survival knifes

[Raidingtime]

The Prodigy is my primary survival knife and the one I gave each of my kids (trading out for a first gen CS SRK I gave each of them years ago). I also have an LMF II, which is a better knife, but heavier and most costly - very similar to the Prodigy.

Glad to see I'm not the only fan of this knife . I'll take advantage of the thrifty $80 price tag for a locally made quality knife instead of the more expensive and possibly slightly better knife. A quality knife over a Chinese walmart special makes a world of difference regardless. Similar to the difference between a HiPoint product and a H&K product. They both shoot things but one does it noticeable better.

 

[The Heretic]

I have a number of knives - I like buying ones that interest me - but the Prodigy is the one I think that has the best value for the money for a survival knife. I will eventually get at least one Fallkniven, but I feel that what I have is fine for now.

 

[Raidingtime]

I have a number of knives - I like buying ones that interest me - but the Prodigy is the one I think that has the best value for the money for a survival knife. I will eventually get at least one Fallkniven, but I feel that what I have is fine for now.

Someone that values knives is someone that values survival, bushcraft, and outdoorsmanship.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I have a number of knives - I like buying ones that interest me - but the Prodigy is the one I think that has the best value for the money for a survival knife. I will eventually get at least one Fallkniven, but I feel that what I have is fine for now.

Lame. Part of a ten part series. lol

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Fallkniven doesn't make a serrated blade.. for those that don't know. nor does

 

[The Heretic]

Lame. Part of a ten part series. lol

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Fallkniven doesn't make a serrated blade.. for those that don't know. nor does

He abuses the tip and then tests cutting with the blade?

I am on the fence about serrations. I like them when I use them to cut rope or things like that, but when I am whittling or carving, then they get in the way, and they are not particularly useful for processing game.

But then I don't have just one survival knife. The Prodigy is my heavy duty general purpose knife, but I also have a CS Survival Edge knife in my GHB - it is like a Mora knife (I have a few of those), but it has a hollow handle that I keep fire making things in and a button compass. The CS SE is a light small knife that is great for small tasks, including preparing small game, fish and food.

 

[The Heretic]

That said, I have yet to find anybody who makes what I really want in a survival knife - Fallkniven comes the closest.

I would have a high quality laminated steel blade with the surface being stainless and some kind of hard nitride black non-reflective but smooth treatment.

The spine of the blade would be straight and level with no drop or clip or false edge whatsoever and would be the same thickness all the way to the tip except for the blade grind which be a Scandi type.

Just a few serration notches, maybe half an inch. The belly of the blade would be much more upswept - i.e., at the tip of the blade, the angle would be almost 90* to the spine - I don't need to stab with a survival knife; if I am in a knife fight I am dead already and I don't need my main knife to puncture things by stabbing them.

The blade thickness and width would be like an ESEE, but the handle would be a rubber like material, like CS or Fallkniven. Length of the blade would be 4 to 5".

 

[Certaindeaf]

He abuses the tip and then tests cutting with the blade?

I am on the fence about serrations. I like them when I use them to cut rope or things like that, but when I am whittling or carving, then they get in the way, and they are not particularly useful for processing game.

But then I don't have just one survival knife. The Prodigy is my heavy duty general purpose knife, but I also have a CS Survival Edge knife in my GHB - it is like a Mora knife (I have a few of those), but it has a hollow handle that I keep fire making things in and a button compass. The CS SE is a light small knife that is great for small tasks, including preparing small game, fish and food.

I hear you. I don't think he practices standard destructive methodologies. lol. he does destroy it though

 

[The Heretic]

I hear you. I don't think he practices standard destructive methodologies. lol. he does destroy it though

Expensive hobby.

Still, it is good to know just how much abuse a knife can withstand before it gives up.

I am not one to baton with a knife - I have a hatchet for splitting wood, and there is plenty of small wood laying around if I need kindling while out in the woods - and there is often dry twigs and such if you know where to look. But it is good to know that a knife can stand up to some abuse in an emergency situation. Just the same, my knife would be one of the last things I would treat like that, especially if I only had one knife on my person. It is just too important of a tool to abuse like that.

