Help!!!Only one knife?????

[Carney]

Someone has asked me for advice on a knife. it is kin of like one of those scenarios we talk about, the "If I had to BUG OUT with one knife, what would it be?"
This guy is going to be in a tropical climate in south America for an undetermined time. He says he has "one chance" to get the "Right" knife before he goes.
He has limited funds
1. $70 or less
2. 5" to 8"blade
3. strong enough to chop & baton
4. Stainless ( he want be able to oil it every day)
5. uses chopping, batoning, building shelter, skinning game, everything a survival knife should do, & self defense.
6. Must hold up well under wet harsh conditions (salt water!)

I have suggested several knives to him, but would really appreciate everyones advice!

(No need for machete or Kukri, they are available in the area he will be.)

NOTE: No, it's not me skipping the country!!

[xxo]

5-8" blades generally do not chop well and a do everything $70 ONE knife is a bit of a stretch but here goes:

Fallkniven A1 way over budget but about as close to ideal as you are going to get.

Cold Steel SRK in AUS8 probably amlost as good but closer to the $70 limit.

Buck Nighthawk lower cost option but probably is going to need a better sheath.

Gerber LMF/Prodigy great survival knives but a little under 5" blades. I like the Prodigy because it is lighter weight (no heavy pommel).

What ever you get make sure the sheath is plastic or kydex not leather; leather won't last long in the jungle. Nylon or cordura is a little better but will still mildew pretty bad.

[Noss]

I agree with the A1. It's going to be one of the better stainless knives out there but this is going to cost more than 70 bucks so this is out.

Since machetes are available there. They should cover most of his chopping batoning needs. A good smaller stainless knife would be the Mora 2000. It's not going to chop/baton but it will cut fantastic and will make a great companion to a machete. They cost about 30 bucks. This may not be what he is after but with a machete it is my recommendation.

[xxo]

OK back to reality....what I would get if I was heading to SA would be a Swisstool spirit multitool a local machete and forget the survival knife. Would get more use out of the multitool and a lot less hassles when traveling, in some areas military looking knife can get you in a trouble while no one pays attention to much more formidable local machetes.

[Noss]

Yep a good multi tool would be another fine choice.

[Carney]

Thanks Noss & xxo! Great insight! Keep the ideas coming! I think this guy simply wants a medium size knife thats is tuff enough to handle batoning. It would be a larger than normal EDC (because of his location) . He has asked for advice from people on some forums that would "die before they got there knife dirty!) I think he is also looking more toward the Combat/utility knife. He saw my Ka-Bar Next Gen & is asking lots of questions about it, but I wanted to come to the people who would truly know how strong a knife is regardless of the price!

[Noss]

I'm going to have to think about it some more. The stainless steel, 70 dollar requirement is going to limit the choices. I also want to recommend something I have tested also. Hopefully some others will join in here.

[kurodrago]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW1mnrxVRCg

I want one for me:thumb:

[Madnumforce]

If he allready have plenty of machetes avaible on site, I agree that what he will need to take a "short" blade knife. To me, blades longer than 5" may be somewhat awkward, while under 8" it's no real good to chop. I think the better complement with a very long blade only for chopping (and chopping perfectly), is a scandi knive, but sadly most of them are carbon steel and wouldn't last long in the jungle. I would advice to grab a Mora 2000, if I hadn't the bad surprise to have an edge rolling while carving a dry oak dowel. Fallkniven F1 and H1, which in my opinion would be perfect for the task and are stainless, are way too expensive and out of budget.

The fact is I don't know which kind of wood he will have to use. I know some exotic woods are extremely tough, lot tougher even than oak, and this would mean a tough blade with an important angle grind. It is hard to go out from the conditions we know and the gear we usually have, as my couple CGFBM/Rosseli Grand Father meet all my needs perfectly. I'm sorry to say it, but I can't pretend to help your friend finding a knife adapted to his needs. It's too much responsability in case it fails.

[Carney]

Man, some great stuff felloows! I am going to get him to come over to this site, & check it out for himself!. Kuro he mentioned The Becker, Madnum, I feel like you! I don't want to tell him to bring some knife that I know nothing about into an enviroment that I know nothing about. I did suggest to him a SOG Seal Team, he like it but too pricey. Last I heard he found a SOG Tech Bowie on E-bay for $92. He said he might spend a little extra for. I will tal;k to him in a little bit, & get back with ya'll!
Ya'll are a great bunch of guys, maybe we will meet some day!

[culpeper]

Rat Cutlery. He won't have to oil it everyday.

[Carney]

Rat Cutlery. He won't have to oil it everyday.

Thanks culpeper, great suggestion! i will pass the news Brother!

[xxo]

I am sticking with the forget the survival knife and bring a vic spirit multitool instead suggestion, though a mora clippper would be nice to have too.

