UK Lad out in the field

C

craigusmaximus

Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
11
I'm new here, so sorry if you've had this kind of thing a thousand times before.

Is there a survival knife out there (and available in the UK) that actually has the various wee bits and pieces in the handle, with a compass, that can hack being out in the field and performs well?

I was wanting to have the ability to combine some combat survival items with a seriously good blade to allow me to carry less in my bergen/smock when I'm out and about.

Thanks.

Craigus.
 
Craigus:

The BEST hollow handle knife is a Chris Reeve knife. Go to Chris Reeve Knives Home page and check out the Project I. The knife is made out if a single billet of steel. Most hollow handle knives have a very short tang which is attached to the hollow handle. This attachment point is usually quite weak.

The Reeve blade is the #1 choice you should look at. You could get a Lile like from Rambo I, but it is very expensive. A cheap alternative is to get a Cold Steel Bushman and stuff goodies in a plastic bag and stuff the bag in the :handle" section, but I bet you want oen with a sealable handle. Get the Reeve. It is worth the money, from all reports.
 
Excellent. Thanks for your help. It's a really good looking knife and I have dug up a few threads on here singing it's praises. Now all I need to do is find a huge amount of money. Thanks again.

Craigus.
 
Yeah, it is expensive. I'd like one myself. But with gear, it is best to save up and buy quality, as you'll only need to buy once.

There are a few people here who have had a CR blade for years, using it heavily and it is still with them. Think twice, buy once.
 
Aye, man.

I agree entirely with buying something once and it lasting forever.

Still I found a place that sells them cheaper than normal - 299 dollars instead of 315.

I now have my heart set on one, but I guess for now I'll need to use my BCB combat survival tin and Swiss Army Knife till I become less of a skint (poor) student.

Again, thanks.

Craigus.
 
The Chris Reeves are supposed to be one of the best hollow-handled knives. I believe they're machined out of a single piece of steel as opposed to being two joined pieces.

I have a question, though. Why do you prefer something hollow handled as opposed to just sticking all of the gear in a small pouch? The tube in the handle is likely only about 25mm diameter by 300mm in length.

Just curious.

Mike
 
Or there is always the Wilkinson Survival knife with the survival kit in the handle although they are designing a new one for the autumn. Which means you might get an end of line one a bit cheaper than the couple of hundred quid they cost.

Give wilkinson a ring in London - they're very helpful 'cos the knife isn't on their website
 
A fair question Mike. I shall explain.

It's essentially a case of personal preference. When I go out in the field I do a great deal of stalking and reconnaisance, if you will. As you might imagine, this requires crawling all over the place. To me, a suvival tool and it's contents should be close at hand, in the event that one is separated from one's bergen. I tend to set up my Lying Up Point and then head off without my bergen. Now, the B.C.B survival tin I have feels rather bulky and hence gets left in my bergen, thus defeating the object of owning it.

I have specified areas in my smock for various things.

1 Pocket for notes and pencil
1 Pocket for signalling and flashlight
1 Pocket for first aid
1 Pocket for 'nutty' (chocolate and various cookies and such like broken down into a wee bag)

To me, it would be intensely irritating to have my survival tin on my person at all. Thus my 'survival knife' idea came into being. Below I have outlined the contents of the tin, and marked with a '-U-' the items such a knife would deem unecessary, or that I have already in my smock. An '-X-' marks the items which I feel could fit snugly (perhaps not in the same volume) into the 5.25 inch handle. There are a couple of items that won't go in either my smock or the knife, but I can live with that. See what you think:

-U- SIGNALING GROUP
1 British Lifeboat Whistle
1 Interior of Storage Tin serves as Signal Mirror
EMERGENCY DEVICES GROUP
-U- 1 Folding Pen Knife, 2 1/8 in. plain edge spear point blade, lanyard loop
1 B.C.B. Flint and Steel
-X- Paper Safety Matches
-X- 1 B.C.B. Commando Wire Saw (w/out finger rings)
1 Tea Candle
-X- 1 Button Compass
-X- Brass Snare Wire
-X- Fishing Line, monofiliment
-X- 5 Fishing Hooks, small
-X- 3 Fishing Weights, large
-X- 1 Fishing Weight, small
-X- 1 Leader w/ large swivel
-X- 3 Leader w/ small swivel

WATER & FOOD GROUP
-X- 10 Water Purification Tablets (Chlorine Based)

MISCELLANEOUS & MULTI-PURPOSE GROUP
-X- 6 Safety Pins, asst. sizes
-X- 1 Sewing Kit
-U- 1 Pencil (stub)
Plastic Tape (seals tin)
1 Storage Tin

I hope my explanition didn't bore you to tears. I think I've covered my reasoning, but if there is something I've left out I'll let you know (bad luck hehe).

Thanks,

Craigus.
 
Hello.

