Cheaper knife alternatives one can live with, or survive with.

I know when someone asks for opinions on equpment, I usually give what I consider to be the very best for the given task, at least the item that has worked best for me. Price is a factor that is sometimes missed, although I do try to give alternatives when I voice an opinion, sometimes it is overlooked I am sure.

Knives are one area where you usually get what you pay for, but I have found some cheaper alternatives that one can truly live with. I am sure these have most been mentioned at some point or another but I thought they might deserve a look again.

Cold Steel Bushman - this 7 inch blade with an intergral hollow handled knife is a true buy at $15. It has a good point, a blade with belly for skinning and is not hardened so hard it cannot be sharpened with a river stone or file. The handle can hold little items and be taped over. It can be sued as a spear, a small woodscrew helps. The handle can be wrapped with cord, tape, or some other insulating material to help in cold weather. The sheath contains a hard palstic insert which helps make it safer in case one falls. Buy two and store one for the day when you lose one or someone needs a blade.

Opinel Folders - These French made folder originated the twist lock, which is one of the strongest and safest made. They can be had in various sizes and steels. They are cheap and well made and will do anything you ask of a folder. The blades are well shaped and cut extremely well. I have half a dozen stashed in differnt bags and kits. And their hook nosed blade does wonders in the garden.

Cold Steel Shovel - This etool is cheap , around $15, and is extremely tough and well made. I have used it to both dig, chop, and pound stakes and have yet to destroy it. Granted it wont replace a good saw, ax, or full sized shovel, but its not designed to.

Ontario Spec plus knives and Machetes - This whole line is well made and reasonably priced. Any one of them will work well for the tasks it is designed for.

Kabar and Camillius Marine Coprs Utilities - both well made and deserve the reputation they have gained since WWII.

Rapala Filet Knife - This is one of my most used blades. I use it not only for its purpose but it is one of the blades I use most in my kitchen and camp kitchen. Try one you will like it.

Newt Livesays Wicked Knives - he has a great catalog of blades to choose from. Well made and reasonably priced. They are still a bit more than the others I have named for the most part, but worth every cent. I love my Little Pec*ker, and I am talking my neck knife not somethign else, although I am rather partial to that also. lol.

I am sure there are tons others people can think about. I wont be giving up my favorites, but I would not feel unarmed with any of these either.



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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
tknife

tknife

Joined
Mar 18, 1999
Messages
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Good point. I know I for one tend to lean more towards the higher end factory blades and customs when choosing my field knife. But there are many less expensive ones that are just about as good. The CS SRK is a great knife in the $50 range, the good old Ka-Bar served my dad well for many years. I just bought a CS shovel a while back and find it to be a usefull chopper as well as a digger. And there are a ton more!
 
Michlee, we are on the same page.

There's a company called CHEAPER THAN DIRT that offers the Bushman for $12.00, they have other really good deals on surplus items, rain poncho's, mosqito netting, etc. I havent bothered to look and see if they have a website.

I've found it worthwhile to compare prices between them, HQ, and my local Army/Navy store. For some reason there are huge discrepencies for even new retail gear. I make a checklist of things I want then go cheap and order from each whats the best price. Save mucho $$$.

I'm currently waiting on four G-45 kneck knives from Newt Livesy. 1 for me 3 as gifts for the wonder chicks. Theyre my 1st Wicked Knives and I look forward to them.

Probably going to wind up with a RTAK Survival knife, anyone have an opinion on this blade?
 
A fun alternative to buying a new knife is to look in second-hand stores for candidates that can be turned into carry knives. Some sturdy old butcher knives will work with little modification. Others just need a few minutes with a file or a bench grinder to attain the form I want. What can you make out of an old cleaver? I have several good knives that cost in the $0.50 - $1 range.

Can you make a serviceable ulu out of a tin can lid? After all, what if our survivalist loses his store-bought knife?

When I was a poor college student I had to get all my camping and hiking gear at Goodwill. Now even though I have a drawer full of high-end manufactured and custom knives it's still fun sometimes to see how cheaply I can get by.
 
