What blade would You recommend?

T

Tom_Ash

Joined
Jul 2, 2011
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5
Hello again.

I've tried to get some help here under different nick yesterday but I got banned for spaming - I guess it was because I did put link to my page in the post - I am sorry for my mistake.

Now I post the same question without any links and hope to get some answers as it is really important for me/us. Thanks in advance.

Me and a couple of my friends created a project - a list of 149 Things that we must do in our lives (I can give link on PM if someone is interested).
We want to show people that even with limited funds and other obstacles You can do amazing things. Moreover - You can make Your dreams come true.


And now back to the "I need advice" part

Our Thing 002 on the list is called: "72 hours with a Knife in a Forest".
There will be 6 of us (at this moment) and we want to spend 72 hours in woods with only "clothes on our back and a knife in a pocket".
No lighetrs, no matches, no food, no water, no nothing :P

And finally the question - what survival knife would You choose for such an event? It has to be multi-functional so we can cut wood, maybe scrape some fish, etc. It will be used for everything.

And how would You do it? You think every one of us should have the same kind of knife? Or should we choose different ones to have more varied equipement?

I would really appriciate some answers as I believe there are many Knife Experts here who can share their wisdom.

Regards :)
 
bring a few different knives, large chopper, bushcraft, maybe one dedicated for food prep. What's price range?
 
SAK one w/magnifying glass (maybe cheating by your guidelines??),esse junglas or BK9-all of you should carry a different knife
 
First, do ya'll get into the woods much ? Have any "skills" ?

Also recommend leaving your location/destination and ETA with someone ... Just in case.

If there's six of you, you have the luxury of different equipt. - Hatchet, folding saw, knife, etc.

Anyway - without knowing your budget (though you did mention "limited funds")
There are obviously tons of knives to chose from. If you're NOT carrying the forementioned hatchet, folding saw, and it's only "1 knife" get a good hard use knife.

If it is a budget thing, the Becker BK 2 is a monster knife for the money, under $60.
(yes, I'm a little bias :D) Also a $15 Mora is a good choice.

Remember the rules of 3: 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food ... and humans don't do to good.

Stay safe, practice before you go. May sound cool now, but when your injured and sick ... it ain't fun. JMHO
 
You can't really use it to chop down trees, but most Mora knives with around a 4" blade make good "lost in the woods" knives. THere's a whole movement called 'bushcraft' that's devoted to wilderness skills and knife craft, and Mora knives or similar types are their most recommended bladees.
 
@Cobra281 - You're right, maybe I should give You some more background. ANd thanks for the 3 rules :)

We all were born and bred in small towns near lakes, rivers, forests (I believe backwoods would also be a good word), etc. So we know a lil bit about "spending time in forest".
I just have to add - we are no survivalists at the moment. Of course we are going to prepare before our event (we are choosing woods that we know - at least few of us, there will be possibility to find water! and some food and we for sure will let some people know where we are going to stay - including some authorities responsible for that region that we are going to stay there).

Also we are planning to divide this Thing into 3 parts: 24h, 48h and finally 72h - so we do not jump stright into deep water.

Now about knives - I think $30-40 per piece is max.

BTW: if any of You know any manufacturer or a shop that would be willing to sponsor us, even one blade, in exchange for ad in our videos (at least 5 videos about this event) and text link on our site - it would be great :)
 
Take a big knife, to defend yourself from friends who have been in the woods three days without food.
 
I think survival skill & a well thought out plan is more important than which knife in you case... probably you should put more emphasis on your overall gear rather than knife solely IMO.
 
You need to practice and learn some things before you go - fire making*, water purification, shelter making. You could learn it under the gun, but leave a note about where you are going so rescuers can find you or your remains.

Anyway, the knife I'd choose is the BK2. It's a little over the price limit you set in a later post but this is the one you want and here's my standard BK2 commercial...

BK2

It whittles tiny spoons and forks and things...
IMG_0002_20110305.jpg


It chops seasoned oak for no good reason...
20110212_ac_17.jpg


It cleans fish...
20110531_img_0237.jpg


It batons...
20110325_IMG_0104.jpg


It poses majestically...
20101215_ac_06e.jpg


It survives nuclear blasts...
behold_bk2.jpg


What's not to love?

Alternatively, you could stay under you limit by choosing a Mora or something similar. You won't be chopping with it and you probably shouldn't be batoning with it but it will do what you really need to if you know how to use it. Buy two in case you break one.


*fire making - you actually need to MAKE FIRE from things you bring or find. It's not enough to be aware of bow drill kits and fire plows nor is it enough to have seen Dave and Cody use these things. That stuff is difficult and you want to be competent in your backyard when you aren't thirsty or cold.
---

Beckerhead #42
 
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Any 4" to 6" fixed blade with good steel will do just fine. You could benefit from a 7" to 10" blade if you have to chop something, but you lose maneuverability. I'd prefer a knife that is full tang.

