Hello all,

I am looking to buy a more survival capable pocket knife and I would like some commentary and/or reccomendations.

I am looking at the two knives below, but would also like to hear some coices within the following parameters:

3" plus drop point blade

locking, either linerlock or lockback (I don't want anything that is too complex)

Single Plain Edged Blade

No pocket clip

Under $50

http://www.gerberblades.com/products/view.php?model=7170

http://www.gerberblades.com/products/view.php?model=6064

The Gerber freeman is an ok knife.

My number one choice would be:

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.asp?model=10300

Another would be a Kershaw storm maybe. $50 is hard to work with, usually knives over 3 inches that have an MSRP of $50 or less arn't of the best of quality.

$50 is somewhat limiting. Let's call it $100. After shopping around for the last few days, I would say $100 is till low, but I would hope to be able to find an adequate knife for that. Am I wrong?

I don't own one, so...

But this looks like it might work, and Spyderco has a good rep in general. Spyderco Goddard

3 5/8" drop point blade, lockback, $47.

Guys:

I like knives in general.

If money were no object, there are a lot of knives I would buy just for the design to hang on the walls of my house.

My criteria for working knives is that they do the job for which I pull them out to do.

My every day knife which I keep clipped to my left hand shirt pocket is an inexpensive Field and Stream liner lock that so far is holding its edge very well and so far it has done everything I have needed to do. Its main qualification for its place on my person is the 3" long blade which is maximum allowable length for pocket carry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cost $5.00.

I would rather carry a very nice liner lock Gerber folder (Standard fingernail opening type folder.) with leather case I own but the blade is 3 1/16" and I don't want it to end up as a confiscated "weapon" in some police impound room. Cost (Gift) $30.00.

My favorite sheath knife is a 40+ year old Craftsman with a carbon steel blade which can cut like a razor and is very easy to resharpen with a fine carbodunm stone and a knife steel. Price (Way back than.) maybe $15.00.

I recently bought a Hungarian made Kalishnakov bayonet with metal sheath that has an integrated wire cutter because the blade is made out of carbon steel (Which I like because of the ease of sharpening.). For serious carry where I would anticipate heavy abusive work, this is the knife I would take with me if I had to chose one. Cost about $25.00.

I have a Swiss bayonet with an 11" stainless steel blade which I wouldn't even try to sharpen the edges on because I think it would be way too much work. I would like to make a hiking stick like the end of a rifle with lugs and steel rod attached to the top of the stick so that I could attach and remove the bayonet . It would make a nice thrusting spear good for pushing unwelcome guests out of your tent, spearing a fish, keeping certain animals at bay, and toasting marshmallows. Cost, about $20.00.

If you have the bucks, play with them as it suits you, but remember, you are never going to put as much use to your knives as someone who lives and works in the wild with knives. The kind of survival situation I am liable to encounter is easily served with my daily $5.00 linerlock. If I go into the woods for hiking or hunting, I would feel good with my $15.00 Craftsman. If I were to go into an extended wilderness trip where hacking and some brute force were necessary, I would take the $25.00 Kalishnakov bayonet, a machete, and an axe.

If something works, it is adequete, and price should not be the final determining factor.

Good luck on whatever you choose.

Bountyhunter

I think I would go with Doug's Benchmade folder. You can buy it HERE for exactly $104.95! Pretty darn close to $100. I have never had the oportunity to work with one but based on the specs I'd say it is far beyond the quality of any other folding knife I have found for that price. Personally I don't favor folders for survival/hard-use situations (chopping/digging/etc) I went to the doctor for stitches enough times a a young boy. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> My current hard-use knife of choice is a SOG Northwest Ranger which is an AUS6 Stainless, Rc 56-58 non-folding knife with a 5" x .160" blade, an overall length of 9.75" and a weight of 6.5oz w/ sheath. Oh and you can find them for around $80 I think. I can't remember exactly what I paid for mine.

You can get that Gator in 154cm (sadly discontinued) which is a preferable steel to the generic 400-series they use now for less than $50: Jungle Warehouse

Or, that Freeman is available in S30V from Cabelas

I would also recommend you take a hard look at Doug's RSK or a regular Griptilian. The axis lock is a little more complicated than others, but it does have dual springs, so there is some failover. Spyderco's clip-it line has a bunch of models in that size/price range in VG-10 steel too.

The pockets clips on those that come with should be removable.

Not a drop point, but you can get a semi-custom Buck 110 with a blade in ATS-34 or BG-42 starting at $80.00

I'd go with the Gator. The Freeman is just too heavy for carrying - unless you wear suspenders.

Though ... I recommend you save your pennies and invest in Doug's knife with either the recommended sheath (I like it) or Benchmades large nylon sheath.

I myself purchased a Buck Alpha Hunter - which is much like the Freeman - and though it is a very nice knife, I found it much too heavy to carry. After that I decided to invest in Doug's knife and have been very happy with it. A great knife, though my wife thinks I'm mad for spending that much on a knife.

Doug's knife really looks good based on the specs alone not to mention that I haven't heard a single bad word about it from anyone that owns one. I especially like the locking system. I think that's the safest folder locking system I have ever seen. Although even Doug would probably tell you that a sheath knife is probably preferable, there's no doubt that folders certainly are more socially acceptable for EDC. I have considered trading in my SOG multi-tool (my current EDC) for Doug's folder on many occasions. I may still eventually.... who knows.

