survival knifes

[Siglvr]

What is a "survivor knife" anyway? I like the Leatherman Titanium charge, but there isn't a corkscrew. How could that be a "survival knife"? For example, you are wandering in the wilderness post SHTF and find a bottle (or case) of Latour 2001 or so and NO corkscrew? I mean, really? Back to pushing the cork in with your thumb and have to drink it all? Well, I guess you would anyway. However.....

I love the look of these Nazi Officers Daggers as well, but I guess history has determined that they are not for "survivors".


I keep the beat up low class Allied version (Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife) which it's been determined cuts sausages and cheese quite capably, in my bedstand just in case.

 

[The Heretic]

For me a survival knife is a tool. Processing game, large and small, making traps (gotta learn that someday) and other "bushcrafty" kind of tasks - i.e., working on wood to make other tools, that kind of stuff.

It isn't a weapon - not for me anyway. If things get so bad that I have to resort to hand to hand combat, I am simply not going to make it. I am getting old and weak and slow. If I sneeze it can throw my back out which in turn can make it a literal pain to move, sit or stand - sometimes all of those together. So I tend heavily towards the hand tool kind of knife - not the dagger kind of knife and rely on firearms and my brains as my weapons.

YMMV

 

[mjbskwim]

In a survival situation,1 would only use a knife as a weapon when silence is key and success is assured. Otherwise the firearm is the weapon of choice.Or maybe a bow Hand to hand isn't something you want to play with. Every wound can become a very large problem.
I used to be like you Heretic.A bad sneeze of cough could throw things out. Imagine what trying to punch someone and missing could do? lol
Couldn't find the video of the old guy trying to punch his neighbor and falling on the concrete screaming

 

[Hamilton Felix]

These days I tend to be a bit suspicious of the Fiskars/Gerber outfit, including the Bear Grylls endorsed products. Those loyal to the original Oregon made Gerber Legendary Blades are certain that Pete Gerber is spinning in his grave. I'm guessing you will find good ones and not-so-good ones... Certainly their axe/hatchet design makes the tools "disposable" when the handle is damaged, as opposed to a conventional hatchet that can easily be hung onto a fresh hickory handle. I will be very interested to hear long term reports on the Bear Grylls products.

I guess a "survival knife" is what you have when you need to survive. I always carry a Leatherman WAVE and my EDC folder is a much used Al Mar SERE2000. If I knew I was to find myself surviving in the woods, I'd probably swap the folder for a stout 4 to 6 inch fixed blade, like the abused Cold Steel SRK that I found for $20 at a gun show then cleaned up. But I'd want a hatchet in the mix.

As long as I had a hatchet or small axe, I'd probably avoid the large camp knife approach. If there was absolutely no chance of a hatchet or even a decent folding saw, I'd take my straight handled Busse Steeheart II. It's big, expensive, heavy, virtually indestructible and capable of chopping. But a 19.3 oz. knife is a lot to carry. Heck, there's even a WWII USMC Hospital Corps knife around here, but 34 oz. of "knife" puts it into the monster category. You can probably get a more cost effective survival knife from BK&T. The original USAF survival knife was a 5" fixed blade with a hex nut "hammer" pommel, saw teeth on the spine and a small sharpening stone on the sheath, IIRC. That's not a bad choice.

 

[TapRackNGo]

Mine. Esee Junglas

 

[mjbskwim]

Heck these little cheapo moras are great little knives.I think you can find them at the stores for $8 in those counter displays.
I was skeptical about them since they were all the rave with the 'bushcrafters' but the Swain's up in PA had the display and they were $8 so I tried 1. Great little knives.They do make them in a lot of different grade steels if you need a better knife
http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Craf...s&ie=UTF8&qid=1446647633&sr=1-9&keywords=mora

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Mora has always been laminated, right? Kind of a standard in Europe, I believe.

That Junglas above looks heavy duty. Spyderco makes a nice Bushcraft fixed blade with G-10 scales, but it's pricey. Benchmade's Bushcrafter is almost as much. Condor's 4.375" Bushlore with walnut scales seems well liked and functional, for a lot less money.

Overall, we are lucky to have so many choices.

 

[mjbskwim]

Overall, we are lucky to have so many choices.

That' kinda funny.
I saw this guy heat up and beat on a chunk of steel and say it would be on ebay next week.
OK so it was a little more complicated but not much.
Everyone wants to be a knife maker,but some become quite good and give us many good choices

 

[The Heretic]

Mora has always been laminated, right?

