The Best All-around Survival Knife under £100/$160?

Originally posted by Dionisius
reply to post by jibeho

 

This Dozier looks a beauty. How do you rate KA-BAR?

Plenty to like about KA BARs. Plenty of variety and price points, solid history. They have certainly evolved over time and I give them credit for keeping the Becker line of knives available and alive for all of us to enjoy. KA BAR saved Ethan Becker and his line of top notch knives.

For me it's fun to branch out, explore and support smaller knife makers as well. These guys put a lot of hand work into their blades. Blind Horse Knives comes to mind. I met one of the owners at a gun show a couple of years ago. Nice Stuff. You can pick your handing, scales and edge grind. Above all they are from Ohio!! so, they are local to me. www.blindhorseknives.com...

Hello, all!

Okay, so I'm going to attempt to write this up without coming across as condescending...

So, the OP's question is about survival knives...but that begs the question: what exactly are you surviving?
What I mean is: What tasks are you going to need to perform (shelter building, fire building, game cleaning, tool making, etc.)? What sort of environment are you in (warm, cold, wet, dry, plains, wooded, etc.)? Are there immediate physical dangers (will this knife need to serve a defensive function)?

Keep in mind that form ought to follow function. Determine the probability of the functions you'll need to perform and you'll then have a general idea of the form it needs to take. The geometry is very important. You'll also need to understand what sort of steel and its heat-treatment that's been used.
Say that I want to baton through a day's worth of firewood...for me, I'll want a thick chunk of simple carbon steel (say 1075-1095, at 3/16" - 1/4" at the spine with a decently thick, convexed edge), that's been tempered back to around 56 on the Rockwell C scale. But for cleaning and preparing game, I'll want a thin blade for slicing (1/8" is plenty with a thin, keen edge), and a high hardness for edge-holding (depends on the steel) - but not too high or you won't be able to sharpen the thing without specialized equipment (i.e. diamond hones).
From there, it gets a bit more complicated with specific types of bevel and edge shapes (saber or full flat? secondary or Scandinavian? etc. or etc.?). The combination of the steel, its heat-treatment, blade geometry, and edge geometry are the basic components you need to pay attention to when looking for a usable knife.


As one poster aptly put, the knife you have on you in a survival situation is your survival knife.
I follow the multiple-knife approach. There's no one design and heat-treatment that can perform every single task that may need to be done, but there are plenty that come close. So, a sizable chunk o' steel (like a 'chopper' or machete - 1/8" to 1/4" and 10" to 18" blade) paired with a thinner blade (a decent folding pocket knife - 1/8" with a 3" or 4" blade) has been plenty for anything that has yet to come my way.

Remember that in survival, redundancy is important. The tools you have (or can make) need to serve multiple purposes. It all comes down to efficiency. The lower the amount of energy (calories) spent doing tasks of necessity, the more likely you are to survive.
I'm afraid that movies and marketing have far removed these general understandings from us. So while Rambo looks cool and all, half his knives (and tactics) were 'tacticool' crap.


Okay, so now for some of the knives and companies that have been mentioned so far...
For me, Buck is good, but, IMHO, better can be had for the same price.
The same goes for Gerber most of the time, but their LMF II is one hefty, tough SOB.
I haven't had a problem with Kabar thus far, but I am reluctant to consider their USMC a survival knife since it's design is a fighting knife (as in, to rend flesh, which tends to be quite soft and squishy, as opposed to going through wood, which tends to not be so soft nor squishy).
Cold Steel produces a few in the range of price the OP mentioned, such as the Recon Scout and the Trailmaster. Their machetes tend to be good, especially for the price, and I've had my eye on the upcoming Leatherneck as well.

I'd recommend to look into the Ontario Knife Co. Spec-Plus line. My SP-10 is one of my favorite big knives. I've used it to baton through frozen wood for a fire in sub-freezing temperatures. All with no damage to the edge.
Also, Condor Knife & Tool makes many tough, though simple (and none too flashy), knives for very good prices. From them, I'd recommend the Barong and Golok machetes, the Hudson Bay chopper, and the Thai Enep as hefty, all-around knives.
Look around for ScrapYard knives as well...they're tough as hell and priced reasonably (can't guarantee that for the secondary market, though).
Mora and Opinel all make decent knives for very cheap.


In the end, I guess the point is to get something of good design and reasonable toughness, and don't overpay for it. Just remember that your best tool in any given situation is your brain. So practice! Learn the knife you have chosen inside and out...use it 'til it's dull and learn how to resharpen it with found items (ceramics [bowls/mugs/etc.] and polished hard stones [from waterways]). Get a kit together to help you perform vital survival functions and keep both the kit and the knife within a range you can get to if the SHTF. I've heard it said, what the use of having the absolute best their is (in this context, of knives and tools) if they're locked up in a safe somewhere?

