Suppressors Best survival knife for under $200??

[Noneya]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I second all the opinions on the RAT and TOPs knifes. Both make a hell of a product for a reasonable price. The Busse is really nice just the prices are outrageous due to the collectors and hoarders on that product. I just don't want to pay for a collector knife to use in the field. Not to mention I honestly I think the TOPS and RATs can hang with it for a lot less money.

None of them may make a good can opener of ax or pry bar. But since I cant reasonably carry all that if all you have is a good knife you can use it for all that and more. Then still have a good knife to boot!

 

[Juan Valdez]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Independent</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Consider the Ontario TAK with the D2 blade. I have the 1095 steel model and love it and have heard great things about the D2 model. </div></div>

D2 is a steel designed for cutting other steels. I hate working with it, but damn it's good stuff.

 

[SteveH51]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I've got an Ontario RAT5 in D2.

I've dressed and butchered 3 whitetails with it in one morning. The only time I sharpened it was after I'd finished all 3, and even then it just needed a slight touch up. I've chopped through small oak about two inches thick, batoned larger oak logs in half with it, etc. It's a brilliant knife.

The only concern I might have about it is that the blade steel has a slightly brittle feel to it, making me not want to do anything too risky with the tip of it. Other than that slight concern, it's an excellent knife.

For the price range in question, you can't go wrong with:

a KABAR ($70)
any Bark River
any Blackjack Classic Knives (very nice for the $$$, about $160, 125 and HALO models are my favorites)
Blind Horse JP ProHunter or Large Workhorse ($100)
ONTARIO RAT 5 or 7 (with D2 blade)

I wouldn't buy TOPS or RAT Cutlery. They ask way too much for a chunk of 1095 blade steel; for their prices, their blades should be a better material.

 

[DBrace]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Tag.....too much info coming off a 20 hr shift. You guys have some really great info going here. I am sure many people are very grateful as well as the OP. Love the Hide! -Brace

 

[jtac]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Got a SOG Seal PUP maybe shorter than what your looking for but after I ordered the hard plastic sheath made a very good field dress and all around great knife and didn't run far into my wallet.

 

[Bacarrat]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I have a Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie coming in. For 41 bucks plus shipping, why the hell not. Reading various reviews, it seems to be a very solid knife. 9" blade, 1/4" thick and about 15 or 16ozs.

 

[kthomas]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I also own an Ontario Rat-5. I probably don't abuse the knife as much as others on the site here, but from my experience she is a well built knife, built like a tank. Rat Cutlery is known for there survival abilities, the owners of the company run survival camps around the world. The company also has an excellent customer support, they look after their customers and I can vouch for that.

Since you upped your limit you might like to take a look at extrema ratio knives. Built in Italy and they look really impressive. Never handled one, but if anyone has I'd like to hear how they perform.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

swiss army knife.

 

[Fritz24]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kthomas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I also own an Ontario Rat-5. I probably don't abuse the knife as much as others on the site here, but from my experience she is a well built knife, built like a tank. Rat Cutlery is known for there survival abilities, the owners of the company run survival camps around the world. The company also has an excellent customer support, they look after their customers and I can vouch for that.

Since you upped your limit you might like to take a look at extrema ratio knives. Built in Italy and they look really impressive. Never handled one, but if anyone has I'd like to hear how they perform. </div></div>

Just to clarify - the Ontario RAT series knives and RAT-Cutlery are two different animals, though looking and sounding similar(and having a common origin). Depending who you ask, some find the newer RAT-Cutelry knives a bit better in fit and finish, but some(as noted above in this thread) prefer the Ontario D2 steel over the RAT-Cutlery 1095.

I personally love my RAT-Cutlery blades, but have nothing but great things to say about the Ontario versions as well.

 

[kthomas]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I guess I should have mentioned that they are a new company. Never handled the new blades, glad to hear they are even better then the ontario division ones!

 

[Fritz24]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kthomas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I guess I should have mentioned that they are a new company. Never handled the new blades, glad to hear they are even better then the ontario division ones! </div></div>

Again, not better - just a bit more attention to aesthetics it seems. But even that is totally subjective - both are great blades for the price IMHO.

 

[Keith_L]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

you guys are going to laugh but since im on a super tight budget i use a gi tanto for chopping wood and stuff (super sharp and durable) and then a bowie spike (cold steel) for gutting and skinning and such. great combo for under 5 bucks if you shop around.

 

[dmg308]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Another great cheap option look into Mora knives they are quite impressive within thier design envelope.

 

[SteveH51]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I have to agree with dmg308. Mora knives are great value for the money, something like $10 each.

I think I own 8 or 9 of them; used them for everything from dressing rabbits to making sushi. I haven't dressed a deer with one yet, but there's no reason it's not possible.

They're a nice general use small knife for routine tasks. I tend to carry/use them as backups for a bigger, tougher blade.

