Survival knife help please

[nozh2002]

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

Check RosArms, they are made for long backpaking trips and used for this by hundreds of thousands of Russian hunters, they are lightweight and very comfortable - I recommend to look at birch bark stacked handle.

Believe me - you do not want heavy uzhasnah if you have to carry it long time - get better knife not "chopper", some poor and overpriced substitute for axe. For chopping - use small hatchet.

As I understand American hunters prefers Dozier knives - best edge holding ever, very comfortable and well respected. They also includes excellent sheath in a package and perfect production quality. Only they cost bit over $200. KS7- which you may like - about $275 in Vintage knives (available now).

Thanks, Vassili.

 

[Torm]

I've owned a fair number of survival designs, including a couple of Busses, but the one I always end up coming back to is the Fallkniven S1. The steel, edge retention, thickness, weight and shape are all extremely well thought out. Its perfect as a jack of all trades type of blade.

Not knocking the Busse's mind you. INFI is an amazing steel and the crew from Wauseon has customer service and a warranty second to none. Its just that I haven't found the extra cash to pick up a design that would suit my purposes as well as the S1 does from the second hand market.

 

[Calebklyne]

i always carry my Ka-Bar when backpacking ive put it through tons of abuse and have chopped logs with it so id say for $80 you cant go wrong

 

[rpn]

Might be a little bigger than you requested, but a scrap yard SOD can do a lot.

+1 for the S5, I'm loving mine and there are a ton available here for +120

Rat is a great company and a have great products.

For woods, camping I like Res C handles better myself. You can chop and work hard w/out gloves...they are comfy.

If you want to be money smart, a mora 2000 or the S5 with a hatchet will get you far in life! With leftover cash for a Rat Izula! That 3 piece combo will cover a lot of ground.

 

[Stainz]

A little late, but the 5.5" RAT Cutlery RC-5 was my similar choice - and it came with a MOLLE jump-proof sheath - if you hurry. RAT will not use 'off-shore' sources - everything is US-made - so when their sheath maker closed the US facility and went offshore, they announced an impending delay in RC-5 deliveries as they changed sheaths. The last time I checked, the RC-5 is still in-stock at two dogs/wolves outdoors - and, at $135, well inside your $200 limit. The three straps across the MOLLE sheath's back would mount it on a vertical pack strap or horizontal belt. Super knife - .25" X 5.5" x 1.5+" coated 1095. My only minor criticism - my Bark Rivers have spoiled me - I wish it was convex edged!

Nice knife - begs to be abused. My latest thoughts are towards carrying my new BM 610 RUKUS, a 4.25" x .150" 'Utility Drop-Point' of S30V, with it's AXIS lock, in my pocket, actually replacing my old Buck 110, for cutting duties and an old Plumb camp hatchet on my belt ror splitting. Years before, I carried my Dad's old WWII KaBar - and a Vic SAK. I thought I was prepared... times change. At my age, I'll likely pull a frugal Bear Grylls and stay in a Holiday Inn anyway. Best of luck - let us know how you like your Busse!

Stainz

PS Busse knives don't come with a sheath - for a reason - no one carries them. Many are the size of a broad sword anyway. Folks usually drive them through a truck body - or engine block - and break sledge hammers trying to recover them. Then they fight, like hawgs, over the next 'offering'. It's a vicious cycle - beware!! Yeah, you bet - sour grapes!

 

[vic2367]

rat 5 or 6

 

[Ankerson]

PS Busse knives don't come with a sheath - for a reason - no one carries them. Many are the size of a broad sword anyway. Folks usually drive them through a truck body - or engine block - and break sledge hammers trying to recover them. Then they fight, like hawgs, over the next 'offering'. It's a vicious cycle - beware!! Yeah, you bet - sour grapes!

ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a sheath for my FBM CG and have one on order for the Tank Buster once it gets here.

Yes I DO carry mine, it's not really that bad to carry.

 

[cbach8tw]

If it has not been mentioned, try a Becker Companion, it has a 5 1/2 inch blade, 1/4 thick and comes with a Kydex sheath. Good stout knife, a bit heavy for backpacking, but one you can abuse and it will still go.

 

[babakanoosh45]

I am sure you could get all sorts of sheaths made by skilled folks right here in Blade Forums. That part is easy. I am not sure why you would want to carry a knife that big on the small of your back? You have a backpack that would make it easier to attach and carry. I say this because of a few things I have seen happen in the field. Carrying a 6" to 7" fixed blade knife the size of some you have mentioned on the small of your back can be hard to get at if you have a BP of medium to large size on your back. Even more I have seen fellas injure themselves returning them to the sheaths. A knife that size in my opinion would be better carried on the pack or the belt in normal strong hand dangler form. Or even on a cross draw sling system. This thinking would ease your search a bit I believe.

