Someone recommend a good large survival knife

K

klhayes77

Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
330
I am new to wilderness survival.I am getting together a setup to start going wilderness camping. I need a good recommendation on a large survival knife and fire starter. I was thinking about the rat cutlery rc-6 what do you think if you have other recommendations i am open to suggestions.If you have a rc-6 let me know what you think of it.
 
that's a tough one.

are you looking for a large knife for chopping, for general purpose bushcrafty chores, or something else?

to start with, for a chopper, i would recommend taking a look at the Cold Steel kukri machete, the shorter version. i used to have the LTC which is the same pattern in different steel, a great chopper for being so lightweight.

if you are looking for something smaller than a dedicated chopper but still a larger size knife, i don't see why the RC6 wouldn't work. i have heard nothing but good about it.
 
The blade length on the rc-6 is 5.75 inches.If i had something with a blade around 8 inches maybe i could use it for general purpose and chopping.I am trying to keep to one knife for both of those purposes.
 
My suggestion is to go to a Store where they sell blades, and play with a few sizes etc to get a good feel for a certain type of knife, then search online for a knife that fits with you, because no matter how knowledgeable some of us here are about knife(not including myself.), it really comes down to what YOU want and what feels good for you... JMO
 
If you can find one at a reasonable price - the SRKW original Ratweiler is my all time favorite "big" knife. It's small enough to handle most knife chores reasonably well and large enough to make a decent chopper. The swell on the butt of the handle allows you to choke way down and it actually chops like a 9 or 10" blade. And, as a Busse relative, it is bombproof.

IMG_3269.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Anything from the Busse families, Busse Combat, Swamp Rat, and Scrap Yard. The Browning Crowell Barker competition knife is nice too
 
If you want something big, I think there are probably plenty of suggestions here.

I started out thiking I needed a big knife 30 years ago, but recently realized, I don't need all that blade. I now carry a Ontario Pilots Survival Knife. It has been several years and so far, it has perormed flawlessly.

After all, it was designed for survival.
 
KL - Do you have a ballpark price range that you are looking to stay in?
If so, that would help us narrow down the options for you.

You'll get a lot of great suggestions around here.

On the economy side, I have been using a Martindale Golok for the past couple of months, and it has been serving me well, & is pretty versatile - thinner stock makes it a little easier to baton, and it chops pretty well too.

If you are considering Busse/Swamp rats (and dropping the $ associated), also check out Fehrman knives as well - warranty is comparable & you don't have the wait, + you can get a sheath.

Concerning the Firestarter, Personally I recommend a large LMF Firestarter a DOAN Mag block & a BIC.
(with some practice, The LMF would be a good primary and will last a looooong time but if the weather sucked and your Lighter was non functional, put a dime or so sized pile of mag block shavings on some duct tape (the sticky side ;), and with a spark you can get a nice burst of heat that can light just about anything that wil burn.

Good luck with your choice, and let us know what you decide on.
 
Check out the Becker line of knives, good reviews on BK9. Also, Becker has a forum here and you can read up on them.
 
cbach8tw said:
Check out the Becker line of knives, good reviews on BK9. Also, Becker has a forum here and you can read up on them.
Click to expand...


I agree! I say here not great for lightweight backpacking but for survival applications...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpHCpR-U9Tk&feature=channel_page

Also see here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLKpOX2K4ro something like this knife paired with a dedicated chopper will do a whole lot for you. That a-z of bushcraft series is pretty cool, as an aside. ;-}
 
Kershaw Outcast. For the price your won't find a better chopping hunk-o-steel.
 
If you decide you need/want a 'big' blade over a ~4" fixed blade, the $50 kabar heavy bowie is a fantastic blade. I've beaten the snot out of mine in every way without ill effect. Handles surprisingly well, takes a great edge, good chopper.
 
for chopping, digging, prying, hammering, shaping and even butchering game go with a hatchet

for cutting get a knife, SAK or Buck
 
siguy said:
that's a tough one.

are you looking for a large knife for chopping, for general purpose bushcrafty chores, or something else?

to start with, for a chopper, i would recommend taking a look at the Cold Steel kukri machete
Click to expand...

I think you can get one for $15 to $20 and maybe a swiss army knife for little chores, $35 to $60 which one do you want, and a bic lighter a buck or two.


thats a start. Pat
 
I'm always amazed when people ask these questions why they aren't directed to the makers sub-forums. The guys we have here make(in my opinion) as good or better blades than the companies and at great prices.
Just my two cents but check out the makers area.
 
TRAK 11 ans a SAK. Good to go! Not nearly as expensive as some of the other blades that were mentioned. Great value and a real good blade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top