Knives-input needed

[Mike U.]

Forgot all about Kabars.
Get the original or, if you can, find the (now defunct) Camillus version as it has a slightly harder blade (better edge holding). I've had three versions of the KABAR and the Camillus was/is my favorite of the three. The original Kabar is NO SLOUCH, so don't get me wrong. The fit and finish on a KABAR(company name) brand of "KABAR"(generic name for the Marine Corps. legendary combat knife) is superior, IMO. No one makes a finer looking USMC combat knife. KABAR also has updated versions in stainless steel too that have oval Kraton handles, single quillion guard and lanyard hole in the base. Current versions use 440A. If you can find an older model, they used Sandvik 12C27 steel for the blade. An excellent, made for knife blades type of steel made from the purest Iron Ore to be found on the planet, which happens to be in Sweden. Most steel used in knife blades was originally designed for other purposes. For example, ATS-34 was designed for turbine blades on jet engines, M-2 is drill bit steel and D-2 was made for the tool and die industry. They all make for an excellent knife blade material, but unlike 12C27, were originally designed for other purposes. Fortunately, they make excellent blade material. 12C27's strength lies in it's ability to take a very fine edge.
Speaking of knife blade steel, if you want state-of-the-art, Crucible Particle Metallurgies has one steel type that has taken the cutlery world by storm. That steel is S30V and many of the major factory makers are using it now in their higher end knives. It's edge holding is phenomenal and it has all the positive attributes one looks for in a knife blade steel. So far, it's showing up mainly in modern folding knives but I anticipate the factories will be putting out fixed blades in the near future if they haven't already.

Good grief, I better shut up now. Every time I start talking knives my posts begin taking on essay or small book length.
Better go to bed now or I'll be up typing until 9:00am.

[cjleete]

Gotta give a +1 for the Cold Steel SRK for a great fixed blade no frills general purpose blade. I have a Ka-Bar and it's nice and sturdy, but dulls quickly. Consider the steel.
Stainless knives in 440c and 420 (Buck , Gerber and similiar) have good rust resisting qualities but require a good amount of work making them sharp.
Carbon steel has little corrosion resistance but knives tend to sharpen quickly and take a fine edge, like your Ka-Bars, Camillus, old Schrades, etc. But those fine edges can be more easily nicked and dulled.
Blades in ATS-30 and CM154 steels (Benchmade, MOD, Elishewitz, etc) combine decent rust resistance with strength and edge retention, require a bit more work to get sharp but STAY that way longer and are naturally more expensive.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.

[Cyrano]

Originally Posted by milproakron

Whats with all the BIG knife stuff? lol Especially for fighting, something large is a hinderence, not an advantage. A six inch blade is plenty long enough to reach any vital organ in the human body. Heavy and unwieldy mean dead and dying in a real knife fight.

Why do you think I went to a M1896 instead of to a Jimmy Lile Rambo I? Quite aside from the fact that a real, Lile-made Rambo I is out of my reach and I won't touch the mass-produced versions, the Rambo I is simply too big to be practical unless you're the size of Andre the Giant and you're flensing a whale.

The M1896 is not much longer than a Ka-Bar. The steel is first rate Swedish, not the crap coming out of China where far too many so-called survival knives are made. The blade is narrower than a Ka-Bar, yet sturdy. Yes, you're going to have to do some work to transform it from a bayonet into a survival knife; but when you are done you'll know it intimately and you'll trust it. Trust counts for a lot in a survival knife.

Use what you think will get the job done for you. Survival is an art, not a science. But don't sneer at this particular bayonet conversion until you've studied the bayonet and determined for yourself if doing the conversion is practical for your purposes or not.

[sunwheel29]

Originally Posted by thrillbilly

I I have seen ''The Hunted'' several times, so that makes me a expert! LOL

That's my choice. The Tom Brown Jr. Tracker knife made currently by TOPS.

I know it seems expensive, but by being patient I was able to find a Tracker, the Tracker II and the Scout companion knife on Ebay for around what a new Tracker would cost retail or online. All three were new, by the way.

The full size Tracker seems larger than it is, because it is so thick and wide.The blade is around seven inches.
For a carry knife, I really like the Tracker II as it is better balanced and I carried the scout knife around daily for several months instead of a folder.

I prefer big knives like bowies to axes and machetes. The nice thing about the Tracker knife is that it is a sort of multi purpose tool.

And it looks so darn cool, LOL....

[KGunner]

My buddy has the Tracker collection, very nice knives.

[thrillbilly]

Holy Crap, thanks for the info! I didn't know they made knives from the movie, it's Google time for me!

[Dragunov]

Originally Posted by scroamer65

The Buck knife at Wally world is called the Special #119 for about
$40.

I also have a buck knife. I don't remember the model but it has a black 7" blade (keen, not serrated edge) and a green and black handle. You can literally shave with it and it holds an edge very well. It's also fairly heavy.

