I know that there are a lot of sites than feature weapons porn stars. Buy X plastic carbine. Oy, with the Veh, only twelve hundred dollars- such a deal! Only buy two grand battle rifles- your precious darling Yuppie skin shall wear it as a talisman and ye shall be free to inherit the valley of the blind as the one eyed king! That is bad enough, thinking that the reloading mechanism of a firearm can compensate for all your other failings. Far worse is the Carbon Steel Knife ONLY And I Repeat ONLY By A certified Stud Muffin Designer or Manufacture. Only buy a $60 pocket folder! Only buy a three hundred dollar belt knife. Your families life shall be forfeited if you settle for anything less you insignificant redneck worm! Now, while I think it is silly to buy let alone use something gay like a zombie hatchet or a ninja sword or a D&D inspired edged weapon, I’m thinking that as long as a knife is, one, sharp and two, based on a proven design, what the hell do you need it to be expensive for? Other than bragging rights?
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I don’t know about yours, but my crappy made in China stainless steel knives are sharp ( I use the kitchen ceramic disc between two plastic wheels sharpener- cheap and they work even on dull as dirt crap I pick up on the side of the road ) and use standard designs seen elsewhere on far more expensive weapons. Come on, people! Knives are about one damn thing the Chinese can’t screw up except by really trying. Yes, I’d prefer they were still made in Pakistan instead. That wish and $1.50 will get me a Starbucks plain coffee. Chinese stainless is a middlin weapon. Good enough. Buy many, and stock them deep. In the future when we are forced back into home cottage industries, knives will be far more expensive. Plus their sheaths will be far more dear as well, almost like buying a custom pistol rig is now.
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If you simply cannot be seen without a carbon steel knife, run to your nearest Bison Amazon ad link and go buy a Mora Swedish knife. You can buy them under $20. Yes, the sheaths are a bit crappy. But, hey, they are still functional if ugly. That takes care of your belt knife. As far as a folder, ask yourself how many dollar bills you want loose in your pants pocket. None, right? They will fall out and get lost. Same with a folding knife. Eventually, it WILL come up missing or lost. Pay accordingly. You want to know what kind of survivalist only has one really expensive rifle, or knife? An optimist. What do we say about that?
Optimist: my glass is half full
Pessimist: my glass is half empty
Realist: who pissed in my glass?
Don’t let someone piss in your half full glass.
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Kind of partial to Buck Knives myself. But then again their factory is in Post Falls, Idaho and they have "blemish" sales on a regular basis. Not that you can see any blemishes. The knives look great. One is coming up the first week of June.
ReplyDeleteIdaho Homesteader
I used shoe goo to secure a magnesium firestarter
ReplyDeleteto the sheath of my mora knife.
These knifes might be a bit better then Moras. Cheap at Amazon
ReplyDeleteHultafors Craftmans Knife Heavy-Duty Gk
Hultafors Craftmans Knife - HVK GH
Gil
Thanks- they look good. Kinda in love with the Mora's now, though.
DeleteI do have a Mora knife, the carbon steel blade variant (be sure to ask first, they also have a stainless steel variant that looks almost identitcal). I haven't used it yet, but for the little money it did cost, I'm quite happy. My biggest fear is that it would get stolen / "borrowed".
ReplyDeleteIn everyday use I use a french carbon steel knife caled the Opinel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinel_knife ) that is ubiquitous in France.
It can be bought in every tobacco shop (french tobacco shops are allowed to sell such things as knives or tax stamps...) for under 10 Euros, and is razor sharp. It does its jobs very well, and being so uninexpensive, it can be lost or given away without second thoughts.
I have yet to see broken, apart for the tip (people do use them for a wide variety of tasks and improvised feats, because they're A. the only thing available at the moment and B. So damn inexpensive and ubiquitous). But their wooden handle becomes looser around the blade with the years (some keep the same knife for decades), nevertheless the "virole" locking mechanism still works safely.
You went to NYC and you couldn't buy tobacco OR knives. Once again, I am embarrassed for us.
DeleteOr buy a machete and get good with it. May even replace the need fer a bayonet
ReplyDeleteNo, you sacrifice reach.
DeleteI know what you mean James. I rarely spend over $30.00 for a knife anymore, as they're too easy to lose or damage for me. The one caveat with the cheap Chinese stainless, is the need to sharpen them more often.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a two pack of the Mora knives a few years back from the Sportsman's guide for $15.00. They're nice knives for the price. Here's an even cheaper BudK Mora knock off, that looks pretty good for the price:
http://www.budk.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=176289&sourcecode=BKSAVE291
I recently got a Schrade old timer boot knife (Now made in China) from BudK for $23.00. It has a 7Cr17 high carbon stainless steel blade. Beautiful knife, but the blade is thick enough that it is hard to slice certain foods, such as fruit or salami. I use my knives for utility as well as food preparation, so I find that for general use, I prefer the thinner bladed knives. But if it were needing it to be a rugged survival knife, than I'd go with a thick spined knife.
An excellent knife for the price is the Gerber Big Rock Camp Knife. A strong and very rugged survival knife. I would also recommend the Schrade above. If you need a large chopping knife (They are very handy for firewood, clearing brush, and shelter making) get an inexpensive machete from Budk or similar outlets. (Not affiliated in any way with BudK; just buy a lot of knives from them. Sometimes they have some great deals such as penny shipping).
Folders are alright if you get one that has a pocket clip. So far I've been lucky, and haven't lost one yet?
A word about the Rambo style survival knives; don't waste your money. Even the nicer $80.00 versions are not worth it. The hollow handled survival knives are weak, because they are two piece, and attached with a nut at the handle, therefore, this is their inherent weakness. They're also too big and awkward for fine work. The only exceptions as far as strong hollow handled knives go, are the versions that are machined from a solid billet of steel. I believe that Schrade makes one like this for around $50.00?
Really, the best option is to have small solid tang knife of lengths no longer than 4” for fine work. And a large chopper for the heavy utilities. But you really don't want to rely on anything that is not full tang. If you want to carry a survival kit, either carry one on a pouch on the knife sheath, or carry a small kit around your neck.
Never been impressed with all the crap in the handle myself.
DeleteYeah, it's pretty much just a gimmick James. The real Rambo wouldn't even carry one of those knives. The kit should be in a pocket on the sheath, or somewhere else on your body. The hollow handled survival knife concept is a poor one at best. Though for those insisting upon it, the one machined from a billet is the strong version of said knife.
DeleteWayne
Not that ALL gimmiks are useless. Like the $50 "samari" sword. It isn't folded over thousands of times so the quality is no where close. But it is carbon steel and not stainless and if you want an edged weapon just in case, it is affordable.
Delete