Which survival knife would you choose ?

pitdog

pitdog

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Apr 13, 2007
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As many members on here know I'm one of the few TOPS WSK fans, anyway I decided to take a more recent purchase out along with the WSK today for a little comparison.


So here we have it, two knives both touted as ' Survival knives 'one costs around $250 and the other around $40 !

Similar dimensions when viewed from the side !



From the top however it is a very different story !



Having now used them both I have to say that if I had to carry one as a do-it-all type knife I'd have to go with the humble Bushman. We all know that a survival knife should be capable of many unplanned tasks but the main duties are still likely to be fire prep and food prep. The Bushman feels like a heavy duty butchers knife to me and so would excel at both these tasks. Hanging from your belt in it's light weight sheath you hardly know you are carrying it, unlike the WSK which makes you definitely aware of it's weight........try running and it will pull ya pants down !
I thought that the Bushman's handle would be a big negative but it's actually quite comfortable to use, better in fact than many of my full handle slab knives.......that being said it is what it is, don't expect it to compare with your $200 customs.



So would I ever need more than the Bushman......probably not! Is the WSK overkill........most definitely !


I still love my WSK though and it makes awesome fuzzies !;)

 
The regrind is very nice. If found dead my rotting carcass would look cooler with a Tracker, more so with a regrind. Anyone can have a factory Bushman after all.
 
The bushman would be good for a sub tropical environment. Where you are at with lots of heavy timber I think you might be better off with a hatchet,so I guess I vote for a Tracker where you are at.
 
Damage limitation means it has to be the Cold Steel for me. That thing would just make me uncomfortable but the other thing would put me at loggerheads with myself.
 
I'll take the bushman , The tops knife looks to me like something Aimed to sell mall ninja's
Roy
 
Here is a reground TOPS Tracker.

photo8_zps64bace78.jpg
 
Nice pictures. I think that I'll pass on both of those. To many knives and too little money......
 
Of the two options I would take the regrind of the Tom Brown Jr. for a one tool option. I don't own one but have used both the original Bushman and the Tom Brown Jr Tracker. This is my take on the question, as a knife maker of course I would pick one I made if there was an option 3.
 
Pitt, I have the smaller model (now discontinued I think), did you compare the large one? never used it much but it seems to be a good all around blade to me as well. The closest I,ve come to a tracker style blade is my modified warthog.
 
Never really held either in my hands but they are kind of opposite ends of the spectrum. One is a simple blade, made of basic steel with a thin profile and is light weight. It will also be flexible since it is so thin.
The Tracker is a significantly thicker knife. Plus the handle it must weigh almost 10 times the Bushman.

Like I said I never held either but today I had the pleasure to check out and hold the BM Bushcrafter knife. OMG this is the heaviest Scanid ground knife I have held. It was beautiful, clean and sharp but it weighed so much I would rather have a GB Small Forest Axe instead. I would guess the Tracker is the same way, too heavy to not justify a modest Mora or Opinel paired with the ax to get a much better weight for use ratio. Just my observation.
 
Woods Walker said:
Oh man that's nice. Really nice. :)
Click to expand...

I've used a Beck and one from another maker that Chance Sanders had. If you grind the TOPS this way, I couldn't detect a difference between the TOPS and either of the customs. I'm not super fond of the stock handle but that would be an easy fix.
 
averageiowaguy said:
If you grind the TOPS this way, I couldn't detect a difference between the TOPS and either of the customs.
Click to expand...

That tops is really an acquired taste for me. Had one in my hand a while back and didn't know what exactly is it good for....never had this dilemma with a knife before.
Your mods sure make it a little easier to 'digest'.
One of those love/hate things.
 
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