Research, practice, research more, practice more!


Keep it simple, y'all.

reply to post by onenotsaved


Thanks for the post mate, youve provided some great info and also reminded me of some valuable basics. What do you think of This KA-BAR?

As to your first comments, thats the reason I included All Around in the title, to get people's opinions on the best knife, no matter what environment or situation.

Thanks

reply to post by Dionisius


If you are looking into getting a bowie type knife you are much better off purchasing a kukri. There is more leverage in the blade upon impact so it will be more gentler on your hands. That is courtesy of the blade shape.

Originally posted by cloaked4u
I make my own knives, noone has these knives, except friends. This knife even rambo would be proud to own. The knife is about 8.5 inches long. On the other side of the knife is a saw. There is a glass magnifyer just before the handle. The handle itself is hollow and you can put whatever you want in there and at the other end of handle is the cap with the compass. Both ends of the handle is threaded and a cap is put on one end. Above the wings is a threaded hole where the knife blade gets threaded into or detached. The wings that stick out makes sure your hand does not slip on the blade. The wings are designed specialty. One side of wing is a pick, the other is a small hammer shape. The handle has grips on so that your hand is firmly, secured to the handle. The blade is polished to a fine mirror finish that you can see yourself in. The blade and the handle are in balance and this knife you can throw with accuracy, if you know how to throw knives.
SO, In conclusion, this knife can do this. The knife is so sharp, you can shave with it. You can cut wood up to 5" in dia., to build your shelter. You can start a fire with the knifes magnifyer. You can signal to others using the blade itself. You can use it in mountain climbing. You can use it for direction. You can use it in self defense. You can use it to cut meat. Pound nails in. Store fishing string and hooks. Is balanced to throw without stuff inside handle. saw ,scales fish. Just the look of it, will detour your enemies.
This knife is so useful, i only mentioned some of the things you can do with this knife ,for starters. I mean, what knife do you have that can do all this. It basically does the jobs to do all the basic needs a person needs in the woods. What more could you ask for, this is the ultimate hunting knife that noone would want to turn down.

None of these knives posted on here, can match the diversity of this tool i made. Ask yourself can the knives posted on here do all these things. The answer is a flat out , NO. Not a chance. GOOD LUCK BUCK.

Originally posted by cloaked4u

Originally posted by cloaked4u
I make my own knives, noone has these knives, except friends. This knife even rambo would be proud to own. The knife is about 8.5 inches long. On the other side of the knife is a saw. There is a glass magnifyer just before the handle. The handle itself is hollow and you can put whatever you want in there and at the other end of handle is the cap with the compass. Both ends of the handle is threaded and a cap is put on one end. Above the wings is a threaded hole where the knife blade gets threaded into or detached. The wings that stick out makes sure your hand does not slip on the blade. The wings are designed specialty. One side of wing is a pick, the other is a small hammer shape. The handle has grips on so that your hand is firmly, secured to the handle. The blade is polished to a fine mirror finish that you can see yourself in. The blade and the handle are in balance and this knife you can throw with accuracy, if you know how to throw knives.
SO, In conclusion, this knife can do this. The knife is so sharp, you can shave with it. You can cut wood up to 5" in dia., to build your shelter. You can start a fire with the knifes magnifyer. You can signal to others using the blade itself. You can use it in mountain climbing. You can use it for direction. You can use it in self defense. You can use it to cut meat. Pound nails in. Store fishing string and hooks. Is balanced to throw without stuff inside handle. saw ,scales fish. Just the look of it, will detour your enemies.
This knife is so useful, i only mentioned some of the things you can do with this knife ,for starters. I mean, what knife do you have that can do all this. It basically does the jobs to do all the basic needs a person needs in the woods. What more could you ask for, this is the ultimate hunting knife that noone would want to turn down.

None of these knives posted on here, can match the diversity of this tool i made. Ask yourself can the knives posted on here do all these things. The answer is a flat out , NO. Not a chance. GOOD LUCK BUCK.

So are you going to give me one of your magnifying, solar panelled? knives or just carry on talking about them? Yes, I acknowledge that your knife can;

"you can shave with it. You can cut wood up to 5" in dia., to build your shelter. You can start a fire with the knifes magnifyer. You can signal to others using the blade itself. You can use it in mountain climbing. You can use it for direction. You can use it in self defense. You can use it to cut meat. Pound nails in. Store fishing string and hooks."

