https://defence-blog.com/army/pentagon-places-order-for-combat-knives.html
I'm very curious to see where they end up with this. What knife would you pick?

i have had one like that for 30 years now  leather snap is dry rotted but the knife is perfect

The knife in the picture (linked to article in OP) is a Gerber LMFII.  I've had a few of them.  They're heavy owing to the huge glass breaking pommel.

I was reading an article over the weekend written by Garand Thumb (his real job ... when he's not gear whoring on Youtube ... is as an Airforce survival instructor).  Anyway, he specifically mentioned .... I'll just quote him ...

"I said, “Make big sticks little sticks”. And my students gathered their wood and prepared to do so, drawing their issued Ontario Company Air Force Survival Knives or as we called them, “bolt knives”.

My students prepared to split their wood using the “beater stick” method. Wherein they place their bolt knives on top of the bolt of wood, cutting edge into the wood, and use a large stick to beat the blade through in order to split it. I was sheathing my issued ESEE 4 knife when I heard a soft twang. “Shiiiiittt” muttered one of my students holding up his bolt knife which had broken in half at the hilt. This is far from a rare occurrence and I almost count on it at this point. The bolt knife just isn’t suited for the type of hard survival work that we teach our students. When I think of a survival knife I think of something I can hammer through a tree. The bolt knife while technically “full tang” has a tendency to bend easily and break within a short period of time."

- Garand Thumb 2018 July 12

ETA: according to Garand Thumb this is the knife he uses now ... ESEE 4 ... (his picture of his knife) ...



LINK TO ARTICLE ...

Click Me .. Read Me!

CLARIFICATION:

The Gerber LMFII and Airforce Survival Knife are different animals.  I was making the comment because the post above mine is probably referring the AFSK.

This is the current generation of the Ontario ASEK ...



It is obviously just an "updated" version of the original "bolt" Ontario ASEK.

I would expect it to perform the same way as the original.  I've never personally broken an original, but I've not used them much.  I did break an original KA-BAR USMC fighting knife where the blade transitions down to a "popsicle" tang at the guard.  Snapped right off.  Same popsicle tang design as the ASEK.  This is a crappy design for hard use.

Here's a couple of internet pictures showing the tang construction ...




ETA: found one of the AFSK / ASEK ...

Yeah, an esee4 is a vastly superior knife for that task.  A 6 would be even better.

Full tang, better treated steel, lifetime warranty, designed to be beat on.

This is where I've broken one ...



Same place the Ontario knives break ...

Especially considering the price.  I can find brand new ESEE-4 online with a sheath and clip plate for $88.  Its a lot of knife for the money.  It is also very "compact".

I don't think a person could break an ESEE-5 without serious effort, but its too heavy owing to is thickness.

I had a hard time warming up to the ESEE-6, but think it would make a great issue blade for infantry, etc.

These are pretty nuclear bombproof ...

I've read that Jeff Randall (Randall's Adventure / Co-Owner of ESEE) has said they've never had a ESEE-5 returned due to breakage.

If we're issuing these knives to pilots we should be giving them the best.  Cost isn't a concern as if they're on the ground they just lost up-to BILLIONS OF DOLLARS worth of aircraft.  A $350 knife seems sort of like an afterthought ...

Something like this Busse Combat Badger Attack would be an indestructible knife (seriously indestructible ... even when intentionally trying to break it) ...



Busse Destructive Testing ...

Lots of busse knives have made it into military hands. Just never as standard issue.

I really want a DSSF that's been to the desert.

Gerber LMF II ASEK

I'm all for updating, even from the current revision which seems to suck pretty badly. My old Camillus looks cool, but I got it at a garage sale for $15 and I wouldn't pick it to do anything survival related now.

My aircrew knife took a pretty good edge.
But I also carried a Cold Steel SRK.

http://www.m9m4.com/index.cfm?currentpage=76

SRK or Fallkniven A1

Your Valor is in Condition Zero.

Nice heater.

