The Tramontina knives are a good knife for the money. I used to sell quite a few of them back when i worked at a hardware store. And it is inexpensive enough to not feel bad about sharpening it with a file.

"Your SAK sounds like a Huntsman ..."<br><br>I can second that. I have one of the older Huntsman models from around 1988 and it sounds identical to yours. No hook and the awl has no sewing hole in it, but otherwise identical to the current Huntsman. I am almost certain they are still the same dimensions. I also agree that the Fieldmaster is a nice variation on that basic package, too.

Tom,<br><br>I can't say for sure re similarity of the dimensions of the current Huntsman and your older knife. However, I do have 2 Victorinox Fieldmasters. The Fieldmaster would appear to differ from the Huntsman only by virtue of having a Phillips screwdriver instead of a corkscrew. Anyway your post piqued my curiosity. I decided to measure both of my Fieldmasters. I inherited the older model from a wise father, so I can't say for sure that it is definitively a Fieldmaster. However it is substantially the same with certain minor differences. It too lacks a hook.<br><br>Anyway I measured both with my handy dial caliper. Although it is plastic and is graduated only to 1/100 in., it really is sufficiently accurate. Besides it is also of Swiss manufacture, and I couldn't resist the coincidence. My measurements & findings are as follows:<br><br>The salient difference between my 2 knives is that the older model is 3.29" vs. 3.58" for the newer one in OAL. Width & thickness for the 2 knives differ only negligibly, i.e., -0.02" & +0.05" respectively for the newer knife. On the newer, & nowadays longer, Fieldmaster, the other interesting dimensions include: long knife blade +0.22" ; saw blade +0.34" ; and scissors +0.08". The newer knife also adds a hook, an eye in the awl (as on a sewing needle), and a lanyard ring. The smaller knife blade reflects a curiosity: on the older knife, it is of clip point design & slightly longer than on the newer knife. Unfortunately, the older blade had a large nick just behind the tip. I slightly reconfigured & shortened it to make it usable. Even now, after losing roughly 0.06" the older small blade measures 1.61" vs. 1.60" for the newer small blade (all longitudinal measurements are from the tip of the tool to the nearest edge of the handle).<br><br>Incidentally our 17 year old Victorinox Spartans do not have tweezers or toothpicks.<br><br>And finally, if I'm making & reporting these measurements, I'm beginning to wonder if my wife (coincidentally also of Swiss ancestry ;-} ) is right in saying I may have too much time on my hands. ;-}<br><br>John

State forestry employees are more afraid of paper cuts any more (and unfortunately more exposed to them than machetes). We're actually not supposed to use machetes but are provided with Swede axes (Sandvick is the brand most common) but I stick with what I'm used to using.<br><br>I've never had problems with it being slippery but I usually end up with so much pitch on it it's hard to put down! A more serious problem occurs if you slip or fall while carrying your machete and can't get it away from you fast enough. I worked with a guy some years ago who still can't straighten out his fingers because of this type of accident.<br><br>I've used a homemade guard to prevent this. It's a flat plate that clamps to the machete just below the handle and keeps your hand from sliding down towards the blade. It was made out of half of a large hinge with a slot cut in it to place over the blade. A bolt through the hole where the hinge pin goes allows tightening to clamp the guard onto the machete.

Hi Longbow,
Welcome, and yes, CRKT are pretty good knives. It is true they sometimes use not so good steel, example 420, ugh!
One of their knives I really like is the Hammond Desert Cruiser. Decent steel- AUS8, and I do like LAWKs locking system--very stout.
Your new Becker is one of the best values going--bar none! Have one myself and really enjoy it!
Ford

Hey guys, isn't it funny that the most time we'd spend in a SHTF situation would probably be spent perusing our knives & firearms to pick the right ones???? Someday I'm going to trim everything down to a real BOB and be done with it! Most of us would need a BOST - Bug Out Semi Truck to haul all of our accumulated gear!!! Some day I'll lean out the stuff, some day....

Anyways, I have a small, laminated steel skinning knife that was a gift and a Becker patrol machete, also a Leatherman. I THINK those would be the ones selected.