Added note. I am lucky enough to live in a state that allows carry of any single-edged knife (sheath or folding) with a blade of 5" or less so I just wish the blade was a little longer. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

"I recently bought a Hungarian made Kalishnakov bayonet with metal sheath...." <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I've been happy with the Cold Steel Voyager series. You can get them for about half retail through discount dealers, gun shows, etc. At that price they're a good value.

Fancier knives are wonderful but they're really for connoisseurs; there's not much functionality advantage.

I have to disagree with you on expensive knives being only for connoisseurs especially when it comes to more expensive knives and the hardness of the steel and the resulting ability of the knife to hold an edge. When I pay $100 for a SOG it's for the rc56-58 steel that is extremely difficult to dull, not to mention the best grip I have ever felt on a truely full tang knife. On a side note I just bought an RSK (rc58-60!!) because this thread made me curious. I am pretty hard on my knives and think that S30V steel blade was worth every penny (and probably more). We'll know for sure after I take it hiking this weekend. I always look for the hardest possible steel I can find when shopping for a new blade. If you want to know how hard I am on my knives... the last knife I ruined was a Kershaw Leek. I tore up the serrations while cutting a battery cable. I had no choice. I was stuck on the side of the road and had to get to work right away. If it had been better steel it probably would have survived. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One of the reasons I have preferred carbon steel over stainless in the past is the ability to resharpen them easily.

If a blade is so hard that it resists becoming dull, then isn't it also more brittle and subject to breaking, and also wouldn't it resist easy resharpening?

Resharpening at home with time and convenience on your side may be great for a hard knife to sharpen, but easy retouching in the field appeals to me.

Bountyhunter

Thanks to everyone for your input. Since my original post, I have decided not to go with either the Gerber Gator or Freeman folder.

After having taken some of the suggestions here to heart, accompanied with some more research, I believe I'm going to go with either a Benchmade Griptilian Mini or a Gerber EZ Out.

In the past I have been a major believer in the "you get what you pay for attitude", but I have determined that there ought to be a reasonable balance. I really can't justify spending $100 or more on a knife, put I don't want a piece of junk either.

Thanks again to everyone, I'm learning alot from the input here.

Go with the mini-grip, can't go wrong with that.

Steel doesn't have much to do with making an expensive knife expensive, and anyway edge retention isn't that big a deal since you can always re-sharpen the knife. You might want to carry a diamond plate or even a piece of sandpaper so you can resharpen. For serrated edges I guess you need a sharpening cone. Spyderco and Cold Steel will resharpen your knife for free if you send it back to them, so maybe Kershaw will do the same. Best knife deal IMO: the Frosts of Sweden 760 and related models, 4" fixed blade with Scandinavian grind, $10 or so with crummy plastic sheath.

If you can find one I suggest a Gerber Bolt Action Utility.It's around $40 and has a secure lock.It is a 3 inch stainless blade in a Zytel handle.It is a decent blade for the money.
BOATMAN
John

I never have to resharpen in the field because my knives don't get dull that fast and I do use them hard. I would never want to carry a sharpening stone in the field (although sometimes I do). I travel as light as possible and would rather choose a hard steel knife that does not require field sharpening. On a side note my Kershaw was not repairable. At least not possible to get it where I would want to carry it again. I gave it to a co-worker who had never owned a pocket knife, always admired it and did not mind at all that the serrations were all but gone. The serrations were all but completely removed from it from the battery cable incident.

You are absolutely correct that sharpening hard steel is a major pain but since it doesn't have to be done that often it's really not so bad, especially with a good high quality sharpener like a Lanskey. You are also correct about the hard steel blades chipping/breaking as I found out this weekend with my new Benchmade RSK MK1. I somehow put a very tiny chip in the blade while at camp. I think I did it while prying open the lid on a Sterno can which the Benchmade documentation clearly states is not an intended use and voids the warranty. In defense of Doug Ritter and his fine hard-steel knife though, it is an extremely tiny chip which I will easily hone out in about an hour with a fine stone. Also, even though the blade chipped from the way I used it, it was still literally razor sharp over almost the entire blade after a lot of hard use including digging small starter holes for tent posts in extemely dry, hard ground with a lot of rock. I was even able to slice Katadyn Micropur MP1 water purification tablet in half on a rock right through the foil packaging. This is something I have attempted in the past with single-edged razor blades and the RSK did a better job due to the drop point blade shape that was still holding a razor sharp edge, even after a day and a half of very hard use. Today it's Monday and I'm back at work and most of the blade still shaves the hair on the back of my arm. I wouldn't even consider bringing a field sharpener for this knife unless I was going to be gone for a week or longer and doing a lot more digging, prying, and cutting on rocks. Plus if I was in the feild for a week or longer then I think I'd have time to sharpen even the toughest steel with a small diamond sharpener. Since we consider most survival situations to be three days to one week at most, I see no need to carry a sharpener in your kit if this is the knife you carry.

I realize there are benefits to both hard and soft steel but all-in-all after about 25 years of working with almost every variation of field knife known to man, I'm giving Doug's Benchmade RSK MK1 two thumbs up! It's extremely hard steel (hardest I currently own at rc58-60), very light weight at 3.6oz and is one of the few folders that has a locking mechanism that I actually trust for really hard usage.

Thanks Doug ... It was worth every penny!