what size knife for outdoor/survival use?

Ever thought about a khukuri? The 12-15 inchers (12" Ang Khola, 13" Pen Knife, 15" Sirupati and British Army Service from Himalayan Imports) do the job of axes while packing quite light, have a steel (chakmak) and a small knife (karda) in the scabbard too. Hard to beat if you ask me because you do not need to carry axe and larger knife. I also have a 16.5 khukuri from HI that weights 23 oz - shelter building with this knife is fast and easy. The bulky scabbard however could be replaced by a homemade one from kydex. So my combo would be
1. SAK outrider (like the rucksack but with scissors and phillips screwdriver)
2. 16.5" HI chiruwa Ang Khola Khukuri or if I have to pack lighter 13" HI Pen Knife (pics below)
16-5in%20chiruwa%20ak%20-%20ank.jpg

penknife.jpg


for "conventional" survival type blades I like the
Schrade BT01 (has a sawback that actually works and a good sheath with pouches but is not a very good chopper due to the hammer and claw at the end of the handle - if you want a knife with many features - here it is)
and the
Fallkniven A1 (a good and relieable "prybar-type" knife made from VG10)


If I could only pick one as a camp knife I would take the HI Pen-Knife (bellied enough to chop, straight enough to stab, wide enough to dig) - and as you mention self defence - I surely would not like to be on the receiving end of a khukuri...
Andreas
 
from my experince, There are many things that a shealth knife can do that a pocket knife cannot do and the biggest thing is chopping in a fast manner. I have a BQM kukri knife from ontario knives that holds an edge very well and cuts extremely well. the blade is 12 inches. I also carry a Mk III Mod O navycombat knife with a 6 inch blade. what I carry depends on the environment that I am going into. but I always carry a pocket knife so supplement the small tasks that the shealth knife cannot perform very well. :D
 
i have used a ka-bar in Real world survival situations. the only thing thats hard to do with it is pic bits of metal or wood out of your own flesh :eek: . this is why you alway carry your favorate :) swiss army knife with you,because survival situation don't wait until you have time to pack all the gear you think you might need! as a result of pass actions i now have a web gear set up with basic needs type gear(fire water sheater defence) oh, to echo the other gentleman a knife is not a replacement for a gun. my choice for a survival situation is a small bolt 22lr.,yes 22LR. wieght is an issue a ak47 mag wieghts 2lbs. loaded. a box of 550 federal 22lr from walmart wieghts about the same,you do the math. i have a chipmunk and can hit and harvest rabbits at 60 yards all day. i can do it at 25 yards really quiet with either cci cb longs or sss aguila. well good luck, be sure to test ALL equipment in the field for effectiveness be fore betting your life or that of loved ones on it working! :D one last thing..if your serious about survival learn to trap,i caught five times as much food as i was able to find to shoot at it takes a lot less energy to trap than hunt. ka-bar can do most of the things that a small knfe can,but a small knife can't do many of the things as easy as a large sturdy knife can well that's my 2 cents and some change...good luck GOD BLESS AMERICA! :D
 
I have to ask this question why are you chopping a 3 1/2 inch piece of wood with you knife??????????
 
to save time and work efficiently try nicking the first growth ring this will cause a compromise in the woods ability to take a bend exactly at that point wedge it between two trees and walk with it. Saves time and energy. And by the way it is not easier with a knife then your hand if you are like me I watched every episode of kungFu ;)
 
I spend a lot of time in the outdoors and have carried knives big and small. My 2" brusletto balder will do 90% of everything I've ever had to do, including taking down 3" saplings. It's not easy, but it's possible. That being said, I carry a hatchet to chop and keep my knives sharp and ready for cutting. My SAK saw will get through a 3.5" sapling as fast as any 7-9" knife... I have big blades, but they never really see any action in the woods, and thus get left home lately, unless self defense is a possibility...