No - I don't think so. The Fallkniven knives are laminated, but not the Moras.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

My mind is in the past most of the time, but these are what I was thinking of: http://www.moraofsweden.se/products-1.0.127.2

Heck, I saw ad ad for a USMC Kabar style knife at Bud-K for twenty bucks. Don't know the maker, but that would be a low budget survival knife.

 

[The Heretic]

My mind is in the past most of the time, but these are what I was thinking of: http://www.moraofsweden.se/products-1.0.127.2

Moras are a good value. I have a Mora Companion and I like it. The blades are generally thin though and I have not seen one that is laminated.

Very similar is the Cold Steel Survival Edge, which comes with a firesteel and a hollow handle. I know people like to hate on the hollow handle knives, especially a plastic one like this where the blade ends not far past the hilt, but these are tough little knives and inexpensive.

Heck, I saw ad ad for a USMC Kabar style knife at Bud-K for twenty bucks. Don't know the maker, but that would be a low budget survival knife.

I have a WWII surplus GI knife my dad bought a long time ago - not sure if it is a Kabar or not, but it is that style. I don't think it is a very good survival knife. The blade pattern isn't quite what I would want for survival.

 

[mjbskwim]

My mind is in the past most of the time, but these are what I was thinking of: http://www.moraofsweden.se/products-1.0.127.2

Heck, I saw ad ad for a USMC Kabar style knife at Bud-K for twenty bucks. Don't know the maker, but that would be a low budget survival knife.

Seems the 'classic' is still laminated
http://www.moraofsweden.se/construction/classic-original-1?group=prod_prod_grp-s1/54

 

[Hamilton Felix]

You know, that Cold Steel Survival Edge does look pretty handy. It's lighter than I like, and I share the misgivings most of us have about cast-on hollow handles. But it looks like it holds up pretty well. I see the orange one at Amazon for $16.99 and that might leave you enough money to get a small companion hatchet or folding saw. I think seventeen bucks for a functional fixed blade, fire striker and place to store a few vital small items is pretty hard to beat. If we're talking survival and not sneaky ninja combat stuff, bright orange really helps your odds against mislaying the knife or fire steel.

For a simple and hard to screw up knife, I wouldn't forget Cold Steel's Bushman. It's made of one piece, the way a shovel is forged. If you search the stores for the right size rubber tip for crutch or table/chair legs, you can have a butt cap and keep a few things inside the handle. I don't like having no guard and a handle that tapers toward the blade, but it's a good basic tool.

The Survival Edge is light enough that you could tuck the whole thing, sheath, fire steel and all, inside a survival vest and barely notice it.

 

[The Heretic]

Yes - I got one for myself and one each for my kids.

The Survival Edge is so light and relatively small that it would be unnoticed with regards to weight or space, yet serve as a nice little camp knife. If it gets lost or broken or "borrowed", then the price is such that I won't cry about it. It is light and small enough to be a decent camp knife and/or something you would use as an eating utensil.

It isn't my only survival knife that I keep on hand. I recommend having several on hand - stuff happens, any knife can break, be dropped in a body of water or down some crevasse, or forgotten, or left behind when a person has to quickly get away from a threat, or something like that - so it is good to have multiples, which I do.

I have the CS Survival Edge on the shoulder strap of my GHB, a CS SRK or Gerber Prodigy in my supply box in my vehicle (the box has food, water, clothes, shelter, etc.), a Tool Logic SLP1 in my pocket at almost all times, and now I will be putting a Gerber BG folding knife in a sheath in my GHB. If I had to walk home that would be at least four knives I would have on me (some of my vehicles have other folding knives in them) - and at least one of the knives would be a relatively heavy duty fixed blade.

 

[The Heretic]

FWIW - I prefer "ninja" style.

My Gerber BG has orange accents, and I understand the reason - I have almost lost more than one thing in the woods because it blended in with the vegetation - but I will spray it with some black plasti-dip nonetheless.

I took my CS Survival Edge and let the shiny stainless blade sit overnight in a cup of sulfuric acid and vinegar. That made the blade finish a greyish light matte that doesn't rub off easily.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

I, too, personally prefer low profile. I like to blend in. But I know how easy it is to lay a knife or tool down and suddenly find it has vanished. If the goal is wilderness survival, just surviving the elements until rescued or you make it home, then the high visibility approach is helpful. If "survival" includes avoiding potential hostiles, then it's low profile all the way.

