I've been really intrigued by that knife, though I haven't seen/handled it in person.

OK, my survival ignorance is going to show here, but...

I've been reading several forums lately while researching to purchase a good fixed blade knife. I already have the wonderfull RSK folder and like it a lot, but I would also like to have a good fixed blade too.

Why? Well, the primary use most likely won't be survival, it will be for messy food preparation while camping. I hate to get food guts, meat or fruit, inside the folder.

Given that I find myself in a survival situation, having a stronger fixed blade to backup my RSK, or via versa. I'm a big believer in having backups to key equipment (knives, fire starting, water collection/cleaning, shelter, navigation).

When I read survival forums (this and others) and web sites it seems the primary function of a survival knife is to chop down small trees - I suppose this is to build shelters (though Gilligan managed to create a peddle-car).

I've also read about using them to slice, but it not clear what they are supposed to slice. I did read something about slicing an onion (typical survival rations?). The Becker Crewman looks interesting - apparently great for cutting down small trees - but I wonder how it would do cutting apples, carrots, or potatoes or slicing meat for cooking (what I think of a slicing)? Oh, and I really worry about the carbon bladed knives rusting. While I do take care of my knives, I can't be sure I'll oil a blade within 24 hours of use.

I guess I figure just about any decent knife could cut a tree big enough to hold up a tarp. I'm not planning to build a log cabin (or a car). If I need to take down a tree, I'd rather use a saw. If I need to split wood, I found a great tool for that. Its about the size of a hatchet, but much much thicker. Think of a broad wedge on a handle. It works very well, but is too heavy for backpacking. To be honest, when camping I almost never split wood. Instead I find small dead branches small enough for the task. To me, splitting wood is for car camping or home use.

Those who like the TAK (in general) might be interested in the RAT3 as posted on the RAT site itself (nothing on Ontario's site yet):



This might just be a righteous little blade... if they don't mess it up too much between prototype and production.

KenK,

There are always more specialized tools to do a specific job easier. The value of a good knife is that it's a very generalized tool (possibly THE most generalized tool), that may not do all the jobs as well, but it WILL do them. Since you're unlikely to have all the specialized tools in a field emergency, having a generalized tool can easily become a lifesaver. This is why the current thought in "survival" knives is that the more general-purpose it is, the less specialized it is, the more tasks it will do, the better.

Part of the answer to your question about the value of cutting wood is not just shelter, but fire. When it's been really raining for some time, the only dry wood to be found may well be... inside the wet wood. Sometimes deep inside. That, and the need to fabricate things out of wood (traps, stakes, handles, shelter, whatever) amounts to a critical distinction from a "hunting" (skinning) knife, which is seldom if ever called on to deal with wood.

I split wood quite easily with my Benchmade DPT Rant.

I'll second the need for splitting wood. After heavy rains that 1" diameter piece of kindling maybe soaked to the core. Batoning through some larger pieces of wood may be the only way to get to dry wood. Sometimes you need to baton all 4 sides to get at the heart of the wood.

It's a skill that should be practiced.

Adam

See, I knew my ignorance was showing. Thanks so very much for the insight - I hadn't thought of the need for dry core-wood. I have great great respect for the knowledge and experience on this forum. You folks amaze me!!

So I have to ask given that I've never held one in my hand: If I bought a Becker Crewman and used it to slice a tomato, would I have slices or tomato sauce?

I'm serious. Just trying to get a feel for how much of a brute the Crewman is. Its blade doesn't seem much thicker than many of the other knives discussed here.

I couldn't help but notice that one of Doug's lists mentions he carries the 5 inch Crewman. The next question is: Why limit oneself to the 5 inch knife when the 7 inch version is similar in cost? It seems the seven inch version would do much better for chopping/splitting. Or for that matter the 9 inch bowie.

ALSO, the Knife Forum survival forum talks ALOT about Bark River knifes, but I don't recall them mentioned much here. Why is that? I guess I'm bothered by the fact that they don't have much of a hilt and I fear that a slipped hand will get sliced, especially during rough use.

You can sharpen any knife sharp enough to slice a tomato. You could even sharpen an axe well enough. Actually, tomatoes slice better with a slightly coarse sharpening, the micro-serations saw through better. The tomato skin just pushes aside with a glossy razor sharp knife.

It's usually not the cost that matters, it's the size of knife one is willing to carry, or fit into ones PSK. I don't want to go around looking like Aragorn.

Just because a blade is"big", doesn't mean you can't do fine work with it, I once won a cash bet by getting 16 slices out of a tomato using a meat cleaver, they were all flat, firm and true, but I had worked the edge of the cleaver up before starting to slice the tomato. I won another bet by shaving my right arm bare with a machete, I got some strange looks with one bare arm for a while, but fifty bucks was fifty bucks.

Troy

I’ve been looking at the Bark Rivers. I think that they are aesthetically pleasing, they look to be the size I’m looking for (the Mini & Mikro look like they would make great EDC’s), and the A2 steel seems like a good enough choice. My concern is, and this is only my preference, the hollow grind. I don’t hunt, so I rarely cut flesh (on purpose anyway). I mostly cut wood, rope, plastic, cardboard, radiator hoses, orange peels, and the occasional beer can. I want a blade that is pretty beefy right up the cutting edge. I also want something that I can easily sharpen in the field (with or without a jig). So for me, the hollow grind isn’t the best choice. (Of course, now I’ll find out that I’m wrong about the grind.). As far as the hilt is concerned, I don’t see that as a huge problem as the knives appear to be designed for finer work.

For what it’s worth,
Biscuits

I’ve been looking at the TAK. It looks like a good sized knife. I didn’t know about the RAT-3 until you mentioned it. (Thanks, by the way). I think I’ll wait until Dec. and see what the final product looks like.

Thanks for the heads up,
Biscuits