I've read bits and bobs about the wilkinson survival knife and from what I ascertained it is a bit dodgy. I shall however, look into how cheap one can be purchased.

Thanks.

Craigus.
 
Craigus,

I'm thinking if you lose the knife, you lose the kit. If your kit is stored somewhere else, a pocket perhaps, you retain it. But you're right. It's personal preference. Just my 2 cents.

Mike
 
Craigus,

If you want to go the hollow handled route then the Chris Reeve Project I is the way to go. Framar, www.framarknives.co.uk selling them for £225. Frank Key the owner of the shop is a good oak too.

Impoverished student not. Thats survival, set your goal and pack those supermarket shelves at night for a week and you'll have that knife. It'll be worth it. A Goretex jacket costs £200 these days and lasts but only a couple of years good use.

The Project is about as much knife as you will ever need on the hill. It is a survival knife and best at that. A £80 fixed thinner bladed knife might be better and save you some weight for when stalking. Different knife for different jobs.

A Highland friend of mine who shoots a lot thinks the Project is too much knife. It is, but I carry mine anyway.
 
UK Lad -

So, you're out slitherin' through the bush and getting PAID to do it! I've used my Chris Reeve Knife since the late 80's. For my tastes, it's been an excellent knife. I'm enclosing a post from another page telling how I've made a slim but very practical kit for my 'kit'. It's one of many approaches. For me, the biggest use for the hollow handle is that it is water tight, so note that I keep some prime tinder in there along with a spare sparking rod to light it. You know how nice -maybe vital- a fire is when you've been soaked for days. Dry tinder is worth it's weight in gold.

------------ Inclusion From The Other Post ----------

I have an older South African made Chris Reeve and have been revisiting the way that I pack it. here's what I am currently running (revised after a particularly WET trip in Idaho):

1. Use an old style U.S. Mil face paint tube. Cut it to length so that it JUST long enough to fit into the handle but not rattle. Pack it with tinder made from cotton balls and vasaline (squeeze out any vasaline that you can and the mixture is just right). Drill a hole in the end closest to the blade and slip in a small sparking rod. This is your water tight fire/tinder kit #1.

2. I made a Kydex sheath which holds my diamond sharpening rod in a sub-sheath for easy access. Imbedded into the rods' handle is a bar of magnesium and a large sparking rod. This is your sharpener & fire kit #2.

3. I T I G H T L Y wrapped the handle of mine with 550 cord due to my large hands and the fact that you will never have enough cordage.

4. Go to a Yuppie backpacker store and find the smallest compass which is on a zipper tab. Remove the compass and wedge it into your CRK aluminum handle cap using a slip of paper as a wedge (so that you can replace it later if needed - no glue!). You now have an emergency compass. The handle cap is aluminum, so the compass will be usable without removing it.

5. I attached a U.S. mil rifle cleaning pouch (about the size of a business envelope) to my sheath using crazy glue. It has one large pouch and one slender pouch which open 'up' when you are seated. Both have a velcro AND 3 snap closure: very secure. In this I have a space blanket, iodine crystals in a water purification tab bottle, BIC lighter (fire source #3), fishing/small game kit (w/snare wire, hooks, racoon lure from Buckshot's Cabin), bouillon cubes, mini-sewing kit and a few other odds-n-ends. Some neosporin in ampoules would be a good idea.

6. Attached to the sheath is about >20' of 550 cord.

7. The back of the sheath is covered with a few layers of G.I. 100 MPH tape incase I need to save to world, or repair the space shuttle. This is amazing stuff - include it where ever you can.

>> I may stitch 2 compass/first-aid pouchs, one above the other to the outside of this main pouch to give me room for light but bulky items like a collapsable nalgene canteen,garbage bags or another space blanket or two. Remember: shelter and water are the 'twin sisters' of survival. I like the idea of twin sisters, but I'll remain silent on that one...

Just some ideas.

BTW - my sheath mounts to my belt with a quick release buckle on a three inch piece of webbing - for flex while Im walking/moving. My leg strap uses a similar set-up with a smaller quick release buckle scavanged from an old pack. I can don and remove my knife quickly, or attach it to packs etc. in a flash. Handy yet secure.

>RadioRay ..._ ._


__________________
Providence Favors The Bold.
--but--
East L.A. Favors The HEAVILY armed!
 
Radio Ray,

Thanks a lot for the outline of what you get up to with your Chris Reeves knife. In the end it's totally what I'd be into doing. You've got some good wee tips in there a young lad like me may otherwise have forgotten.

Thanks again,

Craigus.
 
Greenjacket,

Thanks for the comment on stacking shelves to get that knife. Gave me a good laugh. As you say, a wee bit extra work and I'll have it in my hands, and through www.framarknives.co.uk. I am absolutely sure it'll outlive various other bits of kit that folks are obsessed with these days.

Thanks tons, especially for the web address. As you carry yours, so shall I carry mine.

Craigus.
 
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