I bought a couple of the Frosts of Sweden Clipper knives for $6 each thinking they would be great canoe and kayak knives. Even as tight as I am I wouldn't stress over losing a $6 knife. Wrong answer! These little cheap carbon knives will out cut most of the handmade knives I paid $100 for! They are easy to sharpen and hold a great edge. They are thin bladed and I wouldn't want to stress them too much, but I use a knife to cut not attack vises and cars.
 
Scrade Sharpfingers can be found for under $20. That is a good deal on a good knife.
 
I have to agree with Leef, Frosts of Sweden makes an excellent knife for the money.I have a Swedish Army knife of theirs that has taken a fair amount of abuse and cuts better than a lot of much more exspensive knives do.
I didn't like the cutting performance of the SRK that I had but I think I read that the newer ones have a higher grind that should make them cut better than the old ones.I think the True Flight Thrower they make is/was a better cutter than the SRK and is at least as tough and cheaper(but without a sheath) to boot!I also liked their Recon Tanto a lot better than the SRK.
Ontario's Marine Combat(k-bar) is a tough knife and a good cutter and is also cheap.
TTFN,
m
 
Hi Lee:
Good topic! I'm still working with cheap knives wondering just what characteristics of each I'd want in an expensive blade.
I believe though, that my approach is anything but cheap since I've collected a few knives over the years - and sharpening equipment adds up too - as does leather for improved sheaths. It's been fun though - and you sure think more of your cheap knife after putting a bunch of work into it.

I think that one can be well served with cheap knives if one chooses carbon steel blades and does enough work on them to set the bevel properly and hone to a decent edge right at the beginning. Lots of people seem to think that a cheap knife won't hold any sort of edge so why bother - not true!

I like my fixed blade Schrade knives. I use a Deerslayer and a 130T. They're very different in that the DS has a thin blade and strange design. It sure works well though and has lots of flexibility in holding positions. The 130T is a drop point hunter with a thick blade that can handily be used for prying. Either of these can be sharpened to a razor edge that will slice a Zig Zag white cigarette paper, or given a coarse edge that will slice the hide off a bear or moose with no problems.
Basically thes knives are made by stamping out the blanks - putting an initial shaping grind on - heat treating and given a final edge grind before shipping. This means that you have quite a bit of work to do giving them a flat grind the way they are supposed to be, AND getting past the factory edge where all the temper has been burned out. Once you get there you are pleasantly surprised by the edge that they will take and hold.
The sheath on the DS is fine (if ugly) with a liner. I had to make a new sheath for the 130T which could be considered an added cost.

In contrast, while I sure like the design of my Gerber bolt action - and it has held tight even under my use for years - the stainless blade is pretty sad. It's harder putting a decent bevel on the blade, and while it's not that bad to sharpen once "fixed" - it just doesn't hold an edge like CS.

You can still get "beaters" for a low price on ebay if you look long enough, and that's probably the way to go since you'll be reworking the blades quite a bit to get something decent. The above knives are pretty common.

I've used Frost's (Sweden) blades too and was impressed with the carbon steel. If you like these then you can get a harder steel and prettier handle for a few bucks more - they're sold for woodcarving. Otherwise the design is the same. Since I mostly use a knife for slicing and whittling I have a lot of respect for these designs. In the bush though, you don't always work slowly with dry hands so that handle has to be worked into a shape for better grip and the paint/varnish removed! Then you'll probably want to protect the blade from salt so you'll want to make a sheath so that you don't cry all over the knife every time you see that ugly plastic sheath... It's probably just as easy to buy the blade you like and make your own handle and sheath!

Probably my best knives are old Gerber's with tool steel blades (aluminum Armorhide handles). I have an incredibly useful "Bird and Trout" and a 5" heavy skinner. These used to be cheap because people would buy them and then find them too difficult to sharpen and sell at a loss. Now they seem to be in high demand so are no longer cheap. These hold an edge incredibly well - but before diamond stones it was sure an adventure putting a decent edge on them to start with..

