Field/Survival/Bush/Whatever Knife

[blake g]

If you want a rough-duty knife and don't want to spend a ton, or perhaps want multiples for different packs of locations, take a look at the Condor Hudson Bay. 9" of blade at 3/16", carbon steel and takes a wicked edge - I used mine to process a couple of deer this year just to prove a point, and at about $40 per not a great loss if you have to write one off...


blake

[usmc1371]

I really haven't played with the super blue yet but I am not worried about it. I would use it for all the same cutting chores that I would use the S90V or M390 and not think twice about it. Now, the ZDP-189 is another story, I got one of the first ones shipped and it is overly hardend. If I flick the blade with my finger nail it sounds like a piece of fine crystal but it is the sharpest blade I have ever seen. Some day it may end up getting used in my kitchen but I don't think I would use it for field dressing big game. As I recall some of the early zdp mules were around 65rc maybe a touch higher. I read about a couple breaking while folks were putting scales on them. I am looking for some elk shed horns to cut up for scales on a couple of mine.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

Ive come to realize that fighting knives are good for one thing; fighting. Before I left for this pump, I was working to hone my bushcrafting skills with a fixed 4" blade. They handle all small knife tasks, while being big enough to chop with a baton. When combined with my GB Hunters Axe, they are a terrific duo. A fighting knife can be used for fighting, but Ive never been in a knife fight. A bushcraft knife can be used for so many things, and Ive had to bush craft quite alot.

[Irish]

I just purchased the ESEE - 3 from Knifeworks while their sales was going on. For the time being this will be my "do all" knife while I work on some bushcraft skills. I am on BGoode's list along with Tom Halloran for future knives.

[K.L. Davis]

This one found its way into my hands about a week ago... overall it is a very practical size and shape - this on is a keeper.



This is a pre-production model of the DPx H.E.F.T. - one of the newer offerings from RYP

[ra2bach]

This one found its way into my hands about a week ago... overall it is a very practical size and shape - this on is a keeper.

which one?.. I don't see a thing in the original post but the link shows up in this reply. my problem with Firefox maybe but can you give us a little more detail?

also, I'd like to see this thread get back to the original intent. I see a lot of pictures of "other" use knives with the comment "this one is mine and I love it!" with no justification for the stated purpose.

I'm absolutely not picking on anyone in particular but do the posters really believe the knife they have shown is the ONE knife (not paired with an axe or backup knife) they would choose for an extended stay in the bush?

I find it hard to believe that a huge zombie hacker, or even an ESEE-3 with its 3 3/8" cutting edge (even as good a knife as that actually is) would be ideal for what we are defining as bushcraft. seems to me the ESEE 4, the longer/thicker -3 (by their own description), would be much better suited. the -3 just seems a natural if paired with the -6 but a little thin/small on its own...

[Irish]

I find it hard to believe that a huge zombie hacker, or even an ESEE-3 with its 3 3/8" cutting edge (even as good a knife as that actually is) would be ideal for what we are defining as bushcraft. seems to me the ESEE 4, the longer/thicker -3 (by their own description), would be much better suited. the -3 just seems a natural if paired with the -6 but a little thin/small on its own...

How are you defining bushcraft? What do you think the ESEE 4 is capable of doing that the 3 can not do? I realize it's a shorter blade and not quite as thick which may hamper it's ability to be used to split wood/batoning but in my novice opinion I don't see it having many shortcomings when compared to the larger, heavier knife.

Also, just to clarify my post has nothing to do with defending my recent purchase. I'm simply trying to gain more insight and knowledge from those who are more skilled in this area.

[JackFanToM]

OK, this isn't my usual thing to do, so pardon me if I come up short answering questions or clarifying things the correct way. SHTF one knife, well what this means to me is a knife you can run the gambit with, and it will continue to perform the obvious and less than obvious tasks a knife might need to perform. I, will for the sake of what I'm willing to do for the sake of demonstration, keep this to more normal uses of a knife in the field (chopping, batoning, slicing, digging, etc.).