 

[Ant]

I always find it hard to watch those videos... Makes me cringe at the sheer abuse. But ya, it's good to see how far it can go. I don't care to baton my knife either, but I like knowing I can if absolutely necessary, and not have to worry whether or not she's up to the task or not.

 

[OREGON FALER]

I'm a fan of the Becker line, which is made by kabar. They are excellent knives, which will take a beating and don't cost a whole bunch, Generally under $100. They sometimes can benefit from a more upgraded sheath & micarta or G-10 handle scales. I like the BK16 and the BK9 for woodsy, survival stuff.

ESEE is also just as good, albeit they come with the better handle scales and sheath's than the Becker line right from the get go. More expensive than Becker Knives, I consider it a wash in price.

I only like the Becker knives a little bit more than ESEE, and that is from an ergonomic standpoint. ESEE handle scales don't agree with me, but the knives reek of quality.

 

[ConcreteJungle]

The last few knives i've picked up have ended up being Kershaw's...the Oregon made ones, not the Chinese versions. They've pretty much handled any task i've thrown at them. Never sharpened any of them and they still work great. I'll use them to cut, pry, hammer, push/pull, etc.

My fave so far has been the Blur with the Tanto blade with 1/2 serrations (blackwash) so I picked up 2 of them and gifted one to my dad.

 

[Joe13]

Picked up a 4" kershaw fixed blade for $14 on amazon last year. Not the best knife I own by far but impossible to beat the cost/quality ratio.

I've worn down the edge of my OKC RAT3 and reprofiled it so many times in the last couple months that it looks as worn as my kershaw folder I've had in my pocket for 15 years.

 

[Certaindeaf]

The last few knives i've picked up have ended up being Kershaw's...the Oregon made ones, not the Chinese versions. They've pretty much handled any task i've thrown at them. Never sharpened any of them and they still work great. I'll use them to cut, pry, hammer, push/pull, etc.

My fave so far has been the Blur with the Tanto blade with 1/2 serrations (blackwash) so I picked up 2 of them and gifted one to my dad.

I kinda soured on Kershaw thirty years ago when, while whittling, my blade chipped.. a nickel size half-moon chip.
It was a hunter/skinner pretty much like this..

 

[ConcreteJungle]

Picked up a 4" kershaw fixed blade for $14 on amazon last year. Not the best knife I own by far but impossible to beat the cost/quality ratio.

I've worn down the edge of my OKC RAT3 and reprofiled it so many times in the last couple months that it looks as worn as my kershaw folder I've had in my pocket for 15 years.

Can't beat a $14 knife that you can beat on without a worry. Not sure how I would treat a $300 pocket knife...but I'd think twice about abusing it the way I do my current pocket carry.

 

[ConcreteJungle]

I kinda soured on Kershaw thirty years ago when, while whittling, my blade chipped.. a nickel size half-moon chip.
It was a hunter/skinner pretty much like this..

View attachment 250815

Did they replace it for you?

 

[Certaindeaf]

Did they replace it for you?

Yes they did.. it was brand new. After that first chip, I kept whittling on that same stick that day and, go figure, got a lot more chips. lol
I sold the unused replacement knife to a friend.. telling him that it might be a little delicate. Beautiful knife though.

 

[The Heretic]

Got a new knife this week. Actually three of them - all the same (I will keep one and the other two will be stocking stuffers).

The Gerber Bear Gryils folding knife


Inexpensive - $16 at Amazon or Walmart.

The pattern of the blade is very similar to the Prodigy or the LMF II

The handle is rubberized plastic with no metal liner (the latter is probably one of the reasons it is so inexpensive).

I don't usually go for "survival expert" branded gear, but at $16 I figured it would be worth testing, and if I didn't like it I could use it for barter. If I did like it then I would keep it and give one each to my kids.

I like it.