Cheap sharpening equipment is more the issue with cheap knives. I found a bunch of Eze-Lap fold out diamond stones on sale so bought them for gifts. I ended up keeping them all! I know they're poly crystalline but I wonder if anyone else wears them out as fast as me! For ceramics I use old sections of thermocouple rods, and I collect old belts to use with polishing compounds. Yep "cheap" is my middle name!

As my arthritis slowly progresses I'll probably have to get a custom based on the T handled design. I use an Outdoor Edge for now in bad times. Other than that though I think I'd remain happy with cheap stuff. Heck I'm going to order a couple of Frost's blades from Lee Valley while I can still use them!

Jimbo

 
Excellent question. Many of us probably get jaded into thinking that you have to have a Reeve or Randall to get by in the woods, but many, many people have done alot with "lesser" blades.

Before I eventually moved up to the "Busse" level, I was very happy with two old knives, a Grohmann, and a CS Master Hunter. These served me very well for many years, and the only reason I don't have them now is because I passed them on to others who needed sturdy reliable blades.

A good friend has a SRK that's "been there, done that", with plenty of character marks to show for it. A Busse might take a better edge and keep it longer, but will the SRK, or Master Hunter, or Grohmann still get the job done? Absolutely.

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Don LeHue

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings...they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
 
another good and fairly inexpensive knife is the junglee shenzi. they are about 45 to 50 dollars. the are really well made knives. i got one because it felt really good in my hand(balance was perfect for me) and i have used it fairly hard since(6 months). it has held up like it should and the aus 8 steel holds an edge well. i still want a benchmade afo or a syderco police but this is just as good a knife in my opinion.

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i know what your thinking. does he load five or does he load SIX?- dirty harry.
always load six.-me
 
Artist (can I call you Prince), you are confused. The line you quote is from "The Outlaw Josey Wales" becuase he is usinf an old single action that is unsafe to carry with six loaded chambers.

The line you are thinking of is when Clint asks the bad guy "Did I shoot five or six?"

I am a HUGE Eastwood fan, but I may be mistaken.

Now for the relevant commentary.

The Bushman is by far the best knife ever offered for under 20 bucks. I got mine for 10. The torture tests are true: they are not breakable under any sort of normal use (and few abnormal uses).

I want to get a Frost of Sweden, but have only seen them in SMKW, and I hate to pay as much for shipping as I do for a knife.

And the True Flight is an awesome suvival knife. The cor hadle is comfortable, the knife is 3/16 Carbon V and has a good grind. You can get a sheath from CS for five bucks. Fits so flat againsst the body that I hardly notice it.

 
I'm with Jimbo. One of my favorite knives is a 4.25" Frost's laminated blade from Lee Valley Tools which I mounted in a section of moose antler, taken on a hunting trip to the Dease River a few years ago, and made a dangler sheath out of latigo leather. A trapper friend of mine liked using it so much for tough skinning jobs (specifically, fleshing out otter) that I made him one like it.
 
As someone else mentioned Opinels are nice knives, especially for the money. In the Mora knives I've been happy with 4in $5 to $10 Ericksson carbon steel knives, and recently picked up a Frosts Clipper to see how it compares. So far it looks similar as both cut very well. For a bigger knife the discontinued Cold Steel Red River models like the Elk Hunter are nice, 6in Carbon V blades, funky sheaths and handles that need some shaping, but they're a lot of knife for $8 to $10. I'm also partial to carbon steel Old Timers, where something like a large stockman can be had for around $20 at Sears or Walmart. Nice Swiss Army knives can also be found for around $15 to $20.
 
I just read an article on the e tool in american survival guide. I bought a cold steel special forces shovel on the net for 11 bones. This little unit is very stout. Anyone who ventures in the bush should have one. It can dig, chop, and ibe used as a close combat weapon to portect yourself against man or beast. I also have a 10 year old srk that still keeps on ticking. The crapy sheath is shot and the coating is worn off but I would have to say its been through hell and back and still going strong. Now if I could find a good concealex sheath.
Buckshot
 
Buckshot,

I am glad you like the etool, I love mine and jsut bought 3 more for relatives (make great fathers day presents.

As to the sheath you describe, there are several good manufactiurers of custom kydex sheaths, I will look them up and try to post them for you.

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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
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