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Bone 4 Tuna
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Fallkniven F1 or S1 usually come with me on jaunts around the family property or deeper/longer hikes. I wouldn't call myself a bushcrafter or the like, but have a few skills that either knife would be useful for in a bad situation. Occasionally also put an Esse Izula in the pack for smaller chores.


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Posts: 11143 | Location: Mid-Michigan | Registered: October 02, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by Gustofer:
I have an F1 that I keep in my get home bag. Certainly a good and capable knife for "bushcrafting" if need be.

My preferred woods carry though is a Bark River Featherweight Fox River. Very well made knife that'll do everything you need it to do in the out of doors from cutting up an elk, to shaving wood to start a fire, to splitting kindling. Yep, it's a little guy, but it just works.

Bark River has other quality options to choose from should you want something bigger (the Bravo series is beefier and a little bigger than the Fox River), but I'm not sure why you'd need/want to. One doesn't need a Rambo knife. Function over form is what's important IMO.

Price-wise, they're a little higher than you want to go (~$200 as I recall), but worth every penny.


That's a beautiful little knife. I have several Bark River's myself, but none with a stag handle.
 
Posts: 2686 | Registered: November 02, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by trapper189:

Top to bottom: Scrapyard - Regulator, Swamp Rat - RatManDu, Fallkniven - S1, EnTrek - Backup Utility. All were under $150. The bottom two are currently in production, but the S1 is around $165 now.

Of my four knives, I’m of the opinion that a hatchet and a folding pocket knife would be better.


I, too, have the top three of your selection. I like them a lot, but I agree one might be better off with a hatchet (or other small-ish axe) and a small knife. I would want mine to be a small fixed-blade, though.
 
Posts: 2686 | Registered: November 02, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
ESEE 4, but many people find the handle a little short. You're not going to break it, though, and it comes with a lifetime, no questions asked warranty.

The Mora Companion HD is a super value less than 25 bucks.

The LT Wright GNS Scandi (150.00) or the LT Wright Gary Wines Buschcrafter, but that's out of you budget, with prices starting at 200.


Isn't the ESEE 4 available with a longer handle now? I seem to remember being tempted a while ago to add one; I find the standard 4's handle a bit too short, but still agree it is a really good tool to have in your stash.

As is the Mora. Or any Mora. I think they are among the best values on the planet.
 
Posts: 2686 | Registered: November 02, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
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quote:
Originally posted by amals:
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
ESEE 4, but many people find the handle a little short. You're not going to break it, though, and it comes with a lifetime, no questions asked warranty.

The Mora Companion HD is a super value less than 25 bucks.

The LT Wright GNS Scandi (150.00) or the LT Wright Gary Wines Buschcrafter, but that's out of you budget, with prices starting at 200.


Isn't the ESEE 4 available with a longer handle now? I seem to remember being tempted a while ago to add one; I find the standard 4's handle a bit too short, but still agree it is a really good tool to have in your stash.

As is the Mora. Or any Mora. I think they are among the best values on the planet.


The Knife Connection makes handles that are longer so they cover the metal area, about 1/2" longer. The knife itself is the same.


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Posts: 9446 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Good, bad, I'm the
guy with the gun
Picture of 45ProCarry
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I installed The Knife Connection handles on my ESEE 4 and now it's perfect. I use the knife all the time outdoors. I highly recommend them as an upgrade.
 
Posts: 2343 | Location: USA | Registered: May 03, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Standard military issued Kabar!!!!!


"All warfare is based on deception" Sun Tzu, The art of War
 
Posts: 552 | Location: Gulf Coast of SW Florida | Registered: August 13, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The Kabar is a technical descendant of the original "modern" wilderness knives marketed by Marbles in the early 1900's. They sold to a lot of city folk rediscovering the outdoors, and that led to copies all thru the knifemaking business. The Navy issue knives followed that pattern and when the Marines needed something it was submitted and a contract let.

Now the funny part is all those Confederate Bowies pictured in their day were mostly photo props, historians have already noted the most used knife was a 4" folder. Kabar's may have been issued but as any experienced foot soldiers learn, a long fixed blade knife hanging off the belt is actually a rare item in a squad. More than two soldiers carrying one is rare - or LT's in training.

Looking at the issue survival knives for downed pilots, "unique operatives" etc world wide and a 4" blade with drop or centered point, flat ground with no wedge, and just thick enough to keep from springing the blade are preferred. Look to the Brits, Germans, or the original Nesmuk camp knife for an all around user. That is what Marbles was emulating, the depressed "blood groove" was actually value engineering to use less steel as materials then were the bigger expense, not labor.

Those who are experienced wilderness explorers go for the 4" utility pattern knives and leave the hatchets for woodchopping, if not an ax. In Canadian bush air travel one is mandatory, and it was also common in early pioneering days - a smaller knife for food prep, the tomahawk for heavy work.

