survival knives

marcinek said:
Well, he used big orange all caps letters and profanity, so he must be right. :rolleyes:

Folding saw and/or small ax are what you are looking for IMO. No screaming necessary. :thumbup:
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Or he could just carry a tactical pen and split wood with sarcasm and dirty looks.
 
Of those you mention I'd get the Trailmaster. It's available in san mai. it's big though.

EDIT: I"ve had my eye on that Ka-Bar USMC D-2 Heavy Duty lately. It would be worth considering too. It would give you a bit more of an 'all arounder. It's what I"d replace my current '60's USMC with should I ever need to.

IMO, a USMC is as basic a fixed blade to a well balanced collection of USERS as a Buck 110 folder. Both have uses well beyond the wild and are well-proven. Their utility and quality is beyond reasonable dispute. :)​

As a couple have mentioned, you might be better off with a smaller blade and hatchet, depending on what you do and how much. Years ago I modded my old rigger's hatchet from stagehand days for outdoor use and it's been 'da bomb on certain trips. It's more the right tool for the job...always glad I brought it along when I needed it.
 
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Are you going out for days at a time, where you need to minimize gear size/weight to make room for things like food, water, clothes and sleeping bag? If you want the best tool for the job, well, you'll probably find that a hatchet and/or folding combined with a good little slicing blade will get the best results. On the other hand, if you absolutely don't have room for dedicated tools, then a big knife for chopping and a small one for finer cutting tasks might make sense, in which case you should make sure to pay close attention to sheath options. Carrying your knife in your pack isn't necessarily efficient if it makes it hard to get to or makes it harder to fit other things in the pack. A big leather sheath without tie-down points might get annoying really early on in a long hike. Pay close attention to handle/grip material and dimensions too, because you want something durable and comfortable; consider how wearing gloves might make a difference too. In other words, a good carry method is as important as a good knife in my opinion.

As for your original list, well, I don't think I'd rush into buying any one of those knives for the role you described. There are a lot of options across a broad range of prices. I bought a Condor Rodan and Mora Companion to start with, for under $50 total. Not a fan of the sheaths for either knife when actually wearing them (one of the reasons I stress that point) but the knives themselves are very capable. Ontario makes some big knives that might be more appropriate to the task than the Ka-Bars you listed, although if you get into the BK line, you're good to go.
 
I think that you'll get a lot more work done with a lot less effort (and therefore lost calories) with a folding saw and a good quality belt knife in the 4" to 5" range.....Large bowie type knives were carried by the mountain men of old as close quarters weapons because they only had single shot rifles. Today we have AR-15's and Glocks. Unless you need a machete for a jungle type of environment, I cannot think of any reason to carry a big "chopper" knife...
 
Most of my trips will be around 7 to 10 days so carrying minimum gear is important. I like the becker bk but its hard to find in South Africa so it might be a custom knife
Thanks for all the advice
 
I have and use these three knives, which work well for what your stated tasks are:
Becker BK9: The "BIG BOY" of the bunch-batons well, chops well, and can do some lighter tasks such as feather sticking, carving, etc., but the size makes finer tasks a bit difficult.
TOPS Tex Creek XL: Nice belt knife sized blade-not quite the chopper the BK9 is but does most things well, and can perform some smaller tasks
Esee 6: Another great belt knife. Batons and chops well, and performs lighter tasks surprisingly well. Probably the most "do all" of the three. Plus their lifetime warranty is the best!
I am also very fond of my Condor Kephart. It can only baton smaller pieces of wood, but is a fine carver, feather stick maker, and great all around "smaller" camp knife. I've even used it as a spatula while cooking, and it is great at food prep. Many choices to fit most budgets! If you are like most of us, you'll eventually end up owning a whole stable of knives! Then the biggest problem is picking which ones to bring along! Enjoy the knife bug!
 
As much as some brand purists aren't fans of the newer Schrade models, they might be worth checking out. Their fixed blade line has grown quite a bit over the past couple years, and some of them get excellent reviews. Otherwise, the Condor Varan might be a good choice for something big.
 