, and all of that is great, but Is all of that really necessary on a knife? I could happily go without shaving, happily cut wood with a bushcraft axe, unhappily start a fire by rubbing sticks together, and what if theres no direct sunlight to magnify?, signalling can be done with any well kept knife or axe, I could climb a mountain with my bare hands, use my finely tuned sense of direction for navigation , bare hands or axe for self defense, but Ive always preferred not letting anyone get close enough to need to act in self defense, recurve bows are always good for this, cut the fu**er in half with the axe and tear it limb from limb like a real man , got to be an axe for banging those nails in and tickling trout or even a hand made spear made using an axe can do the job for fishing.

So all in all, it looks like you and I need to get an axe, no doubt a knife is always useful but you have seriously over rated your 'rambo' knife mate. Fair play for making it yourself though, Kudos on that one.

Now to get back on topic, I started this thread to get people's opinion on purchasable all-around survival knifes, so if you have an opinion on a knife I can buy, I would love to hear it.

All the best.

Now This looks like a beauty, considering saving up to get this knife, looks as all-around as you can get with a standard full tang.

Never heard of a Barong though, can anyone enlighten me?

reply to post by cloaked4u


How does that magnifier work when starting fires at night or under cloud cover? Interesting use of nomenclature for knife builder who builds his own knives. Didn't know knives had wings. That's actually called the bolster or the guard.

Cool knife. You should post pictures!

Love Falkniven, it's VG10 steel which is a stainless supersteel from Japan that can achieve scary sharpness. It's one of my favorite steels beside S30V.

But for a survival knife I would get an ESEE (formally RAT) but not necessarily the ESEE-4 with it't 4.5 invh blade, I would want more length for processing fire wood. Maybe the ESEE-6. I believe all ESEE knives use1095 steel which isn't stainless so you will need to maintain the edge but I believe it would be no problem sharpening in a survival situation unlike most super hard supersteels that really require diamond hones.

Can't beat their lifetime guarantee, send it back to them after you cut in in half with a plasma cutter and they will send you a new knife no questions asked. ESEE runs a forum on a blade forum I belong to, I guy halfway around the world was talking to them about the huge shipping fee they would need to pay to return the knife....ESEE even paid that for them....unbelievable.

reply to post by Dionisius


IMO you can't go wrong with the Ka-Bar/ Becker knives. I myself would lean more towards the Beckers knives. It looks like a very good knife. If I had the money I would get that one myself along with a BK 7, BK11 and a kukri of some sort.
'
I'm not sure what a barong is but I think it is the blade style/shape. The Knife is called the "potbelly" here in the states.

I get my Kabar/Becker knifes from this place.... www.tomarskabars.com... Quick shipping and great service and the prices are acceptable.

Originally posted by kinglizard
I believe all ESEE knives use1095 steel which isn't stainless so you will need to maintain the edge but I believe it would be no problem sharpening in a survival situation unlike most super hard supersteels that really require diamond hones.

edit on 9/13/2011 by kinglizard because: spelling

1095 is slightly harder to sharpen than Stainless, but will hold a sharper edge, through tougher use.
The maintenence you'll need to pay attention to is keeping a very light layer of oil on the blade to prevernt rust.
I personally prefer the tougher 1095 over stainless for serious situations.
I personally can't compromise the steel, just to avoid a lil oiling.

Im a member of the blade forums as well. Tons of good info if you filter through all the tacticool posts from the mall warriors and flea market ninjas.

Avoid Flea Market crap and mall/movie knives.

However...I will add again, I do own and use a " Movie Style Knife". .. a Dave Beck WSK clone like the knife used in The Hunted movie.
That knife wasn't made for the screen, it was designed by an expert bladesmit and a seasoned guide/Tracker.
It isnt the end-all-be-all of survival knives, but the design is extremely sound, and it performs as it should.
It isnt very Tacticool, but has been a good friend to me when I needed it.

Finally decided on a Knife, Ive gone for the Frost Tanto Tech, 11" overall tactical bowie. 5 7/8" black finish stainless partially serrated tanto blade. Full tang. Skeletonized anodized aluminum handles with lanyard hole. Black nylon belt sheath Included, Going to make my own leather sheath though.

Thanks for the help guys.

Grrrr, just recieved an e-mail from the website stating that the knife is out of stock and has been discontinued, 72 hours after i ordered the knife did find out it was made in china though so i think its a blessing in disguise.

Here we go again

(P.S. anyone know any similar black-bladed knives?)

reply to post by cloaked4u


Okay, okay. I'm sold.

Can I get one? If so, how do I go about it?

How much mula will it cost?

Any photos?

