$10-ish survival knife?

Okay, I'll admit you won't get a top shelf knife for the $10-ish price range. But what would you choose if you had to get a cheap knife for a survival kit? For the sake of argument let's say we're talking boreal forest, any season. Ten bucks in the general range, with maybe a buck or two leeway.

A couple ideas I'll throw out there; Mora or Opinel. Neither would be a great choice for batonning but both will take very good edges. Several Mora knives can be had for right around $10 if you shop carefully, as can Opinels like the No7 or smaller. Also, both can be had in carbon steel for that price (a little better for use with a firesteel and generally takes a better edge- not too worried about rusting in a survival situation).

What would you folks suggest? FWIW I'm specifying a lower priced knife for a situation where you had to put together kits for a number of people, making price an issue.

Alternatively, what cheaper blades have you tried and found to be unsatisfactory, even for the money?

Hultafors Craftmans Knife Heavy-Duty GK HULGK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hultafors-Craftmans-Heavy-Duty-GK-HULGK/dp/B004O9MIE4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyqGjwOZuxs

Edit - just checked Amazon.com, the Hultfors Craftmans Knife is available for $10.83 with Free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B...p;condition=new

I wouldn't worry one bit about using either of the Moras I have. I am sure they would accomplish any essential tasks they were called for - which would not include batoning, which is just plain silly IMHO.

Mora 510, with 202 reviews on amazon. I give them as gifts. Carbon steel, $8.99 on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Craftline...=mora+510+Knife

It's hard to beat the plastic handled Moras for value per dollar. They will take quite a bit of abuse and keep going. Note however that they are cutting tools not prybars. I have noticed that the carbon steel blades are vulnerable to corrosion where the blade meets the plastic, creating a potential weak point over time; not a negative, just something to be managed.

I like the Opinels for their aesthetic quality and the edge they will take. Great for whittling. However, they don't strike me as terribly robust from an abuse point of view. Worst, the wood swells if it gets wet and you can't get the blade out without pliers. Not a good choice IMO.

Don't forget about the Old Hickory knives made by Ontario. Not tacticool, but very much the type of blade that won the West (as the phrase goes). Very inexpensive, with 1095 carbon steel that takes a wicked edge. I think they make a dandy bush knife, though you have to make your own sheath. Some blades are thicker than others.

victorinox paring knife with sheath

Last time I was at the Randall Knife factory store in Orlando, I passed up the opportunity to get a $375 model 14 in favor of a paring knife from Victorinox, stamped on the blade "Randall Made Knives". Very sharp, in daily use in the kitchen, and altogether more sensible than the sharpened pry bar.

Alternatively, can the knife concept entirely, and substitute emt scissors and produce a kit that TSA will allow in carry-on luggage.

go to a garage sale. buy a used butcher knife for $2-5. As best I can tell, an older butcher knife is just about the same thing as a modern bush craft knife without the price tag and marketing malarkey.

My choice used to be a carbon steel Mora Clipper, but now it's the SOG Field Pup (seems to be perpetually on sale at Cabela's these days).

http://www.cabelas.com/product/SOG-Field...ch-All+Products

Mora hands down. And if you use proper technique and are smart about it you can baton wth them just fine.

Get an OLD HICKORY butcher knife and modify it.The edge can be convexed and has enough carbon content that it can spark on flint or quartzite rock.It might be a little more than ten dollars but its a "modern" version of a trade knife.They have gone up in price but the COLD STEEL Bushman is another bombproof blade.Cold steel often has a "threefer" deal on these....

BOATMAN
John

I like the Field Pup too. It has a better handle and sheath than the Moras.

The field pup is an excellent value (I own two of the older aus8 versions); a better knife than many of the moras. But even at cabelas it's $15 plus shipping, which is not quite in the "$10 ish" rangs.

If shipping and tax have to be included against that $10, then there's not much to suggest. I doubt you could even get a Mora to your door for under $10 including shipping, tax, etc.

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If shipping and tax have to be included against that $10, then there's not much to suggest. I doubt you could even get a Mora to your door for under $10 including shipping, tax, etc. [/quote]

See my earlier post - mora 510 is $8.99 at amazon, and free shipping if you're an amazon prime member.

Go to the junkyard, buy a 2 foot piece of scrap spring steel for $5. Spend a couple weeks working it into shape. Get some scrap oak or hickory or maple or alder and whittle up some handles. That should about do it.

Why $10, Phaedrus? Is there an overall budget you're working with? How did you arrive at this number?

Since Phaedrus is looking to put together kits for a number of people, it seems like the Mora knife on Amazon ought to be suitable at $8.95, with free shipping for orders more than $25. He can order three or more of them, wait two weeks, and the Brown Truck of Happiness will appear at his doorsteps. Problem solved!

Also, Hikermor: why do you say batoning is silly?

