I have been building up a stash for my kids rifle, pistol, and other gear! So like ideas on a good survival knife, I have a lot of knives most are military grade Ka-bars.

I'd like to hear what is a good knife to put to the side? One that is good for all kinds of work! I have always like large knives combat yet know they are not the best for cooking and cleaning. So though I'd branch out and see what others have to say!

Almost finished with my kids your an adult gift has there AR-15 almost done just need lower parts and looking at ghost kits for there pistols.

One problem, I do have is finding a case or something that will hold all this without costing a lot!

I find my Ka-bar to be pretty good for a lot of tasks, but for an ultimate survival knife I'd like something full tang for chopping stuff if I needed to. A 3in pocket knife is nicer for cutting small things.

Maybe stash some oil in case they don't have any when they need it, to keep them from rusting.

What is your definition of a survival knife?

People want knives to do different things. A basic 4 to 5 inch fixed blade full tang with non-slip handle from a quality maker. Square spine if you want to strike ferro rods? Saber, flat or convex?
Drop point and single edge.

I’ve got a lot of knives, but if I could only have one bullet proof, tank of a knife it would be the ESEE 5.

We’ve got 3 Gerber LMF II knives, as do several people I know.  My brother carried one for 15 months in Iraq.  One can find them on sale for >$70 when looking.  Good knife for the price.

Survival knife for kids? Mora 511. You won't cry when they lose the first couple.

Save up for a Busse Team Gemini or something for when they graduate from HS.

Morakniv Companion carbon or stainless

Fallkniven F1 or Fallkniven A1

Cold Steel Master Hunter in San Mai or Cold Steel  Srk SK-5

Benchmade - Steep Country or Benchmade - Bushcrafter

Ontario Black Bird SK-5

ESEE 4P

KA-BAR Becker BK2 Companion

These are all the recommendations I would likely make as well for a quality, life-long, hard-use knife for outdoors activities, SHTF, or even combat.  I still like the basic Mora (my favorite model is the 511) as a do-all camp/bushcraft knife; and yes, I've seen several Mora models here in Afghanistan with the Finns and Swedes, so they're combat-capable as well...

ROCK6

Personally, I like the SK-5.
ESEE 4 also looks like a great knife.
Some of the Beckers are pretty good (although some trend toward sharpened crowbar).

Mora, if you need a cheap but GOOD slicer.  (Plastic handle on many and smaller tang, so don't abuse them.)

17 minutes left 2 for $10.99 (plus $2.75 for shipping) Morakniv Basic 511

The Moras are great knives for the money and the fact that they can be bought in blaze orange is a plus for kids.  It makes them easier to spot when they set them down and can't remember where and it's easier to see if they're using it correctly from a couple of feet away.  They don't throw worth a darn either so that's good.  Everybody wants to be all stealthy camo but the reality is losing a knife is a much greater possibility than being spotted by bad guys.  They're cheap enough you can buy a duplicate in black, tan, whatever to have if things go south.

Lots of good knives out there though, and even more junk.  Finding a knife you like is really subjective but it's hard to go wrong with one of the better brands like ESEE, TOPS, Fallkkniven, Bark River, Benchmade, etc.  Even the Condor knives seem to get good reviews although I've never used one.

Morakniv.  Sandvik stainless steel blade.

I think it will do anything I need it to.

4.1 black

ESEE 3 or 4

i have both, and the 3 is most versatile imo

Kabar is a good all purpose knife.   They\ have a kabar style knife made out of D2 tool steel.  D2 is a really fine knife steel.  It is #1282, and is still in production.

Yes, youngest kid is 12 and a scout working towards his Eagle. I'm just looking for a good inexpensive survival knife.

I hope to have the chance to forge a few knives for them but lack of space and time has been a problem.

I like D2 a lot have you tried O1 tool steel?

I've had this one since 1992. Purchased it at the PX. Served me well. Still have it and it never fails.

Attached File

ESEEs have a lifetime warranty no matter how many owners. Tough knives.