I conducted a fairly exhaustive test of 17 "survival" or "bushcraft" knives in 2014.  

ETA: Results in next post.  NOTE: I deleted all of the picture links because TINYPIC is no longer hosting them, and I don't have the originals.

*** I've deleted all of the dead picture links and the formatting sucks since this is a word doc "cut and paste" ***

This post contains the results of my evaluation of a variety of knives for consideration as a "bushcrafter". It was my objective to evaluate the largest number of knives available to me in hopes of identifying the best knife (in the test group) or at least identify features that were desirable in a bushcraft knife.

In all, this test included:

3.5 Hours of pretest evaluation
9.5 Hours of testing
4.0 Hours of post evaluation and testing data compilation

First, I'd like to extend my gratitude to all who loaned one or more knives for this evaluation. Without your participation this couldn't have been nearly as comprehensive. Thank you for the trust and investment! I've elected to not identify who loaned the knives (to protect your anonymity), but you're more than welcome to claim ownership of your knife(s) in this thread! I've scrubbed your knives three times, dried them thoroughly, lubricated the metal and already shipped them back to you. I'll forward the tracking code via a private message later today.

MY DEFINITION OF A BUSHCRAFT SURVIVAL KNIFE

Knife selection is as subjective as art appreciation. I like Ford vehicles, and you might prefer something made by Honda. However, an evaluation is worthless without a clearly defined set of parameters by which to judge the product. As such, I define a "bushcraft knife" (BCK hereafter) as:

1) A knife devoted mostly to wilderness and outdoor use, but capable of being used for kitchen type duties as well.

Typical BCK knife chores include activities like: cutting notches in figure-four snares; filleting through wet wood to produce fuzzy or feather sticks for firemarking; skinning game; cutting up snared animal meat for use in the campsite stew pot; camp site detail work like trimming small branches and cutting paracord; general small tasks like opening freeze-dried food pouches; etc. Essentially, the BCK is a smallish detail knife.

2) A small and lightweight companion knife.

The BCK is likely to accompany a larger and more sturdy knife. The larger knife would handle more strenuous tasks such as cutting through the pelvic bone of a whitetail deer, chopping through a limb to make a lean to shelter, etc. This isn't to say the BCK would not be required to perform larger tasks. As with all things wilderness, we often have to improvise.

3) Before the test my definition of the BCK yielded the following general specifications:

DESIGN TYPE: Fixed Blade
BLADE LENGTH: 5" or Less
BLADE THICKNESS: 3/16" or Less
WEIGHT: As Light As Possible

KNIVES AVAILABLE FOR EVALUATION
This is far from a conclusive list of knives worthy of consideration for "bushcrafting", however it is the largest sampling of knives I could assemble in short notice.

Bark River Gunny
ESEE ESEE-5
ESEE ESEE-4
ESEE ESEE-3
Fallkniven S-1
Survive! GSO 4.1
Ontario TAK-1
Busse Combat SAR-5
Busse Combat Boss Street
Swamp Rat RMD
Swamp Rat Vex
Swamp Rat Warden
Scrap Yard Mud Mutt
Scrap Yard S5
Scrap Yard 511 MO (FFG)
Scrap Yard 411
Scrap Yard 311

On to the evaluation!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The purpose of the "first impression" component of this evaluation was to develop initial and somewhat subjective opinions about each knife. I spent a minimum of five minutes with each knife, and every knife was weighed using the same equipment (Taylor electronic scale) within a ten minute span of time. I intentionally selected knives randomly as to not form opinions about similar (or exactly the same) features such as handle types.

BUSSE COMBAT SAR-5
Weight = 10.6 oz
Edge = Factory / New

This knife is TOO HEAVY! It also has poor balance due to the unusually large / thick handle. The big and bulky handle makes the balance non-conducive to detail BC work. No matter how I hold it I cannot figure out a way to effectively control the blade.

