The One Knife (You actually have with you)..... Suggestions please

I like to recommend the Ontario 7500 Blackbird as it is my favorite survival knife. I think it is really underrated. Awesome 5 in. 154CM stainlessblade with impeccable fit and finish. Micarta handles on it are great. The knife is perfectly symmetrical to the naked eye. The sheath that comes with it is arguably the best on the market at that price range.
 
Hello, just thought I'd update you on the first and essential layer of my kit. As I stated in the OP, I was looking for a knife that would
a) light enough to actually carry around in several different scenarios
b) tough enough to baton mercilessly when needed
c) hold a decent edge
d) not stain with a bit of salt water contact

I was recently able to trade into a very nice solution to all of these criteria: I got a Busse Batac

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a) It's pretty nimble with its four and half inch cutting edge and pretty light at around 10-11oz., and may get lighter if I grind 2cm off the butt... even combined with the next layer of kit (machete) it's lighter than a Battle Mistress, but should have improved performance at both ends of the spectrum

b) It's INFI, it was designed for batoning and abusing

c) Again, while INFI may not have the edge holding ability of Japanese steel RCing at 65, it takes a decent edge

d) Corrosion resistance is very solid with Busses, and I've read about several guys who are more than happy to use their Busses in and around salt water..


Anyway, thankyou to everyone who contributed advice throughout this mini-journey. I'll let you know how my new set-up/philosophy works out -- The first test will be a bit of light camping in the Brecon Beacons this weekend --(interesting aside) Brecon is the SAS guys' training ground
 
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While it might seem cool to carry just one knife and be able to say that one knife can handle all of your needs, I'd suggest you consider that wilderness outings don't always go according to plan.

When out in the wilderness, I would equate carrying one knife with carrying one method of starting a fire and one flashlight. You never know when you might find yourself in an emergency survival situation, and despite our best efforts, sometimes gear (knives) can get lost. If you go out with only one piece of gear, and that piece gets lost, you could be in big trouble.

Heck, I've heard stories of people who walked a few yards away from their campsite only to fall down into a ravine, old mine shaft vent, get trapped, break a leg, etc. Not to mention all the troubles that hikers and rock-climers sometimes find themselves in. And the only tools they had to help them survive were the tools they had on their person at the time. All their other gear lay sitting back at camp far beyond their reach, or they lost it in the fall.

Considering how vital a tool a knife is in the wilderness, there's no way I would want to be carrying only one. And it's not as if a second knife is an incredible burden to carry. Especially if your life might depend on it.
 
Considering how vital a tool a knife is in the wilderness, there's no way I would want to be carrying only one. And it's not as if a second knife is an incredible burden to carry. Especially if your life might depend on it.
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Exactly right, this is really one of the main points of I was trying to make with this thread. The whole idea is that I'm moving away from the 'One knife to rule them all' approach, towards a system of layering them.

That's why in my OP I was looking for a smaller knife which I could pare with something more choppy when needed, whilst maintaining a decent weight/performance ratio.

In the OP I stated that I had been experimenting with a Battle Mistress, but that I wondered whether a combination of smaller knife + lightweight chopper like a machete would be more flexible and more effective.

Thanks for joining the discussion, the more perspectives the merrier
 
The shining star in this category that I've owned to date is easily my Strider MFS. A year ago I sold it to a buddy who uses it for anything and everything. ...opening cans with it every day, and a major tool in his every day life. You'd have to see it to believe what he has put the thing through. On top of that, he has not sharpened it all this time and the working edge is un-frikkin-believable (slicing tomatoes with ease). Right now, I'm enjoying an ESEE3, a JK knives custom & a SYKCO MAX 375 (w/ custom kydex) as far as FBs go but the MFS has been the best jack of all trades out of the dozens that have passed through my hands. I found it imperative to rewrap the handle to fit my hand better, but I'm a knot guy & am certainly cool with tinkering.
 
Thanks for the suggestions TheKnife, I'm sure they'd both be good choices!

The purpose of this thread has progresed now, and I'm wondering what you guys are using yourselves as the base 'layer' of your kit. OR whether indeed with your different experiences and needs you've developed other systems :)

The philosophy of use is a knife which will be the main knife, but not 'the one', rather it is the foundation, on which you could add a machete or a light axe if needed. The reason I'm opting for this strategy is because 'the one knife philosophy' ends up at the logical conclusion of a ten inch blade in order that it can chop properly. However, the problem with a ten inch blade is that it's not practical to carry around for a lot of my activities.

