaller blade just may not be enough knife for the job.
Still others may be looking at really big choppers. While the really big choppers may be ideal for taking down trees and cutting them up, not to mention defense against those pesky zombies everyone talks about, they may be less than ideal for the more common camp chores. They’re simply too large and unwieldily to perform the more delicate tasks.
Oh, and despite the garbage you might have seen in various Rambo movies, that kind of knife is actually pretty worthless for any use in the real world. Leave the Rambo* type knives to the Mall Ninja’s: you don’t need it, and depending on one just might get you killed.
What about Swiss Army Knives or Multi-tools, you ask? Great! They’re excellent for a myriad of tasks you might perform daily, but they’re no substitute for a decent fixed blade knife. They should be carried as a backup to your real knife, not as your only knife. Sorry, but they’re absolute failures as an only knife for the scenario we’ve envisioned.
Personally, I don’t see limiting myself to only one hunk of steel in a real life scenario. In real life I would want a knife with about a three inch blade for smaller, more delicate tasks, one with around a five inch blade for general use, and a nice big chopper for, well, chopping (I favor Bolo type machetes for this purpose, but a small axe works well, too). Along with those three blades I would also pack along a decent small saw like the Silky Super Accel folding saw, although there are other good ones, too. With these four things I think one can readily handle anything that may need to be done.
Okay, you say, that’s a lot of weight to be packing around. Yeah, it is. On the other hand, it just might be the most important weight you can carry, because it aids you in securing shelter, fire and food and helps with defense, too. Call me crazy, but when my life is on the line I won’t mind the weight at all.
Throw in a good .22 with sixty-gazillion rounds of ammo, a fire steel, and whatever else you can carry and you’re good to go. Oh, and avoid the Zombies along the way; they’re not at all helpful.
Wood, steel, and staying alive.
More and more often I hear people talking about what they are going to take along if the world as we know it comes to an end for whatever reason, and they have to bug out. It seems that the primary thing they all talk about is firearms. It also seems to me that they’re all overlooking something pretty basic when it comes to survival and self sufficiency, and that’s steel for cutting. Sure, defensive and hunting weapons are important -- and I wouldn’t leave mine behind -- but a good knife is far more important in my opinion.
Lets forget about raging hordes of rampaging zombies or gangs of whacko’s for a while, and think about what you really need to concentrate on: water, fire, shelter and food. Those things are of primary importance, and a good knife can be the key to securing at least three of those things -- fire, shelter and food -- and, indirectly, contributes to sterilizing the fourth; water.
If the stuff should hit the fan and you do have to bug out, you may not have time to gather anything more than what you can put on your belt and stuff in your pockets, and even if you do have time to grab a pack full of gear, the steel you can carry just might make all the difference between life and death. Certainly it will make life easier and more comfortable.
Let’s envision a scenario where you have to get out of Dodge, but vehicles are not a possibility. Let’s imagine for the moment that the power grid goes down: there’s no electricity to pump water to your home, or pump gas for your vehicle. Let’s say that the roads and freeways are hopelessly clogged by other people trying to escape, so even if you did have fuel, you couldn’t drive to wherever you have selected for you and your family to ride out whatever is causing the current emergency. What then? Well, then you’re on foot, my friend, with only what you can carry.
So, here you are implementing your magnificent plan to get to whatever location you’ve chosen to weather the storm till it’s safe to go back home, but it’s a long way away. Travel time to your special place will be measured in days, not minutes or hours. Along the way, as you make your way to that location, you’re going to need shelter, and that probably means working with wood. Yes, wood. Forget all the politically correct views on never harming nature: this is a life and death emergency situation, so Mother Nature will forgive you just this once. She’ll recover nicely after it’s over. Honest, she will. Whether you want to construct a debris hut, a simple lean to, or just need tent poles and stakes, you’re going to have to cut them, and that means using a decent knife. Your .45 simply won’t cut it (excuse the pun), but a good knife will.
You’re also going to need fire for warmth, cooking and simple comfort. In some locations you might be able to make do with branches you find on the ground, and that’s the best way, but in other places you’re going to have to cut wood. If all the wood around you is wet, you might have to fell a small dead tree, cut it into sections, and split it to get at the dry wood inside. Once you’ve split it to expose the dry portion, you’re going to need to shave off thin pieces for tinder and kindling to get your fire started. Your M16 or AK simply won’t do the job but, again, a good knife will.
How about food? A good knife can be used to make traps or sharpen spears to secure food or for defense, and helps with gathering vegetation for the pot. Once you’ve gotten an animal or vegetable to cook, a knife is essential in preparing it for cooking. Imagine trying to prepare a meal without a knife (remember, you don’t have frozen food and a microwave oven in your pack). While your shotgun may help in getting game, it really isn’t up to the task of cutting up that nice, nutritious fare you’ve managed to collect.