It is much lighter than the Prodigy or LMF II - naturally. It is very sharp and I like the handles and the blade is thick for a folding knife. It works well as a survival knife - for a pocket knife - better than any of my other pocket knives IMO.

So I posted this to a thread over on the survivalist boards forum.

A person there said "don't baton with it - it will shatter" - mostly because it is "Chinese steel".

Well, I took this as a challenge. For one thing, what's the worst that could happen? It could break and I would be out $16 but I would be a lot wiser in the long run.

I don't baton knives in general. I believe this is an abuse/misuse of a knife. I can see in an extreme emergency that I might reluctantly baton, but it would be a last resort as I would not want to break something as important to my survival as a knife.

But it doesn't hurt to know whether a knife can take it or not.

So I got a piece of hard very dry maple firewood and tried it out.



Well, look at that, it didn't shatter!

I batoned the knife fully into it about 5 times. Wiggled it back and forth sideways to get it out, put some decent cracks into the wood, even split off a small piece or two. Then had to baton it back out by striking the handle since it was so stuck into the wood I couldn't get it out. I struck the handle in all four axis.

No visible damage to the blade, much less it shattering. There is a little more play in the lock and side to side - I will have to get my tools and see if I can tighten down the side to side play by tightening the screws. The upside is that it opens a lot easier now.

I was then reading some reviews on the Gerber site, and one guy complained that he had given this to his Boy Scout son who loved it, but when he dropped it on a rock, the handles shattered. So I took that as a challenge too.

I have three hatchets in the house over by the stove, so I layed the handle on the poll of one hatchet, and hit the handle with the poll of the other hatchet - fairly hard. Nothing. No shattering. Repeat and rinse, different places on the handle. Nothing.

Methinks the Boy Scout son did something to that knife more than simply dropping it on a rock and then gave his dad that lame excuse when the handles broke.

Granted, no steel or metal liner probably makes it weaker, but I pounded on that handle every which way - I twisted it and yanked on it to get the blade out of that maple. I could see the lock on it giving some. But the handles never broke. The lock didn't break. The knife still works - albeit with noticeable side to side play in the lock now.

I have one more test.

I have a chest freezer that keeps things at -20*F

I will put the knife in there for a few hours then see how the plastic handles respond to a pounding when cold.

What could go wrong?

 

[Joe13]

I think the plastic will degrade more with time then cold or abuse.

Not been a fan of my BG backpacking axe but it was cheap.

Got a $14 Kershaw 4" fixed on Amazon once. It's still a pretty decent knife, and nice that it was so cheap.

 

[The Heretic]

I think the plastic will degrade more with time then cold or abuse.

Maybe. The only way to tell would be to test it again after 5 years. I've had a Gerber brush cutter for over ten years and the plastic handle for it has not fallen apart. That thing I've left outside and so on, hit brush and other things hard with it, and it still is in one piece. I am not a big fan of it though.

I can't think of anything with a plastic handle that has degraded on me over time.

I've seen colors fade due to UV exposure, and that in turn may cause the plastic to degrade too - but I don't think that will be a problem with a folding knife kept in a sheath 99% of the time.

That said, for the price, I don't expect it to last forever, nor do I expect any folding knife to stand up to this kind of abuse and not suffer for it. I don't think most people would expect to baton a folding knife or abuse it the way I did so far, much less what I plan for it later.

At this point, even if it breaks, I would get another one since it has held up much better than I expected it to - and better, it works well for me. I have bought a number of knives online for under $30 and been disappointed with them when I got them in my hands

For example:

Gerber Profile (bad shaped blade - my fault for not seeing it, bad handle shape)

Gerber Freeman Guide - jimping all around the tang - may be able to fix this - I really like the blade.

Old Timer Outfitter - the rubber handle is spongy and will probably degrade

Schrade SCHF1 - my fault for wanting a copy of a Chris Reeves knife. Big and heavy and totally unsuitable for most everything.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I have the very, very first 3 Bear Grillis "survival knife's" that were ever sold to the public. very good piece for money!