With all this in mind, what is now sold as a bush, field or survival knife has a lot of hollywood in it. And having used a Randall 14, Swamp Rat, and other 6"+ knives in the field, including the Glock semi bayonet, the smaller ones are preferable. Too many large blades wind up in the bottom of the pack, or get left behind in a duffel bag, because of the effect of carrying little used dead weight on foot. Infantry style. All that gear many currently see getting used? Was it packed on foot to the wilderness sight on foot? Nope. Motorized transport and a half dozen packer boxes is how that is done. Been there done that too.

Sold off most of the fantasy knives (listed above) and went with the ESEE Laser Strike, a Nesmuk derivative. I know, fancy name picked up from a South American drug operation but that goes to being on foot in the bush no wheels and you work with what you have. A 4" flat ground blade for easy food prep, centered point for boring holes and woodwork, good sheath with the knife (not a separate purchase.) Lots of options to carry a stone, matches etc. I've got mine fixed with a molle adapter made from a grenade pouch (not that milspec atrocity) and it works and carries well. Try using a high mount sheath to keep the point no lower than your thigh seated. Nobody needs the pommel savaging their ribs.

You can beat on the ESEE but I'm going to suggest if that is a criteria then you are likely alone and hiding from the enemy. In a working unit with others, there should be an axe and shovel, one each, carried individually for the team to use for serious wilderness use. And in the day that is why we had pack horses, too. It's a coordinated effort with a lot of other factors, something left out of a lot of history books. In the military it's called "the pioneer tool box in the back of the truck." And you better put it all back or you wind up carrying it.
 
Posts: 613 | Registered: December 14, 2021Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Good Information.. Thanks !!
quote:
Originally posted by Tirod:
The Kabar is a technical descendant of the original "modern" wilderness knives marketed by Marbles in the early 1900's. They sold to a lot of city folk rediscovering the outdoors, and that led to copies all thru the knifemaking business. The Navy issue knives followed that pattern and when the Marines needed something it was submitted and a contract let.

Now the funny part is all those Confederate Bowies pictured in their day were mostly photo props, historians have already noted the most used knife was a 4" folder. Kabar's may have been issued but as any experienced foot soldiers learn, a long fixed blade knife hanging off the belt is actually a rare item in a squad. More than two soldiers carrying one is rare - or LT's in training.

Looking at the issue survival knives for downed pilots, "unique operatives" etc world wide and a 4" blade with drop or centered point, flat ground with no wedge, and just thick enough to keep from springing the blade are preferred. Look to the Brits, Germans, or the original Nesmuk camp knife for an all around user. That is what Marbles was emulating, the depressed "blood groove" was actually value engineering to use less steel as materials then were the bigger expense, not labor.

Those who are experienced wilderness explorers go for the 4" utility pattern knives and leave the hatchets for woodchopping, if not an ax. In Canadian bush air travel one is mandatory, and it was also common in early pioneering days - a smaller knife for food prep, the tomahawk for heavy work.

With all this in mind, what is now sold as a bush, field or survival knife has a lot of hollywood in it. And having used a Randall 14, Swamp Rat, and other 6"+ knives in the field, including the Glock semi bayonet, the smaller ones are preferable. Too many large blades wind up in the bottom of the pack, or get left behind in a duffel bag, because of the effect of carrying little used dead weight on foot. Infantry style. All that gear many currently see getting used? Was it packed on foot to the wilderness sight on foot? Nope. Motorized transport and a half dozen packer boxes is how that is done. Been there done that too.

Sold off most of the fantasy knives (listed above) and went with the ESEE Laser Strike, a Nesmuk derivative. I know, fancy name picked up from a South American drug operation but that goes to being on foot in the bush no wheels and you work with what you have. A 4" flat ground blade for easy food prep, centered point for boring holes and woodwork, good sheath with the knife (not a separate purchase.) Lots of options to carry a stone, matches etc. I've got mine fixed with a molle adapter made from a grenade pouch (not that milspec atrocity) and it works and carries well. Try using a high mount sheath to keep the point no lower than your thigh seated. Nobody needs the pommel savaging their ribs.

You can beat on the ESEE but I'm going to suggest if that is a criteria then you are likely alone and hiding from the enemy. In a working unit with others, there should be an axe and shovel, one each, carried individually for the team to use for serious wilderness use. And in the day that is why we had pack horses, too. It's a coordinated effort with a lot of other factors, something left out of a lot of history books. In the military it's called "the pioneer tool box in the back of the truck." And you better put it all back or you wind up carrying it.


Airborne ! All the Way!!
 
Posts: 904 | Location: Connecticut | Registered: January 10, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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In terms of what really constitutes a "survival knife:" The knife you have on you when the situation needs it.