Beyond that, you need a lot of outdoor skills to do 72 hours with just a knife.
You need to know how to fashion shelter, how to trap and prepare food, how to recognize wild edibles, how to make a bow drill fire, how to transport and purify water, etc.
If you don't have these skills, I wouldn't recommend the trip.

The BK2 is a good choice, and as you can see above, it batons olives with crazy abandon.
 
PassinBy said:
I think survival skill & a well thought out plan is more important than which knife in you case... probably you should put more emphasis on your overall gear rather than knife solely IMO.
Click to expand...

^^This^^

In all honesty many have 'survived' without a knife for extended periods of time.. When you're in dire straights a knife is a luxury, so I say get your head wrapped around the water aspect of survival.. Its summer time so shelter is minimal, water should be first and foremost on your list... 24 hrs in the heat while being physically active without water can be very bad..

There will be six of you so you will need a water source, I'd suggest you plan your adventure by water with no doubt...... Depending on where you live there are very dangerous opportunistic animals in the woods that may decide to give one of you a go...so learning how to make a fire is mandatory to help ward off the critters from camp..

In conclusion, I say you make this adventure #003 on the list and in its place learn how to purify and store water, and make a fire... last on the list of things to bring should be a knife :D and first and foremost knife/axe/machete safety is top of ALL lists..

with that said, a Mora 511 or 711 would serve ALL of you very well.. and are very affordable...

and because liability I think obtaining a sponsor is highly unlikely..

good luck have fun and be safe......
 
I agree totally with the "take caution and learn the skills first" part of this thread. I have been on 3 day trips and having a water source is vital. Dehydration causes many ill effects on your body. If you have basic survival skills and are planning to have a good water source, have fun. If you don't know where you will obtain fire, shelter, and water, you should think twice about this trip until you can account for these resources.

Minimalism is sweeping across the nation regarding campers/hikers/backpackers but it's not something that should just be on a bucket list or you won't gain anything from it... except possible death. You HAVE to work your way towards the skill of minimalism, the knowledge doesn't just come to you.

The knife I would chose would be either a BK-02 or the Mora as stated..... great knives.

______________________________
Beckerhead #32
 
Survival? On a budget? = Mora.

Add a small folding saw and you should be set.
 
Well, my forest setup as of right now is an Ontario MKIII (about 11" OAL) you can pick one up for about $60. a CRKT stiff KISS (about 8" OAL) about $15. and a Wal-Mart machete. I would recommend the MKIII because its a good knife and is durable.
 
I agree that knowledge is more important than the knife, and that water is key during the summer. And, I have some questions..

How will you find, collect, and purify water? Start a fire? What will you eat? Think before you answer these questions, have you and your friends had to make due with just a knife? Can you make a water container? Will it boil water once made? How will you collect food, can you make traps with just a knife, can you fish with only a knife? Sure these things are possible, but have you done these with success?

As for the knife, I say go with your original concept, "72 hours with a knife". Not each of you bringing a different cutting tool, but just a knife. The purity of this is that each of you have just one knife. Maybe one guy looses his, or another breaks his knife. You want to be the guy that has a dependable tool, if that's all you have.

So, if it were me, and $30-$40 is my limit, what knife? I'd get a Mora, or an Old Hickory butcher knife, or a used Ka-Bar, Ontario, or Becker.
I'd rather have my BK-2, but that's over the budget. I've beat the hell out of my Old Hickory knives, they can baton wood, clean game, make traps, make fuzz sticks, and probably a bow drill set, I haven't tried that yet.

It just doesn't sound like a fun trip to me, more like torture. Every time I go out is a learning experience, being cold, dehydrated and hypothermic is not something I take lightly. I'd be taking water and food, as a back up. If everything goes well, you won't need it. But, what if it could save your life? At least have an option to get out, safe and alive.
 
Just a little safety advice from a SAR volunteer: leave a game plan and do take a rucksack with food, water and emergency gear. By all means do try to live off the land if that's your goal, but have that pack handy in case of emergency. I don't mean to lecture you on outdoors safety, it's just a small piece of advice to make your adventure safer.

OK, on to the knives. If there are 6 of you working together, a having a few different types of cutting tools would certainly be a good thing. Every knife design on Earth is a compromise and handles some tasks better than others, having two or three different designs gives you greater flexibility.

With your budget, I would go for some Moras (Swedish knives, you can get the basic ones for a little over 10 bucks!), good machetes and perhaps a Swiss army knife or two. That would give you excellent all around bush knives (Moras); decent choppers for shelter building, fires, etc. (machetes); and some extra tools like awls, saws, etc. in the Swiss army knives (Victorinox models like the Hunter, One Hand Forester, One Hand Trekker, Farmer, etc. are awesome and within your budget).

Do a search on "Nessmuk" or "Nessmuk trio", and you'll get a lot of information on the kind of combination I'm talking about (chopping tool+medium size fixed blade+folder). If there are six of you I'd get 2 Moras, 2 SAKs and 2 machetes (or a machete and an axe if axes are OK). Take some wet/dry sandpaper to keep everything sharp and you're set.
 
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