Can it "core an Apple"? (lol)

-E2

Being of a limited budget, I have just aquired a Mora Clipper Companion in Carbon Steel. Its sharper than my razor. However, a few questions:

1) Is it a reasonable knife?
2) Best way to stop it rusting (some people say patina it with vinegar, others say keep it oiled)
3) Best way to keep it razor sharp?

Thanks.

Originally posted by BMorris
Being of a limited budget, I have just aquired a Mora Clipper Companion in Carbon Steel. Its sharper than my razor. However, a few questions:

1) Is it a reasonable knife?
2) Best way to stop it rusting (some people say patina it with vinegar, others say keep it oiled)
3) Best way to keep it razor sharp?

Thanks.

1 - Very reasonable knife, I have a Craftline TopQ Allaround knife and they are both brilliant for the price.

2 - I use Camelilia oil, Samurais used it to keep their Blades clean, A bit pricey but more than worth it. You can find it here

3 - DC3/4 Ceramic Sharpening stone

Pleasure.

Originally posted by BMorris
Being of a limited budget, I have just aquired a Mora Clipper Companion in Carbon Steel. Its sharper than my razor. However, a few questions:

1) Is it a reasonable knife?
2) Best way to stop it rusting (some people say patina it with vinegar, others say keep it oiled)
3) Best way to keep it razor sharp?

Thanks.

1.) Yes. Moras are good knives. The carbon steel ones are better IMHO( better edge holding steel), unless you are using it on a boat, then go with the Stainless models due to the constant exposure to moisture or salt water.

2.) Oil and attention. Don't leave it in a drawer unattended and unoiled. Check it regularly, and keep a nice thin coat of oil on it. After each use, wash it with soap and water, dry it well and apply oil to the blade. With care it will outlast you.

3.) Buy a quality ceramic sharpener with a guide. Google some reviews, and find one that fits your budget.

reply to post by Dionisius


Stay away from Frost Cutlery, no matter how good they look to you just stay away. They are all junk and not worth the packaging they come in.

reply to post by kinglizard


Will do mate, when I found out they are made in China I did some more research and found some BAD reviews.
Cheers for the heads up anyway kingliz

I have updated my tool.

First attachment: A blade with a magnify glass next to the handle with a saw on top and about a 9 inch blade on other side,with a threaded bolt in the back to attach to the handle. This attachment has several uses. First of all, the blade is so sharp, you can shave with it. Second, the blade has a saw on it so that you can easily cut thru a 6 inch tree. The blade also has a magnify glass on it, so that you can start camp fires. You can also use the blade for self defense. Need to open a tin can, no problem. The blade will cut open the can with ease. The blade is also polished to a fine shine of a mirror, so you can use it to signal to others.

Second attachment: Threaded on both sides, a hammer, pick combination. The guard holds your hand from slidding forward and hitting the blade. The hammer will pound in nails or stakes for mountain climbing and can break up material.The pick can be used in the mountains for Cliff climbing on rocky or icy terrain.

Third attachment: The handle is hollow and is threaded on both sides, with a threaded cap at one end. The handle allows for the storage of many kinds of small items like: A pencil,Fishing string, hooks,sinkers,a small bobber,matches, a lighter,a plastic bag to put the fishing gear in,a map, a small watch,a plastic sheet to shelter you from the rain,a swiss army knife,sewing equipment or medical supplies: small container for bleach or iodine,needle, thread,vasaline, gause,bandages, tape,anti biotic pills, and anything else you can think of to put in the handle.

Fourth attachment: A round cap with a mirror in it, threaded on both sides. This tool allows you to use it for signaling purposes or to see yourself in when you need to.

Fifth attachment: A compass at the end for the end cap, with threads on one side. A compass is a useful tool in the woods. Allows a person to find their direction to where they want to go.

Sixth attachment: The blade can be taken off and a small axe can be screwed on. An axe comes in handy when you need to cut something down, make a shelter, or any emergency uses.

Seventh attachment: You can also attach a small shovel on the handle to dig a hole for a shelter or any other digging needs.

Eighth attachment: Screwdriver set: A small hollow tube that holds several tips for taking screws, nuts, bolts on or off.

Ninth attachment: A solar powered flashlight that has light filters on for signaling or just to see where you are going at night. Has a loop, so you can hang it up in the tent.


Tenth attachment: A spear. The spear can be used for many things such as self defense, hunting, jabbing at the ice so you don't fall thru, and also as a pole for fishing.

The tool was designed for many outdoor situations. All under 10 pounds and this tool will get you out of most fixes when your camping. Even Rambo would be proud of this tool.

Tenth attachment: