Inexpensive large survival-camp-shtf knife

ocnLogan said:
Glad we're mostly on the same page, as its hard to tell via text some times :).

From the sound of it, by the timing (you said a number of years back before the Micarta was available), it was most likely a camillus BK9, which was known to run a tad on the harder side (and sometimes breaking like the ones you posted earlier), which may explain the edges chipping. That is just speculation though, so I could be way off.

And its interesting, the handle scales texture seems to be very polarizing. Some say its too slippery, some say its just right. The nice thing is the option to "fix" it for either preference. And just curious, I asked Hale Storm the same thing above, but do you wear gloves when you use your knives? That seems to change the preference a fair amount of time for some reason. But yeah, if you have the chance sometime, you may give them another try (since by all accounts you seemed to like it other than the handles). If I get the chance to have a go with a Junglas, I'll make sure I take it :).

And no, I don't own a Junglas. The BK9 I have is a roll stamped Kabar manufactured one that has also served me quite well in what sounds like similar usage scenarios.

And after all of this, and no update yet from the OP on a size preference. I still stand by the BK12/ Ritter MK2 suggestion as a blind "one tool" suggestion. Its got the Becker handle ergos, but is Rowen manufactured (just like the ESEE blades). I'd consider the ESEE 6 a close second, but I like the shape of the becker handles better, and am not a huge fan of big choils. Otherwise, the ESEE is quite similar in most respects, so its a personal preference tossup between them. Anything much larger than those two and its getting pretty big, and likely wouldn't be my choice as a "one knife" solution, unless I knew I was primarily going to be chopping or something like that.

Cheers :).
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Yes, this was a long time ago. I may have to give the campanion a try. Loved that blade.
 
Buck's 119 has been doing yeoman duty for several decades now. Skinned a couple of moose with one, worked fine. See a lot of them on the Wet Coast, abused on fishing boats, etc. Come through with flying colors.
 
Check out the Thread just after yours here in The "General Knife Discussion" your answer lies here, both will fit your budget:D
 
craytab said:
Despite the accusations and personal attacks above, I, like you, have used the Junglas for several years as a big camp knife. It batons fantastic and is an adequate chopper. The handle on it is different from all the other Esee knives in that the are more rounded. I find them very comfortable. The sheath is also a pleasure to use. Though I dont put it on my belt it straps very well to a pack and is more than secure with the three retention methods.

If I could only choose one Esee it would be the Junglas.
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+1! I agree. Beyond the chopping and batoning, it works well around camp. A few times it's been the only knife I had with me. :D
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ocnLogan said:
So, I feel that part of this was likely somewhat directed at me (not a problem, I have been more vocal about Beckers in this thread :p), and just know I don't feel like you're knocking them (or me) at all :thumbup:.

I am curious about a few things though. On the Becker subforum the grivory vs Micarta discussion comes up from time to time, with roughly a 50/50 split on what people prefer, which sometimes seems to lean towards people that wear gloves preferrring the micarta, while perhaps more "ungloved" users (like myself) prefer the grivory scales. Do you wear gloves when you use your knives? Just wondering.

Also, when I got my BK9, I found the handles girth a bit too small even though I liked the texture (gives good grip for me, and no blisters after prolonged use in my hand). I added liners underneath the scales, and the grip improved considerably. Another option to keep in mind (beyond the factory Micarta option) for the OP. And to be clear, I don't own any ESEE products. I came close to buying a 4, but photos and reviews showed the handle scales were a bit smaller than I thought I'd like. Do you feel that the Junglas has any handle scale/shape "issues"/weaknesses like that? I've honestly not heard much discussion about the handle ergos on the Junglas, so its an honest question.

And I have said this in the past, but with ESEE and Becker, I feel that the steel is more or less the same quality, but you get the "extras" like Micarta handles, a better sheath, and the more robust warranty built into the price of an ESEE, at roughly the cost of doing the same thing to a Becker (warranty excluded). So if you plan on wanting Micarta and kydex, its more about which shape/size/style you want than anything else (imo).



+ 1 for the saw. A folding saw is incredibly handy, and doesn't take much weight or space. Its so much faster to cut something > 5-6in across than it is to chop it with most knives, below that I'd say it starts to lean towards the knife. And to top it off, they're usually quite cheap (got my corona for... $17?). I honestly take my larger knives pretty much just to baton the wood I cut with my folding saw, but it IS nice to have the option to use just one tool to do everything, thats on you all the time.

And yeah, still waiting on the OP to give more direction on the size. Personally I'd classify I'd say ~6in and larger as "large", but he might not have the same opinion.

Since a lot of time has been spent on the 5-10in blades so far, another thing for the OP to consider is more of a traditional chopper, like a machete, golok, parang, bolo, etc.The Condor Golok is 14in of 1/4in blade stock, the Kabar/Johnson Adventure Blades "Parangatang" which actually has similar specs (14in, 1/4in blade stock, etc). Both of those should be more than strong enough to do whatever needs doing, and should out chop the other blades mentioned so far just due to the extra blade length. Both of those can be had for roughly half (or less) of your budget, still allowing a nice moderate sized knife like an ESEE 3/4, Becker BK15/16, Condor bushlore, etc.