All in all a good knife is, in a fundamental way, far more important than firearms to basic survival. Don’t get me wrong: firearms are important, both for bagging game and for self defense, but to me they pale in importance to good cutting implements in a SHTF scenario.
What kind of knife do I recommend for this scenario? I don’t. That’s something that pretty much depends on the individual, and what their needs are. I can tell you what I think is best for me, and why. If it works for you, too, then that’s great.
If I was limited to only one knife to see me through, it would be something around five inches long, made of really tough carbon steel that would hold an edge, yet be easy to sharpen. I would want it to have a fairly thick, heavy blade for chopping and log splitting, but be able to handle other camp cutting chores, such as food prep, with equal aplomb. For me, that knife is the Ka-Bar Becker BK-2. That’s one tough, dependable knife, and at a reasonable price, too. Frankly, it’s more knife than many others at four or five times the price. If I wanted to go even cheaper, it would probably be one of the Mora* knives at around $15. They’re decent, serviceable knives, and dirt cheap. No, they’re not as tough as the Becker,* but then again, few things are.
Others may decide on smaller knives, thinking them lighter and more manageable. Well, they may be, but let’s keep in mind what we need a knife to do in this scenario. Remember that we need to be able to deal with wood for shelters and fire making, and a smaller blade just may not be enough knife for the job.
Still others may be looking at really big choppers. While the really big choppers may be ideal for taking down trees and cutting them up, not to mention defense against those pesky zombies everyone talks about, they may be less than ideal for the more common camp chores. They’re simply too large and unwieldily to perform the more delicate tasks.
Oh, and despite the garbage you might have seen in various Rambo movies, that kind of knife is actually pretty worthless for any use in the real world. Leave the Rambo* type knives to the Mall Ninja’s: you don’t need it, and depending on one just might get you killed.
What about Swiss Army Knives or Multi-tools, you ask? Great! They’re excellent for a myriad of tasks you might perform daily, but they’re no substitute for a decent fixed blade knife. They should be carried as a backup to your real knife, not as your only knife. Sorry, but they’re absolute failures as an only knife for the scenario we’ve envisioned.
Personally, I don’t see limiting myself to only one hunk of steel in a real life scenario. In real life I would want a knife with about a three inch blade for smaller, more delicate tasks, one with around a five inch blade for general use, and a nice big chopper for, well, chopping (I favor Bolo type machetes for this purpose, but a small axe works well, too). Along with those three blades I would also pack along a decent small saw like the Silky Super Accel folding saw, although there are other good ones, too. With these four things I think one can readily handle anything that may need to be done.
Okay, you say, that’s a lot of weight to be packing around. Yeah, it is. On the other hand, it just might be the most important weight you can carry, because it aids you in securing shelter, fire and food and helps with defense, too. Call me crazy, but when my life is on the line I won’t mind the weight at all.
Throw in a good .22 with sixty-gazillion rounds of ammo, a fire steel, and whatever else you can carry and you’re good to go. Oh, and avoid the Zombies along the way; they’re not at all helpful.
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That is my kinda thinking as well ! I did stipulate you only had time to grab ONE knife which you have done. It's never gonna be perfect for every task but will likely get ya by.An RC 5 would get most stuff done eh !!!!:thumbup:
I was thinking a knife made from 3/16" stock with a blade between 5-6".
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Whether it's pick what you want, or "grab one and run, no time to pick", my choice would be this rig:
It has my 20" CAK and R-10 knife, both from Himalayan Imports.
It has the distinction of being the rig I almost always choose for camping/hiking, so it has the most dirt time, and it really is the fastest to grab, as it hangs off the corner of my bookshelf closest to my door.
It has my 20" CAK and R-10 knife, both from Himalayan Imports.
It has the distinction of being the rig I almost always choose for camping/hiking, so it has the most dirt time, and it really is the fastest to grab, as it hangs off the corner of my bookshelf closest to my door.
Whatever it is, it HAS to have holes for lashing to a stick, you know, for a spear. Without a spear option you are as good as dead.
I just got a FB Woodsman with this type of scenario in mind so that is what I'm taking. Other knives would work well, but that's what I chose.
I just got a FB Woodsman with this type of scenario in mind so that is what I'm taking. Other knives would work well, but that's what I chose.
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Dawsonbob: great post!
Pitdog: You're saying one knife, but what if the blades I would choose really are kept in pairs?
Beit my CAK/R-10, BAD/ CGFBM or HellRazor/VecHawk? It would actually take more time to separate them to only have one than to grab the set.
Pitdog: You're saying one knife, but what if the blades I would choose really are kept in pairs?
Beit my CAK/R-10, BAD/ CGFBM or HellRazor/VecHawk? It would actually take more time to separate them to only have one than to grab the set.
Toucan Oasis
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My Fallkniven Odin but I'd pick up a machete on the way out !
