Survival knife any good?

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Lucky

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In that movie Rambo he has this knife with a compass in the handle, and I thought it was pretty cool. I bought one, and have taken it camping because it has fishing line and matches and the compass and stuff.

But just today I started to wonder about how sturdy it is... I didn't pay very much for it, and I can't see where the blade attaches to the handle. So I wonder, if you try to hack something, or some animal attacks you, would the knife break?

It's just like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Big-Blade-Survi...QcategoryZ72046QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
most hollow handled survival knives will easily break off at the handle juncture. the exception being one piece designs like chris reeve does. http://www.chrisreeve.com/onepiece.htm in a "survival" setting i wouldnt trust a welded on or screw on blade such as most of those designs have.
 
I'd also stay away from any knives that have those deep hooked teeth style sawback blades. They were very trendy in Hollywood films like Rambo - but a practical nonstarter.

The only barely useful sawbacks I've had were Randalls; but I got rid of all my sawbacks a long time ago. If I want a saw I have a very effective separate tool in the form of a saw blade on some Victorinox Swiss Army knives and/or the compact, light folding garden pruning saw.

If I want to cut something, I use a knife. If I want to chop; a machete or ax. If I need to saw wood - I use a saw.

---------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
I didn't pay very much for it,
Click to expand...

That should be an indication right there.

No offense, but the knife you have is probably better considered a novelty item and you shouldn't bet your bacon on it. The blade breaks off just when you need it most.

I have a 7 1/2 " Randall #18 Attack and Survival and the going price on those is $350. The Chris Reeves Shadow 1 that I have is a $450 knife. These are tough enough to depend upon, but I still would be wary of using the Randall as a pry bar.

Carry an Altoid tin full of supplies in your pocket and a good knife on your belt and you'll be ready for most anything.
 
I would like to add that the knife in the rambo movie was made by Jimmy Lile. That knife is a whole different level of quality from the knife you bought (no offense).
 
Like many designs, the hollow handled survival knife (with a silver soldered blade and guard) depends greatly on execution. Lile knew how to make these well. Randall Made, as well as a few custom makers such as RJ Martin are other choices.

Later,
B.
 
quality of "survival knives" is all over the range

I have had two "survival knives" over the past twenty years
that were close copies of each other. One was reasonably
well made, the other a close but very cheap copy that did
not hold up at all. Both had the hollow handle, compass
and sawback blade popularized by Rambo.

The best survival knife I have seen is the Air Force issue
that looks like a short Kabar with a blade of ordinary
"hunting knife" length, It only pretends to be a knife,
and does not try to be anything else. Plus the big nut that
holds the blade in the handle can be used as a hammer
head, unlike the plastic compass on the end of the other
knives.

The most practical knife remains the old Boy Scour knife
with big blade, little blade, bottle opener with screw blade,
and can opener.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have always been under the impression that saw-back knives were not so much for sawing thru a branch, as much as for shallow notching. Shallow notching being used to construct a figure-four deadfall trigger or snare trigger.
 
Look at http://ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html . Some models of those knives are "standard issue" at outdoor/survival schools- ie a "Real" survival knife. Price won't kill you either- around $10 for most of them.

Unless you wander the woods buck naked, you can carry all the stuff in a knife handle more simply someplace else. A knife should be a knife.
 
If that's the licensed copy it will probably be adequate stainless that might keep an edge. The 'sawback' is for looks only, they don't do crap. Look at a 1914 pioneer bayonet or one of the German sawback bayonets if you want to see a real saw. It would be better to get a folding saw or that rotating blade/saw thing cold steel had. Cold steel's is awkward and prone to cut you but, it did work, kinda. :scrutiny: The saw on it is excellent.

ATS34 is good for knife blades and it's less expensive than some of the more exotic ones. It will corrode very slowly but it's tougher than any 440 stainless and holds an edge well if heat treated properly in an inert atmosphere.
Some of the exotics do well I like AUS8 but I have not pushed that blade hard.
The tougher and most robust blade will be made from hardenable carbon steel such as 1095 spring steel or one of the tool steels. Don't store them in leather. You can use cosmoline on them for storage in a kit or there are other preservatives such as an acid free wax.
I'm working on a carbon steel machete that will have a baked on flat black enamel finish. It's in the shape of a cane knife and is toy but a useful one for whacking weeds. :) My next will probably be a knife cut from a junk saw so the saw really works. :)
 
For beating about and not worrying about what I do to it, I keep a Glock Saw back knife and Glock folding shovel in the trunk of the car. I keep a swiss army Victorinox compass with it and other survival/first aid gear in a bug out bag.

The hollow handle survival knives are in general too cheesy. Even the good ones are like a Stoner 63. Made to do many things and none of them too well...
 
Last edited:
Schuey,

Busse knives are chopping machines. Every knife knut should have at least one.
Have you seen the Graham Bros. tomahawk? It looks like a great compliment to a Busse.
:)


gopguy,

re:
Made to do many things and non of them too well...
Click to expand...
This, IMHO, is the problem with most "survival" knives. They try to be more than cutting tools, and compromise their abilities as a knife.


B.
 
My main feeling about hollow handle survival knives, even the good quaility ones is, LOSE YOUR KNIFE & YOU'VE LOST EVERYTHING??
 
Look at http://ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html . Some models of those knives are "standard issue" at outdoor/survival schools- ie a "Real" survival knife. Price won't kill you either- around $10 for most of them.