Thanks for the link. I do have a Field Pup and it's an awesome knife! At $15 it's probably the best knife out there. Shame it's the leather sheath; the nylon one is much better. Truly, there may not be a better knife for under $20 than that little SOG. Perhaps a little too expensive for my application but it bears consideration. I think the main issue I may have would be that it might be a little bit too bulky for my needs, but it might work.




I'm in trouble already! I realize that batonning remains controversial. When camping or hiking when I am building a fire, most of the time I prepare kindling by batonning it. I find I can split wood much more accurately and safely with a knife than with an axe. It's just a more precise method, at least for me. True- you could probably build a hundred fires in good conditions without having to split any wood at all. But in bad conditions, especially when it's wet, any wood you scrounge may need to be split to get at the dry part. In a survival situation you probably wouldn't want to risk your most important tool unless you had to but you may have to.




Well, the number is somewhat arbitrary. True, I could spend more on the knife and less somewhere else. Or simply spend more altogether. The problem is price creep- a little more for the knife, a little more for the mirror, a bit more for a better space blanket, etc. and suddenly your $30 kit is $50. I have to draw the line somewhere.

The Mora and Opinel knives both skate in just under $10 delivered and are both very good knives IMO. Not just good cheap knives but good knives, period. Especially the carbon ones. Not so crazy about the Opinel INOX, though. A Mora SS is a bit better.

Thanks for all the suggestions! There are a few out there that I hadn't heard of (a real shocker, knife geek that I am!) and a couple deals that I hadn't seen (especially the $15 SOG...I paid $35 for mine!).

The paring knife idea does have some merit; a bushcraft knife is really just a knife. Few of them have serviceable sheaths, though, something I need for this kit unless it's a folder. Adding a separate sheath would drive up the cost a bit. I would prefer to get a number of the same knife as opposed to a mish-mash of different blades for consistency.

I have built a fair number of fires in bad conditions, when it was raining and the woods were soaked. Generally the biggest problem has been the accompanying wind, which makes the process rather difficult. I can find dry tinder and small stuff by searching the inner parts of large, thick conifers. Hopefully I can find some standing pine knots in a snag. I have always split my wood by stomping or dropping a rock on a suspended log. A few minutes of that will produce enough kindling for an all night fire. When the rain continues, we just build a wigwam of kindling and logs and let the fire dry them out.

We all do check the weather report when we go out, don't we? I learned long ago that a good stove is well worth the weight in crummy conditions. You get that nice cup of tea a lot faster.

Batoning isn't environmentally bad, and it does demonstrate that you do indeed have a good,tough knife, but I have just never had to do it.

Although I do recall one SAR incident where we were treating a victim with lots of injuries (his injuries had injuries). We had used up all our splinting material and I was eyeing a nearby sapling, thinking "I am going to carve away everything that doesn't look like a splint." The sapling was saved when reinforcements,with fresh splints, arrived.

The Field Pup sounds intriguing - one can always use another good, cheap knife.

Making a sheath is pretty easy. Leather is a poor choice, due to issues with moisture, acid content and blade damage, and ease of manipulation. HDPE sheets salvaged from trash, or tyvek envelopes obtained free from the postal service, fastened with duct or electricians tape provide a sturdy and low profile pouch sheath. Add a piece of emery cloth to the side of the sheath for sharpening, and you have a sheath better than most commercial choices. But Benjammin's suggestion of making the knives is the better option: a big, cheap butcher knife or saw blade can be ground down to make several full tang 3 inch blades, providing complete artistic control over blade profile and grind, demystifying the knife-making process and freeing the knife-maker from bondage to the industrial-marketing complex that dominates the commercial knife world.
Knife enthusiasts of the world unit! Cast off your bonds of serfdom! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

Follow this advice.
Sorry that was a bit abrupt. I own a Hultafores Heavy Duty. For a survival kit it is a better choice than the Mora or Field Pup. Both of whom I own and have experience with. The Hultafores is my preferred choice as a back up knife to my Falkniven F1 or as a primary knife in a "budget" kit.

Cold Steel Pendleton Lite Hunter Black Poly Handle
$14.53 shipped if order totals $25

http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Steel-Pendleton-Hunter-Handle/dp/B00322NAE6/ref=pd_cp_hi_3

Better blade shape for skinning/hunting than the Mora's and a stainless blade.

For $10, I'd go with a locking folder. Plus they pack well into kits

Yeah, the CS Pendleton Lite is a terrific knife, amazing for the price. Probably a lot better than the Pup. I got to looking a little more and I see why the Field Pup is so cheap- it's now made in China from a really dubious steel. There's still a version made in Taiwan from AUS8, a much better steel, but that version is $35. Guess that's why mine cost more.

The CS would be at the very top end of the budget but it's a superb knife (I have two of them in fact).

The Hultafores looks really good. Guess that's not a well known brand here in the States as I've never heard of it. I'll have to pick one up to check out though.

