Survival knife
- Thread starter Welsh Dragon
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I've always thought that a knife is a very personal piece if equipment - it really depends what you want from it. If you want a knife that looks good (or cool or whatever your young persons vernacular is these days 
) then these survival knives do look the business. I personally have never liked them since I had one as a young teen and the blade became unusable (read blunt) very quickly and also very loose - I had to jam some matchsticks down the side of the blade to keep it steady! Not such a good idea really thinking back! 
My own knife is a Helle Jegermester handmade by Trolls!! Slightly larger than any of my previous knives but it sits just right in my hand and it feels natural. It keeps it's edge fairly well and it is strong enough for most tasks.
) then these survival knives do look the business. I personally have never liked them since I had one as a young teen and the blade became unusable (read blunt) very quickly and also very loose - I had to jam some matchsticks down the side of the blade to keep it steady! Not such a good idea really thinking back! My own knife is a Helle Jegermester handmade by Trolls!!
Slightly larger than any of my previous knives but it sits just right in my hand and it feels natural. It keeps it's edge fairly well and it is strong enough for most tasks.First knife I ever owned was a carbon steel Fairbairn sykes style dagger. I thought it was great for camping - sharp as a razor, guard to stop fingers slipping forward, good point for making holes, not great for battoning but I used a hexamine stove and very light overall. I also used it as a can opener 
on occasion. The people I was with openly admitted they were really suprised at how well it performed.
Nowadys I use a Mora, the back edge is great for sparks on a firesteel and for a thumb rest, I can batton with it, still very sharp but not so great as a can opener. And at the price I paid no worry about breaking it or messing around with my sharpening attempts.
We all learn from experience, if you want the survival knife - buy it then use it. For a few pounds you could get yourself a Mora to compare it to. After a month chances are the survival knife will be gathering dust.
on occasion. The people I was with openly admitted they were really suprised at how well it performed.Nowadys I use a Mora, the back edge is great for sparks on a firesteel and for a thumb rest, I can batton with it, still very sharp but not so great as a can opener. And at the price I paid no worry about breaking it or messing around with my sharpening attempts.
We all learn from experience, if you want the survival knife - buy it then use it. For a few pounds you could get yourself a Mora to compare it to. After a month chances are the survival knife will be gathering dust.
Looks like crap.
These things are sold to teenagers that don't know any better and have no adult male role model in their lives.
These things are sold to teenagers that don't know any better and have no adult male role model in their lives.
weaver said:Looks like crap.
These things are sold to teenagers that don't know any better and have no adult male role model in their lives.
Got to agree here!
Get a knife that cuts - Mora - and get the other bits separately if at all!(plasters are a good idea....)
John
A good start is a plain £2 Mora knife from the DIY store. It mostly cuts the things you need to cut.
When you have gotten the "feel" for knife using you could get a "fancier" knife, but there are middle things between a Mora and a F1 or a RM woodlore.
An F1 is a great thing to wish for for christmas or birthday, just dont forget the gold coin custom.
Survival knife wise: I would like to have a F1, WM1, or S1 if I end up in a survival situation, but I would survive with a U2 or basic Mora. If it all depended on just the knife. There are more things in a survival than a knife, but a 32 piece survival system would probably be converted into a 36 piece survival crap heap in an hour.
So get a good "one piece knife"-knife and a small tin box with the small gadgets and stuff. There are "trinket wallets" that are good to keep the hooks and plaster and nails and wire saw and stuff in.
If a "32 piece survival system" was the best thing in the world, how come the generic special forces unit does not use them, or the Khukri would have as many parts as a regular Lego set
When you have gotten the "feel" for knife using you could get a "fancier" knife, but there are middle things between a Mora and a F1 or a RM woodlore.
An F1 is a great thing to wish for for christmas or birthday, just dont forget the gold coin custom.
Survival knife wise: I would like to have a F1, WM1, or S1 if I end up in a survival situation, but I would survive with a U2 or basic Mora. If it all depended on just the knife. There are more things in a survival than a knife, but a 32 piece survival system would probably be converted into a 36 piece survival crap heap in an hour.
