Survival knife help please

To me, a long backpacking trip means a compact, lightweight knife. The biggest I'd carry in that situation would be a Bark River Highland Special.

In any case, I'd recommend Bark River.
 
I have to say, the Busse, Falklniven, Scrapyard, RAT Cutlery and Bark River are right were you are looking for. IMO the best overall value would be the RAT Cutlery RC-6 and the Ontario RAT-7. The RC-6 warranty is the best you can get.

IMO the TOPS tracker knife is cool, but to show off, impress girls or display but in real use its a piece of ****. The knife must remain a knife, a good sturdy blade, not thick as an axe, not heavy as an Ox, Choose between plain and serrated as you desire. It should be easy to sharpen and not brittle so that it won't chip. The edge retention is important also a 57-59 Rc is great.

A word of advice, don't go with something too crazy, too fancy, stay simple and the knife must remain useful.

Personally I have an RC-6 and love it. I don't regret buying it at all and would buy another one for sure.
 
Another vote for RC6. I think it fits what you need perfectly. It will mount the way you want it, has the length and steel you want, and has the best warranty. All for a price that is extremely affordable.
 
With the new zytel sheaths for the Fallkniven knives you can carry it like you want to.
Just remember to get a "leftie" sheath otherwise you get the knife blade up.

I know it is different traditions with knives, but I suggest a Fallkniven F1 or WM1 in your belt and a bigger A1 in your pack.
 
smersh said:
To me, a long backpacking trip means a compact, lightweight knife. The biggest I'd carry in that situation would be a Bark River Highland Special.

In any case, I'd recommend Bark River.
Click to expand...

Different people have different opinions on this if im gonna be in the woods for a long time ill have about 3 knives on me usually a larger fixed blade on my pack a rat rc-4 on my waist and a folder in my pocket

differen people do things different ways
 
Dr. Worm:

If you want something that will stand up to everything, think Busse. INFI steel is second to none; rust resistant, strong, easy to sharpen, hard to break. Their guarantee is at least as good as the one RAT knives offers.

The Tank Buster will never be cheaper, and you can order it to your pleasure. I like no swedge to make batoning easier, no choil to give a longer cutting edge and better control for detail work, and the rounded butt so I beat the point into a branch or pelvic bone to split it. You will have to place your order and then wait until the knife ships—that might take a month or two.

Chuddy Bear usually has sheaths available as soon as a Busse model is shipped. Kydex with a TekLock will let you wear the knife horizontally or vertically at your pleasure.

Rat Cutlery will serve you well. Busse will serve you forever.
 
Raymond1000 said:
Dr. Worm:

If you want something that will stand up to everything, think Busse. INFI steel is second to none; rust resistant, strong, easy to sharpen, hard to break. Their guarantee is at least as good as the one RAT knives offers.

The Tank Buster will never be cheaper, and you can order it to your pleasure. I like no swedge to make batoning easier, no choil to give a longer cutting edge and better control for detail work, and the rounded butt so I beat the point into a branch or pelvic bone to split it. You will have to place your order and then wait until the knife ships—that might take a month or two.

Chuddy Bear usually has sheaths available as soon as a Busse model is shipped. Kydex with a TekLock will let you wear the knife horizontally or vertically at your pleasure.

Rat Cutlery will serve you well. Busse will serve you forever.
Click to expand...

Exactly :thumbup:

If you buy a Busse it will last you and your children, and their Children their lifetimes and then some. If you want a knife that you can bet your life on out in the wilderness Busse is the choice. :D
 
Contact Brian Johnson at www.bkjohnsonknives.com. He is great to work with and will make just about any knife and sheath combination you want for a price at just about the top of your price range.Some of his stock models will fit the use also and he makes all his own sheaths so I am sure he can make a horizontal carry sheath for you.He uses 5160 steel which is excellent for heavy use.
 
dr.worm said:
Hey everyone, sorry my first post is asking for help but i'm going crazy trying to find exactly what i'm looking for. I'm looking for a good survival/wilderness knife for long backpacking trips. I've found many knives i like but nothing that fits the bill completely. i've looked at fallkniven and cold steel and gerber and swamp rat (btw, i love swamp rat knives but they are so damn hard to find!) let me give you some specs and if you can recommend something i would appreciate it.