Good luck with the choice, sometimes its hard with so many options. The upside is that there really haven't been any bad blades mentioned yet, so its hard to choose "wrong" :).
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ocnLogan, definitely not meant to offend and of course not knocking the BK9. It's a fantastic blade and works well in many scenarios. I just prefer the Junglas after having owned and used both. I don't use gloves when working much. Never have unless it's cold, I'm working on barbed wire fencing, or clearing brambles and thorn bushes, and we don't really have winter here.
At one point I took my BK7 and used a dremel to add some texture to the grivory. Didn't really like that either. I've seen guys stipple them like gun grips but I never had the patience for that.
For me, the price of the Junglas is worth it to get the extras you described. And the handle just fits me well and the micarta gives me a good grip even when wet.
I've customized a few for customers and added choils, stripped them, etc. and of course built many custom sheaths but for my use, bone stock works extremely well except for adding my own custom kydex.
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$150 budget? How about a Bk4 you find on sale for around $60 and a Bk16? You should be able to do all that for under $150
 
Back when I first joined BF, I bought a SOG NW Ranger as a "hunting knife". Decided it was too big to be practical hunting, and too small for chopping. Then I purchased a SOG Tigershark (actually two, as one is an old plain edged one in SK5). THESE ARE BIG! Years pass and I have never cut a damn thing with either of those two blades. But to this day, my eyes dialate when I pull one of those beasts out and handle it. :rolleyes:

Then I discovered machetes. I had experience with the cheap walmart or hardware store variety and hated them. They just hurt to use. Wear gloves, ya say? Then it was a 12" Ontario. Wear gloves ya say? Have three of them. Hate them. Then it was Condor and I have an assortment of their stuff and generally love them. Those for the most part are the BIG knives that I actually use.

I have certainly eyed up the ESEE Junglas. Have considered giving one of those a try. You see. This search NEVER stops even when you have no earthly need for something new.
 
I also have a very different idea of inexpensive. Just started a regrind on this MTech. I think you could get 8 or 9 of them under your budget, lol.

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For 150 get a few nice machetes and an axe. I like cold steel machetes and in the wilderness a machete is almost the ultimate tool. The cold steel machetes have always preformed well for me and they're pretty inexpensive. I recommend either regrinding it yourself or purchasing from a site that will thin the edge down for you, they do tend to come a little thick
 
wow, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. OP should get the best blade he can for his budget, not a bunch of cheap azz chinese junk.
 
Cobalt said:
wow, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. OP should get the best blade he can for his budget, not a bunch of cheap azz chinese junk.
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I agree 100%, but some Chinese junk holds up as good as the most expensive names you can buy stamped or etched into a blade. Almost everyone I know has a junk Schrade large blade in 1095 and all of us use them for them tougher close to abusive tasks and not a single one has ever been damaged or come close to a failure. There's nothing wrong with saving some money and still getting a great chunk of steel. About the worst thing with them is all but one has had poor grinds towards the tip or close to the handles. Easily fixed if you know how to use a sharpening stone.

If my budget was $150.00 I'd get as close as I could if I didn't already know some Chinese blades do better than just fine.
 
Boris74 said:
I agree 100%, but some Chinese junk holds up as good as the most expensive names you can buy stamped or etched into a blade. Almost everyone I know has a junk Schrade large blade in 1095 and all of us use them for them tougher close to abusive tasks and not a single one has ever been damaged or come close to a failure. There's nothing wrong with saving some money and still getting a great chunk of steel. About the worst thing with them is all but one has had poor grinds towards the tip or close to the handles. Easily fixed if you know how to use a sharpening stone.

If my budget was $150.00 I'd get as close as I could if I didn't already know some Chinese blades do better than just fine.
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I have a Junk Chinese Cold Steel tanto fixed blade which is tough as hell. And I have the chinese MT151 copy of the Cold Steel Trailmaster and that is a tough knife also, except for the handle. So for sure you can get tough. Hell I used a sledge hammer with a cold steel bushmaster to cut up 5/8 inch plywood into small pieces once. I even took pics of it because I could not believe how tough that stupid little bushmaster was. But I also have knives at all price ranges. For his one knife, get the best you can within your budget.

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Cobalt said:
Hell I used a sledge hammer with a cold steel bushmaster to cut up 5/8 inch plywood into small pieces once. I even took pics of it because I could not believe how tough that stupid little bushmaster was. But I also have knives at all price ranges. For his one knife, get the best you can within your budget.

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Now, THAT is TOUGH!! I'd like to pick up either the Cold Steel or Condor version of that pig sticker for the fun of it. Added: You never know when you might need to make a spear to fend off wild animals or zombies. :rolleyes:
 
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22-rimfire said:
Now, THAT is TOUGH!! I'd like to pick up either the Cold Steel or Condor version of that pig sticker for the fun of it. Added: You never know when you might need to make a spear to fend off wild animals or zombies. :rolleyes:
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yeah and I wasn't to careful when I stopped, so it did hit the floor. It is tough
 
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