Best Survial Knife (A Must Have!)

[villainvomit]

What process do you use to harden the blade?

I made a simple forge and use lump coal for fuel. If you can get some air flow to the bottom of the fire, you'll have plenty of forge fleas in no time ! Stick the steel in the coals and heat to 1600-1700 F (non magnetic) and quench in oil. Temper in an oven or toaster for an hour @400-425F.

There is alot of knowledge out there on the net, but this is basically it. Temps given are approximate for a simple(carbon)10XX series steel. Stailess requires more heat and a longer soak. Most folks heat treat those in a ht oven, salts or send out to a commercial heat treater.

Carbon steel you can heat treat in the backyard ! !



vv

 

[CampFire]

Gerber LMF ll, Love It!!!!!

 

[VC94]

Forgive me ODTers but I have a confession.....

First I have a low tollerance for hype, and I have plenty of knives, so I never considered buying a BG knife. I figure the grey and orange will soon be the sign of a tenderfoot noob. But I was curious about the design and quality, and my wife noticed me looking at one. So guess what I got for Christmas along with a Mini-14?

Thus it was time for a fair evaluation. Its a $50 Gerber, a decent quality, sturdy knife for a decent price. No, it is not high-end, but you won't need anti-depressants if you break it either. Very well designed as a camp/survival knife with no gimicks, but plenty of thoughtful features, like: the full tang; metal hilt for hammering; LARGE, comfortable rubber handle; partially serrated, drop point blade; 3 lashing holes; a solid plastic clip on the sheath, backed up with a velcro strap around the handle, and a little surprise: a short flat ground edge on the back of the blade for scraping your ferrocium rod.

This is where this knife departs from other knives to be a "survival system" with useful items:
- ferrocium rod with a handle
- whistle on a lanyard
- diamond sharpenning stone on the backside of the sheath
- ground to air signals list sewn onto the back of the sheath
- a survival skills pamphlet

Its a Gerber-based start point for a Personal Survival Kit. For around $50 it is a quality knife and a good value.
If you are a novice on a budget, or you don't carry the "10 Essentials" wherever you go, then this knife is worth considering!

There, I said it and I feel so much better now!
Time to go back to the yard to baton some kindling and carve-up some cardboard boxes....

 

[Retread]

Let's see. If it bends rather than breaking that's a good thing.
If it holds a decent edge to set a snare and skin a hare, then build a shelter that's good, and if you can sharpen it on a smooth stone, that works too.
Got any other gizmos? Cool. Might need to crunch some wild nuts

Ever seen some of the buckskin guys skin a deer with a flint knife?
I still want one of those SOG tomahawks.

If Uncle Sam taught me anything about survival ( other than that I don't want to eat worms or grubs) it is that you have to have the right mindset, and a basic understanding of how to survive the environment. And, in the outdoors, don't emulate BG, he's a thrill seeker, not a survivor.

 

[N Cochran]

SOG tomahawks are awesome. Got myself one and my brother-in-law one and they are useful and deadly.

 

[N Cochran]

I have a Cold Steel Voyager. Folding knife with a 5.5" tanto blade. Seems to be sturdy, but just got it so we'll see. Anyone have experience with them. My favorite survival knife right now is my K Bar tanto fixed blade.

 

[Retread]

Bought a Cold Steel Voyager when they first came out. Cut some twine and the serrations broke. Called the company so they could make it right, and spoke with one of the managers. he was really insulting, blaming their poor quality control on me. I took it back to the retailer (Sports Authority), and they gave me a refund as soon as they saw it. the manager had them pull the rest off the shelf. They all had been over ground. Any company can make a mistake, it's how they deal with their mistakes that determines how good of a company they are. I'll never buy anything of theirs again.

 

[Kalashnikov]

These are the 2 I would have with me



I confess though I have been on a quest for a ESEE 4

 

[Retread]

What do you have your sheaths wrapped with? Does it allow them to dry out?

 

[Shrek926]

Thanks to my great friend passdboolits I now have an ESEE Junglas, and RAT7 in my gear.

The Junglas is quite possibly the greatest large blade I have ever held, and the RAT7 by Ontario is on my get home bag. Both are US made, and of the highest quality I've encountered in years.