Mora, earlier simpler cheaper designs, are my current knife where I am slowly accepting that, "everyone was right and it will do all I need to do but it sucks for rambo fantasy stuff."

I have some similar sized cheap wally world winchester branded knives that are not like the current ones I have seen.  Take a decent edge and a decent size but sheath sucks.  Good kydex sheath and they are back to my favorite knife to carry.  Thicker than mora blades but not up to rambo fantasy size.  The winchester blades are not as nice in the kitchen for making onions into tiny pieces.

If you have k-bars around already they cover the pry bar super knife needs if you want to include them as well.

I have a drawer full of various swiss army knife and multi tools as well.  And not for using the blades on em really, I use the tools on em when I don't feel like getting a screwdriver for tightening something up.

On container, you have some options if you look around.  Now and then sams and walmart and everyone else put "knockoff" rifle cases on clearance.  While not a pelican they are better than the flimsiest rifle cases that I have seen guns shipped in from the manufacturer.

Now even those flimsy ones are project worthy if you have time.  You can hotglue some plastic or thin strips of wood in it to help stiffen it.  If you want decent latches you can rivet or bolt some latches on it, use plastic or wood or metal to help spread the load and give you something to attach stuff to.

Once you have your stiffeners and stuff in place, then cut foam to fit.  Yoga mats or foam from sofa cushions or specific foam from amazon or craft stores will work.  Now foam holds moisture so if you want this to be a storage case run searches on what to spray on the foam.  From gun oil to silicone to who knows what, you will find all sorts of options.

If you can work with wood a little bit a "footlocker" sort of concept might work.  Could build it a little big so they can keep some of their own stuff in it.  Could personalize it a bit for each kid as well.

If thinking about "stashing and hiding" more, then some of the ammo cans for mortars tend to be around for under $20 bucks a pop and a broken down ar should fit in em.  Kind of a weird ammo can size and I consider them useful for filling and forgetting rather than using often.

For most stuff I would expect to have to do, a mora would do it or let me make a staff or club to use for beating or prying on stuff.  I have never understood batoning much but maybe it is just me.

While they won't hold the ar another container that can be found cheapish is going to good will for breifcases.  The cheap ones with the spin combo lock.  Normally they are already open but now and then someone spun em to annoy others.  It is not hard to figure out the combo, youtube will explain it.  You can reset the combo easily.  It would hold handgun, mags, ammo, knives, cleaning kit, and other assorted stuff but probably not going to fit the ar at all.  We have had threads on putting an ar into a sports bag like softball or tennis racket bag or whatever.  If you watch for sales small cheap rifle bags/cases sometimes pop up for $5 or $10 a pop.  I got a few just cause of the price earlier this year but you have to catch em on clearance.

With the briefcase you can add a shoulder strap if you want or put a decent hasp on it to take a small padlock or whatever.  Walmart used to sell em for $25 bucks new but I have not looked for years there and don't know what they go for now.

Batoning is just a way to make a smaller/lighter tool break down wood for fires.  Not everyone believes in it, but it is a viable way to process wood for campfires, especially when you are trying to get one started and need smaller kindling.  Usually the people who don't like batoning aren't using knives that will withstand it.  Outdated knifemaking techniques (rat-tail tangs, etc) gave the idea a bad name.  With a heavier full tang knife, batonning is no harder on it than chopping wood is on an axe.

If you are car camping or having an axe....meh on batoning.....but if you are backpacking or hiking or some other situation where all you have a is a knife (because it's lighter, smaller, and more "multi-use" than other edged items....it's a way to make the knife "bigger" than it really is.

It's just a technique and it's a very viable one when you have a fixed blade like an ESEE 4 or other full tang knife.

Mora works great as a knife, I have one.  It's not my favored, not by a long shot.  But it works, gets dull ridiculously fast compared to my "nice" knives (my mora is a carbon version).  But for me, a mora is a stash knife....something I leave in vehicles or toss in bags.  They are light, high quality for the $.  But they are not "high quality" compared to my EDC or high quality primary knives.

