Someone recommend a good large survival knife

[pitdog]

If ya want the toughest there is then check out the Swamprat Chopweiler, they cost a few bucks on the secondary market but will last you forever !!!!

I'd also recommend the TOPS Tracker, but maybe not so much with the factory grind !

 

[LittleHairyApe]

The title says, "Someone recommend..." I was going to say, "Ok, I recommend a good large survival knife." But I changed my mind. In my short time on this planet, I have had a lot of fun trying out new knives. If someone had pointed me to the perfect knife, I would have stopped looking and missed out on all of that fun. So in a nice friendly way, and with the best of intentions, I am respectfully declining to recommend a single knife. In the same spirit, I hope the OP, and the rest of us forumites NEVER find a good enough big knife, and that we all have to just keep buying, passing-around, and swapping stories about knives til the cows come home.

 

[shunsui]

The RC-6 is a good knife for the money. If you want a LARGE knife, I think you might want to go a little bigger to something like the Busse NMSFNO which is being sold now for a limited time at their website. Expensive but worth it. Lots of info and pix in the Busse subforum.

http://www.bussecombat.com/knives/index.shtml

 

[northern1]

here's some comparison shots of mainly busse family knives.i think their heat treat,designs,customer service and warranty are second to none although some people from the "thin is in" crowd seem to have a prejudice towards them.

scrapyard SOD and yardkeeper

SCRAPYARD S6

BUSSE ASH-1

RANGER AFGHAN & RD7,SCRAPYARD S6 & YARDHOOK,SWAMPRAT CHOPWEILER

SCRAPYARD YARDKEEPER,BRAVO-1,SWAMPRAT HRLM,SCRAPYARD CGDM,RANGER AFGHAN,SWAMPRAT RMD

RANGER RD4

maybe too small..BUSSE GAMEWARDEN,SWAMPRAT SWAMPWARDEN

 

[nodh]

It depends on what you are going to use it for.

Here are my suggestions:
Fallkniven WM1 - a knife that can be carried around your neck and works great as a last resort knife. It is also a popular hunting knife.
Fallkniven F1 - a knife developed for survival in Swedish forests and mountains. It is also a very popular bushcraft/hunting/outdoor knife.
Fallkniven H1 - a hunting knife that works well for survival too.
Fallkniven S1 - a bit bigger than the F1 and a really great outdoors knife.
Fallkniven A1 - a bit too big to be carried 24/7 but great if complemented with something like a WM1 or a multitool.
Fallkniven A2 - a big knife. Real chopping power but needs a smaller knife too.

My choice when I am in the outdoors is a Fallkniven H1 (or F1), a folding saw and a multitool. Take a look at the S1. It might be perfect for you.

 

[Yoshi]

I don't think you can go wrong with these myself;

 

[Runsalone]

Northern1 NICE cord wrap on that swampwarden!

 

[kgd]

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.

Klhayes77, first welcome to W&SS. I hope that you find this little nook of the internet comfy and keep returning. When you do start using your new knives on all your wilderness adventures, we will want to listen to your tales of adventure!

The RC-6 is a great choice and as others have mentioned there are several great choices. Knife size is a bit of a difficult thing to categorize. If you mostly use a 3-4" knife for EDC than a 6" knife seems like a big knife. Likewise, for those who carry around 9-11" choppers than the RC-6 seems like a tiny knife. In many respects the RC-6 falls in the smaller end of mid-sized knife category that generally spans 6-8" in length. Beyond blade length, there is also the thickness of the blade and width (or height) of the blade that contributes to the perspective of its largeness.

In the end, as others have mentioned the best thing for you to do is to try and handle the knife you are interested in and determine if its size characteristics are best for you. For example, I fully acknowledge that the 9" 'big knives' are the best out there for chopping applications. On the other hand, I don't want to carry a knife that size on my hip, while I may choose to carry one in my pack under certain conditions. For me, a mid-sized knife is a good compromise to being able to comfortably carry the knife and yet tackle on the bigger jobs that less frequently come up but sometimes demand a larger blade. The RC-6 works almost perfectly for that purpose for me. I also really enjoy the scrapyard SOD which is a superior chopper but with the SOD I would definitely pair it with a devoted cutter.

