Survival Knives...again.

WElcome to Bladeforum!:thumbup:

My outdoor knives are the 3 Busses in the pic. If you can afford a Busse, I would say go for one. The swamprat and Scrapyard are also very good knives for use.:thumbup:

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The Busse family of knives are strong as hell and more then willing to take the abuse you can put them through. I do think you owe it to yourself to check out the forums dedicated to those knives here on blade forums. I love my new M6. Although I think the Scrapyard would be just as good and I'd be just as confident with it.

The company stands on the Warrenty too. There is a member on this board who actually was able to break his Swamprat by batoning it into a board. This was of course after beating on it for over 8 hours with a hammer. Eric from Swamprat is active on the post which is still going on. Check it out; http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=418286 They of course honor the warrenty in this gross display of abuse ;)
 
kage said:
Rat Finkenstein, do you have a Scrap Yard? They look good, especially coming from the Busse factory, but I've read some negative things about them. Complaints about sloppy finishes and badly ground blades. I really need to learn how to sharpen and grind knives, so that these things are less of an issue. Busse's Badger Attack and Satin Jack look great but Busse's just don't seem to be available.
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I have both the Scrapper6 and the LE version, here on the upper right:
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There were a few complaints about some knives leaving the shop with less than perfect edges (not sharp enough) but that was early on, right when they first came out. They were quick to make steps to improve the edges of the knives leaving the shop, and I have not seen any recent complaints. The blade grinds are pretty much perfect on mine- The finish is as well. If you have any problems or questions, they are quick to respond. They also have a very active forum.

I have a SJTac, which is also a great knife. Jacks and Badgers are not currently available to order from Busse, but I think there is currently a Mole Jack available in the exchange for a good price (main difference is a special heat-resistant coating) Badgers are a little harder to come by right now, but you can always post in the wanted to buy section of the exchange and see what offers you get.

You really can't go wrong with knives from any of the 3 Busse Companies, But they are addictive. . .
 
ZeonZaku said:
The Busse family of knives are strong as hell and more then willing to take the abuse you can put them through. I do think you owe it to yourself to check out the forums dedicated to those knives here on blade forums. I love my new M6. Although I think the Scrapyard would be just as good and I'd be just as confident with it.

The company stands on the Warrenty too. There is a member on this board who actually was able to break his Swamprat by batoning it into a board. This was of course after beating on it for over 8 hours with a hammer. Eric from Swamprat is active on the post which is still going on. Check it out; http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=418286 They of course honor the warrenty in this gross display of abuse ;)
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Actually, he was beating on it with a large pipe wrench, which is pretty hard compared to a hammer AFAIK. The Warranty is outstanding.
 
Your Survival Knife MUST have skulls on the lanyard, just ask Leatherface.
Kevin told us it was required.

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PS: I hate big choppers, don't get one. :)
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
Actually, he was beating on it with a large pipe wrench, which is pretty hard compared to a hammer AFAIK. The Warranty is outstanding.
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I went back to read the post again and saw the pipe wrench comments and thought "Crap I'm going to catch hell for that."

Yeah using a hardened metal wrench to beat on a softer metal knife :eek:
 
Here's some basic steel info to help you wade through the myriad choices, kage:

- a steel with 4 sequential numbers is a carbon steel or carbon alloy. I'm pretty sure the first 2 numbers designate the alloys, the second 2 digits tell the percentage of carbon that the alloy contains. For instance, 1095 steel is a basic carbon steel with next-to-nothing, save carbon. It is supposed to contain roughly .95% carbon. 5160 is a spring steel. I don't know which elements "51" designates; the .60 refers to carbon content. The carbon steels range from 1000-9999. Popular knife steels from this series are 1084, 1095, and 5160.

- a steel with a letter then a number is a so-called tool steel. I'm not sure what exactly the digits represent in this series. Many of these steels were derived to be use-specific. Many of them make great knives, too. Some examples from this family that are common knife steels are D2, O1, A2, S7, W2, and M2. M2 is a high-speed steel, able to withstand the heat and stresses imposed in high-speed applications such as jet wheel ball bearings. M2 holds an edge very well, but can be prone to chipping. S7 is a shock steel, very tough and resistant to deformation, but not as adept at holding an edge as M2 (not that S7 is bad at all, though...) The tool steels are highly diverse and offer a wide range of uses. Randall Knives are made almost exclusively of O1 steel. The tool steels have a wide range of alloys; some are more similar to carbon steels and rust easily, while others have higher chromium content and resist rusting.