steel - i dont really care. i like the idea of something easy to maintain like D2 but at the same time i like the idea of something easy to sharpen with good strength like 1095. so as long as its high quality steel i'll be happy

length - i dont want to go over 7 inches. 5.5 inches is about short as i wanna go. 6 to 6.5 is ideal. i want to be able to baton it for log splitting so i cant go too short

price between $100 and $200 (i can go higher but this is the price range i'm shooting for)

now you're probably saying, "thats not hard to find, why is this fool asking us for suggestions?" well the kicker is the sheath. i want to be able to carry it horizontally on my belt at the small of my back. this is what has been hard for me to find. so whatever you guys recomend has to either (A) come with a horizontal sheath. (B) have a horizontal sheath available for aftermarket purchase. (C) be able to modify the sheath easily and effectively for horizontal carry.

i appreciate anyone who read my post and i really appreciate anyone who can give me some suggestions. thanks guys
Click to expand...

Go visit the Scrap Yard knives.
http://shop.scrapyardknives.com/main.sc

The S5 LE is up and can be ordered. $189.95 and it's INFI.

Don't wait to long.........


Scrapper5LE4.jpg
 
i'll go ahead and say i cant be more impressed with how eager you guys are to help a newbie out. Its much appreciated and you guys have an awesome forum here.

unfortunately for me and my bank account when i drink i get impulsive. last night after weighing the pros and cons i went ahead and ordered a Tank Buster. i will very likely end up with a RAT 6 in the futre (or something similar) but i decided to go ahead and spring for the lower maintenance blade. and since Busse seems to be a favorite on this forum and everywhere else i looked, i decided i couldnt go wrong. thanks for all your responses guys. for anyone who is interested here's what i got...

Black blade with the tan handle. no swedge. i went with teh choil because i have small hands and always feel like i get better control of a large knife when i wrap my fore finger over the guard. so i sacrificed cutting edge for comfort/control. got the round butt since i figured its more usefull than the skull crusher. plain edge since i will have something smaller with a serrated edge for rope and stuff like that. Now i just have to wait for it to come.... which is probably gonna kill me. someone said 1 to 2 months... is that about average?

in regards to teh steel. i know its not technically stainless, but from what i can tell its very low maintenance, especially compared to 1095. what kind of care does it require? anyone here have any real life input regarding the INFI steel?
 
dr.worm said:
i'll go ahead and say i cant be more impressed with how eager you guys are to help a newbie out. Its much appreciated and you guys have an awesome forum here.

unfortunately for me and my bank account when i drink i get impulsive. last night after weighing the pros and cons i went ahead and ordered a Tank Buster. i will very likely end up with a RAT 6 in the futre (or something similar) but i decided to go ahead and spring for the lower maintenance blade. and since Busse seems to be a favorite on this forum and everywhere else i looked, i decided i couldnt go wrong. thanks for all your responses guys. for anyone who is interested here's what i got...

Black blade with the tan handle. no swedge. i went with teh choil because i have small hands and always feel like i get better control of a large knife when i wrap my fore finger over the guard. so i sacrificed cutting edge for comfort/control. got the round butt since i figured its more usefull than the skull crusher. plain edge since i will have something smaller with a serrated edge for rope and stuff like that. Now i just have to wait for it to come.... which is probably gonna kill me. someone said 1 to 2 months... is that about average?

in regards to teh steel. i know its not technically stainless, but from what i can tell its very low maintenance, especially compared to 1095. what kind of care does it require? anyone here have any real life input regarding the INFI steel?
Click to expand...

Congrats Man, excellent choice, welcome to the club. :thumbup:

You will love it, INFI is tough as nails and low maintance, easy to sharpen.

The wait is about 2 months depending.

Here are a few photos of my FBM CG:







 
Last edited:
For the money, i think the fallkniven northern lights series are hard to beat. I have the small one, 4", i use for fishing and it is so well made. I like the laminated steel for an all-around survival knife too- very tough - feel very confident with it. Great leather handle too. The sheath it comes with is not the best so i'm eventually getting one from these guys. http://www.hedgehogleatherworks.com/

my 2cents
 
Sorry, dr.worm. You have pretty much condemned yourself to a lifetime of woe. Busse is a slippery, addictive slope. Any and all bussekin knives are coated with a mysterious ingredient that once on you fingers, seduces you to a lifetime desire for more. On one hand, welcome to the club, on the other hand, hope your patient. And the unofficial delivery time of the Swamp Line is
"Two Weeks", which is really funny after you have been here awhile, but I don't know if that applies to The Busse line as well. Congrats on your buy!

