Survival Knife
 

Hey, I'm not sure if this is in the right thread, please move if not.

What is a good survival knife used for hiking and camping. Not sure of my budget yet so just give me options please :P

EDIT: I am currently using my father's Buck knife.

How big do you want it? Weight? Sheath options? Stainless or carbon? Uses?

P.S: Yeah it should be in OT

http://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy?blend=1&ob=4
check out this youtube channel he reviews a ton of knives.

don't get a folding knife, and try to get a knife with a full tang. this when the metal from the blade runs through the whole grip. if the handle breaks on folding knives, and knives without a full tang, there will be nothing to join a makeshift onto. if the handle breaks on a full tang knife, you can tie some string around the tang to use as a handle.
full tang

Ka-Bar

Thanks

I was myself thinking of getting a good 'ol Ka-Bar... Did anybody actually used one hiking/backpacking/camping (and not only for "chairknifing") ?

My folder works well so far, no problem but I'm not too sure exactly I want to keep going with only it for the reasons bareass said.

I'm also looking for a good survival knife. I juct chipped a huge chunk out of the edge on the Buck knife I've been using for 4 years batoning a piece of wood. Looking for something with a quarter grind, 3/8" or more blade thickness with serrations preferably on the back of the blade. It should also be full tang with a synthetic handle and kydez sheath; I've been reading around and micarta seems to be the best material for handle. Taking all of his into consideration, the best I've found that matches this is an OKC ASEK.

I fell asleep. The guy is a terrible speaker. 5 minutes of useful information in 30 minutes of blah blah blah...

DO NOT go with a folding survival knife. The locks will fail (happened to me). You just cannot get the same strength as a fixed blade in a folder.

Ontario Rat 7 is a great knife. Geared towards large and heavy duty tasks mainly. You really can't go wrong with any survival knives from this manufacturer.

If you want something mid sized, maybe light duty fire making and camp knife try something like the Coldsteel SRK or a KaBar. KaBar wins for value in my mind. A Glock field knife would also fall under this category, and is dirt cheap for what you get.

Just saw the Gerber LMF II ASEK. Looks good, comes with a synthetic sheat with integrated sharpener. It's also what I find to be a good size (KaBar seems a bit long at 7'' blade...) so it's incidentally lighter, too. And very affortable.

Any opinions?

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-8855671...2102_108460070

http://www.shopholsters.com/gerber-lmf2-asek-knife.html

Try to decide what type of survival knife you want. If it's going to be a super heavy duty "stuck in the wilderness with nothing else" blade, bigger is usually better.

7+inches of blade and a fair bit of forward heft will go a long way for ease of chopping, batoning, stripping tree limbs etc.

If you will have other tools on you (maybe a small axe, saw etc) Conker is right, you don't need a super heavy duty knife, so save on weight. :)

SOG,Cold steel & K-bar all make great units "bang for the buck". My fav. is still my Cold steel Recon Tanto (great work horse). My K-bar is good and my Sog seal 2000 knife is realy nice,but not sure I would use it as a "work knife". I'v been beat'n the hell outa my Recon Tanto for about 15 years,give or take.

SOGs are not useful utility knives. Dont get me wrong, I love every SOG I have, but they are more for cuttin someone than cutting brush, pure fighting mans knives, not a work knife. Ka-Bars are great, tough and hold a good edge. Can even use em as a hammer if you have to. Smith&Wesson make some good bush knives, for their price anyways. Cold Steels are awesome, but you pay for that. Some people swear by CRKT, but I am not one of them. Dont know why exactly, just never got sold on them. Ontario Knife also akes some good knives, but they can be expensive too.

[QUOTE=

...My folder works well so far, no problem but I'm not too sure exactly for what bareass said.[/QUOTE]

just saying if the hinge broke on a folder you'd b screwed. and having a fixed blade without a full tang, and a broken handle wouldn't be much better.
with a full tang if for some reason your handle was in one hand and you blade in the other, the knife can still be used, or a new handle could be easily fabbed in the wild.

Blackhawk Tatang or one of the RAT series by Ontario knives

From what I've read, the Gerber ASEK II was what the US Army Air Force went with after they found an issue with the OKC ASEK. Personally though, I would almost never use the serrated edge for anything aside from cutting metal like a tin can. Seeing as how I use my knives primarily for bushcraft, and I have a survival saw, I would prefer that the serrations was on the spine of the blade so that I have a full length blade for batoning, cutting and shaving things. Considering this, I think that the OKC ASEK is a better knife than the Gerber. This is of course personal preference.

Serrations are awesome for making tinder. I <3 my Seal Pup.

Well I'm looking for a backpacking/hiking/camping knife, not a post-apocalyptic one... So maybe in my case "survival knife" may be pushing it a bit too far? Anyway...

I hadn't thought about it, but yes having the serrations on the top of the blade would be something I'd prefer for the exact same reasons you mentioned.
From your experience, do having serrations on a part of the blade significantly reduces chopping effectiveness?

Also, do you know what was the issue they've had with the ASEK ?

EDIT: Looking at the Ontario ASEK... the wideness of the serrations doesn't seems to be useful at all...

Serrations will not chop as well as a continuous plain edge. Serations are great for cutting cloth or rope, fibrous fabrics etc but that's about it in my experience.

Most of the time (apart from Kershaw's seration pattern) they are VERY difficult to sharpen effectively, that's assuming the design allows you to bring an edge back up in the first place.

Most of the chopping will be done with the front 1/3-1/2 of the blade so you will notice it more when batoning. If you're going to be doing multi-day backpacking I would suggest that you also take weight into consideration. Not so much for the way there than for the way back. :)

The OKC was replaced by the Gerber due to the lack of effective electrical insulation on the OKC.

I realize the serrations look ridiculous on the OKC, however, the ASEK is an aircrew survival knife. The military's requirement for the serrations was to provide aircrews with a tool capable of cutting through aircraft aluminum. There's actually a video on YouTube where a guy was comparing an OKC ASEK to an SOG Seal Pup. The ASEK chewed through a nail in a matter of seconds. In addition, it is still capable of cutting open say a tin can, your hole just won't be as refined as it would have been had you used a tool with a thinner blade and smaller profile.

Well, that's exactly why I'm not too convinced. I don't plan on cutting my way out of aircraft (well, actually being a pilot myself it would be a useful thing to keep in my flight bag... but that's for another thread), I'm really looking for an all-around knife I to carry while hiking & backpacking, and to go through emergency situations I might face while doing so.

It means that I'll have to mainly cut wood, rope, fabric, all kinds of food, possibly animals... but not much aluminium in the backcountry, for all I know.

If your planning on serious back country exploration take a full tang knife as suggested and a machete or camp axe. This will allow you to save the knife for specific tasks and reduce wear. There are dozens of quality camp axes avaliable just remember to pack a stone with you too keep it sharp. Its also good to note that carrying a multitool along with these options will help you keep everything segregated into its proper roles.

Cheers

Thanks