Where can I get a really rubbish knife?

[Bartooon]

During the Safe Use of Cutting Tools section of our courses, I like to show students the difference between good and bad bushcraft knives.

The trouble is, I have plenty of good knives to demonstrate, but I am short of bad knives. What I really need is a completely cr*p Rambo-style knife that new-comers to our pastime might be tempted to buy if they didn't know better. We have all seen them (and maybe even owned one!). You know the sort of thing - ridiculously big blade, poor steel, badly balanced, wobbly fittings, lots of useless gadgets etc etc.

Does anyone know where I can buy such a hideous monster? Clearly, it needs to be as cheap as possible - firstly because I don't want to pay good money for poor quality and secondly because it will never actually be used!

Of course, if anyone has one tucked away in a drawer that they want to get rid of, but are too embarrassed to put on the Classified Forum, then please drop me a PM. I promise that all offers will be dealt with in the strictest confidence and your guilty secret will not be revealed to anyone!

 

[Silverback 1]

This is hideous, the pictures should be enough

 

[Silverback 1]

More pics, not for the faint hearted

http://www.nationaltrackingschool.com/knife.html

 

[Bartooon]

This is hideous, the pictures should be enough

You're right - that is seriously bad I need the students to be able to actually hold the knife though so they can understand why it is just not right!

 

[northumbrian]

http://www.bladebargains.co.uk/Classic+Rambo+Knife+with+Survival+Kit+PUF6TXdBRE14b0RkalZIWnZKSGM or http://www.hunters-knives.co.uk/survival-knife-delta-force-15.html or http://www.battleorders.co.uk/knives/general-knives/rambo-style-knife-1142.html or http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/great-big-rambo-balls-up-knife-5322-p.asp

 

[Silverback 1]

Cheap (£16) and very bad, just how i like my women

 

[Silverback 1]

Lots of tat on here, including the above blunt instrument

http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/fantasy-and-collectible-knives-and-daggers-49-c.asp

 

[Bartooon]

Cheap (£16) and very bad, just how i like my women

I like that one (well, I hate it actually, but it is just what I'm after!). Could you let me have the link?

Northumbrian - thanks. Very tempted by the bladebargains.co.uk one.

 

[Silverback 1]

I like that one (well, I hate it actually, but it is just what I'm after!). Could you let me have the link?

Northumbrian - thanks. Very tempted by the bladebargains.co.uk one.

http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/fantasy-and-collectible-knives-and-daggers-49-c.asp

 

[Squidders]

just get a dagger and a kitchen knife... bad bushcraft knives don't need to be ugly, they just need to be unfit for general use and wood craft.

 

[Bartooon]

just get a dagger and a kitchen knife... bad bushcraft knives don't need to be ugly, they just need to be unfit for general use and wood craft.

I do have some of those, but I often find that some Rambo / Bear Grylls wannabes (of all ages) think that the bigger and more macho the knife the better it will be in the woods. I want to be able to demonstrate that just because a knife looks like a mean S.O.B. it doesn't mean that it is good for bushcraft.

 

[Macaroon]

I've got a ridiculous Rambo/Survival/Military thing in the workshop you can have for the cost of postage - it's big, unbalanced and designed to look reeeel cool and trap the innoccent into a purchase they'll look back on in embarrassment in years to come. I think this'd suit your needs perfectly.....................atb mac

 

[santaman2000]

I do have some of those, but I often find that some Rambo / Bear Grylls wannabes (of all ages) think that the bigger and more macho the knife the better it will be in the woods.......

After 56 years in the woods (and desert, and mountains, and swamps) I still find that bigger is better. Don't like toy knives.

 

[Bartooon]

Macaroon - thanks. PM sent

Santaman2000 - I guess it depends what you want to use it for. The sort of bushcraft that I teach calls for a manageable knife. I guess if you are in a Florida swamp you may need a knife that can handle the odd recalcitrant alligator! We don't get many of them round my way

 

[santaman2000]

LOL. fair enough. And they're semi protected here (although problem gators are no longer relocated but harvested now) But you do have a fair few hunters. I suppose the difficult part is (as always0 defining just what "bushcraft" is. For some of us, at least part of the reason we do it is so we can play with our toys (in this particular case, the knives)

 

[Bartooon]

LOL. fair enough. And they're semi protected here (although problem gators are no longer relocated but harvested now) But you do have a fair few hunters. I suppose the difficult part is (as always0 defining just what "bushcraft" is. For some of us, at least part of the reason we do it is so we can play with our toys (in this particular case, the knives)

UK knife law is so tight that we have to be very careful and keep our knives relatively subtle. With no real "wilderness", there is nearly always the chance of meeting walkers etc and if you get caught with a real mother of a knife you are likely to get into trouble. My knives usually get used for cutting small branches, whittling / carving and a bit of small game prep, so I don't need anything too big.

The trouble is, some newbies get seduced by big, cheap and nasty knives just because they look macho when they would be far better (and safer) buying a smaller better made knife without all the gadgets that they don't need.

I'm guessing that your knife might be big but it is also good quality and if that is probably ideal for the sort of bushcraft that you enjoy. To be honest, if I could do bushcraft in the swamps, mountains and deserts of the USA, I would probably invest in a good quality Bowie or similar too.

 

[demographic]

Used to be pretty much anything that Whitby made was tat. Not sure if they are better now as I've avoided them for yonks.

 

[santaman2000]

....I'm guessing that your knife might be big but it is also good quality and if that is probably ideal for the sort of bushcraft that you enjoy. To be honest, if I could do bushcraft in the swamps, mountains and deserts of the USA, I would probably invest in a good quality Bowie or similar too.

Yeah I like quality over cheap. TBH the only truly "cheap" knives I have are machetes (cheaply priced, not poor quality, Tramontinas and Collins Legitimus) I have a couple of Bowies, a Khukuri, a skinner, a couple of filleting knives (one 6 inch for freshwater and one 9 inch for saltwater fishing) as well as a diving knife and an assortment of military knives that get a surprising amount of use (at least the Kabar and the USAF Pilot's Survival knife do)

Do I actually "need" all of them? Probably not; but as I said, part of the point is to be able to play with them.

 

[Harvestman]

For something that looks like a bushcraft knife, but may suit your criteria, look at Knifebargains and the section by Crazy River. I have this, and it is actually my main knife. It isn't so bad, but it certainly isn't a high quality bit of kit.. I got it as a knife that I can abuse and not worry about.

 

[Macaroon]

Knife (?) will be in the post tomorrow - let me know if it's suitable for your needs; but please don't send it back!