Where are you going, and for how long?
 
Ankerson said:
Congrats Man, excellent choice, welcome to the club. :thumbup:

You will love it, INFI is tough as nails and low maintance, easy to sharpen.

The wait is about 2 months depending.

Here are a few photos of my FBM CG:







Click to expand...

good lookin knife! from what i hear everyone is in love with teh INFI steel. i was leaning towards teh Rat 6 until i started reading about how low maintenance the INFI is. i could deal with 1095 if i had to but i like the idea of something less demanding

popopine said:
For the money, i think the fallkniven northern lights series are hard to beat. I have the small one, 4", i use for fishing and it is so well made. I like the laminated steel for an all-around survival knife too- very tough - feel very confident with it. Great leather handle too. The sheath it comes with is not the best so i'm eventually getting one from these guys. http://www.hedgehogleatherworks.com/

my 2cents
Click to expand...

thanks for responding. i seriously looked at the fallniven line but couldn't find anything that had exactly what i was looking for but i found quite a few that are now on my list of future knives

Bumppo said:
Sorry, dr.worm. You have pretty much condemned yourself to a lifetime of woe. Busse is a slippery, addictive slope. Any and all bussekin knives are coated with a mysterious ingredient that once on you fingers, seduces you to a lifetime desire for more. On one hand, welcome to the club, on the other hand, hope your patient. And the unofficial delivery time of the Swamp Line is
"Two Weeks", which is really funny after you have been here awhile, but I don't know if that applies to The Busse line as well. Congrats on your buy!

Where are you going, and for how long?
Click to expand...

yeah, i have a feeling i'm screwed now. i've always had a bit of a knife fetish but never ventured into the high end stuff until now. i'm probably gonna cuddle with this one while i sleep once i finally get it. somethins similar happened when i got my truck. i got a tacoma a couple years ago (apologies to the domestic guys on here). i got the TRD 4x4 thinking "thats all i'll ever need" but since then all i can do is look at and buy aftermarket stuff. and i've found that forums like this dont help, all they do is give me ideas for more stuff i wanna spend money on. so i know what you mean, i'll be maxing out credit cards on steel by the end of hte month.... oh well. thanks for teh welcome
 
Bumppo said:
Sorry, dr.worm. You have pretty much condemned yourself to a lifetime of woe. Busse is a slippery, addictive slope. Any and all bussekin knives are coated with a mysterious ingredient that once on you fingers, seduces you to a lifetime desire for more. On one hand, welcome to the club, on the other hand, hope your patient. And the unofficial delivery time of the Swamp Line is
"Two Weeks", which is really funny after you have been here awhile, but I don't know if that applies to The Busse line as well. Congrats on your buy!

Where are you going, and for how long?
Click to expand...

sorry, i forgot to answer your question. Mt. rogers in VA. i've camped and hiked my whole. spent alot of time outdoors, but somehow never got into backpacking. my brother has been into it for a while so i'm lookin forward learnin the ropes. we are looking at a 4 day outing i think. details aren't hammered out yet
 
dr.worm said:
good lookin knife! from what i hear everyone is in love with teh INFI steel. i was leaning towards teh Rat 6 until i started reading about how low maintenance the INFI is. i could deal with 1095 if i had to but i like the idea of something less demanding
Click to expand...

Once you start buying Busse and using them all the other knives will just sit there and collect dust. :D

You will be thinking why did I wait so long to get INFI? :thumbup:

Then you will buy your second Busse, then your Third and so on. :D

INFI is addictive, but then the very best always is. :cool:
 
My suggestion, get a custom knife maker to make your perfect knife for you.

Just a few days back, I just got my first custom knife. It was made by JK Handmade Knives. John (the knifemaker) goes by "Stomper" here in the forums. Cost was well under your $200 limit, including a custom made sheath. This is what I got:

115579618.jpg


11 1/4" oal, 3/16" thick, 6 1/4" blade, almost 2" tall, with a black micarta handle.

Production time was only a few weeks. I provided my own design and John (Stomper) brought it to life. The knife is beyond awesome and I'm totally happy with it.

He has a forum here on bladeforums: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=830 and you can see some more pictures of the knife if you're interested.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top