I like long distance running and hiking (could be up to 40 miles in 24 hours so weight is an issue).

I like sailing, (which again makes a battle mistress perhaps not the most effective choice :p)

I'm also planning long desert trek in the medium term
 
Thanks Archie, you on a similar wavelength. I've never owned a strider, but I like their knives like this. I like the utilitarian-ness of their look. Also S30v is a very nice steel for this size. It's tougher than people give it credit for, in my experience. There's a lot of little stories about s30v chipping, but Ive been quite abusive of my ZT0350 and it's born up amazingly (A friend once accidentally chopped deep into my gravel and asphalt roof and it rolled, but easily steeled out in about three passes :))
 
joshiecole said:
Thanks for the suggestions TheKnife, I'm sure they'd both be good choices!

The purpose of this thread has progresed now, and I'm wondering what you guys are using yourselves as the base 'layer' of your kit. OR whether indeed with your different experiences and needs you've developed other systems :)

The philosophy of use is a knife which will be the main knife, but not 'the one', rather it is the foundation, on which you could add a machete or a light axe if needed. The reason I'm opting for this strategy is because 'the one knife philosophy' ends up at the logical conclusion of a ten inch blade in order that it can chop properly. However, the problem with a ten inch blade is that it's not practical to carry around for a lot of my activities.

I like long distance running and hiking (could be up to 40 miles in 24 hours so weight is an issue).

I like sailing, (which again makes a battle mistress perhaps not the most effective choice :p)

I'm also planning long desert trek in the medium term
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Actually, I was kind of in your situation a couple of days ago. So I thought of a ~4" blade design that encompasses all that I want in a knife that size. Found a maker that works with 3V and was more than happy to tackle my project. Now all I have left to do is wait :D

Paired with this small blade, I'll probably carry an axe and a small folder most of the time. I would love a ~15" lightweight chopper to swap the axe for, either that or upgrade axe and get something I can comfortably use with two hands. Right now, my dedicated chopper is a Busse TTKZ and it's a friggin' anvil to carry 'round... :D I would love to be able to find a 18-25" axe that's got a sort of slim profile which would perhaps allow it to compete with a big chopper. Right now, the axe I have feels a bit chunky to be effective at chopping. It's fine at splitting stuff, though :D
 
Thanks Pialia, please post pics of your collaboration project on this thread when you get it.

I'm intending to trial a 14'' machete as a chopper layer... should arrive later this week :) The beauty of this arrangement is that I get more flexibility for less weight than a CGFBM.

Let me know what you find in terms of light axes
 
There is nothing that I would ever need a knife to do that couldn't be done with a Fallkniven F1. It is one of the best, most balanced knives available to the consumer market today.
 
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I want something that is EDC-able, less than 7-8oz, preferably around a 4'' blade. I want something that is tough enough to baton through small-medium branches. Something that is stainless enough that it can be kept in my swim shorts when I'm sailing/cliff climbing/swimming. And finally something that holds an edge well enough for processing game
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The knife you chose doesn't fit these criteria very well. I definitely wouldn't be sticking that in my swim shorts:eek:.
Try an F-1 if you get it a chance, it meets what you were looking for--- your instincts were correct. If you need more flash, BRKT does custom rehandles.
 
UnklFranco, Great suggestion, the survive knife was one of my favourites when I originally asked this question a couple of weeks ago. It looks like a really nice simple, well thought out and reasonably priced knife. Sadly when they looked they had sold out of knives. I've just had a look and see they've got them back in stock... I will have to have a serious think about getting one! The only problem is it's either that or a new racing bike :(

Elkins, I do like the F1, but I was able to get the Badger Attack on a trade. In many ways it is a similar design to the Survive knife above.

Russamurai, in some ways you are right! When I mentioned sticking it in my shorts I was really talking about a folder -- in that situation I would probably just use my ZT0350 like I did last year with no faults. However it does match my original criteria fairly well, it is admittedly about 3oz heavier than I originally said, however it will be lighter once I have grinded off some of the butt! We'll have to see whether it manages to fulfil my abstract criteria when applied to the real world this weekend!

Keep it coming guys I love hearing about different philosophies and systems of use
 
Personally, I had a really good experience with the KABAR BK9. It was a really good steel (crovan steel or 1095 carbon steel), very cheap (100$), and it was pretty thick.
 
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