- stainless steels have the widest variety of designations. Often, the manufacturer will put their stamp on it, followed by a number. For instance, we have AUS-8 and ATS-34. I'm not horribly knowledgeable about the labeling of stainless steels, but they seem to be preceeded by letters or have 3 numbers, followed by a letter designating the carbon content. Examples of this are 440A, 440C, or 420HC.

The metallurgical difference between carbon and stainless steels is that stainless steels contain 14% chromium. Carbon steels may indeed have chromium, but they will have much less than 14%.

I hope this helps a bit and, for those who know, feel free to add to or correct any misinformation I posted :)
 
I myself did similar research, Kage, and I ended up with a Ratweiler. I just tracked one down and paid the markup. Like you, I saved, sold, and bought the one I wanted.
Yet, you mention you want light and compact.
Community, is there anything that a Howling Rat can't do? AMAZING for the size and compactness. You can pry, baton, stab, shave, slice -- it's awesome. It's not big enough to chop, but the spine is beefy enough to baton all day long. resiprene c handle is smooth, grippy and resilient and protects against the cold of the tang better than the micarta handles.
color?
slap a neon lanyard on that bad boy and you're good to go.
availability?
there is one right now on the Exchange forums. black on black, sterile.
Fair review?
check out: http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/howling_rat.html
can't go wrong here sir.
Hope you find what you need -- lut us know!
 
Thanks again for everyone's suggestions, comments and information. I've learned a lot in the last couple of days.

Rat Finkenstein, Thanks for the updated info on the Scrapyard knives. I nearly bought one a few months ago, but found some negative reviews that scared me off. Scrapyard is now back in the running. It sounds like everyone is pretty happy with all 3 Busse companies.

Trout Tamer: Thank you for all of that information on different steels. I had no idea what the designations were so now I feel I can at least look at the designations and know off hand something about it without having to google it every time. Do you have a preferred steel for outdoor use? Perhaps something that fits my needs (prod-prod)?

Old Painless: Thanks for the link to that incredibly abusive review. I hadn't really considered the Howling Rat because it's out of production. It sounds like it may just be the knife for me, though. I wish that I could afford the one on the Exchange right now, but I gotta save my pennies to slide it under the wife's radar.

Fallkniven knives look great and I may get one of these for the car. The F1 would fit my needs, although the handle looks like it may be rough on the hands. Price is great, too.

Hi everybody. My name is Kage and I'm a recovering knifeaholic. I haven't bought a new knife in a couple of years and have gotten out of my knife buying habit. I feel the shakes and the sweat coming on now.

I have a feeling that I'll be purchasing several knives from different size catagories to try to fill my needs. I'm a bit of a knife snob and prefer to save my money and buy the knife that I feel best fulfills my needs (withing monetary reason of course). Fortunately, this does not always mean the most expensive item out there.

I'm sure I'll be picking everybody's brains here as I search out different blades. I'll eventually get a big chopper, something along the Ratweiller line. I'll eventually get a really big blade like a golok, khukri or parang, although I find these to be cumbersome and I'd rather not carry something that big outside of a jungle. Axes are useful but heavy and with all of the other equipment I carry it's not feasible to have with me. Better for the house and car I think.

As a side question: What do you coat your knife with for long term storage (as in between trips or stored in the BOB) and/or what do you protect it with in the field. In the jungle I use good ol' petroleum jelly. Multi-use as a steel protectant, a very effective firestarter when combined with cotton balls, tastes great on toast and good for other uses I'll leave up to your imaginations. :eek: I've considered getting a dry film protectant like that used on mountain bike chains and gears to protect my knives stored in BOBs and vehicles. Has anyone tried this? Is there something better? On another forum a lot of our European friends seem to like Biofa (sp?) but I've never heard of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Kage
 
kage said:
As a side question: What do you coat your knife with for long term storage (as in between trips or stored in the BOB) and/or what do you protect it with in the field. In the jungle I use good ol' petroleum jelly. Multi-use as a steel protectant, a very effective firestarter when combined with cotton balls, tastes great on toast and good for other uses I'll leave up to your imaginations. :eek: I've considered getting a dry film protectant like that used on mountain bike chains and gears to protect my knives stored in BOBs and vehicles. Has anyone tried this? Is there something better? On another forum a lot of our European friends seem to like Biofa (sp?) but I've never heard of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Kage
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I just a light coat of 5w30 motor oil, just make sure you wipe it off before any for prep. You could also "patina" the blade to prevent rust from forming. Seach "patina" and you will find 100's of good referances. The only thing I dont reccommend using to protect your blades is WD-40 because it does evaporate after some time leaving your knife unprotected.
 