Unless you wander the woods buck naked, you can carry all the stuff in a knife handle more simply someplace else. A knife should be a knife.
Click to expand...

A big +1 here.

I had one of those cheapie "survival knives" when I was about 8 years old.

My father allowed me to carry a knife on my belt on our frequent camping trips, and had given me a Brusletto "patch knife" the year before for whittling and the like.

Well before one of the trips, I used my allowance money to buy a "Rambo knife." Crocodile Dundee had just come out, and I thought I was some kind of cool walking around with that big-ole shiny thing on my hip.

One of the older kids made fun of me, and told me it was a POS. I would hear none of it. Well, he was right.

It wouldn't whittle, and I ended up breaking it after I stuck it in a log and couldn't get it out.

I still frequently carry the Brusletto in a pocket sheath. It is 1/3rd the size and 1000X more useful.
 
Schuey2002,

Sure, the larger knives will chop as well. I've had several large knives that will effectively serve as chopping implements. But I have for the moment decided that chopping wood is best done with a short Tramontina machete - which can stay soiled, sap covered or anything else, while I use a more practical blade for things like food preparation, eating and other cutting tasks.

Not that the larger heavy knives do not have a place. I see them as something to carry excluding all the others if you are only able to "have just one" along at any one given time. Even then I would take the liberty of having along a small SAK or other small folder.

------------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
Schuey,

Busse knives are chopping machines. Every knife knut should have at least one.
Have you seen the Graham Bros. tomahawk? It looks like a great compliment to a Busse.
Click to expand...
No, I haven't.

Actually, most of my chopping is done with an axe that my Dad bought down at a local saw shop about 20 years ago. The Busse's are just used for destroying stuff... :evil:
 
most hollow handled survival knives will easily break off at the handle juncture. the exception being one piece designs like chris reeve does. http://www.chrisreeve.com/onepiece.htm in a "survival" setting i wouldnt trust a welded on or screw on blade such as most of those designs have.
Click to expand...

The nice thing about the Cold Steel Bushman, is that it is opne piece construction, however it is not fancy eith trinkets like compasses. different tools have different purposes.
 
The Cold Steel Bushman is a flat piece of high quality knife steel with the end rolled into a handle and heat treated professionally. Just like a hoe or other garden instrument.

Picked up an odd trinket. A knife with interchangable blades, knife, saw and fish cleaner with a fork and can opener. Silly but cheap and the saw blade is actually cut as a wood saw and is sharp. Most 'survival' knife saw backs are useless.
 
my experiances:

when i was about 18 or so i was young and dumb. i found a "survival knife" made in the Czech Republic, looked pretty cool. i took it home, out of the box and checked it out, playing with it. when i was done i lightly tossed it on my bed. the blade snapped in two. i couldnt believe the quality of this knife, took it back and got my money back in full. i have been much more careful since.

My survival knives i have now are the Cold Steel Bushman and the Cold Steel ODA. i fully rely on both of them. if i need supplies i just carry them sepparately somewhere else on my person.
 
I have had a Buckmaster for 15 years, I have kept it while I was in the Army, and I worked a summer as a survival instructor, I still take it hunting. It is rock solid, and I have used it to do everything from cleaning fish to chopping wood. It is a 1/4 inck blade, and it is very tough. I cut down a small tree with it by 'batoning' it, meaning I used a log to pound it into the tree, and repeatedly pounded it in a circle until I could push the tree over. The cross guard does not rattle. These are no longer in production, and are going for a premium on ebay.

Having said that, big knives are not the solution to everything. I have a CKRT folding knife and a diamond dust sharpener in a pouch on the side. One would feel very stupid, using all your energy and resources and energy in a survival situation, catching a 7" fish, and trying to clean it with an 8" blade.

I will also note, my favorite alternative fire start is magnesium with a flint striker, and this blade doesn't give much spark. I have a Gerber Mk II, (also discontinued,) a double-edged dagger with a 7.5 inch blade, that works much better. It also weighs a lot less. There have been times when I know I will be walking a LONG way, and every ounce counts, I've left the big blade home. You have to decide, how many knives do you carry before you start to look foolish? So, yes, I use one, but not for everything.

I also had one of the Air Force shorter knives, they are great, I'm not sure what I did with it.

The Rambo knives are junk, I had a friend in high school with one, and big surprise, it broke.
 
Lucky,sorry but that knife looks like a POS.Get a good quality knife with a 5"-7" blade(Ontario RAT-5,RAT-7,Cold Steel SRK,Ka-Bar Gen I or II,Becker,Ranger,etc.) and a Swiss Army knife for in your pocket.You'll be better served.tom.:cool:
 
From the link at the top:
One of my favourites, this Maxam® 14-3/4" Survival Knife has an AISI 420J2 surgical stainless steel blade and comes with a heavy duty sheath with plastic liner.
Click to expand...
DEALBREAKER! Friends don't let friends carry 420J2 or anything else referred to as "surgical" steel. "Surgical" means "I have nothing good to say about this steaming pile of knife blade, but for all I know, maybe they use this stuff for scalpels. Or clamps. . . . or something surgeons use."


All true, but admit it, guys--I'll be very surprised if anybody here doesn't have one stashed away someplace. I know I do. :D

My uncle still field dresses his deer every year with one of the United Cutlery copies (no compass anymore and he keeps the handle empty.) I cringe, but it works.

. . . . . and I really enjoy the Bushman, though I went whole hog and wrapped a red shoelace around mine. I call it my custom survival knife. :D
 
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