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Looking for a good survival knife

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corivers

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I really like the way the kabar serrated fighting knife looks, but I want one with a full tang.....Any suggestions on a good all purpose survival knife around 50-60 bucks?
 
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=78693


Look down about 6 threads.

sknife.jpg


[smile][wink][smile]
 
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My Seal Pup is my current one as well. You want to go cheap, but excellent knives, look into the Mora knives. They are about $12, and I carried one for about 4 years. They dont make serrated ones, nor are they full tang, but I never busted one up. I have one that is strictly kitchen duty, and one that was, up until September, my outdoor knife. NEVER let me down, and you could get a nice sheath to go with it (the sheath it comes with is a simple plastic one, and almost everyone I know that has a Mora replaced theirs immediately).
Fallkniven knives are great too-I just have no personal experience with them.

Bill
 
There is really no ultimate survival knife. In my opinion, two knives and a multi-tool is the way to go. I prefer a RAT RC5, a small 2-3" folder or fixed, and a Leatherman. A fire kit and multi-tool will fit in the pouch on the RC5 sheath. But the idea of living in the woods, just a man and his knife, is some Hollywood nonsense.
 
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chingalla said:
There is really no ultimate survival knife. In my opinion, two knives and a multi-tool is the way to go. I prefer a RAT RC5, a small 2-3" folder or fixed, and a Leatherman. A fire kit and multi-tool will fit in the pouch on the RC5 sheath. But the idea of living in the woods, just a man and his knife, is some Hollywood nonsense.
Click to expand...
As a Soldier, I favored the WWII USMC pattern Kabar, which was heavy enough to chop down saplings for cover and easy to sharpen. But I used the multi-tool more often.
 
The KaBar is a great value for the money. Maybe a good choice if one is only going to carry one tool. Big enough for chopping but somewhat thin with a decent blade curve for skinning/cleaning. I also like a Buck that I think is called the Nighthawk? I have had the non black version for 14yrs. Both of these are around $50. However, the Rat feels like it was designed for the wilderness man. Doesn't have that quick fighter feel of the KaBar, but has more of a tool feel to it. I'll see if I can get some side by side pics of all these, if you want.
 
chingalla said:
The KaBar is a great value for the money. Maybe a good choice if one is only going to carry one tool. Big enough for chopping but somewhat thin with a decent blade curve for skinning/cleaning. I also like a Buck that I think is called the Nighthawk? I have had the non black version for 14yrs. Both of these are around $50. However, the Rat feels like it was designed for the wilderness man. Doesn't have that quick fighter feel of the KaBar, but has more of a tool feel to it. I'll see if I can get some side by side pics of all these, if you want.
Click to expand...
Great idea!
 
build the ultimate survival tool/knife yourself

corivers said:
I really like the way the kabar serrated fighting knife looks, but I want one with a full tang.....Any suggestions on a good all purpose survival knife around 50-60 bucks?
Click to expand...
TO BE A SURVIVALIST you should be self sufficient,,,build your own knife,i got a leif spring out of a jeeps front end it was a four wheel drive,with short straight springs on the front,,there heavy enough so that you can chop limbs or smash through vehicals sheet meatal,lash it on a heavy rod for ambushing large game from tree,dig a hole,and at 5 paces it sinks in with about a half turn being thrown,and after all of that it,will gut a brook trout.ITS spring steel and i grind it to shape and a taper for edge until i het it close to where i can start with a file being corse,bringing it down to a thinner edge until i can use a wet stone ,corse to finer until i get the edge like i want it.THE trick is when grinding is to keep it cool to not untemper it.FOR a handle i use a heavy leather slabs fron shoe shops soles ,with hand driven rivets to keep them on.you can heat the handle to take the temper out for drilling the rivet holes,with a woodstoves coals.ANOTHER way ive built them is heating the whole knife up in woodstove,so it would grind easyer,then when done grinding,heat one more time and squelch it in a bucket of water to re-harden it.I build my own sheaths with old leather from lawn sale pocketbooks,ect..using heavy twine and a barrel hitch the edges after i put holes in with small fiish nails on a board,,to secure it ,,i make a long loop the goes over handle about 4 inches long..best part it rugged simple easy,to do and is indestructable blade and handle..i hope this will help
 