Let's begin with what research I did prior to choosing this particular knife. The first thing I did was look into the old standbys in military knifes, and see what made them fall short. As an example we will use the most common, and one that is dear to my heart, the KaBar. The traditional KaBar is a really good knife in so may ways...it can do many necessary tasks, can hold its edge, and has been around for quite a while, but it lacks the strength and durability necessary to be a true workhorse tool. The lack of a true full tang, weaker thinner blade and point, leather handle rings, and the fact that the pommel is attached vs. being part of the blade itself. The KaBar is made from 1095 steel (same as the ESEE knives), but isn't a robust enough design to bank on in a pinch. This lead me to the ESEE line of knives, and where I couldn't find flaws with this line I just couldn't justify the added expense for fit and finish. I glanced at the Busse line, as they seemed to be the king of all knives when it comes to chewing through concrete, and taking obscene amounts of abuse, but they are ridiculously expensive, and the maker is constantly issuing short runs of knives to make them into collectors pieces (justify the pricetag). I dismissed these, as I am looking for a use and abuse tool, and the more I spend the last apt I am to beat on it (this is in my head, but still holds true). I looked at Cold Steel, Chris Reeves, and Randall's, and again they all had solid good points, and some that weren't so good (it seems Cold Steel has really good knives and really junk knives depending on what you buy and pay).

I found the Ranger series of knives (designed originally by Justin Gingrich). These knives come in a few style adaptations and sizes, they are made with 5160 spring steel, they are well put together but lack the fit and finish of an ESEE (micarta handles are ground down more on ESEE, handle screws are not countersunk, factory edge isn't perfect, no spacers in the handle). I watched the abuse tests on knifetest.com (In the event you plan to beat your knife handle with a sledge hammer or drive it to the hilt into something and let a 230lb man use it for a springboard, be prepared to replace it). I read up on the steel (what I found here is that the heat treatment is key...good steel with a bad heat treatment is a disaster waiting to happen). I carefully listened to other reviews- only bad things anyone says about the Ranger series is fit and finish, sheath, and the factory edge, so I said let's get one and see if it is the perfect tool for a standalone survival knife. I have been pleased thus far.


The knife arrives - as promised the sheath is junk, and designed to fit knives much longer, so it rattles around and is too damn big anyway (will discuss options here further, at a later point)



These 2 pictures show the RD-6 compared to USMC issued KaBar. The Ranger is thicker, wider, and shorter.

Shortly after getting the RD-6 I took my Spyderco Sharpmaker to it. I have the diamond hones and the ultrafine hones, so I went and re-profiled the blade with a 30 degree back bevel and sharpened it up until is could shave my arm without drag, and then polished the blade to remove as many fine scratches as possible.

The knife took a bit of effort to get this sharp...usually it can be done in 80 strokes or less, and this took upwards of 150, but well worrth the results.

Ok it's sharp, now what. I live in South Dakota, and we do not seem to have normal gun ranges....more like public land, shoot at your own risk. I took the RD-6 out with me on my last range trip (we had just gotten 14" of snow, so I waited 2 days for the sun to melt the majority off before I went out.

The only digital camera I own is on my iphone and the webcam, so I apologize for the photography, and since I was alone I couldn't do video. The first thing I did was baton a piece of railroad tie I found lying around. The knife split the roughly 4"x4" piece of wood in 2 strikes.




I expected this, and was not surprised. The railroad tie was frozen to the ground when I found it, and still was not much of a challenge.


Someone left a golfball, so I said what the hell, and batoned it...one hit and the golf ball split.

I then went to town on a frozen stump...I hacked at the roots, stabbed it and twisted the tip trying to snap it, and I chopped at the frozen block of wood trying to chip or bend the edge.




After I beat on the tree trunk for a bit I looked carefully at the edge (remember I did a 30 degree back bevel which made the edge much thinner), and there wasn't a nick, chip, or bend anywhere....it was still razor sharp, and was able to slice (not chop) through the halves of the golfball.