I'm proud of my "non-camo" shirt, because it breaks up my outline and appears to be camo from a distance, but up close is actually a repeating print pattern of hunting dog scenes - so I'm "camouflaged" from the "not PC" attention one draws in "civilization" when wearing camo, but I still get the benefits.

I'm torn on this. Most of our field gear is OD or black, plus some camo. Maybe a subdued knife with a shiny blade is a good compromise, easier to find if laid down, but invisible in the sheath. A winter survival class taught me that a silver space blanket will reflect the colors around it, and is not likely to be spotted by an aerial search, while using the gold side of a true Space brand Space Blanket will show up.

I was recently given a backpack that looks like it would be good for a GHB, but it came from a source inside my (electrical) industry and it's bright orange. I'm wondering if I really want to carry that in a car trunk. I'm a waste not/want not kind of guy, so I'll probably find an OD pack cover or even make up a black one from a garbage bag, then use the pack.

Maybe we need a discussion thread on low profile & cam vs high visibility. I still miss the traditional style flight jacket I used to have, with that gray-green "sage" on one surface and bright orange on the other. Just reverse the jacket for your preference.

I'd put that Gerber Survival Edge at the lightest end of my "survival knife" list. It's not a chopper, but it sure beats not having a decent knife. I think at the Amazon price I just saw, it might make a good gift. If I did not have a companion hatchet, I'd sure try to pair that Survival Edge with at least a folding or wire saw (if I can find a truly good wire saw).

I'm really curious to hear feedback on how much of the Bear Grylls line is good. I hear they've already had some sort of recall on one item. They do seem to be marketed at affordable prices, not the high end of the market. That's a plus.

 

[The Heretic]

From what I have read, the Gerber BG "machetes" and parangs are the ones that have had serious problems and may still have problems. I was tempted to buy some, but then saw the problems and now I avoid them - even though they supposedly made changes. It seems to me they still make mistakes with the design and QC of those blades.

I bought the BG folding knife, because like the CS Survival Edge, it was inexpensive and I liked the blade pattern since it was similar to the Gerber Prodigy and LMFII.

At worst I could use it as a barter knife or as a knife to give family/friends/neighbors if they didn't have a decent folding knife.

When I got it I was pleased with its durability - as I posted, someone on survivalistboards warned me against batoning it, say it would "shatter", and since it was so inexpensive I took that as a challenged and promptly batoned it more than anyone should baton a folding knife like that. It held up relatively well IMO and I would still carry it. Maybe I just got a really good one. Maybe the others are crap. I don't know. If Gerber would send my ten for free, that I could randomly pick out of their general stock, I would gladly try to destroy them and then I could maybe make an educated estimation of the general quality of the knives.

Like anything else, there is good and bad stuff out there. Some of the Gerber knives I don't care for (e.g., the Profile) because of design and/or some things I have seen about their quality. I would say that about 75% of the inexpensive knives I have bought and tried I would keep and use - the others I would try to barter off if SHTF - but I wouldn't lie if asked what I thought about their quality or usefulness.

 

[Hamilton Felix]

I have a couple of the Gerber Machetes with sawteeth on the back. Pretty effective saw and not bad if you need an 18 inch light machete for brush. They can be bent, though. But you have to try. Long skinny machetes with crappy sheaths bother me for safety reasons. Once, I took the time to make a hardwood sheath for an old Collins. I like the idea of a sawback "pioneer's machete," though most of the knives I've seen with sawteeth are pretty useless.

 

[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
View attachment 261609

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?

So I put the knife in my chest freezer which maintains temps below minus 15* F for 10 hours and then pounded on the handles for a few minutes, with the knife open and closed.

Nothing.

So, a the Gerber BG folding sheath knife doesn't seem to "shatter" no matter what you do with it - at least within reason, and then some.

You are welcome to do your own tests - for $16 what will you lose if it does shatter during the test? At least you will know whether it does or not and you don't have to take the word of someone who just assumes it will because it is so inexpensive and made in China.

YMMV

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Here are my two choices.
A Blackjack number 5. A 5 1/2 inch carbon steel blade , stacked leather handle and made in the U.S.A
This knife served me well , while I was in the Army.
A Camillus "Demo" knife. It has all the tools I need.
Andy