The Survive! Knife Alternatives Thread. All suggestions WELCOME!

coolbreezy37 said:
Volunteer Knife Volunteer Knife also makes great looking knives for an awesome price, but they’re pretty rare. Never heard a single complaint about them and their definitely on my to buy list.
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About 6 months ago I bought a Volunteer Model 4 from a member here on the exchange. I had never heard of this maker before but I liked the way the Model 4 looked so I bought it. It’s such a cleanly executed 3v knife, that decided to contact Volunteer and order a Model 11. 12 weeks later and the Model 11 in AEB-L is on the way to me. This is a maker to keep an eye on. Everything seems dialed in. Finding one is hard and there is never anything available on the website but shooting them a message and placing an order via an email correspondence with the maker seemed straightforward enough. Hope we see more knives from them (husband and wife team).

BB200087-FA09-4EA3-B92A-FC5DE615652A.jpeg5904FB5B-0756-4B99-9F31-699119E4C62B.jpegBFB08733-4C35-4BCF-A52B-2E65F37BDBEB.jpeg73C4F2E5-BFC4-40CD-95E5-299A0EF00078.jpeg
 
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rlewpolar said:
About 6 months ago I bought a Volunteer Model 4 from a member here on the exchange. I had never heard of this maker before but I liked the way the Model 4 looked so I bought it. It’s such a cleanly executed 3v knife, that decided to contact Volunteer and order a Model 11. 12 weeks later and the Model 11 in AEB-L is on the way to me. This is a maker to keep an eye on. Everything seems dialed in. Finding one is hard and there is never anything available on the website but shooting them a message and placing an order via an email correspondence with the maker seemed straightforward enough. Hope we see more knives from them (husband and wife team).

View attachment 2404733View attachment 2404734View attachment 2404736View attachment 2404735
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I just got a Model 11 in 3V incoming. Knife looks incredible!
 
coolbreezy37 said:
Picture courtesy of Volunteer Knife Volunteer Knife . But it is the knife that I will be receiving from Bart and Whitney.View attachment 2409548
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I can honestly say that my Model 11 is one of the few knives that came in absolutely flawless. The quality is off the charts. I put in an order for a Model 3.5 the very next day. Supposed to ship this week, he just finished a batch and put one aside for me. This maker is a sleeper in the knife world. I’m betting he doesn’t stay that way for long.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
If the only reason you want a magnacut version of the DEK is corrosion resistance, I wouldn't bother. Delta 3V is nearly stainless.

I took my knife to New Zealand March of 2023, processed a red stag, didn't clean the blade and sheathed it. It stayed that way for nearly 3 weeks in very very humid weather (forgot about it). No patina, no rust.
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Yeah I haven't been able to get my d3v to patina or rust. I've had my Peter's heat treat 3v (awesome ht for edge retention) and my d3v in the same bag, Peter's rusted, d3v hasn't. I carry my dek1 and sweat on it all day long, leave it all Nighy. Have still never gotten any rust. I lived and used my knives extensively up in the PNW too. D3v is stainless in my experience and the biggest reason I choose it over other 3v knives
 
coolbreezy37 said:
My DEK2 in D3V rusted from sweat. It trapped under the scales and I never even considered it. View attachment 2425883
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That’s not much rust for being under removable handles that are near sweat and on a not technically stainless steel. Even many “stainless” blades can rust as stainless means it stains less not that it cannot stain. If sweat (salty and corrosive) gets trapped against a blade for extended periods it can cause a little corrosion on many stainless steels but that will come right off with an little elbow grease. You might be left with some patina on your 3v but the rust will come right off as it’s only surface level.
You could maybe coat the blade under the handle or just epoxy the handles on to prevent future rust if it’s a big concern for you
 
Antonymous said:
That’s very little rust for being under removable handles that are near sweat and on a not technically stainless steel. Even many “stainless” blades can rust as stainless means it stains less not that it cannot stain. If sweat (salty and corrosive) gets trapped against a blade for extended periods it can cause a little corrosion on many stainless steels but that will come right off with an little elbow grease. You might be left with some patina on your 3v but the rust will come right off as it’s only surface level.
You could maybe coat the blade under the handle or just epoxy the handles on to prevent future rust if it’s a big concern for you
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It’s not a big concern for me, this is an ultra hard use fixed blade that gets used ultra hard. This is one of the best knives I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning and using. I’m just saying it’s not as corrosion resistant as some would believe.
 
knivesgr said:
How’s trc heat treat compared to carothers
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There isn’t much crossover in the steels they use, but TRC is top notch across the board. Even their m390, which isn’t known as a “tough” steel can take an absolute beating. Their fit and finish is in a league of its own that I’d compare to Shirogorov except in the fixed blade world.

CPK and TRC are my favorites for fixed blades. Honestly I carry more TRC because they make a lot of variations in EDC sizes.

I’m surprised TRC doesn’t get more love, if they were a US company they’d be as hard to get as CPK. Grab one before more people find out! 😎
 
Great thread! As an old guy, i'm just amazed at all the choices that exists today, and all the fine bladesmiths, it's really an extraordinary time to be alive if you're a knife enthusiast!

I have a bunch of older big blades that work great from several manufacturers, but for decades Buck has been my go-to for field blades most of the time, the venerable 119 has been around for over 80 years now and is very well tested and proven. And these days, Buck has expanded in design and also steel, the below picture is of 3 of my little collection, top one is Magnacut, bottom one is 3V, both with modified clip point. The middle is the 75th anniversary model from 2017 in 420HC. I would feel well-equipped in a survival situation with any of them.

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knivesgr said:
How is Lionsteel heat treatment. Are they as tough as the rest
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I have the T6 and it is a massive beautiful bruiser of a knife. Haven’t done anything with it so can’t comment on the heat treat but I recently sent out my Lionsteel M1 to a member here to put a really fine edge on it and he reported that the blade was very hard. I think the Lionsteels in the heat treat department are good to go
 
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