[culpeper]

RAT-6

http://www.ratcutlery.com/RC60708-2-lowres.jpg

[culpeper]

I'm going to have to think about it some more. The stainless steel, 70 dollar requirement is going to limit the choices. I also want to recommend something I have tested also. Hopefully some others will join in here.

Oh, heck. $70 knife. This one is really cool. I have one of these Nowill & Sons mariner knives. Great mariner knife made simple with full tang and SF-100 stainless. Equivalent to Sandvik 13C26. They are manufactured in Sheffield, England and are hard to get without ordering direct. Here is one on Ebay at a fair price considering it has already been imported to the USA. Awesome inexpensive and simple design and comes with a marlin spike for knot tying and so forth. Handle is South America rosewood. I know how much it costs to get one of these knives into the states. This guy is going to break about even if not lose money on this knife because he keeps having to repost them. I tired this once with the same knife. Odered about 5 and sold none because nobody in the states know shit about them. I ended up giving 4 away as gifts and everybody is using them with work and no problems.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Master-Mariner-Yachting-Sailing-knife-with-marlin-spike_W0QQitemZ200412684995QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_D efaultDomain_0?hash=item2ea986e2c3

http://www.sheffieldknives.co.uk/acatalog/info_29.html

[Noss]

The Rat would be a fine choice. It costs more than 70 bucks though. I'm sure with a little care a carbon blade will hold up just fine in the jungle especially if it used regularly.

I'm not sure about the new Becker's after seeing the photos of one shattering like glass during batoning.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2454/3564846866_6fc21552be.jpg?v=0

[Noss]

Condor tool http://www.condortk.com/ makes plenty of stainless knives for a low price as well as new carbon steel knives. I have two Condor blades a machete and a knife but I haven't done anything with them really so I can't give any feedback on performance or durability.

[Mr.DC]

Someone has asked me for advice on a knife. it is kin of like one of those scenarios we talk about, the "If I had to BUG OUT with one knife, what would it be?"
This guy is going to be in a tropical climate in south America for an undetermined time. He says he has "one chance" to get the "Right" knife before he goes.
He has limited funds
1. $70 or less
2. 5" to 8"blade
3. strong enough to chop & baton
4. Stainless ( he want be able to oil it every day)
5. uses chopping, batoning, building shelter, skinning game, everything a survival knife should do, & self defense.
6. Must hold up well under wet harsh conditions (salt water!)

I have suggested several knives to him, but would really appreciate everyones advice!

(No need for machete or Kukri, they are available in the area he will be.)

NOTE: No, it's not me skipping the country!!

Hey! everyone I'm the guy that Carney was talking about.I just want to say thanks for the feedback.I'll post the pic. of the knife when I get it.:thumb:

[Madnumforce]

Hello Rigojdelacruz, and welcome to the forum! You could introduce yourself a bit, if you want, in the "New Member Introductions" section of the forum.

So have you any idea of the typical situation you will face evryday? Of the usual tasks you'll have to accomplish? Of the kind of wood there is in this place?

[kurodrago]

Hey! everyone I'm the guy that Carney was talking about.I just want to say thanks for the feedback.I'll post the pic. of the knife when I get it.:thumb:

Try to read the Customer Reviews on Amazon.com on Ka-Bar BK2 Becker Campanion Fixed Blade Knife ....
http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-BK2-Becker-Campanion-Fixed/product-reviews/B001N1DPDE/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Be-careful here will be my first choice....because I have limited funds, though I know that I have Machete with ME.
If I lose the machete I don't a mora or multi-tools...I want something in one piece and robust.

Welcome aboard:)

[Madnumforce]

I thought about it all again, and while I see many Carbon steel knives that would fit every other condition, I don't see much stainless. In Carbon, I see the
-Cold Steel GI Tanto (http://www.coldsteel.com/gitanto.html) (7" - 12", 21$)
-Cold Steel Bushman (http://www.coldsteel.com/bushmanseries.html) (7" - 12"1/4, 21$)
-Ontario Fighting Knife SP6 (http://www.ontarioknife.com/freedomfighter.html) (8" - 13"1/8, 50$)
-Ka-Bar Short Heavy Bowie (http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=KA1276) (about 8" though - 12"5/8, 50%, discontinued by Ka-Bar I guess, as it's not on their site anymore)
-Various puukos and leukus, preferably with peened tang, like Järvenpää's (here (http://www.iisakkijarvenpaa.fi/prod02.htm) and here (http://www.iisakkijarvenpaa.fi/prod03.htm), I have the birch bark one, tough like a nail), if you can ever find some.