Bowie , one knife might be interesting but it is not going to save the world without a little backup and neither will knife and equipment snobbery. I stated my point from the start of my post , as to type it would be the first one i got my hands on.
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If I could only have one, it'd be a big-a** machete. If I could have several it'd be a big-a** machete, my RC-6, and my RC-3. Maybe a Mora or two for good measure. But you can't forget that machete.
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I too would use a different approach...I wouldnt want to be seen at all
..that way no one will mess with me. 
My 17" CAK Kuk, and my full tang Scandi..I wouldnt ever..not ever..be caught with just one knife, thats just silly.
And a 12 gauge..with a S&W 357 stainless as back up.
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Dawsonbob:
just as an aside, I think part of the reason so many concentrate on firearms is a lot of the people worried about "bugging out" are city dwellers. This produces two consequences:
1.) A firearm will be much more useful in getting out of a city than a knife.
2.) City folks will have limited knowledge of proper knife use in the wilds, or how important it is, unless they come from a rural background, or actively get out and practice these skills.
Whereas rural folks tend to concentrate more on what they need to stay in place, since they are already "in the sticks".
just as an aside, I think part of the reason so many concentrate on firearms is a lot of the people worried about "bugging out" are city dwellers. This produces two consequences:
1.) A firearm will be much more useful in getting out of a city than a knife.
2.) City folks will have limited knowledge of proper knife use in the wilds, or how important it is, unless they come from a rural background, or actively get out and practice these skills.
Whereas rural folks tend to concentrate more on what they need to stay in place, since they are already "in the sticks".
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Whether it's pick what you want, or "grab one and run, no time to pick", my choice would be this rig:
It has my 20" CAK and R-10 knife, both from Himalayan Imports.
It has the distinction of being the rig I almost always choose for camping/hiking, so it has the most dirt time, and it really is the fastest to grab, as it hangs off the corner of my bookshelf closest to my door.
NICE RIG...do you mind if I copy it?
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Is it Friday already?
Well I would take my Busse CGFBM. Good at chopping and light enough to do most other jobs despite it's size. Would serve well as a weapon and lastly I can pry whatever I want and not worry about it breaking.
(Not mine but close enough)
Well I would take my Busse CGFBM. Good at chopping and light enough to do most other jobs despite it's size. Would serve well as a weapon and lastly I can pry whatever I want and not worry about it breaking.
(Not mine but close enough)
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NICE RIG...do you mind if I copy it?
Go for it.
I think the quickdraw baldric-style rig has big advantages for carrying a large piece of steel, as I really don't like drop legs or having to draw a blade up to my armpit to get it out of its sheath.
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If I have time to put my underwear on, I have time to full my backback and satchel full of equipment and knives. This "only one knife, hurry girls, quick!" talk is propably due movie "first blood" and it's contiuous survival wannabeism (with all respect to first blood, being propably my favorite action movie of 80's).
And I'd propably even take a bottle of booze too, since you might spend some time hiding in forrest from the [insert threat here].
And I'd propably even take a bottle of booze too, since you might spend some time hiding in forrest from the [insert threat here].
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Trail hawk and RAT Izula for me, both carried out of sight. Personally, I'm going to be keeping as low a profile as possible.
My first thought, went to my Scrapyard Dumpster Mutt. It's the thickest blade i have, and it's still able to cut things. Not as well as any of my thinner knives, but i think, if i had to rely on one knife to do anything and everything i threw at it... That'd be a good choice.
But then i though... What if we normally carry a pocket knife or two, anywhere and everywhere? Would we still be allowed to grab one thing, or would the pocket knives count as our one knife?
I myself always carry a Fallkniven tk4, and an alox victorinox folder of some type with can-opener, awl and saw. If i still can grab a knife or suchlike, while still having what i always carry in my pocket, it'd be an axe of some sort. And axe is a much better deterrent when it comes to assailants, aswell as being better to chop things. The smaller knives do all the small work.
That's how i think atleast.
But then i though... What if we normally carry a pocket knife or two, anywhere and everywhere? Would we still be allowed to grab one thing, or would the pocket knives count as our one knife?
I myself always carry a Fallkniven tk4, and an alox victorinox folder of some type with can-opener, awl and saw. If i still can grab a knife or suchlike, while still having what i always carry in my pocket, it'd be an axe of some sort. And axe is a much better deterrent when it comes to assailants, aswell as being better to chop things. The smaller knives do all the small work.
That's how i think atleast.
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My best large knife that might or would have to serve as a weapon as well as tool is my Fehrman Hood Hunter. I'd sure try to sneak a Skookum Bush Tool along somehow. I'm on the road for 5 weeks right now and I'm carrying a Ranger RD-6, Koster Bushcraft and Wetterlings hatchet so if it happens tonight that's what you'll find me with to hike back to North Carolina from Maine.