Fixed blade knife for SHTF

[Ak74guy]

I already have my saiga 223 ready for any end of world survival work, however I am on the fence about what fixed bladed carry around and do everything knife. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ad'lan]

What are you considering, what do you already own, How much do you have to spend? What do you need it to do?

I'm going to move this post to the other weapons section, which should be more appropriate.

[Ak74guy]

I have several tantos and the like. I really need it to clean animals, self defense should it come to that, and a utilitarian tool. I like cold steel tactical offerings and am looking to spend about 100 bucks or so.

[Ad'lan]

Tanto's are pure fighting knives. I'd recommend against one for an all around tool, but I'm not a major knife guy. My Knifes come from hobby or small scale knife makers.

http://helmforge.blogspot.com/2010/04/price-guide.html

Our very own storm crow does working knives for around $100, and you won't worry about scuffing it up.

[Ak74guy]

Yeah thats been my opinion of the tanto too. Im thinking a Lorado or a boar hunter from cold steel. They both seem as though they would fill the bill on a fighting knife if I needed it to. But if Im down to fighting zombies with a knife its probably all but over anyway

[Ad'lan]

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=71829

You will probably benefit from reviewing this thread too.

[Quietus]

Yeah thats been my opinion of the tanto too. Im thinking a Lorado or a boar hunter from cold steel. They both seem as though they would fill the bill on a fighting knife if I needed it to. But if Im down to fighting zombies with a knife its probably all but over anyway

IMHO, both those knives look very impractical for any sort of work, other than chopping randomly at something.

For most practical tasks, a simple blade around the 4 inch mark, with a drop point is the way to go. If you plan on working with wood or need precision control, a Scandinavian grind is your friend.

A larger blade is more a hindrance than a help, in 98% of common tasks. Same goes for a large guard.

[Murph]

Have you considered a Wakizashi? It's the companion to the Katana.

[JRJ]

Decide if you want to baton wood with your knife or be able to skin and clean animals.

If you think you would rather beat on a knife and start fires with it I would recommend http://www.eseeknives.com/ I have the RC-4 and it does a good job, which is in your price range. You can also take a razor blade with you to help start the skinning process, if you take that route.

I prefer a finnish blade myself, great utility and good at getting under the skin of an animal. Here is a puukko http://www.kellamknives.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=6 from kellam knives for starters.

I have a smaller 2" finnish blade, I built myself that I like to carry in the woods. I dont use it to chop or split wood, I take a hatchet or saw for that.

Whatever you do try not compromise for an all in one knife, good luck.

[Redeyes]

It seems to me that you want a larger knife that could pull double duty as a weapon and a tool. What I would suggest is you buy a K-Bar, a Mora, and a decent multitool. K-Bar's are tough and cheap enough that if you decide later you don't want to hump a knife that big, you won't be kicking yourself for spending hundreds on something that will sit in a drawer. Mora's are also tough and cheap, but they are a better size for most camp chores. Your multitool will have pliers and scissors, you need pliers and scissors, you may not know you need pliers and scissors, but you need them.

[ForgeCorvus]

Redeyes said what I was going to say.

If it was my money, I'd get a working knife (Mora without a doubt), a chopping knife (or a light axe) and a fighter of some kind..... And from what I've seen of peoples opinions of them, a Ka-Bar will do the last two

Three different types of tasks, you'd be hard pushed to find one knife for them all.
For instance, the Kukri is a fighter and a chopper but the complete traditional kit is the Kukri, a Karda (a small very sharp knife for doing finework with) and a Chakmak (knife shaped but blunt and made from very hard steel used as a knife-steel for sharpening and as a flint-steel for striking sparks)

The Sami (Finnish reindeer herders) use a pair of knives called the Leuku (a big heavy chopping and butchery knife) and the Pukko (a smaller knife used for just about everything else)


The guys who use these knives as a full time part of their lives need more then one blade to do everything, don't cripple yourself

[praharin]

Tanto's are pure fighting knives.

Ron Hood made a good video (well, series of videos) in which he uses a LARGE tanto knife to skin animals and do general survival tasks. Don't let Cold Steel fool you. The American Tanto design is quite capable of typical knife chores.

Decide if you want to baton wood with your knife or be able to skin and clean animals.

I'm sorry, but if the knife can't do both to a reasonable degree, it's not suitable as a survival knife. I can do (and have done) both with a stumpy tang, super thin Mora or a full tang, 1/4" thick Strider. ESEE knives, which you linked to, are fully capable of cleaning game. Now you don't need a knife to skin anything if you do it right, but on the same note, any knife can skin game if you aren't worried about preserving the hide. If you're using a knife, expect to ruin the hide; you'll save yourself a lot of disappointment much of the time that way.

Batoning, for the most part, is not necessary. There are other methods of splitting wood without an axe if you absolutely have to split wood. Most of the batoning I do these days is cross grain, in order to cut to length when a saw isn't handy.