The sheath, well I shopped online and found a plethora of sheath makers....everything from leather, nylon, and kydex to weird hybrids of these. I decided upon a maker named Eric from OnSceneTactical.com

He had the largest selection of on hand knives (so I wouldn't need to send mine), and he offered both belt and molle attachments.






Last item that I plan to mention is that I have spoken with Justin Gingrich since my purchase, as I wanted a few items customized on the blade (after using the RD-6 I decided I'm happy with it as is). Justin happily offered to do the customization, and told me that the items in question would be fairly inexpensive to perform (extra jimping, contour the micarta scales, add spacers, and countersink the handle screws). In the event you would like a knife customized, Justin has an excellent reputation for doing customization on his blades, and my experience was indicative of that.

Feel free to ask me any questions, and if you would like a specific pic (mind you my camera is an iphone) let me know. I hope this helps those that are looking for that "one" knife.

[ra2bach]

How are you defining bushcraft? What do you think the ESEE 4 is capable of doing that the 3 can not do? I realize it's a shorter blade and not quite as thick which may hamper it's ability to be used to split wood/batoning but in my novice opinion I don't see it having many shortcomings when compared to the larger, heavier knife.

Also, just to clarify my post has nothing to do with defending my recent purchase. I'm simply trying to gain more insight and knowledge from those who are more skilled in this area.

going back to the original thread post - "What is your favorite field/bush knife? Call it a survival knife if you want... but regardless of price or availability... or the unlikely circumstance of hand-to-hand combat with zombies - if you are going off the grid and can only have one knife with you, what is that knife?"

this is an almost impossible question for me to answer as I normally have more than one blade with me everyday. I originally answered that I would have two knives but being referred back to, "...can only have one knife with you", I answered I think a 4.5"-5" is about ideal... but in my heart of hearts, I would still want to back that up with a small/light axe like the Fiskars or a big honkin' chopper.

in my (very) limited experience, I find a 3.5" blade very useful for everyday but not what I would choose based on the above. I have been in situations with my 4" blade where I wished for a little more blade and heft.

a 6" should easily handle all the tasks commonly associated with "bushcraft" (trail breaking, wood processing, shelter building, etc..) but is at the upper end for all the little tasks that need to be done on a daily basis.

the ESEE blades all have a choil with a shorter cutting edge than overall blade length and while I don't find this objectionable in a longer blade, it is the main reason I don't own a -3. I would much prefer this knife without the choil and a longer handle, and think it would be perfect as the smaller of a 2-knife set paired with the -6, or even the Junglass (if you really want to be able to face whatever's out there )

but rules is rules (as they say), so in keeping with spirit of the original question, if I was going off the grid with only one knife, it would probably be a Fallkinven A1, http://www.fallkniven.com/a1f1/a1_en.html
even though I believe the S1 http://www.fallkniven.com/S1new.html could do 90% of what the A1 can...

[ra2bach]

OK, this isn't my usual thing to do, so pardon me if I come up short answering questions or clarifying things the correct way...

Feel free to ask me any questions, and if you would like a specific pic (mind you my camera is an iphone) let me know. I hope this helps those that are looking for that "one" knife.

excellent review. I think the Ranger knife you have is a RAT (Randall Adventure Training), correct? Did you mention the length?

I appreciate that you gave this knife a real world test and took the time to post it - not a total destruction test as the masked guys on kinfetest.com do - as entertaining and informative as that may be...

I've liked the RAT knives since before the Ontario/ESEE split and got a RAT5/D2 when I got a good deal on one. it was a little heavy for a 5" knife (though not as heavy as the ESEE-5) and the grip needed profiling as you mention, and the sheath sucked, but it was a workhorse, nonetheless. I sold it to a guy who obviously wanted it more than I did...

again, thanks for the review and I'd like to see the pics of your sheaths when you get them...