Survival Knife for under 120 dollars.

My holy (yet reasonably priced) grail for the "take one knife for the nuclear meltdown / zombies in the streets" scenario is the SOD LE. It is a profoundly useful and comfortable blade.

More specifically, it is just barely large/heavy enough to chop, yet not so large as to make finer cutting a total PITA. It'll pry, find vitals, and it'll do all that without peeling the skin off uncovered hands, summer or winter.
 
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Scrap Yard has a knife that will fit the bill up on there site. The Scrap Muk.

http://www.scrapyardknives.com/intro.htm




ScrapMuk.jpg



Specs...

Overall Length: 9 1/4"
Blade Length: 4 1/4"
Blade Thickness: 3/16"
Steel: 154 CM
Hardness: 58-60 Rc
Finish: Satin
Handle: Resiprene C "Mudder Grip"


Price $99.95



Busse 154CM is a bit tougher then ordinary 154CM

This is the mud puppy with Busse 154CM being tested.

HairyCarryViseside.jpg



MudPuppyTip.jpg



MudPuppyConcrete.jpg



mudpuppypipe.jpg



MudPuppyPipeCut.jpg



Don't wait to long.....
 
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lcampbell89 said:
I was looking at knifeworks as well because they have pretty good prices. Also I read somewhere that the Ranger RD-4 is also good. Is it better than the RC-4?

And thanks for the answers Jake.
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The RD-4 at .25" thick is a completely different animal than the RC-4, and at that thickness the Campanion from Becker is probably a better choice than the RD. Either way, if you're packing a chopper with you I'd go with the RC, since it's thinner and handier.

Personally if I was planning on packing the other tools you mentioned I'd just take a Mora and call it a day, but that's just me.

If you were going for a one-knife-for-all-seasons kinda situation though, I would look into a custom RD-7 from Justin Gingrich. WONDERFUL do-it-all knife. Heavy enough to be an agressive chopper, but by taking back the convex edge a bit, the geometry makes it a super-keen slicer as well.
 
I think I may be leaning towards getting the RC-4 or RC-5 now. The stuff the mud puppy is doing in the pictures is impressive. But I think thats a big handle for that knife and the picture from their website looks alot different than the knife that is doing that stuff.

Also does anyone know much about the RC-5 considering it hasn't been shipped yet.
 
I handled an RC-5 at SHOT and boy oh boy does it feel great in the hand! It sealed the deal for me. I need one now!
 
lcampbell89 said:
I think I may be leaning towards getting the RC-4 or RC-5 now. The stuff the mud puppy is doing in the pictures is impressive. But I think thats a big handle for that knife and the picture from their website looks alot different than the knife that is doing that stuff.

Also does anyone know much about the RC-5 considering it hasn't been shipped yet.
Click to expand...

The knife that is doing that stuff is a different knife than the one he suggested, the knife doing it is a mud puppy, the knife suggested for $100 is a scrap muk.
 
lcampbell89 said:
What do you guys feel the benefit of 4" 5" 6" and 7" blades are?
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Mostly filling out a maker's lineup, and making sales.

Actual knives used outdoors are 4" fixed or folding blades. Much longer, they get heavy, long, and difficult to use. A hatchet or saw would do as well for lots of big knife jobs, as a lot of Elk quartering kits show.

A four inch folder will do 90% of the outdoor work needed, just like a 9MM compact will be enough gun for any close quarters conflict. If you need more knife than that, you could make a stone hatchet in the wilderness if you didn't have one handy in a difficult moment.

Just like a small knife can't do some of the big jobs, big knives become difficult to do small jobs. What most Americans used to carry a big knife for is now done by camp stoves, cots, tents, sleeping bags, etc. It's all small jobs now.
 
Tblock1 said:
The knife that is doing that stuff is a different knife than the one he suggested, the knife doing it is a mud puppy, the knife suggested for $100 is a scrap muk.
Click to expand...



Yes the knife shown is different however, I used it to illustrate the properties of Busse 154CM. The Scrap Muk is made from the same 154CM. The Res C mudder handle is one of the best all around handles out there.
 
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