I bought it to replace a $1200 custom knife that was stolen from my car in 2002. It has been a worthy replacement for the most part.

I would like another Kabar too.

[Dragunov]

Originally Posted by cjleete

Gotta give a +1 for the Cold Steel SRK for a great fixed blade no frills general purpose blade. I have a Ka-Bar and it's nice and sturdy, but dulls quickly. Consider the steel.
Stainless knives in 440c and 420 (Buck , Gerber and similiar) have good rust resisting qualities but require a good amount of work making them sharp.
Carbon steel has little corrosion resistance but knives tend to sharpen quickly and take a fine edge, like your Ka-Bars, Camillus, old Schrades, etc. But those fine edges can be more easily nicked and dulled.
Blades in ATS-30 and CM154 steels (Benchmade, MOD, Elishewitz, etc) combine decent rust resistance with strength and edge retention, require a bit more work to get sharp but STAY that way longer and are naturally more expensive.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.

You forgot 1060. Great knife steel also.

[thrillbilly]

I looked up those tracker knives, real nice but a little high for my taste! I did order me a CS Bushmaster though, hope it gets here quick, I've already got a nice hickory shaft to fit it to! Just call me spear-chucker!

[rockman7]

the only "big" knife i have is a 36 yo western 8". my 2 brothers got one too and practically made a tree house outa small pines they hacked with thiers, those things are indestructable. may not be as hard of metal as those high end blades but it holds a keen edge and with a $10 diamond stone from walmart putting a edge back is a breeze.

[sunwheel29]

Originally Posted by thrillbilly

I looked up those tracker knives, real nice but a little high for my taste! I did order me a CS Bushmaster though, hope it gets here quick, I've already got a nice hickory shaft to fit it to! Just call me spear-chucker!

I balked when I saw what they cost too.
But being an old hand at being tightfisted, I poked around on ebay for a few months and picked up a new tracker for around $135. I got a new Tracker II for less than that.

The thing is, these knives are really in demand and it took months of daily looking, last minute bidding and stuff to win 'em. I feel it was definitely worth the effort.

These are among my favorite knives by the way and at one time I had a really extensive collection of bowies and camp and survival type knives.
The little scout companion knife is excellent and very well balanced. I often carry it instead of a folder around town. Great knife in a great sheath.

There is a company called Red Scorpion six that makes close copies too. They sometimes have them on Ebay.

[Metronome]

Of the choices provided I like the Bushmaster, but I don't think it makes for a good fighting knife - needs a hilt or grip tape or something.
Can't go wrong with a machete, CTD has them for $10, so you could get ten of them!

[Sam Ruger]

Originally Posted by milproakron

Whats with all the BIG knife stuff? lol Especially for fighting, something large is a hinderence, not an advantage. A six inch blade is plenty long enough to reach any vital organ in the human body. Heavy and unwieldy mean dead and dying in a real knife fight.

Although some companies try to market things as such, I don't believe there is such a thing as a do it all survival knife. You'll need a knife to hunt spear clean etc, but you'll need other things like an axe or machette too and a saw. So I'd say pick which knife seems the sturdiest, feels best in your hand, and can do the basic things you need and go with it.

I have to pack light and so one of my choices had to be to leave the hatchet behind. So, after a long study, I picked a 13" Bowie blade survival knife, pretty simliar to the "Rambo" 15" model but with a stainless steel vs carbon blade. It has the hollow handle and thumb hole guard giving it a lot of useful survival features. Being a "Bowie" it also has a lot of combat features - All of which work. Although it is a bit big it is without a doubt the most useful knife I've ever owned and by ten times over.

And that's ignoring the comba features.

If it has a questionable feature, it's probably the saw teeth - Although some knucklehead provided a sharpening flint for it when you can't sharpen stainless steel with one. Oh! Well! I figure I can use it to start a fire.

Still, if there is such a thing as a universal knife, this is it.

[sunwheel29]

I know there is a big movement now among the "bushcraft" set to use very small knives for outdoors survival purposes.

But the reality is that when people LIVED IN THE WILDERNESS they carried big knives. From the middle ages and the daggers that were almost short swords to the Bowies and Arkansas Toothpicks of the American Frontier.

For many years I toted a bowie with a ten inch blade becuase it let me chop tree limbs like an axe and do knife type cutting chores as well as served as a decent defense weapon for everything from snakes to four legged critters.

It may not be convenient but you can skin a deer with a ten inch bowie.

But try to chop down a tree branch with a three inch skinner!

[KGunner]

I've gotta push the Ka-Bar some more. Just took it camping (the 1245), only knife I had with me surprisingly, and it did everything. Started a magnesium fire with it and the blade showed no signs of wear, used it as a stake to hold my dog's leash down when necessary, used it as a hammer to drive in tent pegs, used it to move the coals around in the fire, and everything else you need a knife for while camping.

[Mike U.]

There's an old adage I run across from time to time.

A big knife can do what a little knife can do, but, a little knife can't do what a big knife can do.