Knife recommendations?

[onrhodes]

I've got the standard swiss army knife that I think no one should be without when going into the woods. However I am also contemplating getting a normal "just" knife.
Something along the lines of a buck knife. Porbably 3-4 inch blade.
So, my questions are the follwoing.
1) What do you recommend?
2) Folding or just plain sheathed?
3) Am I being silly here?

I was in the boy scouts growing up, and a knife was pretty much an essential tool for any weekend out. From cutting ropes, to whittling spoons, scaling a fish or even gutting it. I remember a good knife always coming in handy.
I'd like something like river guides carry, hanging off the shoulder strap on my pack for easy access.
What do others use or carry?

 

[Chip]

After years of carrying all manner of knives I settled on a small swiss army and a sharp, stiff 3" serated that came with my mess kit utensils. There may be circumstances where I would want "more knife", but so far I've been fine.

 

[Gris]

Oh ya, i wouldnt go in the woods w/o my trusty knife! my experience is you stand a pretty good chance of cutting yourself good if ya git one with a regular type folding blade, cause they fold up on you at the most inopportune times! After a few gushers i switched to a Buck Whitaker model that has a one piece blade that pivots back into the handle when not in use, as opposed to a regular folding blade. With this type knife it cannot close up on you in use as half the one piece blade is in the handle while in use.

edit - i think the model may have been the revolution nxt, etc. it has a biner clip on the other end of blade, cost was $37 on-line... strike that, it WAS/IS the Whitakker Short Approach!

 

[Peakbagr]

My pack carries a nylon sheath i've sewn-into the inside of the main body. I has a simple swiss army knife. 2 blades - phillips/slot screwdriver, small tweezers, file, nothing exotic. There are many times I wish it had a corkscrew, but my wife gave it to me many years ago as a wedding present and it means a lot to me.

 

[PhillyGeo]

Great question!

I've got many pocket knives, and find them handy in the woods to hide the body!

Knife essentials:
Lock back
Pocket clip
Blade lock (when closed; hard to find)
Decent, hardened steel blade
Not so expensive that you cry when it eventually gets lost

I recently gave up a Kershaw 'Onion' to a fellow hiker who was headed into the woods as I was headed out. He was a kid who didn't have money to buy one but shoulda had one. I really dig those Kershaws ...

I also like the knives from my hometown: http://www.camillusknives.com/ they are also a great resource for tactical fighting knives. (That's a joke there kiddies)

I've also been keeping one of those Swiss Army "cards" including a small knife including scissors for various emergencies. It's so small (about the size of a credit card) and surprisingly handy.

Oh yeah, I'm ALL ABOUT the knives.

 

[hemi]

http://www.camillusknives.com/ they are also a great resource for tactical fighting knives.

I may have to get the 'CQB "Close Quarter Battle" Series' knife. MSRP: $228.00

 

[PhillyGeo]

I may have to get the 'CQB "Close Quarter Battle" Series' knife. MSRP: $228.00

There's a lot of cuttin' going on in that seemingly sterile, serene town of Camillus after dark ...

EDIT: What would be great, but nearly impossible to find is a medium size decent knife with a day-glow orange casing. Most of the ones I've found are way too large, so if anyone knows of one, drop a line.

 

[DougPaul]

3) Am I being silly here?

I've never needed anything bigger than a Swiss Army knife in 30+ years of hiking.

I'd like something like river guides carry, hanging off the shoulder strap on my pack for easy access.

River guides, like divers, can be faced with an emergency in which an individual is tangled in lines underwater. A readily available fixed blade knife can be a lifesaver for them. A technical climber might also need a knife to cut ropes in an emergency, but I always felt a small Swiss Army knife carried on my rack or in my pocket to be adequate.

So, IMO, unless you are a river guide, diver, or hunter (or something similar), a folding pocket knife is adequate.

Doug

 

[bubba]

ahh.. a subject close to my heart... I usually carry a SAK, but the one thing that it lacks is a locking blade. When you start looking at knives the order of selection is:
- Folding or Fixed Blade
- Full blade or partial serrated blade
- Size, usually based upon usage

Knowing how to handle a knife is more important than the size! For hikers, having a serrated edge provides the extra feature for cutting cord or belting -- something that we use on a regular basis.

Lastly, learn how to sharpen a knife and keep it sharp. It pays to invest in a decent sharpening system -- it'll last you a lifetime.

I think the German made Puma knives are excellent, Columbia River makes some interesting less pricey, Spyderco is dynamite stuff, you can have fun with some Kershaw stuff... look around the net a bit. But, for usefullness on the trail and camping, a SAK is the ole standby.

When you get one -- treat yourself and have it engraved with your name.

 

[sardog1]

After a few gushers i switched to a Buck Whitaker model that has a one piece blade that pivots back into the handle when not in use, as opposed to a regular folding blade. With this type knife it cannot close up on you in use as half the one piece blade is in the handle while in use.

edit - i think the model may have been the revolution nxt, etc. it has a biner clip on the other end of blade, cost was $37 on-line... strike that, it WAS/IS the Whitakker Short Approach!

