Knives

[Dirac]

Hey there, I'm new here and am not too sure if this has been started before or is in the right sub-forum. I'm looking to get a knife for general use when camping, cutting rope, cleaning fish, carving wood and general out-doors activities. I have the good old opinal for work, but have seen mainly fixed blades used in any survival/bushcraft programs on tv/yt.

What ones do you guys use and recommend? I understand there are loads of knives for specialized uses but hopefully you know what I mean!

Cheers

 

[Nonsuch]

Mora!................

 

[Mesquite]

It all depends on what sort of price you're willing to pay

A good basic starter knife is the mora clipper costing about a tenner right up to hundreds of pounds for a bespoke knife made to order

 

[Samon]

you can get alot for your money these days buddy so my advice is not to be put off by a cheaper fixed blade like a mora as they are world famous for amazing value for money.

By all means spend as much as you want but in my opinion I'd rather have a good hard working knife than a fancy expenisve one I'm too worred about damaging when out camping.

this 'limited edition' mora 510 is fantastic for all the things you mentioned. It is endorsed witha cheesey ray mears logo but it's still alovely cheap knife and I love mine. http://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/809-Mora-510-MG-Knife/

this is mine after alot of use, it's formed a nice patina!

I also understand these are a popular an affordable knife for genral camp/'bushcraft' jobs >> http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/Condor-Knives/Condor-Bushlore-Knife/p-92-130-4941/

It does depend on how much you want to spend and what you like the look of as all knives are capable of varied basic jobs.

 

[Dirac]

Thanks for the replies so far guys, that is exactly what I wanted to hear! At the moment I'm looking for a good working knife to learn to use properly and, as you say; not be worried about damaging etc. That Ray Mears one looks pretty good, I think I'll have a better look in to them. cheers.

 

[Barn Owl]

Def' get yourself a Mora or five.

Just can't be beaten for value.

You can then spend more on something later.

 

[Totumpole]

I agree with the mora clipper, brilliant first knife. Ive done everything Ive done with my £150 handmade (but far from custom) knife and it has done well. Then save for a nice bespoke bad boy! Enjoy

 

[Samon]

Def' get yourself a Mora or five.

Just can't be beaten for value.

You can then spend more on something later.

exactly, just go and buy a mora right now! haha and when you realise how good it is to have a razor sharp knife with a perfect grind for your needs maybe later on you can get something a bit more fancy (expensive).

once you've ordered your knife make sure you learn to sharpen it properly to keep its beautiful edge. a usefull thread explaining how to do it for around £5 >> http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11571

the mora knives come in alot of varieties but I'd say go for the carbon steel bladed versions as they're razor sharp bits of steel that are easy to sharpen and hold an edge for a long time!

 

[Dirac]

exactly, just go and buy a mora right now! haha and when you realise how good it is to have a razor sharp knife with a perfect grind for your needs maybe later on you can get something a bit more fancy (expensive).

once you've ordered your knife make sure you learn to sharpen it properly to keep its beautiful edge. a usefull thread explaining how to do it for around £5 >> http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11571

the mora knives come in alot of varieties but I'd say go for the carbon steel bladed versions as they're razor sharp bits of steel that are easy to sharpen and hold an edge for a long time!

Ah now sharpening a knife I can do pretty well! All of my family are fishermen, farmers or net riggers so I have had to do a lot of knife sharpening when I was a boy; it really annoyed me at the time but now I can really appreciate it!

 

[Samon]

Ah now sharpening a knife I can do pretty well! All of my family are fishermen, farmers or net riggers so I have had to do a lot of knife sharpening when I was a boy; it really annoyed me at the time but now I can really appreciate it!

ah ok, that's good to hear!

if you are using a carbon steel bladed knife in sea water it will rust! so if you are going to use it on the beach or at sea then go for stainless steel as it won't corrode as bad! cheap carbon steel is better than cheap stainless steel though.

 

[JonathanD]

Ah now sharpening a knife I can do pretty well! All of my family are fishermen, farmers or net riggers so I have had to do a lot of knife sharpening when I was a boy; it really annoyed me at the time but now I can really appreciate it!

If it's going to see water a lot, then go for the stainless steel Mora. It requires far less fuss if it gets damp. Carbon steel rusts easily when damp. Mora use a very good stainless, so no worries there.

 

[Dirac]

ah ok, that's good to hear!

if you are using a carbon steel bladed knife in sea water it will rust! so if you are going to use it on the beach or at sea then go for stainless steel as it won't corrode as bad! cheap carbon steel is better than cheap stainless steel though.

That's a good point, how does stainless steel compare to carbon steel for sharpening? I live right on the coast with a brackish lagoon behind it. There is plenty of eels, mullet, bass and flounders; so I will be trying a lot of fishing (bushcraft style with hawthorn hooks!) and definitely eating what I catch!

 

[JonathanD]

That's a good point, how does stainless steel compare to carbon steel for sharpening? I live right on the coast with a brackish lagoon behind it. There is plenty of eels, mullet, bass and flounders; so I will be trying a lot of fishing (bushcraft style with hawthorn hooks!) and definitely eating what I catch!

Not much difference in it when you compare the Mora blades. The Stainless version holds it's edge marginally longer, and is slightly harder, but I've never really noticed the difference in sharpening and I've been using both for over 15 years now.

 

[Samon]

That's a good point, how does stainless steel compare to carbon steel for sharpening? I live right on the coast with a brackish lagoon behind it. There is plenty of eels, mullet, bass and flounders; so I will be trying a lot of fishing (bushcraft style with hawthorn hooks!) and definitely eating what I catch!

to be honest stainless vaires alot, generaly cheaper stainless won't hold as good an edge and won't sharpen as easy as a basic carbon BUT better stainless steels hold great edges and sharpen easily.

It completely depends on the steel but at a £25 and under price range I'd say a carbon steel mora for everything but sea water or a stainless mora for those tasks where cleaning off juices and moisture isn't important.

So.. what are you gona do with it?

cut wood/other inoffensive stuffs and love the mega sharp edge it takes? Carbon steel.

or use it properly and not have time to worry about salt water and any other moist gunk? Stainless steel.

 

[Dirac]

Again thanks for all of the info, I think I'll go for the stainless to start with. As you said Samon, the stainless will be a bit harder to sharpen, but I'm going to be using it for all sorts of things to start off with so high resistance to rust is the payoff. JonathanD, it's good to also know there isn't a massive deal between them from someone who's been using them a long time

 

[Dirac]

Right I just went and got one of the Mora Clipper knives from the woodlore website link supplied on here! Thanks for all of the suggestions, I'll let you know how I'm getting on with it when I get to use it

 

[Barn Owl]

Right I just went and got one of the Mora Clipper knives from the woodlore website link supplied on here! Thanks for all of the suggestions, I'll let you know how I'm getting on with it when I get to use it

you may buy some custom jobs later but you'll come back to your Moras for ease of use.
No bets 'cos I know I'm right.

 

[seraphim]

Mora Craftline stainless, or Hultafors RFR Stainless Both dirt cheap and easy to care for is using to gut animals. Stainless is that little bit easier to care for if you're using it in wet environments (the inside of a carcass!). The carbon steels are good too but remember to dry it off and an oily rag after use. Tough enough for 98% of what you'd ever need, and cheap enough to replace without crying!