BUSSE COMBAT BOSS STREET
Weight = 8.8 oz
Edge = Factory / New

This knife is too heavy for the size of the blade. The handle feels a little cramped due to the talon hole. The handle isn't too small, but the shape makes me want to choke up / crowd the blade. I've tried squeezing my hand up toward the blade, but the talon hole guard makes it uncomfortable. Its too handle heavy to be useful for detail work requiring balance. The lack of choil compounds these issues.

SWAMP RAT VEX
]Weight = 7.4 oz
Edge = Factory / New

The handle is TOO SMALL! You have no choice but to use the choil, and the cutting edge cut my finger while just handling the knife. This is also unusually heavy for its size.

ONTARIO TAK
Weight = 10.2 oz
Edge = Unknown

This is HEAVY and has the ergonomics of a 2x4. The choil is just big enough for the tip of my finger. Feels surprisingly controllable considering my initial impressions. The handle is too big for the blade.

SCRAP YARD MUD MUTT
Weight = 5.9 oz
Edge = Factory/New

The "mudder" handle style feels too small for the blade length, and weight. The choil is useless. Overall feels surprisingly light for its blade length. My hand feels cramped on the grip.

ESEE-4 with G10 Grips
Weight 8.0 oz
Edge = Factory / New

The handle feels a little too small, but its 100% functional. The balance is handle heavy, but not exceedingly so. Overall the knife is too heavy for its size. The gimping is nice. I like this knife.

SCRAP YARD 311
Weight = 5.0 oz
Edge = Unknown

The blade is basically uselessly short. The proportion of handle to blade is ridiculous. The choil is useless. The "basic" handle style is not conducive to detail work. I have low expectations for this knife.

FALLKNIVEN S1
Weight = 6.8 oz
Edge = Factory / New

The handle diameter feels too small. This lacks a choil, and I think with a 5" blade it needs one. The handle guard combined with lack of choil makes me think this is going to be hard to use for detail work since choking up will be impossible. Overall feels like it'll lack finesse.

BARK RIVER GUNNY
Weight = 5.8 oz
Edge = Unknown

NICE! No choil, but the design allows closeness to the blade. The gimped thumb ramp is awesome. This is a very comfortable knife! I wish the blade was 3/4" longer.

SCRAP YARD 411
Weight = 6.1 oz
Edge = Factory/New

The popsicle tang makes the balance blade heavy. The choil is cut in a manner that can allow the cutting edge to nick fingers. I like the handle design, and overall design.

SWAMP RAT RMD
Weight = 10.0 oz
Edge = Factory / New

Nice design. This is a comfortable knife that allows multiple holds. Good handle to blade proportions. It does feel heavy compared to some of the other knives.

SCRAP YARD SCRAPPER 5
Weight = 6.8 oz
Edge = Unknown

This feels cramped compared to the RMD. It feels great in the "choked forward / choil detail hold", but not as much in a standard hold. Good balance, and blade design. I like the thumb ramp.

SWAMP RAT WARDEN
Weight = 2.3 oz
Edge = Sharpened by me.

This is basically a useless knife. The handle is a terrible design, and the blade is too short.

SURVIVE! GSO 4.1
Weight = 6.5 oz
Edge = Unknown

I want to choke up on this one. Good handle design, but its a little too thick. This knife needs a choil, and thumb ramp. It has great balance.

SCRAP YARD 511 MO (FFG)
Weight = 6.4 oz
Edge = Unknown

The handle is too small for the blade length. This needs a choil! The balance is weird, and feels "off". This is an unusual knife.

ESEE-5
Weight = 15.4 oz
Edge = Factory / New

THIS IS TOO BIG AND HEAVY!!! This is just too overbuilt. The blade is too thick, and the weight is insane. It has good balance, but would be absolutely worthless as a BC knife. I think this would make a great aircrew survival knife.

ESEE-3
Weight = 5.1 oz
Edge = Factory / New

The blade is too thin. I'm afraid I'm going to break this while sitting in Fort Living Room! This seems like it'd make a good necker with the handle scales removed. I think this would be a good companion knife.

