Wilderness Knife

I'm going to start this off by saying that I'm a huge fan of the Becker BK-2. It's a really, really tough knife that will take everything you can throw at it, and beg for more, but — BUT — in this instance, I have to say that it's way more than you need for this course.

Out of the three that you've mentioned, I'd go with the Fallkniven F1 for all around usefulness in that environment. The problem with that, however, is that the course recommended the Mora and — for a number of reasons — that's what I'd take: go with what they recommend. You can always get the others later, but for now, do the course with what they recommend.

As Doc-Canada mentioned, there is a Becker forums here on Blade Forums, and we'd love to see you visit; c'mon over!
 
tonym said:
Thanks for chiming in Gene. It is good to here that Mora is making better sheaths. The ones I have had in the past always scared me... By the way, I am still a Mora hater:p
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Relax Tony...I wont MAKE you fall in love with Mora's...its just a natural progression of the woodsman. Sooner or later you will grow tired of having to force your knife to cut...and you will want it to just carve through the wood like a laser beam.
Alot of you guys might not know this, but "MORA" actually means, "way better than your full tang"..in Sami.
Its science.
 
I prefer the Mora high carbon blades personally, but they are all of quality. The BK2 and Mora aren't really comparable-the BK2 is very thick and heavy and the mora is thin and light. The BK2 is a no frills handle-anything survival knife, and the Moras tend to be better in terms of slicing and finer woodwork. Heck, I'd say get both! The Condor Rodan is a happy medium.
 
Here's one that I am quite suprised hasnt been mentioned more often here. The Mora "FORCE". Its basically the new 2010 bushcraft model, without the fancy grind. Just a stout scandi, it has a hand filling handle, and a tough thick tip for drilling. Honestly, I think its the best Mora ever made...other than the 510 (cause I just love those damn knives)
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gunknifenut said:
Here's one that I am quite suprised hasnt been mentioned more often here. The Mora "FORCE". Its basically the new 2010 bushcraft model, without the fancy grind. Just a stout scandi, it has a hand filling handle, and a tough thick tip for drilling. Honestly, I think its the best Mora ever made...other than the 510 (cause I just love those damn knives)
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I don't know how I missed it, but I've never seen that one before. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks, gunknifenut.
 
No problem!
here it is next to the 2010
from top:
All around, Miki, Triflex, Force, 2010
picture.php
 
gunknifenut said:
Relax Tony...I wont MAKE you fall in love with Mora's...its just a natural progression of the woodsman. Sooner or later you will grow tired of having to force your knife to cut...and you will want it to just carve through the wood like a laser beam.
Alot of you guys might not know this, but "MORA" actually means, "way better than your full tang"..in Sami.
Its science.
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HA! I will see your little Mora, and raise you any of these REAL KNIVES

:cool:

 
mistwalker said:
However were I taking a course where the instructors recommended one I would definitely get one and then quietly stick my HEST, RC-4S, or RC-3MIL...(maybe even my Fallkniven A-1 for a heavier knife, though not sure considering the environment)... in my pack or my pocket in case it was needed and only fall back on it if it really were needed.
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Unless the instructors say that it's okay I, personally, would not bring a spare blade. This is a class not a real survival situation. If the instructors are worth their salt they should not be doing anything the recommended knife cannot handle, they should have contingency plans, and they should know how to make the best of the situation should the knife break. Having a spare, in theory, may hinder the amount he can learn or be taught.

In reality, if you can't trust their knife recommendation, why would you be willing to trust them with your life?
 
tonym said:
HA! I will see your little Mora, and raise you any of these REAL KNIVES

:cool:

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Real cute Tony, I see you set your collection on that tree I baton'd through with my Mora MIKI.

Here, I will reciprocate, I will set my collection on something YOUR knives COULD cut...a cardboard box (:))
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All I have to say is...this is NOT the right place to get advice on what knife to bring to a survival course!!!:D
To the OP, sorry for having a bit of fun...but this is how it goes around here.
If you have the money, get something special, just resign yourself to the fact that 1 month of hard use..it wont be shiny any more:thumbup:
Then you can trade it to me;)
BOSS is a fantastic experience, and you should pull out all the stops.
And keep a journal if you can...just to reflect on your lessons later on.
Despite the haters, the Triflex is one heck of a bargain..and at $20, you wont worry about it getting all dinged up. JMHO.
 
gunknifenut is right — this is NOT the right place to get advice on what knife to bring to a survival course!

I was going to show a pic of a BK-2 after it destroyed a tank, but I noticed that somehow the blade had gotten scratched, and I didn't want to show it in that condition.:D

Get the Mora and do the course. After it's over you'll have a much better idea of what you want in a knife. Then you can pick one — or a dozen — others to take with you in the future.
 
dawsonbob said:
I was going to show a pic of a BK-2 after it destroyed a tank, but I noticed that somehow the blade had gotten scratched, and I didn't want to show it in that condition.:D

.
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I will see your scratched up BK-2 and raise you a really well loved ESEE-5

:D





To the OP. sorry, I will try not hijack this thread anymore :o
 
tonym said:
I will see your scratched up BK-2 and raise you a really well loved ESEE-5

:D





To the OP. sorry, I will try not hijack this thread anymore :o
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Well, the ESEE-5 would be my second choice.:D

The OP really should stick with the Mora, though, till he learns more about all the other choices.

I'll try not to hijack anymore, either.
 
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Duzzy said:
Unless the instructors say that it's okay I, personally, would not bring a spare blade. This is a class not a real survival situation. If the instructors are worth their salt they should not be doing anything the recommended knife cannot handle, they should have contingency plans, and they should know how to make the best of the situation should the knife break. Having a spare, in theory, may hinder the amount he can learn or be taught.

