DAJO Survival Knife Review

[maddave]

I'm not a great lover of "survival" knives but have to admit I've found one worthy of the name and WELL worthy of the inexpensive price tag.

I needed a small lightweight knife to accompany me on my African off road challenge later this year, and after looking at some survival knives like the "Rambo" types and the Loft Wiseman "treebeater" etc. I think I've finally found a knife I can thoroughly recommend. I introduce the DAJO SURVIVAL KNIFE.

The knife is 19cm (7.5") long, 9cm (3 3/4") blade and 10cm (4") handle. It has a full tang hollow ground blade about 3mm thick made of chrome moly stainless steel (7Cr17MoWV) with an HRC of 57 and it weighs 3.4oz. Bothe the G10 handle and the blade are of a "skeletal" design that make the knife easy to lash to other objects as well as reducing the weight.

The knife comes packed in an unassuming cardboard box that's nice and eco friendly.

There is a small instruction leaflet in the box telling you the contents of the knife and a quick tutorial on how to use the supplied firesteel.

The Sheath is cordura with a reinforced insert for the blade and a velcro pouch on the front. There is also approx 5 feet of utility cord with a cordlock attached.

When you open the front pouch you are presented with a good quality "light my fire" mini firesteel and an anodised aluminium whistle that is quite loud !!

The sheath offers 4 carry options. Neck or bandolier carry utilising the utility cord, horizontal belt carry or vertical belt carry.

The knife costs £29.95 including delivery from Heinne. http://heinnie.com

In my opinion this is the survival knife of the 21st century. It's tough, light and capable. I put it though a series of decent tests at the weekend and it flew through them. It's all the "bear grylls" gerber could have been with a bit of thought. This knife is the real deal and is an absolute bargain for the price tag. Any negative points?? Just a couple...

1. The cord would have been more useful if it was 550 paracord (i'll be replacing mine)

2. The small anodised whistle is black, I'd have preferred orange or red so it could be easily seen if dropped.

3 the handle is a bit angular and could have been smoother. Not a real problem but I could see it being uncomfy after prolonged use.

The one thing I didn't test is if the groove in the blade can open a bottle of beer..... Ah well next time

 

[kINGPIN]

Thanks for the review, its quite an appealing knife.

 

[JonathanD]

A few people have bought these after they were posted about on BB. They seem like an excellent choice as they are small, flat, light and no hassle to carry. Everything a survival knife should be.

 

[adriatikfan]

Thanks for the heads-up. Just ordered one of these. Looking forward to seeing what it's like.

Best Wishes
David

 

[John Fenna]

I used to carry a Mora on my African expeds

 

[Jacknife]

I'm sure it's a useful knife but it's a bit ugly.

 

[Bigfoot]

I'm no beauty either but I'm told I can be useful sometimes

 

[3bears]

awwwww... as if i don't have enough sharps already..... lol

 

[plastic-ninja]

Good useful review Dave.
The minimalist aspects of it do appeal to me but it does have
a big dose of "UGLY" which does not.There could be a place for
it in the toolbox though I guess.
Simon

 

[maddave]

Hehehehe I can't argue with it's "lack of aesthetic charm" but it's hardy and cheap :shrug:

 

[Trunks]

It sounds like it will be up to the Africa challenge, nice review Dave.

 

[Dark Horse Dave]

Good review Dave. I've had a play with one of these as well, and would agree with your conclusions.

Thanks for posting.

Cheers

 

[HillBill]

I've never been a fan of skeletal anything on a knife. It can only weaken it.

Saying that, for the price it looks a handy little knife. But I wouldn't want to rely on it for any heavy work, which you may need to do if folks carry it for it's intended purpose.

 

[Doc]

Will the cut-out blade stand up to batoning?

 

[adriatikfan]

Can I just add please what brilliant service from Heinnie Haynes. Ordered Sunday evening and delivered just after 9.00 this morning.

No connection with the company but mightily impressed with service speed.

The knife is everything the above review says. The only slight hassle with the sheaf is that the velcro straps which hold the knife in place - visible in the third, fourth and final pictures - are a real pain if you try to insert the knife into the sheath with them 'open' as they catch on each other. Not a dealbreaker more of an irritant.

Cracking value for money I would say.

Best Wishes
David

 

[Landy_Dom]

I'm so glad someone has reviewed this - thanks Dave!

I've looked at these on Heinnie Hayes several times and thought - what a great little knife for the money - and thought about recommending it to explorer scouts as a camp / survival tool.

Like you say - I'm staying away from the rambo / wiseman type big choppers where the kids are concerned - but this seems a really practical survival knife in the sense that its small yet packs a decent punch. Firesteel and whistle is an excellent touch too.

Thanks again for the review

Dom.

 

[Landy_Dom]

Will the cut-out blade stand up to batoning?

This would worry me too - any opinions Dave? or others who have tried one?

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for the review Dave, glad to see one done on this knife here. The Dajo Survivor first caught my eye some months back when it came out, and then again in the Survival dept. of the May 2011 issue of Tactical Knives when Len did a write-up on it. It seems a nice, simple, straight forward design. The more I see of it the more I want to pick one up.

 

[Robbi]

the batoning thing was my first concern when i saw the knife, i reckon that spine would bend pretty easily

 

[Mistwalker]

the batoning thing was my first concern when i saw the knife, i reckon that spine would bend pretty easily

I doubt it would bend while splitting anything small enough that you'd be striking that area, but looks like there is plenty of meat to strike out near the tip.