FIRST ROUND (NO USE) ELIMINATIONS
The "first round eliminations" included knives that had readily apparent design flaws and therefore didn't warrant testing. Each eliminated knife's reason for expulsion from the evaluation is listed below.

BUSSE SAR-5
This knife has terrible ergonomics, and is just too heavy for use as a bushcrafter.

BUSSE Boss Street
This knife's weight doesn't justify its 4.25" blade. Weight to blade ratio is a critical factor for me.

SWAMP RAT VEX
I've already cut my fingers with this one so I'm concerned about my safety when I get out into the heat and use it with sweaty hands. It is also way to heavy for a knife with such a small handle.

ESEE-5
BRUISER! This is just too big, heavy, and unwieldy for detail work. She'd probably make a great pry bar.

TESTING PROCEDURE EXPLAINED
Each knife that made it past the "first round elimination" phase was subjected to the following standardized testing procedure (the order knives were tested in was completely random for each test):

1) Paper Cut - each knife was tasked with slicing, curling, and directional change detail cuts on a single piece of 20# copy paper. This is to establish a base line edge for comparison to the end of testing edge retention.

2) Fuzzy stick - each knife was tasked with skinning equally seasoned wood to produce feather or fuzzy sticks.

3) Firebow divot drill - each knife was tasked with stabbing equally seasoned hardwood, and drilling a divot for use as a firebow divot.

4) Notch cut - each knife was tasked with cutting an equal sized "figure 4 notch" in equally seasoned wood.

5) Mild chopping - each knife was tasked with chopping a small branch of equally seasoned wood.

6) Cable cut - each knife was tasked with cutting an equal number of sections of 0.95 triangular trimmer line. The belly and upswept edge was used for this test.

7) Green trim - each knife was tasked with trimming a sections of green foliage for use as outer debris hut material. One large single branch was used for the evaluation.

8) Wet use test - each knife was soaked in water and then I evaluated the handle's safety while being used with equally wet hands.

9) Peel apple - each knife was tasked with thin peeling an apple. I had a request to fillet fish, but do to cost I was unable to answer this request. I used Gala apples which have a surprisingly similar consistency so this could be construed (LOOSELY) as a "fillet" test.

10) Potato & carrot cut - each knife was tasked with slicing a potato and cold carrots.

11) Squash slice - each knife was tasked with slicing as thinly as possible fresh picked squash.

12) Paper cut - each knife was tasked with slicing, curling, and directional change detail cuts on a single piece of 20# copy paper. This was to serve as a basis of comparison for edge retention.

TESTING RESULTS
Each knife's performance in each test is listed below.

Paper Cut

Scrapper 5 = Struggled at first to cut paper. It has a toothy edge, and isn't as sharp as I'd like.

311 = Good edge and better than expected. The short blade is already showing its limitations. Handle style offers a lot more control than mudder style.

411 = Good edge, and design lends itself well to working detail. The blade weight helps balance tasks.

TAK = Good toothy edge. Design allows detail direction change cutting easy. Surprised how much I like this knife. Blade seems to be dulling already.

ESEE-4 = Blade edge seems thick and somewhat inconsistent. Not as sharp as I was hoping. Good control and change of direction ability.

Warden = Blade is too small for be useful. Not enough to actually test effectively. Edge is okay, but seems thick for size of knife.

Fallkniven S1 = Wow! Best knife so far! Great edge - super impressed with knife. In spite of size this knife allows for great control and cuts paper like butter. Direction change is simple. Not the most comfortable handle.

Mud Mutt = Very sharp, but inconsistent. Thin blade is an asset for this exercise. I'm finding inconsistent edges on all SY knives. The balance of the Mud Mutt is weird.

Gunny = Impressive! Only knife that allowed push cutting limp paper. Good size blade for exercise, and it is SHARP! Direction change was easy. This is handle heavy, but still allowed finesse.

511 MO = This is the second best knife so far. Its tied with the S1. Super consistent sharpness. Cuts paper with ease. Blade length and design (FFG) allow detail work and direction change easily. I like it, but it is decidedly blade heavy. This is growing on me.

