In getting more prepared this season for some backcountry adventures, I have been reading some bushcraft / survival books. One common item mentioned is a full tang "hunting" knife. I learned a ton in the folding knife discussion, and ended up purchasing additional sharpening tools, and can get a reasonably good edge nowadays.

I would enjoy BCP'ers opinions on their non-folding knifes.

Rod

This is the one I use and always keep in the plane clipped to my "emergency backpack":

http://www.benchmade.com/bushcrafter-family.html

Its a high quality knive, but some would say a compromise in some areas (design). It's good for what I would use it for. Got enough heft to really make short work of kindling.

I used to always carry my dad's Vietnam era (ARMY) Buck fixed blade or my USN (not Marine Corps! ) Ka-bar....but those are pretty big and unwieldy to me (personal taste).

If you're the type of person that enjoys caring for tools, look at scandi-ground carbon blades by Enzo or Helle. The Enzo Trapper is an excellent, excellent knife. They also have some good stainless blades, though I prefer the carbon.


If you want a no-maintenance knife that will do about everything you could want, look at the Falkniven F1 in VG10 stainless steel:
https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/ ... 20#p250239

I recommend avoiding D2 and the very expensive wunder-steels. They are a poor compromise as they take a terrible edge and hold it forever. Field sharpening is all but impossible.

Many, many, many quality knives have poor blade geometry for cutting wood, which is the primary chore for a wilderness knife. Spend a day whittling a axe handle out of a block of hickory and you'll get EXTREMELY particular about what sort of knife blade you have. Scandi-ground blades are superior for wood carving, thought the convex ground F1 does a good job.

Check out this video to see how a knife blade is supposed to cut through dry hickory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEZ0a3RLlEM

If you're knife isn't capable of cutting like that, it's the wrong tool for the woods.

Morakniv https://morakniv.se/en/

I have 3 of them with carbon blades and like them alot. Inexpensive too.

I have 2 Bark River knives and like them very well. One is going into the survival kit for our plane and I keep the other in my truck. I carry a Leatherman Wave so I rarely have a fixed blade knife on my belt.

Despite Hammer's educational posts, I still suck terribly at sharpening knives but I can get a very sharp edge on my Bark River convex blades so I tend to stick with them.

MountainFlyerN22 wrote:Morakniv https://morakniv.se/en/

I have 3 of them with carbon blades and like them alot. Inexpensive too.

+1. You honestly can't go wrong with these knives for camping, survival, bushcraft stuff. The Bushcraft carbon model is what I use. They've gotten popular, and hence more expensive here in the states in the last few years, but still can be had for less than $50.

+2 on the Moraknives. I have the lighter weight on which took me to Australia and back on a sailboat and now lives in the skiff. The heavier blade model lives in the plane. Hard to beat for the money IMNSHO.

One thing I believe should be considered when looking for a survival knife that is often overlooked and important is a hand guard between the blade and hand grip. When in a survival situation the last thing you need is your hand to slip forward onto the blade slicing your hand or fingers. When cutting up bloody meat the knife becomes extremely slimy and slippery.

AKJurnee wrote:One thing I believe should be considered when looking for a survival knife that is often overlooked and important is a hand guard between the blade and hand grip. When in a survival situation the last thing you need is your hand to slip forward onto the blade slicing your hand or fingers. When cutting up bloody meat the knife becomes extremely slimy and slippery.

There's a lot of personal preference involved with knives, but I do not like a hand guard on a utility knife. A guard gets in the way of woods tasks by limiting the had positions available for routine chores. A hand guard also keeps the knife from being carried in a deep pouch sheath, which I find to be the most secure and the most useful.

I've cut myself more times than I can count, but never from my hand slipping down on the blade for lack of a guard.

A knife specific to animal butchery where conditions are a lot more slippery might benefit from a guard, but that's pretty different from the utility knife a person would cary while not specifically engaged in big game hunting.

To each their own and whatever works for you, of course. There's a reason so many different knife styles are available...everyone likes something different.

I also agree that the Mora knives are excellent values and good cutters. I'd take a $20 Mora over a $300 Benchmade folder anytime, for any task. But I've used them side by side with higher end knives, and good as they are, they really don't compare to some of the better knives out there. Whether those higher end knives are worth the price is purely subjective.

