Survival Knife for a noob

[Stormstaff]

I upgraded my account but the search function seems to just "hang" for me at the moment. Sorry, as I'm sure this has been asked over and over.

Knife Recommendation Checklist
Idea borrowed from CPFer ThomasH and LunalTic, but heavily-modified/created by EDCFer's!

1) Short Essay Question: What do you intend to use this knife for?
Camping, outdoors stuff, “learning” survival skills

2) What Region/Country/State will the knife be purchased in?
[X] I will be mail-ordering or buying online, so this doesn't matter.
[ ] I am in _______(country) and __________(state/providence).
[ ] I am aware of the restrictions on knives for my region.

3) Price Range: Remember... the rest of these will heavily govern where this may fall!
[ ] $1-30
[ ] $30-50
[ ] $50-80
[ ] $80-$120
[X] $120-200
[ ] I have no limit!

4) Style of Knife:
[X] Fixed
[ ] Folder - Manual
[ ] Folder - Automatic
[ ] Folder - Assisted
[ ] Butterfly/Balisong/Etc.

5) Overall Length
[ ] 1-3 Inches
[X] 4-6 Inches
[ ] 6-8 Inches
[ ] 8-10 Inches
[ ] 10-12 Inches
[ ] Larger! (Is this really an EDC knife?)

6) Blade Style
[ ] Drop Point
[ ] Clip Point
[ ] Wharncliffe
[ ] Dagger/Double/Spear Point
[ ] Hawkbill (Hook/Concave)
[ ] Tanto

7) Blade Edge
[X] Plain
[ ] Serrated
[ ] Partial - >50% Serrated
[ ] Partial - <50% Serrated

8) Desirable Characteristics of Steel (Thanks to meeshi_ma for the help on this one!)
[ ] Easy to sharpen
[X] Good edge retention
[ ] Rust/corrosion resistant
[ ] High Rockwell Rating

9) Blade Coating
[ ] Powder
[ ] Epoxy
[X] None (but if it has one I wouldn't complain) edited in

10) Handle Material
[ ] Plastic
[X] Micarta
[ ] Wood
[ ] Skeletonized/Metal (Titanium, Stainless, otherwise)
[ ] Rubber
[X] G10

11) Intended Carry: Where will you put it?
[X] Belt
[ ] IWB (In Waist Band)
[ ] Pocket
[ ] Neck
[ ] Bag
[ ] Keychain
[ ] Other

12) Folder Style/Carry: Options specific to folder knife opening and carrying styles
[ ] Thumbstud(s)
[ ] Thumbhole
[ ] Pocket clip
[ ] Lanyard Hole
[ ] Tip-up or down

13) Folder Lock Method/Construction
[ ] Linerlock
[ ] Lockback
[ ] Framelock
[ ] Slip-Joint
[ ] Compression
[ ] Other/Proprietary

14) Sheath Material: What's going to hold it?
[X] Kydex
[ ] Leather
[X] Nylon *edited because I placed the X in the wrong box
[ ] None

15) Construction: What all is a part of this knife?
[X] Knife alone
[ ] Combination - (Specify other items in "Other Comments")

16) Production: How is this knife produced?
[X] Production Knife (because of cost)
[X] Semi-Custom Knife *edited because of info stating these can be in my range*
[X] Custom Knife *edited because of info stating these can be in my range*

17) Weight (Mass)
[ ] Light
[X] Medium
[ ] Heavy

18) Style of Knife
[ ] SAK (Swiss Army Knife)
[ ] Military/Tactical
[ ] Discrete/Gentleman(woman)
[ ] Classic (think wood and such)
[ ] Water-Use (Salt-water, Rafting)

19) Other Comments - Note what else you need/want in this space:

I&#8217;ve always wanted a Busse knife but I know I&#8217;ll never get one in this price range. I&#8217;ve heard good things about TOPS knives also. I&#8217;m looking for something &#8220;tough&#8221; and good for the outdoors.

I came here to ask the folks who know a great deal about such things. I was a Boy Scout long ago but we never got into the &#8220;survival thing&#8221;. Now that I&#8217;m older and I have a 7 yr old, I want to learn while teaching him also.

Thanks for your time and help with this matter!!!

 

[cybrok]

9) Blade Coating
[ ] Powder
[ ] Epoxy
[X] None

I would say something from Rat-Cutlery. (RC-4, RC-6)

They are coated, but you can easily strip it.

 

[Stormstaff]

I said none because I was trying to "get more knife" without paying for "frills", hehe

If it has a coating, it's fine with me. Maybe I'll add that in.

 

[j williams]

This one will serve you well. Its a custom, but the price tag falls WELL within your range. Leather sheath, black micarta, 4in 3/16 O1, A beast.......

Its a JK kephart, john is a great dude, and he has lots of options to suit your wants.....

 

[SDS]

Don't rule out customs. There are plenty available that are great knives for under $200.

SDS

 

[Stormstaff]

Don't rule out customs. There are plenty available that are great knives for under $200.

SDS

Alrighty then, guess I'll add customs in. I'll edit my original post

 

[sicily02]

Here is my survival knife set up

The bigger knife(called the peace maker) cost $100 It has a 6" long by 5/32" thick by 1.125" wide blade with a 4.5" handle that has a Orange survival looking easy to see if dropped or set down handle.

The smaller knife( called the Handy Little Knife ) cost $60 It has a 4" long by 3/32" thick by 5/8" wide blade with a just under 4"s for the handle and it to has a Orange survival looking easy to see if dropped handle too.

Both knives are made of 0-1 steel and have have Orange G-10 for the handles.

The sheath holds both knives and a match safe with survival goodies in it not matches, It has a whisle and a compass and a little mirror too.

The sheath also holds a E-Z lap model m diamond sharpener to.