EChoil said:
Years ago I modded my old rigger's hatchet from stagehand days for outdoor use and it's been 'da bomb on certain trips. It's more the right tool for the job...always glad I brought it along when I needed it.
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Could you post a picture of this hatchet? Thanks, DM
 
Brommeland said:
I think that you'll get a lot more work done with a lot less effort (and therefore lost calories) with a folding saw and a good quality belt knife in the 4" to 5" range.....Large bowie type knives were carried by the mountain men of old as close quarters weapons because they only had single shot rifles. Today we have AR-15's and Glocks. Unless you need a machete for a jungle type of environment, I cannot think of any reason to carry a big "chopper" knife...
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That wasn't the Only reason Jeff Bridger et. al. carried large blade knives. The rest of your post I agree with. But saving my scalp would have been high on my list too. DM
 
Hmmmmmm...okay... Esee 5, Bk2, Condor Crotalus in mid-size. Esee 4, Bk11 in small size. BK9, Esee Junglas, Ontario Sp 8, Ontario Sp 53, Bk3 for large. Best bet is to piggy back a large and small combo. I have personally tried all of these, except the 53, which a good friend of mine does own and I have watched his abuse of it. The 11, I can tell you, can take gobs of abuse.
 
Brigadier said:
Not at all.
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The point being that the TOPS, at 2.5x the price of the other quality knives he mentioned must do some pretty amazing mind blowing stuff that they don't. Like turn into a tent or catch fish for you. Maybe sterilize water.
 
JDX said:
I'm going to give you advice. I know it sounds badass to baton wood and hack away at saplings and vines with a fixed blade, but it's just not that practical. Yourr better off getting a medium sized axe or a hatchet, then a fixed blade for smaller tasks (I suggest swamp rat or tops b.o.b.) and Maybe a secondary knife, like a Mora, or a solid large folder.
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Funny how whenever someone asks for a good survival knife, he inevitably gets told that this isn't what he should want, and is then offered a lot of things he didn't ask for...

If I have any advice to give, it woud be to stay away from the current fad for full tangs, and keep debilitating vibrations away from your hand with either stick tangs or, better yet, a good hand-filling hollow handle... Of note is that TOPS knives are kind of an exception to this, because they have unusually tightly made and very high quality "dampened" micarta full tang handles (and their idea of 3/16" is much closer to 1/4"...), so they kind of vibrate less painfully than most others, and shouldn't be dismissed outright on that basis... Their full tangs still take their usual pointless toll in severe handle heavyness though, another major reason to avoid full tangs (similar to most hollow handles on that issue, but minus the chopping confort and secure storage)...

The BK-9 performs very well for the price, has an excellent sheath, is handle light because the full tang is "hollowed out", but it is kind of hit and miss in blade straightness, unless I happen to have the only slightly curved one of them all... No practical effect, but not what I'd call high quality/pride of ownership-inducing... Just good rough utility value for a very low price... The rough paint finish is extremely solid, but your blade is harder to clean when it picks up crud...

The BK-9 has one of the worst full tang vibration "bite" of most knives I have chopped with (probably due to the hollowed-out tang), so if you can spare a bit more money, by all means go for a Cold Steel Trailmaster or a Recon Scout (I hate their new plastic sheaths though). I'll go on a limb for something fancier, and recommend either the Fallkniven Odin, or especially the Thor, but avoid their old beige sheaths which scratched the daylights out of the blades... The new black leather sheaths appear to be much better in every way, with a correct cross-guard snap, and not the silly non-functional previous design. The Odin is a lot shorter and easier to carry, and is a sort of compact Trailmaster.

Gaston
 
Get yourself a budget.
Now, I don't believe in the One tool for all knife that many are getting into. But look into a ESEE Junglas, it does everything I typically would ask in a knife. Its what I bring on my scouting trips.
 
David Martin said:
That wasn't the Only reason Jeff Bridger et. al. carried large blade knives. The rest of your post I agree with. But saving my scalp would have been high on my list too. DM
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I believe that was Jim Bridger....Saving my scalp is a high priority as well. I just happen to think that for a similar amount of weight, a Glock does a better job than a big knife.....
 
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