And as for the Bark River convex ground knives...they're pretty good. I've got a few of them and like them well enough, though aside from the Falkniven F1 I rarely use anything other than a scandi ground blade, outside the kitchen anyway.

Choice of knife is almost a Chevy vs Ford conversation in some camps, but in the bang-for-buck dept I've been using a Gerber Moment fixed-blade for damn near everything for a few years now, and it's held up great. The edge keeps long enough, and I have a Work Sharp field sharpener in my kit for sharpening it and anything else. Knife + sharpener together are about $60-65. I also have a SOG Seal Pup that lives with my hunting gear, and usually my survival bag, but it moves around a bit. The SOG is also a fantastic blade, a bit more expensive but their reputation commands higher prices, plus their branding as military gear drives the price up thanks to all the backyard commandos.

Lately I've also kept a Gerber River Shorty knife strapped to my survival vest, a 2000's US Mil surplus vest with the Molle straps all over. I got this knife before doing some over-water flying last summer, and decided it should remain there permanently. It hooks to my vest very securely, and the sheath holds well enough to stay inverted, with just a pull downward on the knife handle to release (no straps) so that I can reach up and give it a tug if I'm pinned without any further technique required. The blade is quite thick, enough to pry a door open, and has a blunt tip so I don't stab myself in the excitement of it all. The blade isn't super long, but if I had to build a fire or shelter with it, I could make it happen. As a side benefit, it's also polished and could probably work as a makeshift signal mirror in a pinch.

You don't need to drop hundreds on a "good enough" blade, literally $30-50 will get you a solid instrument that will save your life. With a survival blade my philosophy is that it isn't a show piece, it just needs to hold an edge and be strong for the intended tasks. Also with that price range you should have more than one, because shit happens. Have one small enough to strap to your body in a very accessible place while seated, because more often than not you get to survive with whatever's actually on you at the time once the airplane burns. Toss an extra knife in your survival gear in the back, and hope you have time to retrieve it. Keep a small hand sharpener (another plug for the Work Sharp tool, it's very useful and cheap) because a dull blade is dangerous and ineffective, and whacking the blade on rocks a few times or using it to bend aluminum will destroy the edge.

After Hammer's post last year, I bought an Enzo Trapper Scandi kit and really fell in love with it.
The flat grind is really suited to wood work - I would not have thought the difference to be so dramatic from a traditional ground blade but it feels more like a quality chisel when it cuts into the wood and it's so easy to control.

I liked it so much, I just bought another kit.
If you've never worked with a scandi ground blade before, you should get your hands on one and try it out.

I've ordered an EnZo trapper kit....

A couple of questions.... I ordered the curly birch scales.... do you put any kind of varnish or other finish on them? Or just leave the wood natural?

and... regarding the scandi grind.. do you actually sharpen it along that flat ground shallow angle? or just the edge on a sharper angle? Maybe it will be obvious once I see it.

I'm anxious to get my hands on it and check it out.

For the birch, I'd treat it with some tongue oil.
The scandi goind is a flat grind. No micro edge. Just like a wood chisel but on both sides.

Here's my favorite.
Has everything you need except a tent & a novel to read while waiting to be rescued....
and only $8.95 on ebay.
(I have it on good authority that Rambo carries one of these in real life)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2719365751 ... noapp=true



oops forgot the

I knew you were a badass, but that knife moves you to the next level of badassery...

x

I finished my EnZo Trapper kit and I couldn't be happier. This was a fun little project that wasn't too difficult and yielded a great result. As recommended, I used Tung Oil on the curly birch scales. I like it so much I think I'm going to order a blade and make my own scales for the next one.

Hammer may be single handedly responsible for vastly increasing the sales of EnZo Trappers........

So much so, that DL Knives is out of stock... Are you getting a kick-back Hammer??

I've been packing this bench made daily the last three years. If it's not in your pocket it doesn't do you any good. It Clips right into the corner of my front pocket and you don't even know it's there.



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DH Russell #1 and/or #2 knives from Grohmann. Fit like a glove.