 

[ADT]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Normally I just use a good Dive Knife. Mainly for two reasons. The first is they have many different edges. One that is hooked for lines, ropes, ect. One that is serrated for tougher ropes. One that is a normal edge. And the tip is flat so you can pry at things. The second is any good quality Dive Knife comes with a good sheath.

 

[ADT]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Normally I just use a good Dive Knife. Mainly for two reasons. The first is they have many different edges. One that is hooked for lines, ropes, ect. One that is serrated for tougher ropes. One that is a normal edge. And the tip is flat so you can pry at things. The second is any good quality Dive Knife comes with a good sheath.

 

[Northrop]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

A Nepaleze Kukri, VERY STRONG, VERY Stout, u can chop with it, pry with it, it's just a very good knife and not very expensive.

 

[frog5215]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Whatever one is in your pocket, as a practical matter.

 

[targetterror]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Take a look at the Swedish knifes from Mora:

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html

They are very light, made of very good steel, the handles fit the hand very well (at least my hand), and they are DIRT CHEAP! Admittedly the handle/tang may not be as nice as other options, but for something rugged that cuts things well, Moras are hard to beat.

 

[sickbugs]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

a good dive knife is still made out of steels that are poor for survival use (low edge retention is their main issue) ive gone through so many dive knives in my lifetime that i honestly cant keep count, their retaining clips in the sheaths usually dont retain too well with some sand in them.


for your price range, size range, and survival requirements, i honestly could not reccomend any other knife than an ESEE 6, this knife has been reccomended in this thread already as the RAT cutlery RC 6, they recently had a name change, still have the same amazing warranty (you break, we replace, no questions asked) that you dont get with busse or any of those other knife companys (busse warranty is voided for example if you reprofile the blade to a convex profile, as you may damage the heat treat, with a ESEE knife? as i said, best warranty in the business, no questions asked)

their RC 5 was built from the ground up as a pure survival knife, its a lot beefier than the other blades, this is both a good thing and bad thing, the RC 4 in my opinion is as close to perfection as you can get in a sub $200 knife, and surpasses many knives worth 3 times its price.

http://www.eseeknives.com/index2.htm

 

[Pat II]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

If 500 is your limit, shop around for a first gen Al Mar SERE VI. Little bit hard to find, but a great knife. Carried oneon my web gear for over 12 years.

 

[Downzero]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

WTF is a survival knife? What's wrong with my 3" benchmade that I actually carry?

 

[Lindy]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Not one thing wrong with that. The late U.S. Army Col. James "Nick" Rowe, a Special Forces officer who survived 5 years in Viet Cong captivity, and started the SERE school for the Army, carried a folder with a low-carbon steel blade, so he could sharpen it on a rock.

Now, that's a survival knife. It's not a fighting knife. Rambo would scorn it.

 

[Downzero]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

Damn right, Lindy. The knife that you "survive" with is the one in your pocket.

 

[Oodin]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

My brother and I just recently started bushcrafting. Haven't done anything serious yet, but just in playing around, I really DO NOT like my SOG Seal Pup Elite for this type of activity. With the "notching edge" on the back of the blade, you can't push on the back of the blade with your hands at all. Not to mention that edge makes a mess out of ferro rods. Seems like an alright fighting knife, but I can't recommend it for "survival".

My brother just got a Blindhorse made knife designed by Dave Canterbury. Seems to have everything you need with nothing you don't. I think they're running ~$200 now.

 

[KYpatriot]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I've got an ESSE RC-6 on the way. Couldnt decide between it and the Rc-4, but since I have a Benchmade folder in my pocket, figured the fixed blade ought to be larger...a 6" blade could chop if you really needed to or baton and you have the folder for smaller work.

So I guess the best one depends on what ELSE you are carrying.

 

[CalmlyDeMented]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

After reading about the rc-4, I decided I had to have one. It should be here tomorrow or Monday.

 

[Pat II]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

A survival knife is a knife you use to survive. It can be anything. Some choices are more optimal than others.

Hard to chop with small folders. It can be done, but heft and leverage do come into play.

Everybody appreciates nice, more effective tools. That does not necessarily make them more practical.

I had a friend that said everything he needed to get done with a edge tool could be accomplished with a machete, a kabar and a swiss army knife with a saw. I found it hard to argue that.

 

[sickbugs]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

pat, your friend sounds like the sorta guy thats been a lotta places, done a lot of things, and figured out what his basics are.


khukris are useful also, ive got a 16.5 inch H.I. ww2 model, beautiful well built blade.. i wouldnt hesitate to grab it if i were told i had to spend 2 years in the wilderness and could only take 1 blade with me, it'd definately either be one of my modified machetes or a khukri

 

[jeffm]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I like my Glock Survival knife. It won't hold an edge like a D2 knife, but it sharpens up to a nice edge without to much work. They are around $30.

 

[jawa]

Re: Best survival knife for under $200??

I have a question, I was going to take an old circular saw blade and make my own blade. And steel type better than others when it comes to circular saw blade steel?