If I could only have one blade, it would be my Gransfors Bruks Mini Hatchet, but honorable mention goes to my Fairly chisel grind Bushcraft, which is a very capable knife and even more so in conjunction with an axe or saw (preferably both). I also like my Leuku, and find it very comfortable to use for long periods of wood working and it's also more than capable of cleaning game.

Generally, ESEE is a great choice for most people.

[ForgeCorvus]

If I could only have one blade, it would be my Gransfors Bruks Mini Hatchet,

Amen.

One edge only would have to be a light axe of some kind for me too (assuming temperate climate ), probably my 17oz hatchet ..... I think I should sort pics of it

[Browning 35]

I have several tantos and the like. I really need it to clean animals, self defense should it come to that, and a utilitarian tool. I like cold steel tactical offerings and am looking to spend about 100 bucks or so.

For $100 or less I'd go with this...

http://www.agrussell.com/ag-russell-deer-hunter/p/AGDH-D2/

It's the top one.


For a little bit more money you could always go with a Fallkniven F1 which has a slightly more comfortable handle.



IMO though the R.G. Russell Deer Hunter is a pretty good buy for the money, it uses good steel and they make good all around camp and skinning/game knives.

-

Another knife around that price range that I don't see talked about a whole lot of ZS (even though they're badass knives and real popular among the Bushcraft crowd) is the Enzo Trapper from Finland.




Enzo Trapper in D2 Steel in a flat grind


Enzo Trapper with an Amboina wood handle

[Jamie]

I just got this 10" blade knife from Ontario Knife Co.


http://www.amazon.com/Old-Hickory-10-Bu ... 214&sr=1-3

It's long and heavy and full-tang and feels great in my hand...it was $15, and shipping was free (since I do prime)...I need to play with the edge a bit and may monkey with and/or replace the handles...fun mini-machete project FTW!

Jamie

[teranaut]

For my normal carry, I usually have a 3-3.5" folder. For SHTF, or the more likely scenario of camp chores, I carry two knives. I carry a 3.5" (8.25" OAL) fixed blade and a 8.25" (14" OAL) fixed blade. What can't be done with one can be done with the other. They felt a little heavy on the belt at first, but I got used to it. I'd be hard pressed to find a "perfect at everything" knife, but having two different sizes for different purposes has been great for me. I couldn't come up with a better suggestion than the others before me have provided within your price range.

[Kutter_0311]

I've chosen the Gerber LMF II ASEK(link) (about $65) for my general purpose knife, but part of my requirements are vehicle extrication. I have half a dozen of them, with most in vehicles, but one always seems to be on kitchen duty Very sharp, hold an edge well, and damn tough.

Initially I had concerns about the glass-breaker butt damaging stuff or hurting someone, but have had no problems from it.

[praharin]

I've chosen the Gerber LMF II ASEK(link) (about $65) for my general purpose knife, but part of my requirements are vehicle extrication. I have half a dozen of them, with most in vehicles, but one always seems to be on kitchen duty Very sharp, hold an edge well, and damn tough.

Initially I had concerns about the glass-breaker butt damaging stuff or hurting someone, but have had no problems from it.

I'd love, love, love an ASEK with the serrations on the front portion of the blade. That would be a very handy survival knife. As it stands, I think the only production knives with forward serrations are the Victorinox one hand models and the TOPS TSK, which in spite of the name, seems pretty useful. I plan to get one in the next month or so unless a man in Coronado finally gets another run of his "Chill" design.

They run about $70, IIRC

[Kutter_0311]

I'd love, love, love an ASEK with the serrations on the front portion of the blade. That would be a very handy survival knife. As it stands, I think the only production knives with forward serrations are the Victorinox one hand models and the TOPS TSK

You mean serrations up by the tip of the blade? Now I'm confused...

So far, I've used mine for cutting veggies, chicken, and noodles when Sarah made her famous chicken soup, as well as every other cutting chore in the kitchen in the last few months. Very effective.

[Frosty709]

I'm a pretty big fan of my Esee knives. I'm thinking about getting the -5 or -6 sometime soon. The -3 is a great blade, and the izula is a GREAT edc fixed blade.

[Doctorr Fabulous]

I'm a fan of the three-blade method. I'd like to add a second blade to my EDC, so my knife loadout would be something like:

Decent Hatchet
Izula: General workhorse knife
Small Case-style knife for food prep
Folding box cutter with spare razors

I know I could eat with the Izula, but pine resin tastes nasty and is hard to get off. I'd rather cut sandwiches and oranges with a small, quality jack knife and only have to sterilize one blade.

[DeadCanadian]

Survival knives are NOT combat knives, a survival knife needs to do so much more than just stab or cut a person. Any knife can cut a person so you want a survival knife not a combat knife.

A Japanese sword is a stupid idea. Grow up.

[CB4]

I'm a fan of the Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie

[Murph]

A Japanese sword is a stupid idea. Grow up.

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