What do you think is the toughest, best dollar to value combat/utility fixed blade?

TheDandyLion

TheDandyLion

Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
764
While I'm not in the market for one, what do you guys think is the toughest, sharpest combat/utility fixed blade on the market? I was thinking maybe the Cold Steel GI Tanto. Cheap, rugged and effective. What do you think?
 
Toughest and cheapest? Ontario 499... it's 30 dollars and you really cannot break them. Now it does lack alot in other categories, but for just straight up "toughness" as in durability it is a top contender.
 
Actually, I reread the thread title, and for dollar to value I'd have to say scrapyard knives, any one of them really. For the money you spend, I haven't seen knives that combine so many great elements. A great warranty, unbreakable, and they actually stay sharp and perform like knives. They are a little bit more than the gi tanto and ontario but I feel like they are worth every cent in their usability
 
AdamFuzzyballs said:
Actually, I reread the thread title, and for dollar to value I'd have to say scrapyard knives, any one of them really. For the money you spend, I haven't seen knives that combine so many great elements. A great warranty, unbreakable, and they actually stay sharp and perform like knives. They are a little bit more than the gi tanto and ontario but I feel like they are worth every cent in their usability
Click to expand...

I suppose for dollar/value yeah. I was thinking more "dime a dozen, crude and tough." The 499 is an excellent option
 
Ontario has several combat/survival models thicker/tougher than the Cold Steel.

Kabar has several as well, especially the BK15 which is currently on sale ...
BK15.jpg
 
TravisH said:
Ontario has several combat/survival models thicker/tougher than the Cold Steel.

Kabar has several as well, especially the BK15 which is currently on sale ...
BK15.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm just thinking like the toughest, most abuse friendly, abuse ready combat blade for cheap. Just brainstorming really
 
i remember there was a video someone made where the cold steel gi tanto outperformed the 300 dollar strider it was copied after
 
I'd have to say Winkler ,scrapyard, swamprat ,Busse,Spartan, Helm Grind! All I got experience with all I would trust on the battlefield with no doubt!
 
Some of the new Schrades might be worth mentioning. Hard to break a quarter inch of 1095 and $30 is pretty affordable. I suspect they cut like a sack of wet mice, but they should be plenty tough and up for abuse.
 
I paid $25 for my CS SRK...but then that was 20 years ago...damn tough knife...on it's third sheath.
 
I have some popular knives like the BK-15, ESEE-4, and Mora, but lately have also been exploring the utility of the extreme low end of the spectrum. I think a few really cheap, junk, knives could provide a good baseline for performance expectations and comparisons (for me). They're also good fodder for practicing grinding and mods.

My latest pickup just arrived yesterday, at literally $8.13 to my door, the MU-1130 (MTech-kin, lol):

2ymexqs.jpg


Roughly similar to an ESEE-4 in overall length, stock thickness, blade shape, etc...
 
Apophis said:
I have some popular knives like the BK-15, ESEE-4, and Mora, but lately have also been exploring the utility of the extreme low end of the spectrum. I think a few really cheap, junk, knives could provide a good baseline for performance expectations and comparisons (for me). They're also good fodder for practicing grinding and mods.

My latest pickup just arrived yesterday, at literally $8.13 to my door, the MU-1130 (MTech-kin, lol):

2ymexqs.jpg


Roughly similar to an ESEE-4 in overall length, stock thickness, blade shape, etc...
Click to expand...

I have an MTech very similar to that. It was one of those things where, for the price, I couldn't overcome my own curiosity. The sheath is nicer than the knife, but the knife isn't as bad as it could be.

Meanwhile, I am an Ontario fan, especially of the 499 and its cousins, the SP2 and SP25. Before I knew about the huge range of knives out there, a 499 was my go-to "survival" knife.
 
Last edited:
ESEE in my opinion , or the Scrapyard line by Busse are pretty high up there, but those will last several lifetimes and are backed by the best warranties in the world too.
 
There are a lot of good choices- Ontario, Kabar, Becker, ESEE, Cold Steel, .... Steels like 1095 are pretty tough but aren't the best at edge holding. Scrapyard and such might hold an edge better but they are more expensive. Bark River makes some real nice knives in steels like S3V and A2 that should be very tough due to the steel and the thickness.
I watched videos of GI Tanto tests and that is a pretty tough knife alright. I have one of the older SRK's with CarbonV steel and I can't imagine doing something that would break it. I've also got a BRKT Bravo 1 in A2 that is thick enough that I can't imagine breaking it either.
 
I don't know anything about what constitutes a combat knife, but I know my most used fixed blade is my SURVIVE! Knives GSO-4.1 in CPM-3V. It's a seriously tough knife and I use it for anything from cleaning game to prying old cans and bottles out of the hard clay where I hunt (some neat stuff up there).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top