The Pendelton Lite is made out of 4116 steel. Pretty much equivalent to 420HC from what I've read. Certainly not a high end steel on that Pendelton either. Many Cold Steel knives are made in Taiwan, and I'll be willing to bet that the Pendelton Lite is one of those, given its prce point.

When you are looking at $15 knives, what do you expect? They will be perfectly serviceable knives, but not high end ones. I would expect the SOG, the Cold Steel and the Mora to all be in the same class of knives - inexpensive, compromises taken in design/materials, but serviceable. I personally do not like the hard plastic handles like on the Pendelton Lite and some of the Moras. They certainly work, but do not exude a feeling of quality craftsmanship. Nothings going to do that as these price points.

Personally I think I would be happy with any of these three knives. I like the softer handle on the SOG the best. The semi-soft Mora Clipper second, and the Pendleton hard plastic third. But that's just my personal preference.

Good enough and popular enough to scare Mora into upgunning the clipper range of knives.
The Hultafores are actually mass produced industrial knives that have been "discovered" by the survival/bushcraft community, as are the Mora knives for that matter. The mistake that most people make is in equating "cheap" with poor quality.

Well, I have two of the CS Pendleton Lite Hunters, a bucket of Moras and quite a few Chinese knives. Now, I will admit at the outset that I'm a chef and steel snob! The Cold Steel takes a very good edge and edge retention is pretty good. The Mora takes a really spectacular edge, also with pretty good retention. But I've never managed to get a really great edge on Chinese 7Cr17Mov or 8cr13Mov. The stuff can't be hardened very high and it seems edge stability is pretty poor. It probably holds a usable edge for survival stuff but isn't great. Overall I don't care much for inexpensive INOX/SS. When you get up into the Japanese stuff there are some great stainless steels. The better 440C variants are decent. When dealing with less expensive steels I feel carbon is usually a better bet.

I'm a pretty serious amateur/semi pro sharpener. I've done (conservatively) hundreds of knives, maybe in the low thousands. I've got three grinders and a couple thousand bucks worth of Japanese water stones. I hesitate to call myself an expert but I know what I like when it comes to steel and the kind of edge I like to use.

Of course, you're right- for $15 you can't expect the world. At any price range, building a knife is all about making the correct compromises. The really cheap ones give up a lot but an inexpensive knife is better than no knife. Price doesn't always equate to quality, that's also true.

BTW, one of the glowing reviews of the CS at Amazon.com is mine. It's a wonderful knife for the money.



I plan to try one of the Hultafores. It bums me out that the place with the best price only has a 74% favorable rating but I'll take my chances. Mora makes great knives for the money but I'm sure they're not the only game in town.

Sorry, meant to comment on this, just forgot. Thanks! You're right, I have noticed that the wood can swell and make the knife very hard to open. Probably not something you want in knife that will ride around in a survival kit! I will cross the Opinel off the list for this application, I think. Nice knives overall, though.

Opinel has plastic knives now, just a matter of time before the popular ones are offered in plastic as well.

Cool! I'll have to look for them.

Not cheap, but Opinel's take on survival knife.

http://www.opinel-usa.com/proddetail.asp?prod=opinel-No8-outdoor

I'd tend to think a folder would be a better fit for a kit as well. I just checked and on Amazon you can get a Gerber BG Scout for $12 (I paid $25 for one!). I think these are a great, basic locking folders.

I suppose other folks may feel differently but I absolutely loathe serrations. I can think of a couple applications they're good for but nothing survival related. Again, JMOHO.

I have tried several knives for this application. As others have mentioned, Opinels seem to be a great choice, but the handles of both carbon and SS swell up when wet and are impossible to open with fingers. I tried a little vegetable oil on the pivot, but it didn't solve the problem. They are however, strong, very sharp, super light, and the lock works great.

I tried a $10 Winchester branded, wood scaled folder from Wally which looked good, had a good pocket clip, and was pretty sharp. It literally fell apart in the pack. The main pivot pin came apart, and I have no idea where the missing part of it went.

The Bucklite Max folder is a great, sturdy little knife. I carry the small one in orange in my survival pack a a backup, but at $15 it is a little more than your stated price range.

Overall, I think the Mora Companion, which is visually similar to the old Clipper except that the blade steel is thicker, is a great choice for a kit.

I'm not a huge fan of serrations either and definitely wouldn't carry a serrated knife as my primary in the woods. That said, for a back-up knife in a survival kit, I wouldn't really worry one way or another; the serrations may not be a benefit in a survival situation but they aren't really going to be detriment either.

For me, I'd think other considerations (like cost, durability, construction, compactness) trump my serrations/no serration preference when looking for a back-up knife. For example, I would prefer the BG Scout to an Opinel even with the serrations (although, it looks like the price went back up on that Scout so it is no longer a proper comparison ... the sale must've ended!).