 

[babakanoosh45]

CGFBM with a leather dangler sheath made by a forumite.

Inexpensive nylon sheath from Scrapyard for my scrapper6. I have used for several years now with no issues.

Kydex by Okuden for two other Scrapyard knives...

Just some sheath options....

 

[AllanIII]

In my opinion you dont need a big knife to do backpacking, A knife within the 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inch range is more ideal. A big knife is alot of weight to carry backpacking. When i go backpacking I bring a very small amount of gear. I don't carry a big knife because if i were stuck in a survival situation i would want to be able to skin and gut small game, something you just cant do with a 6 1/2 in. knife. The only animal you can skin is a moose, which is nearly impossible to get without a high powered rifle. Alot of people say you can tell the experience level of an outdoorsman by the size of his knife. Carrying a Six inch knife makes it look like your inexperieced in the outdoors, even if your not. I alot of the time dont even carry a fixed blade. I dont need to. I can use a swiss army knife, or multitool and do all of the tasks i would need to do survival wise with only a 2 1/2 in. blade. If i do carry a fixed blade its a gerber or a case. If I need to split wood,I use a hatchet or an axe. When i got my first good quality knife i got the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster. Big, thick, heavy knife. It was too big, and thick for skinning, so heavy i needed to leave back certain gear at home so i could carry the knife. And in reality a good backpacker wouldnt carry a big fixed blade, he would carry a multitool/swiss army knife because they are lightweight knives. And having a horizantal carry sheath is not ideal because you cant wear a backpack while your wearing the knife. I'm guessing you got the idea from man vs. wild. Bear grylls dosent wear the knife while he has his backpack on. He keeps it in a pocket. Plus bear grylls, even though people claim he doesnt know what he's talking about, He does carry an ideal knife. Its about a 4 1/2 in. blade, and its drop point, ideal for food prep, skinning, gutting, cleaning, carving, trapping, ect. You do seem to know what you want and you seem like you don't want to change your mind, so if I were you i'd go with the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster, or the RC-6.

 

[WongKonPow]

I would recommend the Busse Tank Buster as when you order one you can customise it to your liking. There are links off the Busse site for custom sheath makers also.

Just get the best the 1st time and you won't ever need to buy another one.

Here is a photo of what mine will look like once it's done.

Aren't Busse's a 1/4" thick? I would definitely not want that much steel on me when hiking.

 

[babakanoosh45]

People keep saying to NOT get a large knife because of weight. Carry something smaller in the 3" to 4" blade length and have an axe for chopping. Several of the bigger knives I have used such as Scapper6 or Buck Pigsticker or even the Buck 888 have chopped wood and dug pits and pounded steaks as well as dressed small to med/large game including skinning. Plus givin me that warm fuzzy protection feeling when I hear weird crunching in the darkness. If I were using a pack mule or ATV I would take a chainsaw and flatware for comfort sake. but for a few days of deep in camping on foot a good H/D 6" to 7" FB knife is a wonderful thing! I'm not knocking and axe or hawk, I have em and love em. I don't always use em. I would rather have a solid piece of large good steel with some grip panels that I know will hold up. Just my .02 cents...

 

[Ankerson]

Aren't Busse's a 1/4" thick? I would definitely not want that much steel on me when hiking.

One with a 6" blade like the Tank Buster won't really be heavy.

 

[ironmike86]

If carrying a huge knife that weights less than 1lbs max. Is to heavy I guess I must be pretty strong cuzz imo that's not much weight. Unless you would rather carry 1lbs more water/food ???

 

[otis williams]

Jake Bauer

Raymond1000
Rat Cutlery will serve you well. Busse will serve you forever.

Seeing as how busse's warranty is "at least as good as the one RAT knives offers" This doesnt make much sense.

yeah, rat's fully transferable "even if you cut it in half with a torch" seems a little better than busse's "unintentional damage" warranty.

i've never handled a busse, although i'd like to... but far as i can tell, rat's warranty is the best in the business.