Plain old Mineral oil is good, non-toxic and will not spoil. Cheap, too.

Plus you can use it as a laxative. . .
 
Hi BenchmadeBoy. I nearly bought one of the folders because S30V sounded like the perfect hard-use outdoors steel...until I read several sources that talked about S30V's chipping problems. Have you had any problems so far? Does anybody else have experience with S30V?
 
Granted, most don't care for AUS-6 steel, but this has been great for me, and many others. I don't think I've seen a complaint against this knife.

SOG SEAL Pup M37



While not one of these expensive knives, for it's durability and reliability, you can't go wrong. I don't care for the huge sheath mine came with for wearing in public, but for being outdoors, it's very convenient, as it can hold a multitool/folder as well. I, though, bought just a brown leather sheath, because it's thinner and easier to wear, as well as (imo) looking better. Wearing the original when not outdoors, as in the woods, etc, looks too mall-ninja-ish.
 
My pleasure, Kage. In fact, I can recommend some steels, but I can do more than that: I'll recommend a maker, to boot. His name is John Greco, out of Kentucky. He's been making knives for 20+ years and his products are solid performers. I own 3 of his knives and one of them, the Explorer, is my favorite, go-to survival knife. Sadly (for everyone who doesn't own one :p ) he no longer makes this model. Of course, it has a 9.5" blade, so it's bigger than you're looking for, anyways. Back to the point, though :) John's website is: http://www.grecoknives.com Most of his knives are 8670 steel, an industrial, carbon alloy. It can rust, but most all of his blades are either epoxy coated or "stonewash patinad", both of which keep rust at bay very well. It is very, very tough, holds an edge very well, and sharpens up to a fearsome edge! :eek: :D He used to use A2 steel but prefers the 8670.

So, I recommend John Greco and his 8670 steel. I also recommend Cold Steels' Carbon V. Brian Goode, an active member of these forums, is a handmade knifemaker with great wilderness blades. His usual steel is O1. Edit: I just checked out his web site and he said he's backed up for a couple of years. However, he occassionally has a knife for sale on the forums. Hmmm, what else... I always shy away from stainless steels for my primary survival blade; if properly heat-treated, carbon steel is tougher, easier to sharpen, and will hold a better edge for a greater period. I always recommend carbon steel over stainless in a primary blade. O1, 1095, 1084, 5160, A2, and 52100 are all good steels for wilderness blades.

As a side note, you can patina carbon steel with plain, ol' mustard; regular American mustard has worked the best for me. It gives blades a gray-blue, splotchy finish that holds up well, is very rust retardant, and doesn't look entirely awful :D If anyone is interested in learning how, I'll post directions; it's extremely simple.
 
All the knives that have been suggested are good I will suggest one more, Fehrman. I have BRKT, Busse, Swamprat, Rat, Fallkniven and Ranger. To me the Fehrman is awesome. You will not go wrong with any of them. For the $ it is hard to beat a Ranger. I batoned my RD6 a ton today.
 
Trout Tamer: As a side note, you can patina carbon steel with plain, ol' mustard; regular American mustard has worked the best for me. It gives blades a gray-blue, splotchy finish that holds up well, is very rust retardant, and doesn't look entirely awful If anyone is interested in learning how, I'll post directions; it's extremely simple.
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Please, if you will.

Doc
A thought for the upcoming holiday season:
It's who is around the tree, not what's under it, that's important.
 
I have Doug Ritter's mini folder, fullsize folder, and the fixed blade and have had no problems at all with chipping or sharpening (using a Spyderco Sharpmaker). The mini is my EDC and is used a lot on all sorts of nasties. The other two blades go camping/hiking with me. I especially like the fixed blade - he did a really nice job on that one. Fantastic knives!!!

Much more info on Doug Ritter's knives at http://www.equipped.org/dr_gear.htm

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