So get a good "one piece knife"-knife and a small tin box with the small gadgets and stuff. There are "trinket wallets" that are good to keep the hooks and plaster and nails and wire saw and stuff in.
If a "32 piece survival system" was the best thing in the world, how come the generic special forces unit does not use them, or the Khukri would have as many parts as a regular Lego set
Nicklas Odh said:
True, but at least you could salvage some parts of it afterward...
I have to admit that 40 pounds is kind of expensive if you only get to have plasters, a couple matches and fishing hooks which are more reliable than the knife itself
Welsh Dragon said:
those survival will-anything-can-nothings are useless if you´re not J. J. Rambo acting in Hollywood ....
read
www.buck-184.com
and think about carrying a heavy piece of steel with limited use (saw with parallel flanges, void warranty if using grappling hooks).
If your emergency kit carrying knife handle is jammed into a grizzly and that grizzly refuses to die you´re probably in trouble ...
the M9 bayonnet and a cheaper similiar knife made by Glock (FM81) are as useless for bushcraft IMHO
I think there is a version that claims it avoids the "lack of tang" problem, because the entire handle is the tang, rather than being welded onto the blade. However IIRC it's extreamly expensive, and not verry common. I think the only way you had any certainty of getting hold of one was joining some american special forces group (SEALS i think) where it was allegedly issued.
Take a look further up at the chris reeves knives in Mark Woods' avatar. Those are the knives you are talking about.
Beautiful knife! I've also always wanted one of these by Chris Reeves. Certainly one of the very best hollow tanged knives available. One of the very few you could actually bet your life on if necessary. Would get my vote that's for sure.
NJ
NJ
I had a Mountaineer II for a while and, I must confess, I could not get on with the handle - not the hollow part which is no problem on a Reeves, but the knurled metal is just plain uncomfrtable on my hands
The grip has not caused me any problems yet but i can image it being unforgiving after a while. As has been mentioned in other threads most things are a compromise and I'm just sold on the Reeves! The Robert Parish Survival Knife is another hollow handled knife I'd love to own.
The blade will break before the hollow handle:
http://www.knifetests.com/crkproject2destructiontest.html
Have a look at the Gransfor Bruks Wildlife Hatchet destruction test. I was surprised at the strength of them.
rancid badger
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Just to add a little to the brew;
I was somewhat unsure as to how a knife like Marks; would perform in everyday work. I had seen it a few times before, at our events at Chopwell and it looked great but a bit "tactical" for my taste, at least these days
Anyway, I was able to watch Mark using his knife, to make the container he has already mentioned and was quite surprised at just how easy he made it look.
I had imagined it might be a bit unwieldy but in fact, at least in his hands, it was a pleasure to watch
Still don't know about the knurling though!
R.B.
I was somewhat unsure as to how a knife like Marks; would perform in everyday work. I had seen it a few times before, at our events at Chopwell and it looked great but a bit "tactical" for my taste, at least these days
Anyway, I was able to watch Mark using his knife, to make the container he has already mentioned and was quite surprised at just how easy he made it look.
I had imagined it might be a bit unwieldy but in fact, at least in his hands, it was a pleasure to watch
Still don't know about the knurling though!
R.B.
The same issue came up on a Chris Reeve forum. I originally obtained a Cr MKIV - now that's 'tactical' but I was a teenager and It was the late eighties. I wouldn't dare bring it to Chopwell Steve
(but it did do two Lofty Wiseman Courses in '87 and '89)
The knife was partly chosen because of a review in a UK magazine from the mid eighties (which I'm sad enough to have kept) in which a guy called Alan Carr tested an 8 3/4" Bladed CR Jereboam and a 7" CR Tanto. The Jereboam was used to open ammo boxes, hammer and prize nails, lift floorboards and dig pits. It was also used to stab oil drums, metal dustbins (anyone remember those!), sheet metal, car doors, bonnets and tyres.
The tanto was used for the above plus cutting bricks and breeze blocks. Neither of course broke and you should have to do something phenomenal to break one.
Whether the modern heat treat is an issue I don't know but they would presumably have a poor reputation after 25 years or so if they were all that bad. I just intend to avoid hitting mine with hammers!