In reality, if you can't trust their knife recommendation, why would you be willing to trust them with your life?
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I understand your thoughts and they do have some merritt. However if I personally were going to take this course it would be simply for supplemental knowledge in an area and terrain that I am unfamiliar with. Being in a structured class with even great instructors in no way gives me back my naivety and innocence long lost over the last forty years of wilderness studies, nor could it convince me this would be the one time in my life I would not have to worry about finding myself in a survival situation. Furthermore it does nothing at all to convince me that the current global political/socioeconomic situation would not further deteriorate while I was away taking the course.

Trust them to know "their" environment and to teach me about it? Yes. Trust them to know what tools will work or will work best in their environment? Yes But that would be the extent of my trust. As far as trusting them with my life against all possible scenarios? Not a chance, that's never going to happen. I would definitely show enough respect and common courtesy to keep my preferred tools in reserve till such time as they were truly needed, up to and including suffering through multiple tasks that I know would be more easily done using my own preferred tools....as long as the task was doable with the recommended tool.

It may be that they honestly feel the Mora is a better tool, or it could just be that they are reasonably assured everyone can afford one and want uniformity in class instruction. As one who teaches wilderness skills I agree with the uniformity in class instruction myself as everything simply runs smoother when everyone is performing the same tasks using the same tools. This is why I have always kept the groups I teach very small so that I can just provide tools during instruction. However once moving on to the field I have no problem with people applying the lessons learned to their own preferred tools if they feel more comfortable with them and feel they are better served by utilizing them as they are what they will be carrying on future outings.

.
 
Okay, going with what Mist said, throw a BK-2 and a Vic Farmer in your pack, and you're ready for anything.
 
dawsonbob said:
Okay, going with what Mist said, throw a BK-2 and a Vic Farmer in your pack, and you're ready for anything.
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Sounds like a plan to me Bob :thumbup:

I don't own the BK2, but do hope to get one soon. I looked at them a good bit at Blade while I was talking to Ethan and I definitely like the new tang extension. It looks like it could take out a tank turret if needs be :)

Since I don't own the BK2 and after a lot of thoughts have passed through my mind during the course of this thread I think I'd just take the A-1, and my SAK of course :D....along with the recommended Mora obviously :)

.
 
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mistwalker said:
Sounds like a plan to me Bob :thumbup:

I don't own the BK2, but do hope to get one soon. I looked at them a good bit at Blade while I was talking to Ethan and I definitely like the new tang extension. It looks like it could take out a tank turret if needs be :)

Since I don't own the BK2 and after a lot of thoughts have passed through my mind during the course of this thread I think I'd just take the A-1, and my SAK of course :D

.
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It probably could take out a tank turret if it had to.:D

It's not the only knife in the world, of course, but it's the one that I carry most often, and the one I trust most. That, a Vic Farmer, and my 14 inch bolo, and I feel like I'm set for anything in my neck of the woods. Those of you in different woods may like slightly different things.

You carry the Vic OHT, don't you? I'm going to have to try one of those, one of these days.

To the original poster: Be sure to take a SAK (Swiss Army Knife) of some sort with you; you'll be amazed at just how useful they are.
 
gunknifenut said:
All I have to say is...this is NOT the right place to get advice on what knife to bring to a survival course!!!:D
To the OP, sorry for having a bit of fun...but this is how it goes around here.
If you have the money, get something special, just resign yourself to the fact that 1 month of hard use..it wont be shiny any more:thumbup:
Then you can trade it to me;)
BOSS is a fantastic experience, and you should pull out all the stops.
And keep a journal if you can...just to reflect on your lessons later on.
Despite the haters, the Triflex is one heck of a bargain..and at $20, you wont worry about it getting all dinged up. JMHO.
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Gotao agree with gunknifenut on this one.

I took the BOSS 14 day field course in 2008. I took my ESEE 4 with me. It was a great knife but after the course ended I realized the Mora would have been a better choice. Majority of the tasks you will be performing involve whittling and food prep. You will not be chopping down trees, battoning huge logs, wrestling bears, building log homes, or imitating Bear Grylls's antics.

When I arrived for the class I brought a ESEE 4 and a BRK Aurora. Instructors looked at both and asked which one I had used more often. My Aurora was still new and had not even cut paper yet. ESEE 4 it was.

Don't get me wrong. The ESEE 4 and the BK2 are great knives. I have both and think they are great. I just think they are way overbuilt for the class and what you will be doing.

I saw other people on other courses including the 28 day course using the Mora knife the school recommended. Those students had no complaints about the knife and its performance on the 28 day course. There were two other people that had other higher end knives. One had a Swamp Rat 6-7 inch blade and the other had a Cold Steel SRK. The one with the Cold Steel SRK told me the knife was overkill for the course. He also stated if he had to choose a knife for the class again he would have gone for the recommended Mora. The guy with the Swamp Rat spend a lot of time re grinding his blade to get a better carving edge.

Other knives instructors and students used that preformed well were- Cold Steel Master Hunter, Tops Tracker Scout (3 inch blade), Kellam Pukko, and the Mora #2.

Once again remember the majority of the tasks will involve a lot of whittling, carving, and food prep. The scandi grind cut well, easy to sharpen, and was the preferred edge type. If you choose to bring a knife different than the one recommended make sure you have used it extensively. The intructors do not recommend bringing a new knife (non mora) on the course that has not been broken in.

BOSS is a great experience. There is a lot of other things I would recommend that is non knife related in regards to the course. If you have any questions just pm me.
 
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