Which brands are good for utility knives?

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5211

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May 7, 2008
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I'm looking to get a camping/outdoor util knife.. and so far all i know is KaBar

is there any other brands?? and if any you would recommend
 
We may not mean the same thing by "utility knife" but Mora and Martinini are all I can ask for in utility knives. They have really good steel, all round useful blade shapes, and sell for around $10 a pop. I shove one everywhere I might need a knife, and don't worry a lot about losing one. About all you give up with those knives is bragging rights.
 
RAT knives are great for their price point. They also are covered by arguably the best warranty out there. The 1095 steel from Rowen is tough and easily sharpened. I have an Izula and love it. It's small but tough as hell. It truly is a "little big knife."

A bit more expensive are Bark River knives. They offer more high-end steels, convex grinds and handle materials. I've never had one, personally, but I've only heard great things about Bark River.

Check out these websites to see what interests you:
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/index.html
http://www.knivesshipfree.com/
 
If you want a knife that you can use, misuse, grind with a angle grinder, toss in the tool box "naked" and loose somewhere, then the only choice is a MORA knife. They are disposable. Buy them in buckets and throw them around.

If you are more "careful" with your knife, you could buy a Bark River, Fallkniven, RAT and similar knives for about 100 bucks.

In between you have KaBar and such.
 
When you look at the KaBars, make sure to include the Beckers in your consideration.
 
Almost every major manufacturer puts out some form of utility/outdoorsy knife, in a whole variety of price ranges.

As others have mentioned, RAT cutlery is a big name around here, but you can also check out Bark River, Blackjack, Fallkniven, just to name some which offer some more traditional (read: non-tactical) utility patterns.

There are also some really great options over on the makers for-sale thread geared towards field use.
 
KaBar makes some good knives for general purpose camp/utility uses. Another is the very reasonably priced Buck 119. The knives listed above are also good. There are many to choose from at all price points. You can get a good serviceable knife well under $50 or over $500 the choice is yours.
 
Hey thanks for the suggestions guys


i'm kinda looking for a ~6-7 in blade. cuz i'm looking to cut down little tree for fuel logs and shelter.. etc

i love benchmade for my small pockets..
 
5211 said:
I'm looking to get a camping/outdoor util knife.. and so far all i know is KaBar

is there any other brands?? and if any you would recommend
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Cold Steel 1055 12 inch Machete, I like the Barong and the Sax styles. Paramount $20 camp knife! Also the CS Kukri machete is awesome. Combine it with a CS Trail Hawk tomahawk and you're ready for the Appalachian Trail and beyond. If you want to spend more on a better axe get a S. A. Wetterlings end of story.

Cold Steel Bushman $20 puts the KA-BAR, Becker, RAT to shame in every way and as for the Cold Steel 1055 12 inch Machete comparison they are laughable at best!

Mora of Sweden is a great four inch camp utility knife end of story.

Swiss Army Knife with a saw blade like the Hunter Model end of story.

Any of the above will not fail you and compare to any other knife at any price on the market. Maybe a Busse is a tiny bit tougher but at $500 why bother? Don't waste your money as "no one" on the trail or in camp gives a dang about your knife fanboy world status!
 
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You can, and I have spent money on knives like RAT and Becker. While I like them, for a utility knife around the camp, my Mora's are hard to beat. Get several. While partial to the wood handles laminated steel ones. The Clipper may be the best deal going. I have a Mora Clipper in my emergency tool kit in my truck. They are great bushcraft knives and you don't worry about beating the dirt out of them or loaning them out.

For something bigger, the Cold Steel Bushman has proven itself to me and many others. I stow mine with the afore mentioned Clipper and a SAK.

To conclude, rather than buying one $$ knife, I'd save money and get a Clipper a Bushman and a SAK Farmer. You should be set. If these are too "cheap for you fancy, I'd suggest a BK11 kneck knife.
 
5211 said:
Hey thanks for the suggestions guys



i'm kinda looking for a ~6-7 in blade. cuz i'm looking to cut down little tree for fuel logs and shelter.. etc

i love benchmade for my small pockets..
Click to expand...

I will re-iterate suggetions below and comment here that a 6-7 inch bladed knife will "not" chop well. But it is still a good camp knife when paired with a good axe for chopping. The CS Bushman is 7 inches and will baton through wood longer than you can and be there for another round end of story.


Cold Steel 1055 12 inch Machete, I like the Barong and the Sax styles. Paramount $20 camp knife! Also the CS Kukri machete is awesome. Combine it with a CS Trail Hawk tomahawk and you're ready for the Appalachian Trail and beyond. If you want to spend more on a better axe get a S. A. Wetterlings end of story.

Cold Steel Bushman $20 puts the KA-BAR, Becker, RAT to shame in every way and as for the Cold Steel 1055 12 inch Machete comparison they are laughable at best!

Mora of Sweden is a great four inch camp utility knife end of story.

Swiss Army Knife with a saw blade like the Hunter Model end of story.

Any of the above will not fail you and compare to any other knife at any price on the market. Maybe a Busse is a tiny bit tougher but at $500 why bother? Don't waste your money as "no one" on the trail or in camp gives a dang about your knife fanboy world status!
 
Cold Steel Trail Master (Outstanding hard use field knife)
Cold Steel Recon Tanto (Great general use field blade, very tough)
Cold Steel Recon Scout (Same as the TM except shorter blade)
Any Busse (Can't go wrong with any of them)
Any Swamp Rat
Any Scrapyard
Rats are nice too
Buck 119 is a great knife for the money. ($39 or so)
 
If you are serious about the chopping down small trees aspect, then you should be looking at a Khukuri. You won't get very much bite on wood with even a 7 inch blade just because of its weight distribution that you would with a Khukri or hatchet, you would just end up chipping away at it instead of chopping into it.
 
I'd get a Becker, made by KaBar.
They have very good edge geometry and are well made. For the price they charge if you do happen to break one it's not a big deal.
Or you could get a Busse that just won't break.
 
syltetoy said:
Cold Steel Bushman $20 puts the KA-BAR, Becker, RAT to shame in every way and as for the Cold Steel 1055 12 inch Machete comparison they are laughable at best!

Mora of Sweden is a great four inch camp utility knife end of story.

Swiss Army Knife with a saw blade like the Hunter Model end of story.

Any of the above will not fail you and compare to any other knife at any price on the market. Maybe a Busse is a tiny bit tougher but at $500 why bother? Don't waste your money as "no one" on the trail or in camp gives a dang about your knife fanboy world status!
Click to expand...

I don't know man, because I very literally broke my Bushman IN HALF batoning some hard wood. I've yet to have my Busse FFBM or ASH-1 even blink an eye to anything, fanboy status aside. Cold steel does make some decent knives for the money though.
 
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