Which blade to serve as a backup blade?

O

oguruma

Joined
Jan 3, 2010
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Alright, so I want input from you guys on what serves as a functional backup knife for your main blade? I.E. you lose/break your primary knife, or your main blade is too large to serve for smaller tasks. What do you feel makes a good secondary/backup blade? A Sak? Your favorite Spyderco/Benchmade? Your largest beefiest overbuilt folder? A Neck knife? None at all?
 
In the woods I have a minimum of 2 fixed blades on me. Usually have a larger for a chopper, a smaller around 4-5 for the smaller tasks. Most of the time I also have a neck knife as well.
 
When I carry a backup folder it's usually my Fallkniven U2. Incredible blade and so lite you forget you're carrying it. My primary blade is usually a Spyderco Military so the U2 often comes in handy for finer tasks.
U2-blue.jpg

u2-hand.jpg

For EDC backup a Fallkniven U2 works well and for woods a Fallkniven F1 is light and compact.
 
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NorCalMtn2 said:
When I carry a backup folder it's usually my Fallkniven U2. Incredible blade and so lite you forget you're carrying it. My primary blade is usually a Spyderco Military so the U2 often comes in handy for finer tasks.
U2-blue.jpg

u2-hand.jpg
Click to expand...

The U2 is awesome, but I always imagined that steel that hard would want to chip when it comes to cutting wood, no?
 
I usually keep a spare mora in addition in my bag and a sak in my pocket in addition to whatever primary knife I;m carrying.
 
There are some different lines of thought as far as this goes, I think having a small slicer to complement a main knife is usually the most practical-however there are a few 3 inch-ish 3/16ths blades that are basically mini-beaters-hold up to battoning, rough tip work, digging etc (I LOVE my HEST) that are pretty awesome as well. I guess it really depends on your using style and how much you're willing to pack. The Buck Paklite Skinner is a real winner at 15 bucks as well.
 
Izula...

izzylog.jpg


Though it had handle scales now, and borders on being my primary...
 
Backup blade, just about any knife would do the trick, though it really depends on the region and season.

Where I'm at right now, I'm fine with a fixed blade and a folder or smaller fixed blade.

Some places I'd take my hatchet and fixed blade.

Really though unless it's some extreme terrain and there's bad weather, even a 2" folder should be sufficient for most stuff.
 
I usually have two fixed blades: a larger one on my pack and a smaller one on my belt. The belt one is usually an RC-3 or more frequently lately a Bark River Gunny, which has become my favorite smaller knife. I also have a SAK in my pack and a Strider PT in my pocket. I could easily get by with the bigger pack knife or the smaller belt knife to do virtually everything; so that is my primary redundancy. The pocket knife is just habit and convenience.
 
Some good choices already; I'd lean towards something like a Victorinox Trekker.
Some very useful tools as well as a surprisingly decent blade.

L11994512.jpg
 
I am sure every one has heard this before

"No matter what I pack, I always follow it with 'and a mora' "

Even if the only blade I carry is a mora I pack a second mora.
 
I usually carry my BK-9 (i want to get a bushwacker mistress soon tho) with my 5" Breeden Warthorn as backup. 'and a mora'
 
oguruma said:
The U2 is awesome, but I always imagined that steel that hard would want to chip when it comes to cutting wood, no?
Click to expand...
Not so far but I don't use it for abusive tasks. I've cut leather, rope, cardboard apples and so on and it stays razor sharp.
 
My benchmade folder lately. However, I do like the Izula too. Im really wanting a Chris Reeve professional soldier though.
 
If it's only going to be a back up blade then I would save your money and the weight by getting a Mora and a SAK with a saw. With these to compliment your main blades, the right knowledge and lots of practice there's nothing you can't tackle, and these won't weigh you down while being very capable and versatile.

Something like the Mora 545 (stainless) or 511 (carbon) weigh next to nothing, have a nearly full tang and are just amazing little knives. There's also the classic #1 if you like wooden handles. These knives will be in the $8-12 range at Ragweedforge or Ben's Backwoods. If you're looking for something more modern and more expensive then check out the 2000 or 2010 (They're "expensive" at around $30 or so) and then there's the new knife line by Mora, but I really don't know anything about them.

My two favorite SAKs are the Farmer (I keep one in each kit as a back up to my main blades, they have an excellent awl that makes a good ferro striker and a great saw, which comes in handy for a myriad of things) and the One Hand Trekker (which has a locking easily opened blade and a good saw, but I don't care for the handle so much).
 
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