Which knife (knives) do you recommend?

I've spent years in the bush , not just recreational but from duty . In all that time I've carried 2 knives , the SAK Champ in it's various guises as the years have gone by and a fixed blade ( now the Cold Steel Scout ) but for many years it was the Enfield Short Bayonet . With these two there was never a situation that ever arose that either one or the other couldn't handle . I don't believe the price or name tag on the knife should be of any consequence all that matters is functionality and your knowlege of how to use what you've got .

David C.
WO1 Retired Spec Recon .
 
dcranesa said:
I've spent years in the bush , not just recreational but from duty . In all that time I've carried 2 knives , the SAK Champ in it's various guises as the years have gone by and a fixed blade ( now the Cold Steel Scout ) but for many years it was the Enfield Short Bayonet . With these two there was never a situation that ever arose that either one or the other couldn't handle . I don't believe the price or name tag on the knife should be of any consequence all that matters is functionality and your knowlege of how to use what you've got .

David C.
WO1 Retired Spec Recon .
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I realize this was one of your first posts...... but its over 7 years old. The date is in the top left hand corner. Good choice of knives though. And welcome to BF:D
 
Yeah, resurrecting 7 year-old threads is frowned upon here. Still, welcome to Bladeforums. Do stick around.

While we're here, it's kind of interesting that Jeff Randall has NO IDENTITY on BF anymore, but his posts remain.

Once, I looked for the thread/postings that led to this severe banishment, but I had no luck finding it/them.

Maybe it was a behind-the-scenes thing.
 
Just got a Cold Steel Machete and with it came a DVD of a guy chopping (I am not making this up) a 50 gallon barrel of oil in half with a Cold Steel Sword. My wife looked at me and said.....Don't even think about trying that at home.....LOL

CRKT and Pat Crawford are two reasonably made less expensive knives that are pretty good for the money....The steel is not fantastic but not bad for the average guy.
 
Plainsman said:
Ok, I have read through all the threads on this forum and nobody has asked this question!
redface.gif


I'd like to hear about knives in different categories.

1) Folders.
2) Fixed blades UNDER $50.
3) Fixed blades UNDER $100.
4) Fixed blades OVER $100.

Feel free to give your input on one or all the categories. I know many of us can't buy a $300 knife, hence the different price ranges.

THANKS for any input, it is MUCH APPRECIATED!



------------------
Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com
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1) Victorinox soldier, ALOX farmer, or OHT. an Opinel wouldnt be a bad either.
2) Ontario Spec Plus Air force survival, or a Becker BK-10 Crewman. a becker BK-7 can be had for under $60. any Mora fits the bill
3) Ontario RAT 7 plain edge in 1095. Any of the Kabar D2 Impact fit this bill
4) Chris Reeves Sable IV, or Mountaineer II
 
Plainsman said:
I'd like to hear about knives in different categories.

1) Folders.
2) Fixed blades UNDER $50.
3) Fixed blades UNDER $100.
4) Fixed blades OVER $100.
Click to expand...

Considering the sub-forum this was posted in, I'll answer based on Survival needs.

1) Out in the field, I prefer knives that don't require special sharpening stones or systems to re-sharpen a dull edge. Although some consider it to be obsolete, a Buck 110 still makes a good choice. Commonly available, reasonably priced, locks up tight, easy to re-sharpen. A SAK Huntsman is another good choice. Despite the lack of a lock, it has all the tools you need to help you in the wilderness. If money is no object, and you prefer exotic steels, A Spyderco Chinook II is a folding Bowie knife in your pocket. Just under $200.oo, I think it's worth every penny.

2) A USMC Ka-Bar knife. Best value for under $50 (I've found them selling for $30 - $35).

3) I bought a Benchmade Rant Bowie for $65, and absolutely love it! Despite the name, it's a short fixed-blade with a full-sized handle. Very comfortable in the hand.

4) A lot of good choices in this price range. If I could spend that much, I'd check out the fixed-blade, hollow handle knives from Chris Reeve. The main disadvantage is that knives in this category are made with exotic steels that can be a pain to re-sharpen in the field. Although a bit overpriced, the SOG Trident 2.0 is another good choice. I say "a bit overpriced," because AUS-8 is not really an exotic steel. But it's my overall favorite because it holds an edge well, is easy to re-sharpen, and is more rust-resistant than ATS-34 or 154CM. In terms of edge-holding, I'd say AUS-8 is half a notch below those steels. (I'm going by personal experience here). Also if rust-resistance is important to you in a fixed-blade, the SOG might be your best choice.

Whatever you take along with you, a good-quality multi-tool is something you should have with you. Take a look at any of the offerings from Leatherman, SOG, Victorinox, or Gerber. (But, don't get a Gerber model unless you find one on Sale. Gerber quality has slipped considerably from what it used to be).