In stainless, I see
-Cold Steel SRK (http://www.coldsteel.com/srk.html) (6" - 10"3/4, 72$)
- ? Cold Steel Western Hunter & Long Hunter (http://www.coldsteel.com/wehulohu.html) (6" & 7" - 10"3/8 & 11"1/2, 21$ & 23$)


For the moment I'm somewhat tired. I give some ideas, but let other give their advice, as I haven't used any of these (except the Järvenpää).

[Carney]

Hey! everyone I'm the guy that Carney was talking about.I just want to say thanks for the feedback.I'll post the pic. of the knife when I get it.:thumb:

Hey Friend! Glad to have you over here! These men know some stuff!

[Carney]

RAT-6

http://www.ratcutlery.com/RC60708-2-lowres.jpg

Uh Oh!!!!
COMPETITION!!!!

[Noss]

Yeah but he probably used a gun to kill his not the knife. :D

[kurodrago]

Uh Oh!!!!
COMPETITION!!!!

Funny man:D
Strange thing is,,,, The last time I went to Brazil, Philippines and Vietnam 've seen uses of knive made of simply+pure IRON.....verrry faraway from steel, stainless!
Who knows maybe I went too deep on the jungle:eek::D

Noss, No The Crocodile was killed using a slingshot made by Dave-Canterbury, in this case, I think they used the one with the arrow:D

[dingyu1980]

you mean that Crocodile falled in love ?
haha , am kidding.

cool pic !:D

[winbag338]

Buck nighthawk would be my choice, and if your not a complete retard the sheath will be fine.

[fartingbadass]

I carried an Old Hick skinner while I was living in western Brazil. It worked just fine and took a lot of abuse. Of course, there was not too much salt water where I was, but it was humid as hell and rained a whole lot. Nevertheless, I did not have too many problems with rust. Tough knife. The locals all used similar knives as well.

[trib trekker]

Man, $70 and stainless steel aren't going to go far in the jungle. Better off with a hatchet.

[Carney]

Man, $70 and stainless steel aren't going to go far in the jungle. Better off with a hatchet.

Elaborate.I can probably understand your idea of a hatchet for chopping, but why not a $70 dollar knife, and why not stainless? Thanks for your input!

[fartingbadass]

Man, $70 and stainless steel aren't going to go far in the jungle. Better off with a hatchet.

In my experience, unless you are chopping down trees and such, hatchets are not all that useful in the jungle. A decent straight-blade and a $5 machete are far more useful than a hatchet or even a larger axe, especially if you are going to be moving through jungle thickets.

[Mr.DC]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NO MORE FOLDING KNIVES for me.I've been doing a lot of research of what could be the perfect knife for me.I'm from P.R. and I needed a SS blade that will resist the tropic environment.Last week I was showing my wife some pics at www.knifetests.com Home and videos on YouTube "Gerber LMF II ASEK Destruction Test".She gave me the big surprise telling me that she bought it for me from EBay for only $73.00.

I want to thank all the friends from Knifetests/forum.com,for giving me your opinions and sharing some pics to make this decision possible:thumb:

God Bless You All!!!

[kurodrago]

Nice score:rockon:

[Noss]

Congrats. That knife did well in the D-test. :thumb:

[soapboxpreacher]

I like the Buck Nighthwak (Handle can be an issue if you beat it) or CS SRK (Not a bad knife for the money). The Seal Team Elite would have been a recommendation but it is partially serrated and the Handle is way too hard...slick and shock city!! All Stainless, All in your length range, All these should be around or under 70. I had the gerber, loved it but the serrations are a total deal breaker! Too Bad, the gerber was actually a nice blade. Oh why oh why cant these idiots make these things in a plain edge!

I had the Seal Pup Elite, Seal Team Elite, and the Gerber LMK II...sent all of them back (I was new to knives and didnt realize how much serration affect certain tasks!). You can get the Seal Pup Elite in a Plain Edge but the handle is like grabbing a tuning fork!!! Shock right thru!!! Plus the Team and the Pup are a little on the light side for good chopping.

Too bad the RC-6 is out of your Price range as well as the A1 (My favorite at the moment). They sit above just about every other manufacture...except the pretty much custom/hard to get Busse, Scrap, Swamp)!

I know how about a Ranger RD6 or RD7? That might be the best fit. Thick, Hard (RC58), good steel, however corrosion might be an issue. I have seen both of these around mid 80s...a few places have them in the mid-to-high 70s.

This is a tough one...hard price point to hit. I guess the CS or the Buck would fit but niether is a good chopper. They will do everything else but chopping...not really!

Ok one more. If you can still find one a Kabar Short Bowie....nevermind...not stainless. So there goes the Ontario suggestions too...SP are nice! Love my SP5 and my Kabar Heavy bowie. But once again not a stainless...I know they are too long...but....ah SHIT!

Like I said a tough one!