Ditto on the Buck Whittaker. It comes very sharp and stays that way, needing only routine maintenance and care. If "something" requires a longer blade to get the job done, I'd personally rather be beyond knife range from the "something" at that point .....

 

[JNewell]

For those looking for a high-viz knife that's well-designed and well-made, consider this knife

 

[Neil]

Reading this thread makes me wonder what's wrong with me. I've never used more than the corkscrew and the roach clip on my Swiss Army Knife. Now that I've mended my ways I only carry an itsy bitsy teensy weensy polka dot...I mean a tiny, wafer thin knife with a little blade that I never use anyway. What the hey?

 

[Ridgewalker]

I've never needed anything bigger than a Swiss Army knife in 30+ years of hiking. Doug

I will agree Doug. I own a Swiss Camper with large/small blades, mini saw, and a corkscrew. I have only needed the blades and nothing else. I have whittled small items such as dead men stakes is one to name.

 

[nazdarovye]

EDIT: What would be great, but nearly impossible to find is a medium size decent knife with a day-glow orange casing. Most of the ones I've found are way too large, so if anyone knows of one, drop a line.

Not a 100% fit, but here are a few ideas from Benchmade:

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=556

http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=100SH2O

And from Spyderco:

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=74

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=172

(We're testing that one with the new H1 steel at backpackgeartest.org)

http://spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=170

- Steve

PS - I love Kershaw/Ken Onion knives, too; I have a Leek, Chive and Vapor. For backpacking, though, I tend to carry nothing more than the smallest Executive or Classic SAK, and mostly just use the scissors.

 

[Grumpy]

My knife is a Buck “Cadet” -- a conventional two-blade jackknife that is always in my pocket (hiking or otherwise -- except on airliner rides these days). I’ve carried such a knife for as long as memory serves.

One blade is about 1.5 inches long, the other about 2 inches. One or the other gets used for about everything a knife is good for, from opening the day’s bill envelopes (and occasional ones that contain checks), to trimming and cleaning fingernails, to prepping food, dressing and cutting up fish or game, idle whittling, cutting cordage (up to a point), cutting and trimming bandage materials (gauze, tape and moleskin), etc.. One of the current knife’s predecessors a number of years back even cut the seat belts to free three uninjured (but thoroughly shaken) people from an overturned automobile that had come to rest on its roof -- the belt buckles wouldn’t release due to the strain on them.

I also carry, in the basic emergency kit that goes inside my pack, a very nice Buck lockback knife with blade about 2.5 inches long. It is a much more robust and much heavier knife than the one in my pocket, and is used only very occasionally (to the point I suspect it is there more from habit and sentiment than as a matter of utility).

Both knives are kept very sharp, since dull knives are useless and dangerous. I do find the Buck stainless blades somewhat difficult to sharpen, though.

G.

 

[jfb]

I just carry a small Swiss Army Knife , mostly for the scissors and a Lexan knife for cooking/eating.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

I've also been keeping one of those Swiss Army "cards" including a small knife including scissors for various emergencies. It's so small (about the size of a credit card) and surprisingly handy.

Yeah, keep this in your wallet so that it's always there. Since it's always there, you don't think about it, then you take a ride on a plane and loose it. (I also lost my folding ice axe that way)

Not so expensive that you cry when it eventually gets lost

My son claims that knives (and nalgene bottles) are 'shared things' You loose it, and find another. They are really owned by the mountain, who just loans them to you.


For me, the most important features of a knife, is that it has a scissors, can opener, and a bottle opener on it. I use those much more than I use the blade itself.

 

[ripple]

I used to carry the Gerber BMF. Very Large, some poeple say that BMF stands for Big Mother F@#*^%. Then I dumped all kinds of pack weight and carried just a box knife w/ some duct tape wrapped around the handle and a few extra razors. Now that my wife works for Swiss Army I carry the the swiss army one hand trekker. My knife issues are basicaly solved. I am trying to get the Head knife person to build the perfect hiking knife. All thier models either have something I really don't need (cork screw) or something that should be there (scissors) is missing.

 

[Oldsmores]

...I think the German made Puma knives are excellent...

Have to agree, Puma's are not only functional but they're works of art. I have a Puma Backpacker and love it. I have to admit that it's been replaced by my Leatherman for overnight trips, just because the Leatherman is so versatile.
I also own an old style Puma White Hunter, which is overkill for backpacking, but if you ever need to gut a grizzly...

 

[Chip]

Reading this thread makes me wonder what's wrong with me. I've never used more than the corkscrew and the roach clip on my Swiss Army Knife. Now that I've mended my ways I only carry an itsy bitsy teensy weensy polka dot...I mean a tiny, wafer thin knife with a little blade that I never use anyway. What the hey?

HA ! Funny stuff. How many abandoned SAK's are out there with misplaced tweezers and broken cork screws ? I've never used anything other than those and the blade on my bigger SAK's and I must own 4, which is why I now carry the little one.