I think it's wise to be able to perform necessary tasks with big OR small blades, or no blades at all for that matter. practice, practice, practice....
 
Well....I took the route of making my latest favorites. You can see what I have done on my homepage in my signature. My sidekick would be a spydeco or a carbon steel Eye brand sodbuster. 4.25" closed I think.........

I recently had to trim limbs from out front lawn and used the large blade that is first on my homepage. Made quick work of 5" dia. limbs and is a breaze to sharpen......

If I had to buy a survival blade I think the khurki is hard to beat if your chopping and shelter building. I'd get a BK-9 or similar as well :cool:
 
Anytime I am in the boondocks I carry the following blades:
randall model 14 single hilt with borderpatrol handle
leatherman wave
swisschamp
rackforge utility/hunter
Alot of folks{and hikers}think its alot to carry but if you have it when you need it then it paid off
 
bladefan said:
Question for all you extreme campers/suvivalists... which size knife is more
useful / practical for camp use and self defense? 5-7" or 9-11" what is your experience in using knives of these sizes...
Click to expand...

Tough, call. IDEALISTICALLY, it depends on you siuation. In a "real world", beggars can't be choosers. :eek:
 
If a SAK saw cuts through a 3.5" piece of wood as fast as a 9" blade, that is a *REALLY* poorly designed 9" blade. Either way too light like a fillet blade, or something really thick and overbuilt, a high quality chopping blade of that class is many to ones times faster than the saw on a SAK. Even something like the Becker Combat Bowie, which isn't near the top in terms of chopping ability is many times faster than a SAK saw.

The best survivial blade is one that you are comfortable using, suits your needs, skills and enviroment. When any of these change so does the design of the optimal blade.

There are lots of woods which a hatchet fails to cut well, but a blade severes easily, the opposite it also true. Know what you have to do, get some experience with your surroundings.

-Cliff
 
Cliff....you would like beating around one of my blades :)

I too think Becker blades are awsome in design and cost........I'd like to get one. in the near future.
 
I recently tested my Busse BA3 against SAK and Leatherman Wave saws. Busse lost and by a huge margin: it took me about 20 seconds to cut a tree branch with any of these saws while Busse took more than 1.5 minutes. But, well, BA3 is not a really good chopper and it was not designed for chopping as its main application, I agree. But I do not think it performed much worse than other middle blade length Busses.
 
I'll go in a little different direction . . . If in a survival situation, I would want a versatile chopper and an SAK or multitool. What is different about my response is what I would recommend as a chopper. There is only one chopper that I have tried that works well on light vegetation as well as large logs and that is the Gerber Brush thinner. I own two of them and they are phenomenal. I have loaned them out in Central America and seen locals cut down 10" diameter trees, limb them out and make a serious pile of firewood. I have also cut thin grasses and briars with them. In short, they do everything I love about a machete as well as everything I love about a hand axe in a package that weighs LESS THAN A POUND!! (15.1 oz) The handle does not trasmit hand shock and is an excellent buy at around the $25-30 mark. Give one a try!
http://www.knivesplus.com/gerber-knife-gb-42773.html

Edit to add: This is nothing more than my opinion based on comparisons while primarily living in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for a few years.
 
canranger said:
to save time and work efficiently try nicking the first growth ring this will cause a compromise in the woods ability to take a bend exactly at that point wedge it between two trees and walk with it. QUOTE]

my thoughts too...I usually just chop enough to then break it with my foot or a wedge (whatever is around)...

unless it's soft wood that doesn't split/crack easily....
Click to expand...
 
Recently I tried 9.5" knife. Well, I always thought about these "Rambo" blades that they are good for chopping only, but now I will agree that you can even peel potatos with them! Well, not for a large group of people, but for 2-3 it will be ok. It is quite a versitile knife. It chops great also. The only drawback of the knife I used was weight - I would not want to carry it on long trips, but if you camp from a car it is not a problem.
Now I am not sure if I want a smatchet or a large knife! :D
 
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