USAF Survival Knife

C

Cutme

Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
5
I got stand up and say...

This is one heck of a knife especially for the price! Whether it's the Camillus or Onatrio, you just can't go wrong! I own a Randall #18, Cold Steel SRK, Mora 2000, Fallkniven F1 and A1, British Mod Survival knife, had a Randall #15Airman, Reg. Mora, Chris Reeve Project 1 and Shadow IV, Aitor Jungle King 1. Ontario spec plus survival, Ontario Rat3, Gerber LMF ASEK. Owned a Jimmy Lile Sly II knife, All are awesome but honestly none worthy of the the best all-around survival knife. USAF perfect? No. But neither am I....

Now, 2 things I've heard over and over again --this knife get knocked for....
1. Hard to sharpen
2. Sawback useless


To address 1. - Buy a good strop or a diamond sharpener. It'll sharpen it...it's not a diamond! Razor sharp? No. Sharp enough to work through survival tasks. YES! And that's all it's supposed to do. If you want to shave with it, throw it out and buy a BIC.

To address 2. - Let's face it, love 'em or hate 'em...sawbacks are here to stay. I like 'em. I've seen use for notching traps, marring branches for trail markings, and even scratching nasty mosquito bites and poison ivy on skin that I couldn't reach! (Don't laugh! Try it! It works! I know... don't scratch ivy but it's just too hard to resist!) Need sawbacks? NO! Want sawback? I do. And the small sawback on it isn't gonna bust from batoning. So go ahead and knock yourself out! Baton away! Beat the living crap out the back!

Price-- Even me, a poorboy can afford the darn thing.
And should you lose the knife, so what? Buy another for $20-$35 and get over it. Try losing your precious Busse Combat, Randall, Fallkniven, chris Reeve or other (semi/custom made. You'll be sheadding tears like a 5 year old school girl.

I went so far as to burn the entire leather wrap handle off the knife. Full saturated gasoline handle in a fireproof fireplace receptacle. Tough? Man I still can't believe it! It took an hour to burn off the handle. That's tough!

I got to see how it was constructed after the leather handle was burned off. STURDY! Full tang! Pommel strong as ever! Guard slid down but only about 1/4 inch. Love the guard! Strong and secure even when loose! Trust me, if your guard/hilt is loose a bit; as long as your handle is semi-attached; IT ISN"T GOING ANYWHERE! So don't think your knife is a POS! Plenty of life to go!

The downside now in all fairness...the tip. It's very thin. If anything is going to go, it'll be the tip. What can I say...if it breaks at the tip, your knife is still useful. And at a $30 price tag, get another if needs be.

Pommel-- Sweeeet! BIG, robust, STRONG, Wide, and made of STEEL! Most customs have a pointed limited pommel to hammer with. Busse Combat has a narrow pommel. Randall Made #18 Attack-Survival pommel made of brass- not too tough.Fallkniven F1 has a small pommel that if you miss your target you can damage the rubbery handle. I've done it.

Chris Reeve fixed blades have an aluminum pommel; stong but not as strong. Knives with micarta/G10 pommels are tough no doubt but after a while, that expensive knife looks like crap. been there and unfortunately done that! Cold Steel SRK doesn't even have an extended metal pommel for hammering-so prepare to beat the heck out of the rubbery handle.

Ka-bar has a decent pommel but round and not very wide. Aim carefully! mora 2000 has the plastic handle-plastic vs. steel--I'm betting on the steel.

You can always use a heavy branch or rock. If you can find it.

Ok, I'm done on my soap box. Do I love semi/custom knives? YEAH! But I'm not taking an expensive knife out in the woods to beat the heck outta it to survive. I'm just not that impractical nor wealthy.

:rolleyes:
 
I remember reading somewhere that as an Air Force survival knife, the sawteeth were designed to help an airman or pilot to saw through the aluminum skin that most military planes are made of in case of a crash. The sawteeth aren't really optimized for cutting wood, even though it can be used that way.
 
Sorry, boss. I carried one of these for seven years in my survival vest. It was (and remains, as I still have it) the absolute worst knife I have ever owned. I remain amazed that the Navy spent - what - a million dollars training me and then sent me to war (Desert Storm) with a paperweight for a knife. I have owned dozens of knives. Basically ALL of them have been toughter, better edge holding, easier to sharpen, and more attractive than my survival "knife." Let me take that back - I can sharpen most of my knives to razor sharpness in just a few minutes. I have NEVER gotten my pilot survival knife sharp enough to cut cheese much less hairs. I recognize that the knife is indestructable, but I regard that as its worst quality. How many Naval Aviators are still saddled with their copies because these things simply persist - like cockroaches. Oh, and the original idea behind the saw-back was to let you cut yourself out of the cockpit. I can't even cut through an aluminum can with the thing.

I applaud your loyalty and patriotism. However, the knife is "less than optimal." If I were on active duty again, I would probably replace it with a Busse Badger and a cable saw. To heck with the cost!

Please don't take any of this personally. I thought your post was excellent for it's thoughtfulness and thoroughness. I just TRULY hate this knife.
 
Cutme said:
But I'm not taking an expensive knife out in the woods to beat the heck outta it to survive.
Click to expand...

If you consider the cost of the knife as a function of its lifetime they are not overly expensive. For example I have had a SHBM for about ten years and it isn't close to being worn out. So even now it is only about $30 a year, so pennies a day. You only need to buy one per lifetime.


-CLiff
 
I use my black DDR Gunhammer a lot, but Don't abuse it.
Not into that prying, chopping, or whatever with it .... get the right tool for the job....
 
It was issued to me initially, then purchased by my during my TACP school days. Good knife for a poor airman. It does the job, not the best but not the worst either.

That being said, I used my issued classic Leatherman far more for the routine stuff.

However, that school days USAF survival knife still sits in the safe in a place of honor. It rode with me through all sorts of things, military and civilian.
 
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