 

[dr.worm]

I am sure you could get all sorts of sheaths made by skilled folks right here in Blade Forums. That part is easy. I am not sure why you would want to carry a knife that big on the small of your back? You have a backpack that would make it easier to attach and carry. I say this because of a few things I have seen happen in the field. Carrying a 6" to 7" fixed blade knife the size of some you have mentioned on the small of your back can be hard to get at if you have a BP of medium to large size on your back. Even more I have seen fellas injure themselves returning them to the sheaths. A knife that size in my opinion would be better carried on the pack or the belt in normal strong hand dangler form. Or even on a cross draw sling system. This thinking would ease your search a bit I believe.

i know i wont always be able to carry it on the small of my back, but i want the option. i have always carried my kabar on the hip and dont like it. but the sheath i am getting will have the option to carry it either way. also, being able to carry it horizontally means it can also strap to the vertical stap on a pack which would probably be my second choice. good point about stabbing yourself in the back when returning it though, i've actually thought about taht

In my opinion you dont need a big knife to do backpacking, A knife within the 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inch range is more ideal. A big knife is alot of weight to carry backpacking. When i go backpacking I bring a very small amount of gear. I don't carry a big knife because if i were stuck in a survival situation i would want to be able to skin and gut small game, something you just cant do with a 6 1/2 in. knife. The only animal you can skin is a moose, which is nearly impossible to get without a high powered rifle. Alot of people say you can tell the experience level of an outdoorsman by the size of his knife. Carrying a Six inch knife makes it look like your inexperieced in the outdoors, even if your not. I alot of the time dont even carry a fixed blade. I dont need to. I can use a swiss army knife, or multitool and do all of the tasks i would need to do survival wise with only a 2 1/2 in. blade. If i do carry a fixed blade its a gerber or a case. If I need to split wood,I use a hatchet or an axe. When i got my first good quality knife i got the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster. Big, thick, heavy knife. It was too big, and thick for skinning, so heavy i needed to leave back certain gear at home so i could carry the knife. And in reality a good backpacker wouldnt carry a big fixed blade, he would carry a multitool/swiss army knife because they are lightweight knives. And having a horizantal carry sheath is not ideal because you cant wear a backpack while your wearing the knife. I'm guessing you got the idea from man vs. wild. Bear grylls dosent wear the knife while he has his backpack on. He keeps it in a pocket. Plus bear grylls, even though people claim he doesnt know what he's talking about, He does carry an ideal knife. Its about a 4 1/2 in. blade, and its drop point, ideal for food prep, skinning, gutting, cleaning, carving, trapping, ect. You do seem to know what you want and you seem like you don't want to change your mind, so if I were you i'd go with the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster, or the RC-6.

thanks for the input. for the record, i hate bear grylls and the fact that he is sometimes seen with his knife in the small of his back has been the biggest deterrent for me wearing it there. i carry a smaller folder or multi tool with a serrated edge so that will be for small tasks and the big knife for heavy duty use.

If carrying a huge knife that weights less than 1lbs max. Is to heavy I guess I must be pretty strong cuzz imo that's not much weight. Unless you would rather carry 1lbs more water/food ???

yeah, i know you wanna cut down on weight as much as possible. i know people who cut the handles off of tooth brushes to cut down on weight. thats all well can good but i'm not gonna cut down on weight when it comes to a knife, especially if it means sacrificing quality of functionality.

people keep saying to bring a smaller knife and an ax or hatchet. what weighs more, a 6 inch knife or a 3 or 4 inch knife and a hatchet? my guess would be the knife and hatchet. i'm not planning on packing anything like that so my knife needs to be able to perform as a wood cutter.

also, i know if something large attacks me i'm probaby screwed no matter what, but a 6 inch blade is much more of a security blanket than and makes me feel much better when things go bump in the night than a small blade

 

[coloradowildman]

In my opinion you dont need a big knife to do backpacking, A knife within the 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inch range is more ideal. A big knife is alot of weight to carry backpacking. When i go backpacking I bring a very small amount of gear. I don't carry a big knife because if i were stuck in a survival situation i would want to be able to skin and gut small game, something you just cant do with a 6 1/2 in. knife. The only animal you can skin is a moose, which is nearly impossible to get without a high powered rifle. Alot of people say you can tell the experience level of an outdoorsman by the size of his knife. Carrying a Six inch knife makes it look like your inexperieced in the outdoors, even if your not. I alot of the time dont even carry a fixed blade. I dont need to. I can use a swiss army knife, or multitool and do all of the tasks i would need to do survival wise with only a 2 1/2 in. blade. If i do carry a fixed blade its a gerber or a case. If I need to split wood,I use a hatchet or an axe. When i got my first good quality knife i got the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster. Big, thick, heavy knife. It was too big, and thick for skinning, so heavy i needed to leave back certain gear at home so i could carry the knife. And in reality a good backpacker wouldnt carry a big fixed blade, he would carry a multitool/swiss army knife because they are lightweight knives. And having a horizantal carry sheath is not ideal because you cant wear a backpack while your wearing the knife. I'm guessing you got the idea from man vs. wild. Bear grylls dosent wear the knife while he has his backpack on. He keeps it in a pocket. Plus bear grylls, even though people claim he doesnt know what he's talking about, He does carry an ideal knife. Its about a 4 1/2 in. blade, and its drop point, ideal for food prep, skinning, gutting, cleaning, carving, trapping, ect. You do seem to know what you want and you seem like you don't want to change your mind, so if I were you i'd go with the ontario freedom fighter quartermaster, or the RC-6.