GSO 4.1 = Sharp! More difficult to control than I had hoped. Sharp edge, but must work slow and deliberately with this knife due to the handle/blade design. I'm disappointed in this one.

RMD = Edge typical of BKG (except the 511MO). Toothy leaving a raspy cut edge. Heavy knife but weight not noticeable while cutting paper. Hard to get cut started, but good control and detail once moving. Preference for 5" blade is being revealed in this test.

ESEE-3 = Toothy - needs a strop. Very handy blade shape and thickness. Seems useful and can change direction easily.

NOTE: Scrap Yard's knives made "directional change" cuts very difficult.

Fuzzy Stick

Winners: ESEE-4 and S1

Pass: ESEE-3, TAK, Gunny, Warden

Almost Fail (was able to perform task, but with great difficulty): Scrapper 5, RMD

Fail: GSO 4.1, 511MO, 411, 311, Mud Mutt

Fire Bow Divot

Winners: 511MO, TAK, RMD, ESEE-4, Gunny, S1, Warden, ESEE-3

Pass: Scrapper 5, GSO 4.1

Fail: 411, Mud Mutt, 311

Figure 4 Notch Cut

Winners: S1, Gunny

Pass: ESEE-3, Warden, 511MO, TAK, RMD, ESEE-4

Fail: GSO 4.1, Scrapper 5, 411, 311, Mud Mutt

Mild Chopping

Winners: RMD, TAK, 511MO

Pass: S1, ESEE-4, Scrapper 5

Fail: GSO 4.1, Warden, 411, ESEE-3, Gunny, Mud Mutt, 311

Cable Cut

Winners: ESEE-3, RMD, GSO 4.1, Mud Mutt, S1

Pass: 411, 311, Warden, Scrapper 5, TAK, ESEE-4, 511 MO, Gunny

Fail: None.

Green Trim

Winners: ESEE-4, 511 MO, S1

Pass: Scrapper 5, Warden, TAK, 311, Gunny, Mud Mutt

Fail: 411, RMD, GSO 4.1, ESEE-3

Wet Use Test

Winners: 411, TAK, Scrapper 5, S1, 311, Mud Mutt, 511 MO

Pass: RMD, GSO 4.1, ESEE-4, ESEE-3, Gunny

Fail: Warden

Apple Peel

Pass: TAK, RMD, Warden, Gunny, ESEE-3

Fail: ESEE-4, S1, Scrapper 5, 511 MO, 311, 411, Mud Mutt, GSO 4.1

Carrot Cut

Winners: S1, TAK

Pass: 511 MO, RMD, Gunny, ESEE-4, ESEE-3, GSO 4.1, Warden

Fail: 411, Scrapper 5, 311, Mud Mutt

Potato Slice

Winners: S1, TAK, Gunny

Fail: All others failed to slice thinly!

Squash Slice

Winners: Gunny, TAK, S1, ESEE-3

Pass: Mud Mutt, RMD, GSO 4.1, Warden, Scrapper 5, 311, 411, ESEE-4, 511 MO

Final Edge Retention Paper Cut

Winners: S1, Scrapper 5, 311, 511 MO

Fail: All others failed in some capacity. Some were dull enough to tear paper without cutting it.

FINAL VERDICT & LESSONS LEARNED
This test yielded some very surprising results, but before I mention those I'd like to make some general comments about the features I determined make for a good bushcraft knife.

General Comments

I found that a 5" full flat ground blade is about ideal. I also found that convex edges are excellent. Both of these findings are consistent with previous testing I've conducted. I also found that blades shorter than 4" severely hamper the usefulness of the knife.

Blade Steel

SR101 was the best overall steel for edge retention. However, the typical Busse Combat Group thick edge / blade design severely hampers their knife's ability to handle detail type work. BKG would be well served by thinning the edges of their excellent steel.

A2 performed very well with a convex edge, but couldn't retain nearly as well as SR101.