All put together and rides very easy on my belt every day rain or shine.

If some thing like this might be a option for you let me know I could make one up for you. If you wanted a shorter or longer blades or handles I will do that to.

It is a struggle getting the perfect set up for us all, some have found it some have not.
Good luck in your search

 

[texastonydobbs]

Welcome....I would say RAT Cutlery or Bark River...

 

[myright]

Welcome....I would say RAT Cutlery or Bark River...

I've got to agree. RAT makes a great knife and like someone further up in this thread mentioned, you can strip the coating if you'd like.

I've never owned a Bark River, but I have read a lot of reviews that make them out to be great knives.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

In the size range you specified, I'd recommend (in order):
RC-6 (When it comes out)
BRKT Aurora
RC-4

You said you'd like a Busse, but can never afford it in the price range. You might want to look at the Swamp Rat or Scrapyard knives. They aren't INFI, but they are in the Busse family, and can be found in that price range.

 

[Brian Andrews]

Barkie all the way. There are too many barkies that fit your description to mention. Although, I love the Aurora.

I absolutely hate blade coatings. While it is well within my means, and I definitely have the equipment, I refuse on principal to spend over $100 on a knife and then have to strip it, sand the rough metal, and in general just do the work the knife maker should have done in the first place.

My opinionated 2 cents

Brian

 

[PB Wilson]

To echo what others have said about stripping RAT knives, It's really do-able. I recently scraped off a lot of the coating of my D2 RAT-3 with a card scraper, used a hardware-store paint stripper for about 15 minutes on the blade (after removing the handle scales), wiped it clean and then proceeded to sand the blade going up to 600 grit paper. I coated it in mustard for a half hour and it looks pretty cool. I'm going to mess around with the mustard again to see if I can get some other designs on there just for fun.

 

[pitdog]

Man this is an easy one, you say you always fancied a Busse, well this is from the Busse family and ticks virtually all the rest of your boxes. I have never heard anyone say anything but good things about this knife and if I had to sell all my knives but one then this is the one I'd keep,

Great edge retention, G10 slabs etc, etc ....SwampRat Ratmandu.......

 

[Stormstaff]

Man this is an easy one, you say you always fancied a Busse, well this is from the Busse family and ticks virtually all the rest of your boxes. I have never heard anyone say anything but good things about this knife and if I had to sell all my knives but one then this is the one I'd keep,

Great edge retention, G10 slabs etc, etc ....SwampRat Ratmandu.......

But, can they be found for sale? Seems even if I could afford a Busse, someone will snatch up the whole group of them when they become available. Is it the same way with the SwampRats?

 

[Brian Andrews]

There are currently none at the Swamp. So, if you want one, you will have to watch the exchange, or buy it some other aftermarket place.

Bottom line, unless you know someone that is willing to pass their original price along to you, you are going to pay probably at least $175 for a knife that originally sold for $140.

Its a good knife. I had 3 of them at one point. Just not my style. It all depends on what it is worth to you.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Bark River is a very good choice here, without a doubt. The Northstar, Aurora, Bravo1, Nebula, Canadian Special, etc. would all be extremely suitable choices.

 

[kgd]

Dang it Brian - that peacemaker ain't going to give me no peace tonight - not until I have one anyhow.

Brian Breeden makes some really excellent knives that fall within your price range. In the 4" variety he has a PSKK, pathfinder and KAT knife models that vary in their handle characteristics. You won't regret a breeden knife purchase and he'll have that thing created and mailed to you faster than most on-line stores can check their inventory. Here is a pic of my Pathfinder.

A couple of other custom makers also produce knives in your price range and characteristics. Koyote (Knives by Christof) produced customs that are more generally in the 5" range and have that rustic look to them. Landi knives has a number of models that look a bit similar to the Rat Cutlery knives but in different handle configurations and polished blades. He offers A2 or 1095 and has both leather and kydex sheaths. They look like solid users.

Rat Cutlery makes a damn fine 4" knife and now can be had in three handle colours (black linen mircata, green canvas mircata and orange G10). I think the RC-line comes pretty close to the busse blades in terms of shape and style (no I won't dare compare them directly). Here is my RC-4 stripped of its coating. Sometimes I regret having stripped the coating, sometimes I look at it all nice and shiny and don't regret it...

The above recommendations all seem pretty consistent with your busse search image. However, there are many other styles of knife in that category that can be considered. Consider the classic scandi bushcraft knife or the Nesmuk. Danial Koster makes one of each of these styles and they are considered superb and also of great value. Similar praise is often given to Stomper for his work as well as NWA. The number of makers on these boards and who regularly post to this sub-forum are too numerous to mention all in one place.

Other production knives - Fallkniven F1 (but doesn't have the nice mircata in your price range); Bark River - several models including the Bravo-1; Fox River; Highland Special, Northstar etc. The one thing common in the knives from this paragraph is that they all have convex edges are are known to be notoriously sharp.

Good luck on your choice..

 

[pitdog]

But, can they be found for sale? Seems even if I could afford a Busse, someone will snatch up the whole group of them when they become available. Is it the same way with the SwampRats?

They crop up quite regularly on the exchange, you could also join the Scrapyard knives forum, they are a great bunch and if you drop out that you would really like a Ratmandu then I'm sure you will get some offers !!!:thumbup:

 

[LeeCQC]

Randy Hicks is a maker in my area that will make what you want, in your price range. He uses 01 and A2 and an endless variety of handle materials depending on what you want (woods, micarta, G-10, horn, girafe bone, etc.) and some pretty nice leather sheaths to go with it.

Here's one he just made for me:

 

[pitdog]

Another great knife for general bushcraft/camp type stuff is the Dan Koster Nessmuk, these cut like crazy and have really convinced me why so many swear by a scandi grind !