Proturist gave some good advice also. A number of great makers hang around here and you can get a knife made to spec that in many ways costs similar to the production blades.

Good luck.

 

[dbltap45acp]

I would look at Busse Combat or Fehrman knives, both will serve you well.

 

[wildmike]

I generaly carry a 5 inch bladed knife for most outdoor chores. However my main large knife for survival is an M-43 kukri from H.I.

I have an RC6 and it is a fantastic blade. It is thoroughly capable and can be depended on to meet most all survival needs with proper use and technique. While it is not an axe it can still be used easily to split wood and down small trees for shelter with a baton. It is a very easy knife to carry as well.

 

[texastonydobbs]

I really like my RC6 . The fit/finish is great and can handle camping/hiking chores with ease.Price point is hard to beat as well for the knife you get !

 

[alco141]

seems like there are two clubs here the large knife club and the axe small knife club, i would not spend a lot of money until you find out what club you want to belong to. get a fiscars axe and a tramontina machete about 12 inch bolo. and try them out and decide what works best for you. everyone here has their own style you need to find yours also. so what i like some folks dont and vice versa.

alex

 

[Fonly]

I would like to recommend the RC6, love the thing!

Mine has been a great knife so far, it demolished the x-mas tree, has split up lots of stuff for sure and has little trouble with shaving. Its been a solid user overall and I see as the best bag for the buck!

Just for reference.

 

[udtjim]

A Scottish broad sword may be big enough

 

[Marion David Poff]

I am new to wilderness survival. I am getting together a setup to start going wilderness camping.

Well, with all due respect, the two things are different, camping and survival. But, the real question is, what do you plan to do with the knife, or more importantly, what tasks do you want the knife to be capable of accomplishing?

For instance, when I think of a large knife, I think of something with a blade in the 9 to 11 inch range, for chopping and working with larger wood. But, unless you want to do this, you will have no need of it, when you are camping. And the infrequency with which you need that capability may suggest a smaller knife, a medium sized knife, which will not really chop, but sort of chop, if you really needed it. But, then you won't be carrying the extra weight.

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

A misch metal or ferrocerium rod (ferro rod for short) is a perfect firestarter, though you will need to understand proper tinder preparation, which may be as simply as bringing it with you. Search the internet for Light My Fire Sweden. A recent addition to the market is the RAT Fire Kit, check it out.... http://www.ratcutlery.com/fire_kit.htm

if you have other recommendations i am open to suggestions.If you have a rc-6 let me know what you think of it.

The RC 6 is a fine knife, and a good compromise between a large knife and a small knife.

 

[donny bee]

fallkniven s-1

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but in every society since the beginning of man, people have settled on the basic two: a chopper and a small knife.

The chopper (axe, kukri, machete, big honking knife) is the heavy-duty tool, the small knife, does the fine work.

There's plenty of knives would fit the "one survival knife" -- jack of all trades, master of none, description. Some will lean more toward chopping (Busse Battle Mistress, SwampRat Battle Rat, Scrapyard Dogfather, Ontario RTAK II, and many others). Generally, if they are good at chopping they will suck at fine chores. If they are "ok" choppers, they'll make pretty good all-rounders. I'd place the RC-6 firmly in the lead as best bang-for-buck all-rounder that isn't a great chopper.

Question is: how much CHOPPING will be done versus all the other chores?
You know what you want to do, so only you can answer.

Why does it have to be one knife? Is it a survival kit for the car that has to fit in X dimensions?

IIRC, Jeff Randall of RAT cutlery champions the machete/RC-3 pair for jungle survival -- something he knows a thing OR TEN about.

I'd seriously consider pairing an RC3/RC4 with a machete/hatchet/kukri (check out the Himalayan Imports forum here for excellent kukris).

If you want to keep it at one knife for now and don't need to do real heavy chopping, I can't see you being disappointed with the RC6.