Laminated VG10 is an outstanding steel on par with SR101, but there was only one Lam VG10 in this test.

Handle Material

Res-C is remarkable when wet. It actually works BETTER wet than dry in terms of safety retention. Micarta is very good while wet, but outstanding when slightly wet. Micarta benefits from aggressive texture when dry.

Knife Specific Comments

Regarding Bark River - I think the Gunny would be my "runner up" knife in this test. Had the blade been 3/4" longer it would be in the winner circle.

Regarding the Ontario TAK - I was surprised by this knife. My expectations were exceedingly low. However, it outperformed many higher priced knives, and would have scored as a "best buy" had it been able to retain an edge. Unfortunately, this one failed miserably at edge retention.

WINNERS & LOSERS

The biggest disappointment in this evaluation was the GSO 4.1. I had the highest hopes for this knife, and it absolutely performed abysmally overall. At one point I almost stopped using it for fear of injury. I was soaked with sweat, and during the bow divot test I had my hand slip up on the cutting edge as a stabbed the knife into seasoned hardwood. I literally cannot stress how disappointing this knife was.

The two "winners" surprised me beyond belief. Ironically these are the only two knives I almost excluded from the entire evaluation based upon the commentary to follow....

The Scrap Yard 511MO looks like a weird and awkward design. When the offer to borrow it came in I, at first, rejected it, but after some consideration accepted the offer. I cannot be happier that I did. This knife had OUTSTANDING edge retention, and capability. It is without a doubt the far-and-away best Scrap Yard knife I've ever used.

The Fallkniven S1 was almost excluded because I had several people tell me the VG10 edge would be too fragile for this evaluation. I've had VG10 chip on Spyderco knives, but I elected to test this one anyway. I AM SO GLAD I DID. The S1 is a remarkable knife with incredibly useful capabilities. Its edge retention was only bested by the 511MO's. Overall, I declare Fallkniven Laminated VG10 more than up to the challenge of bushcrafting.

Both the 511MO and S1 were treated to a "his and hers" fillet mignon meal at the conclusion of 9.5 hours of field use. Without any touch up the knives sliced through the steak like it was warm butter....

I've also conducted "true survival knife" (i.e. "bigger" knives) testing but it was less formal.  Found a few pictures from the "bigger survival knife" informal tests through a Google search, LOL ...

This is the knife design I'm using for my "general purpose" (survival, bushcrafting, battle belt, you name it) ...

Swamp Rat (division of Busse Combat) Ratmandu (commonly referred to as the "RMD" for short)

Blade Length: 5-1/4"
Blade Width: 1-3/8"
Blade Thickness: 3/16"
Overall Length: 10-1/4"
Grind: Saber
Steel: SR-101 (modified 52100 ball bearing steel)





The RMD I had at the time of the "17 bushcrafting knife test" had a typical obtuse BUSSE COMBAT factory edge, and performed accordingly.  I've owned ... a lot ... of RMDs over the past 13 years and found that after you thin the edge the RMD is just about the perfect knife.  

BUSSE removed this model from their website.  The last price was $168.95 without a sheath.  A custom sheath usually ran $45-50.  Therefore, total cost with shipping was around $235.  Considering the costs associated with training aircrews, and the equipment they fly, spending $235 to equip these men / women with a superior knife seems like a no-brainer.

By the way, BUSSE SR-101 steel is truly almost indestructible and holds an edge like no other knife.  If you convex your SR101 you'll have a knife that cuts like a razor after batoning seasoned hardwood for days on end (I've personally performed this test on many hiking trips).

The Swedes use the Fallkniven F1.

Fallkniven F1 by FredMan, on Flickr

This was my choice for flying, always strapped to my survival vest:

The RMD is my survival type knife.  Like you I thinned the edge down and it performs very well.  Razor sharp and tough.  The factory grind on most Busse’s is too thick but the steel is top notch and can easily perform with a much thinner edge.