For many of us, a 3-4" folder.

Right now the Laser Strike is on the back molle of a hunting pack.
 
Posts: 613 | Registered: December 14, 2021Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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quote:
Originally posted by Tirod:
You can beat on the ESEE but I'm going to suggest if that is a criteria then you are likely alone and hiding from the enemy.
"Hiding from the enemy"?

What "enemy"?

Defining a "survival knife" as the one you have with you is trite and does not answer the question. If all you have is a folder in your pocket, you might use it to get yourself out of a jam, but that doesn't make it a survival knife.

What if the only knife you have is plastic dinnerware in the glove compartment of your car, from your last trip through the drive-thru?

A survival knife is a knife which is unlikely to fail when used in ways which knives are generally not intended. This means a slab of steel. If we are being faithful to the definition of the term, there is no such thing as a folding survival knife.

A knife you might use to survive a crisis is not the same thing as a survival knife.


This is a survival knife.





These are knives which can be used to survive, but they are not survival knives.





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Posts: 107234 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
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quote:
Originally posted by Tirod:
In terms of what really constitutes a "survival knife:" The knife you have on you when the situation needs it.

Hardly.

"Survival knife" has a distinct meaning. Yes: There are several forms of them, of various designs and compositions of both steels and handles, but all true survival knives share in common they're relatively big hunks of steel that can take abuse.

I have a 3-1/2 inch folder that's pretty darn substantial, but nowhere near as substantial, either in steel or in grip, as my Fällkniven F1 (the blade of which is a mere 1/2 in. longer), much less my Fällkniven A1.



When I go into the woods in a casual way my F1 goes goes on my belt, because it's relatively convenient and comfortable to carry, full-time, and you just never know. If I knew ahead of time I'd have to go into the wilderness in a survival situation (unlikely at my age, realistically) the A1 would go on my belt.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 25994 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I have a 3-1/2 inch folder that's pretty darn substantial, but nowhere near as substantial, either in steel or in grip, as my Fällkniven F1 (the blade of which is a mere 1/2 in. longer), much less my Fällkniven A1.
The problem, of course, is not the blade or its composition. The problem is the inherent weakness of the pivot and lock. Folders lack lateral strength and even the strongest, most robust of locks is weaker than solid steel.


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"I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023
 
Posts: 107234 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I like doing bushcraft stuff, splitting wood, making fire sticks etc. I’ve used a few knives for it and really like the esee3 but I wanted to try something of a more traditional bushcraft knife so I got a condor scandi edge bushcrafter for about fifty dollars. I beat on that thing hard and ended up really liking that style of knife so I upgraded to an lt wright genesis which is what several of the people on the alone tv show have chosen.
 
Posts: 5082 | Location: Alaska | Registered: June 12, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
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Picture of parabellum
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Did somebody say Fallkniven?





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"I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023
 
Posts: 107234 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
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Nice Fällkniven collection ^5

I've thought about adding paracord lanyards to mine, but I've always worried they'd snag on brush?



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 25994 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Bolt Thrower
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So Para, if you were to go on a multi-day trek in the woods, what fixed blade would you take?
 
Posts: 9942 | Location: Woodinville, WA | Registered: March 30, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
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It would depend on how I intended to shelter, and what other gear I had with me.

If I intended to build my own shelter and had a hatchet with me, I might take an ESEE-4 and a Mora 510, which weighs nothing, costs nothing and is scalpel-sharp right out of the box err bag- a great bottom-of-the-pack knife.

If I intended to build my own shelter and had no hatchet, I'd take an ESEE-6, a Mora 510, and Bahco Laplander folding saw.

If I intended to tent-camp and had a hatchet, I'd take a Mora HD Companion.

If I intended to tent-camp and had no hatchet, I'd take an ESEE-4 and a Bahco Laplander folding saw.

Just my opinion, based upon current personal preferences. In a woodland setting, with a good hatchet with a proper edge- and a sharpener to renew that edge- you could probably get away with carrying a Victorinox Soldier or Farmer pocket knife. Without a hatchet, I think you really need a saw and a fixed blade of at least 4 inches, and longer if you're going to construct your own shelter.


____________________________________________________

"I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023
 
Posts: 107234 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by bcjwriter:
I’m looking for suggestions for well made bush craft knives in the $100-$150 range.

Any suggestions?


I'm with Para; ESEE is the way.

For around $100, go ESEE-4 or Laser Strike. The Knife Connection has great prices on them.

I usually pack around a Bahco Laplander, ESEE Laser Strike, Doan, and an Izula-II.


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Posts: 2023 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: April 24, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Bolt Thrower
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Why Esee over Fallkiven?
 
Posts: 9942 | Location: Woodinville, WA | Registered: March 30, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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