Hope this helped! :)
 
You can't go wrong w/ a Case Sodbuster Jr. Their stainless is actually good, I have 2cv's, & 1 ss. For a heavy fixed blade OKC pilots knife is good, but OKC OH 3" parer is much better. If you do't want to carry a fixed blade, but are afraid of the woods(?) then by all means show yourself to be a flatlander & carry a hatchet, BUT learn how to use it. Finally as an all purpose type get a SAK Soldier, & loose your p-38 (if you carry 1).
 
Talk about a blast from the past! This probably can be answered better now than 7 years ago, defintely more options now and some really great prices.
 
Sure this is an old post, but why not... What do you guys think of a Chris Reeve Mountaineer II as a bush/survival knife? I am thinking of getting one and putting it in a Spec Ops Survival Sheath. With the two items, I should be able to carry a small bunch of supplies that could help see me through a hairy situation, without having to carry anything but my knive in its sheath (if that was all I could carry).
 
Folders: SAKs, SAKs, Saks! Victorinox swiss army knives are the folder of choice for me. Get a model with a saw and any other tools you would personally find useful (I don't need screwdrivers outside, you might). Check out models like the Camper, Farmer, Huntsman and One Handed Trekker, the latter most featuring a locking blade and opening hole similar to Spyderco knives. The SAKs listed here can all be had for under 30$ (Target stores carry the Camper model for 20$ even if that's a convenient place for you to purchase from).

The reasons I advocate the SAK as much as I do is they're incredibly cheap and plentiful, the thin, flat ground blade excels at woodworking and other common outdoors tasks, they're as corrosion resistant as you can get without using something like H1 Steel, their tools such as Saws, Awls, Wood chisels (Sharpen the large screwdriver) and so forth can extend the usefulness of the tool incredibly. Another nice aspect is you will never have to worry about scaring a "sheeple" type with these knives.

If you're looking for a more modern style knife, I would recommend looking at flat-ground Spyderco models. They're very durable, well-design knives produced by a company you'll feel good supporting. These can run you anywhere between 35$-150$ depending on the model, whether it's new or used, rarity etc.

Fixed:

For fixed blades I'd take a look at www.ragweedforge.com and look at the Mora section. These are basic fixed blades around 10$ with a blade profile and grind that is a joy to use in the outdoors. You can get traditional materials like wood handles and carbon steel blades, or more modern knives with plastic handles and stainless blades. He also carries higher end puukko's and luekko's (spelling?) which are among the best types of knives for outdoors use in my opinion. The handles are usually fat and comfortable and again the scandi blade grind is my favorite for a fixed blade. I own a knife from Brusletto and one from Wood Jewel and I'm very happy with both. These more expensive Mora style knives can run between 25$ and 120$ depending on how exotic of materials you demand, which company you buy from etc.

Other fixed blades to consider are some of Cold Steels, such as the Bushman, larger Ontario and Ranger Knives models for choppers, HI Kuhkuris for chopping and many of the fixed blades Buck Knives offer for under 50$.

EDIT: Just realized the OP date. :P
 
Since this post started back in the Bronze Age, maybe an update is in order with the advent of steel and all. Mac
 
Plainsman is still around, running his own forum - oops, he used to, someone else has the domain now. Still a good question, I like seeing the old ones come back up, just to see how/if the answers change due to new technology. Steel, like pict said... :D
 
For the cheap end of things , ( thats me ) the best folders I found are the Opinel and the Okapi .

The handle on the opinel tends to swell and bind in humid environments , but this is fixable / preventable , and the blade on the opinel is a bit delicate , I have folded the blade on my #10 several times , but it peens back easily enough too . The plus is it easily takes and holds a razor edge , its good for skinning and butchering , but not so great for dealing with hardwoods and stuff .

Okapi has a thicker blade , it also takes and holds remarkably well a razor edge , in my expirience , longer under the same treatment than the opinel . I regularly carve with my Okapi , and it takes days to shift the shaving edge from it .

The handle is also resin impregnated so there is no swelling and binding issue . Okapis are notorious for being blunt new , I get mine sharpened in the factory , its free , I guess its up to who you buy from tho what you get , like the Opinel , I have had some realy badly ground blades on them too as well as some deadly sharp ones .

For a fixed blade , on the cheap end of the scale , I have a reasonable bunch of Marttiini knives bought for a max of AU$25 on ebay , new . The stainless steel blades are nice , shiny , sharp , deadly sharp and seem to hold their edge OK when used for just game dressing , when they were used for whittling they seemed to blunt some , but not a lot . The carbon steel blades on the other hand , are incredible . I cant rave about them enough realy :) but then if its usable and sharp , and stays sharp , and keeps on staying sharp Im easily pleased .

The only downside I found with them is the thickness of the blades can at times make using them for kitchen duty a bit of a chore , slicing veggies and stuff isnt their forte , but they do it pretty good anyway , they just perform far better doing things as cutting string rope , skinning cleaning and sectioning a carcass .

I wish I had the money to be trying out higher end knives :)

I should mention I guess that I dont do a lot of prying and digging with my knives , I will dig grubs out of wood and roots , but if I need a hole dug , Ill cut a digging stick ....

I learned from folk who treated a knife as THE prized possession and used whatever else they could instead of abusing their blade
 
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