Where did you get the leather sheath you have your Camillus Pilots Knife in.
Looks well made and the Lift The Dot to secure the holding strap I think would work great.
Thanks

I got back to your PM, but I thought I would make a quick post since I have received a few questions about the sheath. They are sold by High Adventure Outfitters and are very high quality. Here's a few more picture with my other knife in the same brand sheath.

Lol. There’s plenty of broken ESEE knives out there. They’re just a 1095 steel knife (unless you upgrade) which is just the basic mil-spec steel. They’re kept relatively soft too to make them easier to field sharpen with expedient tools which is as much a draw back as it is a benefit. I stopped carrying am ESEE because it wouldn’t stay sharp long enough to be useful. The edge would roll far too easily.

I had a ASEK II in my gear (either my bag or on my IOTV.)

Its large and heavy.

A broken EESE-5 or BK-2 would be something to see.  They're a 1/4" thick.

On Bladeforums years and years ago, there was a guy who pitted a ESEE-5 against the Becker Campanion (BK-2).  I'm talking pounding each other together edge-to-edge and other destructive "tests" just to see which one would come out on top.  He pretty much destroyed both blades/knives.  There used to be a or several YT videos, but I haven't seen them in years.

ESEE offered to replace the ESEE-5 and IRC, Kabar/Becker offered to do the same with the Campanion.  But to his credit the "testor" refused the offer.  

ETA:  Found Part 1!  Go to 2:20 for the start of the good stuff.

I'm always a bit skeptical when I see knife "reviews"  The only review that matters is when a knife is exposed to real world conditions by being used for real.

Now the old USAF Pilot Survival isn't sexy.  It didn't cost a small fortune and wasn't made by a big name knifesmith.  But, every day it did the jobs that needed to be done.  Did some break?  Yes, but only if used in ways never imagined by the designer.  Still they would do a lot of the ways not imagined for quite a bit before they gave.

Honestly it would, and does, still do what it was designed to do as well or better than any new design.  But it isn't sexy, doesn't cost a small fortune and isn't made by a big named knife company.

Of course my only experience is in using the thing in the "real" world.

My son & I have beated the living dog shite from my old Pilots Survival knife over many a outdoors trips.

Gutting Deer & Hogs in Texas?

Camping in New Mexico & Colorado mountains?

Rafting the Grand Canyon?

Damn good Memories and no matter what we did (dumb & even dumber!) it had always held up and gotten the job done.

I'm betting he will pass it on to his kid someday...

BIGGER_HAMMER

He doesn't release the safety, he activates the danger.

How could I rehandle mine? The big nut at the end of the handle broke off.

Has nothing to do with with thickness. Knife strength has more to do with construction type, steel type and temper. Including method of temper.








Most 1095 knives are die stamped, laser or water jet cut from sheet stock and then through tempered at lower Rockwell hardness. There’s no grain refinement like in forging, and there’s very little durability as relevant to shock, with a through temper vs a differential temper. There’s also less edge retention from the lower Rockwell hardness and the lower carbon content of 1095.

The manufacturers have to make compromises to keep cost down. Sacrifice hardness for ductility and ease of field sharpening, sacrifice blade strength for ease of production etc..

I have a Camillus issue USMC fighting knife from the 1980’s it’s a decent “knife“ but it isn’t a “survival” knife by any means, it bends very easily at the tang and would very quickly work harden and snap with any real field use. Doesn’t take or hold an edge very well either which would be fine if I were sharpening with a rock, but I have durable modern sharpeners that mitigate field expedient methods too. I also have an old Camillus Becker BK7 it’s a good knife too but the blade is too thick to be an effective slicer. IMHO it’s better to carry a smaller, lighter, thinner bladed fixed blade and a hatchet.

In the 90’s we had a Cobra pilot try to cut himself out of a cockpit with the issued knife.    The knife broke on the first strike.   That wasn’t the only issue that we had with those knives.   To this day it surprises me that people speak so highly of them.   I am not saying they shouldn’t, it just doesn’t match what we experienced.   I am guessing that there were different manufacturers or something.....

