Best bushcraft knife at or under $50 - Review Picks

M

msiley

Joined
Aug 19, 2006
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542
Best bushcraft knife at or under $50

Everyone give me their top 4 from the following list
and I'll perform a review of them (on the condition I at
least get 10 responses... I need some sort of reasonable consensus).

I'm looking for a knife that will perform bushcraft functions well.
Criteria ranked as follows:
1. Works well with wood and a pleasure to handle for long periods
2. Is tough enough to survive lots of battoning
3. Fit/Finish, sheath etc. will also be considered but not as much
as the above.

Chopping ability will not be reviewed.

If you have one to add then do so. I know there are a ton
of Moras under $50 but basically they are generally the same design.
So I only included the clipper. But if you think a specific mora
needs attention then I'll go with that.

Buck Woodsman
Buck Pathfinder
Buck Special
Benchmade Rant
Cold Steel Pendleton Mini Hunter
Kabar Short USMC Black
Kabar Dozier KBD1
Kershaw 'Hunter'
Ontario SPEC Plus Air Force Survival
Ontario SPEC Plus Marine Combat
Mora Clipper
Buck Nighthawk
Kabar USMC Black
AG Russell Deerhunter
Buck Nighthawk Short
Buck Vanguard R
SOG Fieldpup
Case Leather Hunter
Kabar Warthog
CS Finn Bear
CS Canadian Belt Knife
Blackjack Grunt
CS Roachbelly
CS Bushman
Mora 2000
Condor 8" mountian knife
Gerber Freeman drop point
Grohmann #1
Grohmann Bird and Trout

Here's a previous review of small folders... just to show I do have some methodology.
http://www.matrixwebdev.com/knife_test.html

My top 4 would be in no particular order:
1. SOG Fieldpup
2. Mora Clipper
3. Benchmade Rant
4. Buck Pathfinder

What's yours?
 
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Ok...I'll play, here are my pics:


Kabar Short USMC Black
Mora Clipper
Buck Nighthawk
SOG Fieldpup


These are the four I have used. I can't say much for the others.
 
I'd like to see the Cold Steel Finn Bear on that list, actually. I'd be interested to see how it holds up to batoning.

My other picks would be:

SOG Fieldpup
Benchmade Rant
AG Russell Deerhunter
 
picture082cr5.jpg







I have a lot of favorite's but here are three of the most recent.

Black Jack Grunt
Mora clipper
JK Hiker's Back-up
 
Finn bear ... hmmmm. ok I'll add that too the list
Also the Canadian Belt knife I forgot about that one.

Kabar Warthog.... kinda looks awkward but looks may be deceiving.
 
I didn't read this very well. I didn't see the under 50.00. The JK was over 50.00 but worth every cent. I carry that one every day. When it got dull I sent it to Siguy and he did a great convex on it.
 
Buck 119, I would bet my life on that knife. Pilots survival knife, I have betted my life on that knife when I was in the Gulf War. That would be my choice.
 
Kyp Degal said:
I'd like to see the Cold Steel Finn Bear on that list, actually. I'd be interested to see how it holds up to batoning.
Click to expand...

I don't have a pciture but I took one on a recent camping trip, it split fire wood like any larger knife and kept its edge after two nights of batoning. It holds a really good edge and it is grooved allows you to keep hold of it in wet environments. For the price I don't see anything wrong with this knife, I give them to friends who don't have a good fixed blade.

goat
 
the buck nighthawk is my personal favorite. It slices well now, after a lot of work on it. My two cents
 
out of your selections... If I had 50 beans to spend I'd get 5 mora clippers and call it a day... THe other knives are great but the clippers are fantastic game cleaning, whittling utility knive with carbon steel blades..and a comfortable grip... Pretty hard to beat... I'll be giving them out as christmas gifts this year.
 
In order of preference:

1] Bechmade Rant II
2] A.G. Russell Dear Hunter [Dependent of what you are going to wedge it through. I'd tap it through twigs and make feathers but not whack it like [3].
3] Blackjack Grunt [for taking more punishment than [2]
4] Cold Steel Pendleton mini. [Probably a good deal nicer to hold than the FRN [2]

For pure field use I'd expect the A.G Russell to ace this. But one man's field use isn't necessarily the same as another's, then there's that FRN, so I relegate it to second. I like the look of the Grunt but the design isn't congruous with the other three as it is a bigger tool. I threw this one in lest the test skews toward battoning rather than how I use a field knife. I suspect the Cold Steel knife is a lot nicer to interact with than the Russell because it is Rubber not FRN. However, if it is a sprint not a slog my money is on the wear resistance of the Russell. Overall, I'd go with the Blackjack. Looks like a nice compromise of cutting performance, toughness, and user comfort.
 
Four choices if you could please.

thx everyone so far for participating so far.

Here's a review I did awhile ago for small folding knives.
http://www.matrixwebdev.com/knife_test.html

The review for these will be, for the most part, in the woods used at various bushcraft
skills. From fuzzsticks to trap making.
 
Enzo Trapper blade blank 50$, with corby bolts included.
However it doesn't have any slabs/panels so add wood or wrap in paracord.

My other choices would be
Mora 2000
Buck woodsman 102
And any of the cheaper Moras (triflex or clipper).
:D
 
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Here are a few of my choices :
1 - ColdSteel Khukuri Machete
2 - Tramontina 12" Machete
3 - Ontario 12" Machete
 
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