ALANIII in general I agree with what you said. However, it always depends on where you are backpacking and the possible conditions. Most hatchets are 20-30 ounces. I've found hatchets to be poor wood splitters (if the log has any size to it) compared to an axe and inferior to a folding saw for cutting through wood. During my winter backpacking outings here in the Rockies I've found that a 5-6" stout knife can much more easily split wood than my Buck hatchet. My 5.5 inch knife weighs 11oz and my folding saw weighs 5oz. I always have a Swiss Army knife as well, so for roughly 20 ounces total (roughly the weight of just one ultra-light hatchet) I have a combo that can do far more work than just a hatchet. The SAK can be used for fine work and skinning small game, and my fixed blade can be used for heavier cutting and splitting, while the 7" folding saw has been used to cut logs as big as 10" in diameter (much faster than a hatchet can chop).

My knife has a sheath that sits low enough to clear my waist strap on my backpack as well. As for what other backpackers think, well considering many "Boulder" backpacking types think carrying any knife at all in the wilderness to be extreme, I guess I'm not worried about what they think anyway In the middle of summer here and being on trail I will often carry a 2.8 oz folding knife (Gerber EZ Out 3.5" blade, excellent folder!) in addition to a SAK equipped with a small saw and leave the fixed blades and larger folding saw behind. However, if I'm off trail or it's Spring or Fall then the fixed blade and larger saw come with me. In winter when I snowshoe backpack then I carry a lighter axe or machete in addition to my folding saw. I also sometimes take my Mora Bushcraft Force fixed blade (5oz with the sheath!) with a SAK depending on the trip (The Mora Bushcraft has to be the best woodcarving\general cutting blade I've ever used and probably the most comfortable too).

On a side note, I refrain from making far reaching judgements against other backpackers\campers simply because of their gear. If they behave badly or irresponsibly then that's one thing. If I run into someone carrying a Ka-Bar it might be because they got it from a relative or bought it cheap at a flea-market because it was all they could afford (or because they like the knife). The problem with modern backpacking is that it's become a bit of a snob sport as opposed to just regular folks enjoying the wilderness responsibly. Gear is very expensive, and those who can afford the "proper" gear just love to heap judgment on others who aren't "in line" with themselves. Without going too far into politics, it's this mentality that's helped turn America into such extremes, where everyone has to be "with you or against you". With such hard economic times maybe it's time we opened our minds a bit more before heaping so much judgement on others that don't comply with our way of thinking. Sorry for rant, just some food for thought

 

[carnivoreOne]

I have been really enjoying reading this form and do so most evenings. My family and I go camping probably 4 times a year, mostly in state parks and sometimes in the national forest or on private lands. In addition to camping I do one back packing trip annually. I have two fixed blades so far and a couple folders. This form has infected me with incurable Knife Fever and is likely causing an increase in the number of neat quality things in my inventory.

I bought my first two fixed blades prior to knowing about or having benefit of the vast knowledge available on this forum. So far I have a 93 Buck Vanguard and a CS SRK san Mai III.

The vanguard is a skinning machine and goes on every bow hunting trip I can squeeze in. It has served me very well.

The SRK San Mai has served as our most recent family camping knife. I consider camping where there is little or no walk in and at most no more than 3-4 hours hike to where we camp. We have 3 sons (2 now college age) and wanted to develop in them a comfort and appreciation for real camping and the outdoors. The bigger challenge was to get the wife to tag along but she always does. The SRK has been great for camping, we don't baton much but do use it to get hot things off the fire, open cans, occasionally stir instant oatmeal, pry off lids, tighten screws and even split a few small logs and probably served as a tent stake. we also carry a hatchet. The SRK has been a Hoss ....

I also go back packing with a group of friends once a year. We typically go for 4-6 days total and carry everything with us except water. I have carried the SRK the past couple trips and have been very satisfied with it. However for next years trip which is going to be max of a week on the Appalachian trail, I will probably not take it.

I plan to purchase and carry in addition to my new Buck vantage pro with s30v steel (great knife and my edc) an esee or rat 3 or 4 that I plan to purchase soon. The SRK was more than I need for back packing and I have done considerable back packing. Someone said that you could spot the nubes on the trail by the big knife is probably accurate.

I will also probably look at getting an esee 5 for camping. The SRK has not let me down but what the heck I am a middle aged guy and I can afford toys..

enough rambling,, thanks guys for all you have taught me with your posts..