Most of our aircrews switched to personally purchased blades and Gerber and Cold Steel were two of the most common brands carried if I remember correctly.   I had a Gerber BMF with saw teeth on the back that I sold when I left the squadron.   I eventually replaced it.  

2HUT8

Flew C-141s for 17 of my 20, never owned one of those knives.

I carried many knives over the years, including a big Buck hunter that I attached a clip for my boot- carried it upside down on my boot for a few years until I traded into a SOG Pentagon, which I carried for most of the years.  For RONs I attached a snap to the bottom of the sheath so that I could snap a length of elastic webbing that went over my shoulders and attached to the belt on the right side; the belt slot of the sheath through the belt on the left side.  This made it conceal invisibly under my left arm.  I had that rig on one evening as I wandered the streets of Cairo - didn't need it but nice to have.  That Buck is over in the EE since it just sits in a box now.  

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The SOG Pentagon was a pretty badass knife, but wasn't going to cut me out of any wreckage.  The Starlifter was big enough that I never gave that scenario much consideration.  The knives were weapons or survival/utility tools.

At one point I was in the Special Ops squadron and in a position where I had the authority to purchase aircrew gear, and we bought a bunch of these Benchmade autos.  They made us run it by Legal office, who suggested we "issue" them before a flight and collect them after  We had no intention of doing that, but they didn't arrive until after I'd left the squadron, and from what I heard they were all locked up in the Shirt's office.  EDIT to clarify: After the C-141s left Charleston, the 16th Airlift Squadron became much less 'special' ops and much more college-boy run, since the new C-17s didn't have as many enlisted crew.  The long lead-time between when I ordered them and when they finally arrived took place while the squadron was transitioning over from C-141s to C-17s, and there was a large turnover of personnel, so apparently someone got the notion that switchblades were too dangerous for the aircrews to carry.  

No matter, I 'obtained ' one and carried that in my right upper flightsuit pocket for the rest of my career.  Still have it, just can't legally carry it anymore.

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^^Unknown name Benchmade, circa 1995ish ^^

Of course, all that has very little to do with the topic, other than I seldom saw the fabled aircrew survival knife, much less owned one, during my 20 years.  They looked clunky and old-technology (which is cool now just for those reasons) and we all bought and carried our own.  The only time I had one was during the Gulf War when they were attached by a long string to the aircrew survival vests we were issued, and a few missions that aren't really a topic of discussion, also as part of the survival vest.  If I ever see a real one locally and it's priced low enough I might be tempted to grab it.  But I'm also trying to clear out boxes of stuff that just sit around taking up space.  The days of me buying things, especially knives, just because they look cool and would be cool to own are over.  Anything (almost) without a purpose is being sold/traded/gifted away.

Used this for all of the purposes it was issued and then some.  Never found it wanting.
But I suppose today's kids want something "high speed low drag" whatever that means.

I get that part, but all things being equal, that's one hell of a blade to try and break.

I'm a huge fan of the LMFII ASEK.  It's what I would want if I was a military pilot.Super strong knife, excellent sheath with sharpener built in, a rig that allows you to carry almost every way possible and it even feels great.  I do wish it didn't have a serrated edge halfway down but that's a minor complaint.  Mine came with a great strap/seatbelt cutter that I plan to mount in my car for emergencies.  I gotta quit putting that off.

My dad's flight knife from his Air Force days was one of those shown above.  First time I've heard them called bolt knives.  His was garbage.  It didn't break but it bent so easily it freaked me out.  I've never seen a knife do that even all these years later.  It looked like a cool knife but thankfully he never had to use it in an emergency.  It was brand new and this was after he went through survival school so I have no idea what he used during that.

My new favorite beast blade is the Kabar/Becker BK series.  I recently got a BK9 that you could probably take a full size tree down with lol.

Yep. And already used with aircrews.

A new leather strap with a stud-fastener at each end is an easy job - a pity that the Airmail would be a killer or I could send you one