In hammers fire thread there was a brief discussion about knives. So what do you all carry? I am sort of cheap so I carry a old timer trapper and a leatherman 300, both are good knives although the trapper is getting a bit lose after almost 6 years of use.

I carry a SOG Flash II daily that I got as a gift from a friend.

It replaced an old CRKT Red Dog that I carried for about 10 years.

I don't have any real "specialty" carrying knives like what Hammer had mentioned. I'm looking forward to seeing what ya'll carry.

Buck 119 goes into the tool bag next to the leatherman.

I always have a Victorinox swiss army knife in my pocket.

Kershaw Blur in my pocket.

Buck 55

slim and lightweight... not going to chop down any trees but it's a great little knife. I like it because it lies flat in the pocket.

I am with Skinner here, I feel naked without my Swiss Army knife no matter where I go. When I am in the bush I also love a button lock flick knife, they stow easy in the pocket but can be instantly opened with one hand. Naturally this sort of knife has a practical blade, not a stabber. I also like them sharp.

My everyday carry knife is one of these: http://www.knifeworks.com/dougritterrsk ... hKNr5egs4Q

Bench Made knives are some of the best made. I much prefer a folder, since it's a lot easier and less obtrusive to carry than a sheath knife. These have a clip and slide into a pocket, where they're handy yet out of sight.

On the topic of multi tools: If your multi tool has a folding knife blade and it does not have a locking mechanism to lock the blade in the open position, do yourself a favor and either put that blade in a vise and break the blade off, or do not carry that multi tool in what might turn into a survival situation.

The last thing you need in a survival situation is to lose the use of one of your primary "tools"....a finger. Let alone creating what could be a major bleed to add to your misery.

Non-locking blades are just a really bad idea. And, frankly, most multi tools I've seen have pretty lousy knife blades to boot. I carry a multi tool, but it has a locking knife blade, and I carry the tool not for the knife function, but for the other tools it provides.

Dont' mistake a multi tool for a "good" knife....not one of them meets that test. And a "good" knife is an essential tool in a survival situation, as Hammer has done a good job of explaining.

MTV

cstolaircraft wrote:In hammers fire thread there was a brief discussion about knives. So what do you all carry? I am sort of cheap so I carry a old timer trapper and a leatherman 300, both are good knives although the trapper is getting a bit lose after almost 6 years of use.

If you are talking about a Case brand trapper, that's what I carried for years. I switched over to the Case copperlock and a trapper lock for safety reasons. FYI, if your case is getting loose or worn out you can send it in. Depending the condition, it could be free of charge.

For a full on camping/hunting/back country knife....I prefer a big folding Benchmade knife. First came across them when I was in the military. Unless you use it as a pry bar they are pretty much a lifetime knife. I've been out for a while, but a bunch of guys are still coming back with Benchmades, Gerber multi tools and spyderco's. I have a spyderco that I've been trying to break for years.

My recommendation for best fixed blade camping or survival knife for the money is the Mora Companion.



Sturdy, easy to keep sharp (scandinavian grind) and cheap ($18). You can get it in either stainless or carbon steel. I prefer carbon.

Cheap and sturdy means I can baton with it to split wood without cringing. Easy to keep sharp means I can make feather sticks with it to light fires. Carbon steel means I can use it with my ferro rod. (Back of blade is squared off)

When flying, I also carry a locking folding RSK by Doug Ritter, which I've had now for 8 years and is no worse for wear. Highly recommended. Easy to keep in your pocket or vest.

Old Timer Bruin with the Delrin handle for my pocket knife and a Leatherman wave for my multi tool.

Mora Fireknife, sturdy sheath knife, for a decent price (30ish bucks). The sheath actually works well, although it looks like crap.

fiftynineSC wrote:

cstolaircraft wrote:In hammers fire thread there was a brief discussion about knives. So what do you all carry? I am sort of cheap so I carry a old timer trapper and a leatherman 300, both are good knives although the trapper is getting a bit lose after almost 6 years of use.

If you are talking about a Case brand trapper, that's what I carried for years. I switched over to the Case copperlock and a trapper lock for safety reasons. FYI, if your case is getting loose or worn out you can send it in. Depending the condition, it could be free of charge.

For a full on camping/hunting/back country knife....I prefer a big folding Benchmade knife. First came across them when I was in the military. Unless you use it as a pry bar they are pretty much a lifetime knife. I've been out for a while, but a bunch of guys are still coming back with Benchmades, Gerber multi tools and spyderco's. I have a spyderco that I've been trying to break for years.

it's not a case but just like them side buy side. it's old timer/scrape

Benchmade foldable in my pocket and a Gerber multi-tool in the flight bag.

how are the cases on the mora knifes? to me they look like they would be quite uncomfortable to carry on your belt.

A1Skinner wrote:I always have a Victorinox swiss army knife in my pocket.

Same. I attribute this to watching Macgyver in my impressionable years.

Same Victorinox for (25) years. The real Swiss Army knife! Simply "Wundabar". Many counterfeits these days (look on the blade for proper stamp).

TSA was taking too many of my knifes so I stopped donating, or rather carrying regularly.

I keep a Mora in the plane as the emergency knife, though.

blackrock wrote:TSA was taking too many of my knifes so I stopped donating, or rather carrying regularly.

I keep a Mora in the plane as the emergency knife, though.

I had a small knife at PDX which was buried in my carry on (never thought it was there). TSA gave me a box to ship to Hawaii for $10.00. It arrived at my apartment! And I still get TSA pre-check!

8GCBC wrote:

blackrock wrote:TSA was taking too many of my knifes so I stopped donating, or rather carrying regularly.

I keep a Mora in the plane as the emergency knife, though.

I had a small knife at PDX which was buried in my carry on (never thought it was there). TSA gave me a box to ship to Hawaii for $10.00. It arrived at my apartment! And I still get TSA pre-check!

Yeah, the box thing is a good deal. I've also been able to run back to the ticket counter, box my knife, and check just the little box.

I have to ask myself about 10 times if I've dropped my knife in my checked bag these days.