improman said:
TO BE A SURVIVALIST you should be self sufficient,,,build your own knife,i got a leif spring out of a jeeps front end it was a four wheel drive,with short straight springs on the front,,there heavy enough so that you can chop limbs or smash through vehicals sheet meatal,lash it on a heavy rod for ambushing large game from tree,dig a hole,and at 5 paces it sinks in with about a half turn being thrown,and after all of that it,will gut a brook trout.ITS spring steel and i grind it to shape and a taper for edge until i het it close to where i can start with a file being corse,bringing it down to a thinner edge until i can use a wet stone ,corse to finer until i get the edge like i want it.THE trick is when grinding is to keep it cool to not untemper it.FOR a handle i use a heavy leather slabs fron shoe shops soles ,with hand driven rivets to keep them on.you can heat the handle to take the temper out for drilling the rivet holes,with a woodstoves coals.ANOTHER way ive built them is heating the whole knife up in woodstove,so it would grind easyer,then when done grinding,heat one more time and squelch it in a bucket of water to re-harden it.I build my own sheaths with old leather from lawn sale pocketbooks,ect..using heavy twine and a barrel hitch the edges after i put holes in with small fiish nails on a board,,to secure it ,,i make a long loop the goes over handle about 4 inches long..best part it rugged simple easy,to do and is indestructable blade and handle..i hope this will help
Click to expand...

[shocked]

Got any pics?
 
I'm not into knife building...The closest I've come is sliding the SOG multi tool into the pouch of my Seal Pup sheath...Bout wore me out.

My brother-in-law however, is building some crazy nice knives with literally home made smith tools and railroad spikes...I shit you not...
 
The rest are some of the tools I bring in the woods with me. The RC5 is the newest addition, and I don't carry all of these at the same time. The smaller knife is a Benchmade Snody Resistor.






This shot shows the thickness of the RC5. 1/4" thick 1095 steel.
 
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Improman,

While I agree, it is important to have the skill to make a knife, or at least, a knife-like tool in a pinch, I don't necessarily believe that a self-made knife is inherently better than a purchased knife.

I think it's a great exercise to make a knife by hand, several actually. Learn what works, what doesn't. How and why. Make your mistakes when you're in the safety of your house or workshop. When your life doesn't depend on sucess.

Now consider: Could I really do this in a survival situation? What tools did I need? Hacksaw? Bandsaw? bench mounted 9A grinding wheel?

Also thinking about: Is that lief spring knife "better" than one that was purchased? Is the material the right choice for your application? Is the temper right?

Preparation is having the right tools, the right skills and the understanding of when to use which. I built a rough hatch several years ago with a handfile. Took more than a week at a few hours a day (most I could stand). body, handle and blade were made from 3/8" thick spring tempered high-carbon steel, grip was cord wrapped with some thin pieces of wood to thicken it for more comfort. I chopped down some smaller (3-4" diameter) trees to make sure it worked before I set it aside. It's likely rusting in one of my boxes in my basement that I haven't opened in 10+ years because I have much better tools for the same job, but I know I can do it if I have to.

Chingalla,

A lovely set of tools, thanks for the photos.
What axe is that? I like the aggressive saw in the handle.
 
improman said:
TO BE A SURVIVALIST you should be self sufficient,,,build your own knife,i got a leif spring out of a jeeps front end it was a four wheel drive,with short straight springs on the front,,there heavy enough so that you can chop limbs or smash through vehicals sheet meatal,lash it on a heavy rod for ambushing large game from tree,dig a hole,and at 5 paces it sinks in with about a half turn being thrown,and after all of that it,will gut a brook trout.ITS spring steel and i grind it to shape and a taper for edge until i het it close to where i can start with a file being corse,bringing it down to a thinner edge until i can use a wet stone ,corse to finer until i get the edge like i want it.THE trick is when grinding is to keep it cool to not untemper it.FOR a handle i use a heavy leather slabs fron shoe shops soles ,with hand driven rivets to keep them on.you can heat the handle to take the temper out for drilling the rivet holes,with a woodstoves coals.ANOTHER way ive built them is heating the whole knife up in woodstove,so it would grind easyer,then when done grinding,heat one more time and squelch it in a bucket of water to re-harden it.I build my own sheaths with old leather from lawn sale pocketbooks,ect..using heavy twine and a barrel hitch the edges after i put holes in with small fiish nails on a board,,to secure it ,,i make a long loop the goes over handle about 4 inches long..best part it rugged simple easy,to do and is indestructable blade and handle..i hope this will help
Click to expand...


I'm impressed that you can get the metal hot enough to temper using a woodstove.
 
The axe is a Gerber. I think they are the same as the Fiskars, but I don't know that for a fact. It is a great little hatchet. The saw blade knife stores in the handle with a small magnet for retention. I usually tie it as well with a small piece of 550 cord for insurance. I carry a Maxpedition Sitka and this will slide into the webbing on the side. Picked up that idea from Dave Canterbury's Youtube video on the pack.
 

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