Now, I am a knife snob I admit.  But I also beat the crap out of my knives and buy higher end knives that will put up with my abuse.

Ontario RAT 5, various Mora knives, Becker Bk5.  Affordable and durable.

jd1

The majority of issue survival knives world wide are simple high carbon drop or spear points with slab scales. The better ones are flat ground to process food, which is the #1 item they process. Often the 4-5" range are most common.

Some swedge grind the blades with a low profile - a pattern related to manufacturing economy and the competitive environment of government bidding, along with blade thickness - which tends to be thinner rather than thicker. It also reduces costs while making the edge easier to create.

In America there is a myth that other patterns are preferred and used, but when researching the actual pioneers who developed the country from coast to coast, up to the time when more urban travelers repopularized living in the wilderness, the simple knife has predominated.

Of some interest at that time - the early 1900's - was the knife manufactured with a depressed area down the length of the blade, specifically to reduce material used, and which was made by Marbles, then later copied by sundry other makers. It's another economy introduced during fabrication to trim costs.

Most knives by that time had become standardized around a named blend of steel and carbon ranging from 1060 to 1090 steel. Handle slabs were largely riveted, altho some had innovated a stacked leather washer design which time has proven is maintenance intensive and not known for it's hardiness in wet weather as it contracts and dries, losing it's shape.

To be blunt, the Kabar, a government bid knife, was intended for combat use, with a view toward it being of short service life and barely qualifying as a durable. It's certainly expendable, as many worked there way from government property to personal during a tour of duty. Older ones are notorious for loose grips.

Rust is to be expected on them all. Purchasing one of a stainless alloy, keep in mind, the word was invented for it's literal meaning "stain - less," not Stain Proof. Abuse a stainless knife and it will corrode, too. Proper maintenance is necessary, just as cleaning a firearm is necessary.

That leads to a discussion of how to carry the knife, as a bare blade thrust thru a belt can be dangerous. Many early ideas worked around the simple leather pouch, which became the sewn layered pouch. And like stacked leather grips, leather deteriorates in contact with wet and dry cycles, and wet leather in contact with a blade accelerates rust. In the early days it was expected - metal goods were not often treated at the manufacturing level with any preservative finish, being shipped "in the white." Most firearms were, too, gaining a rust patina from use. Only the most prized and highly maintained kept the original finish - most are now museum specimens or in private collections. Many of the rest of them continued to deteriorate until they became non functional, usually in the hands of the next generation. It was considered a tool, not an heirloom, and like the currency of the day, became worn and even obsolete.

Along the way another generation, most of who never prize their forefathers work, and who always have an eye for fashion they can call their own, look otherwise. Their fathers hand me down, worn tools are rarely considered valuable or of the most modern grade. They are usually considered crude and lacking sophistication - which is not altogether untruthful. Time passes and what we consider the standards of production became passe, even backward.

You still have a dial phone in the house? Nope. Lace up leather boots that go over the calf, a wool belted hunting coat in red buffalo plaid and matching cap with ear flaps turned up in good weather held by a lace?

Very few items we call our own in our lifetime make it to the next generation. The Kabar has, but what did it leave behind which hasn't attracted the publics' fancy? Those which followed the original pattern, of which few are made today. Because they were used, and once worn out, throw in the scrap heap. Much like Model T's.

A 4-5" inch drop or spear point straight blade with slab handles. It was, at one point, as coveted as the Bowie to outdoorsmen. And Marble made them, too. The only problem? They don't appeal to the vanity of men.

Plain simple drop or spear point blade, slab micarta or G10 handles, kydex sheath, done. I bought an ESEE Laser Strike and it's more than enough. I've certainly paid more - Randall #14, Swamp Rat, Nimravus M4 - which I still have - the ESEE does the same. It's a knife. Will my kids give a damn when I am gone? Likely not.

Well, not with that attitude they won't!