Adventure knife

[gunny]

I rather like my Randall model #1 I had made back in '83, served me well in Grenada and Beruit as well as the other "interesting" places uncle sam sent me.

[The Patman]

Oh, and I just bought a Kershaw Blur (BLKST) Sweet.

[Myron]

I find a multi tool an invaluble piece of kit which I always keep on me when riding.  If I'm riding off road or bush bashing it's a different ball game in my opinion.  I keep the multi on me but have two other blades.  One larger (+7") and one smaller (-5").  The small blade is for gutting fish, preparing game and the larger is for chopping fire wood.

Generally speaking I prefer a smaller blade to be made from stainless (to qualify as stainless the steel must contain at least 15% chromium if memory serves).  They are low maintenance in that they don't rust as much (all blades rust) however they are not as 'tough' as carbon blades in that they are more prone to chipping if under extreme stress.  This is why so many larger blades are made from carbon steel.  As a general rule of thumb the higher the carbon content in a blade the tougher it becomes.  This is why so many carbon blades are made from tool steels such as 1095, the same steel used for many files.  In fact many amateur knife makers use old files to make blades.

I am very picky with my choice of knives as I carry them on me all the time, when I am roofing or bushbashing mainly.

My small blades:



The Fallkniven S1, this blade is stainless so you would think that it is weaker than a blade made form carbon steel?  Wrong, this is a laminated VG10 blade.  With a slab of softer steel on either side to absorbe shocks and prevent the tough VG10 in the middle from chipping.  This little knife can be driven into a log and then hammered through the rest of the way with a batton.  The company website have such faith in their blades they even have diagrames showing how much weight can be applied before failure.


In cantrast the SOG fieldpup used to my E.D.C. (every Day Carry) until it exploded in my hand.  Stainless steels should only really be used for slicing or plunge cuts, using them as pry bars is silly 

My larger blades:




The Ranger RD-7
Justin at Ranger knives makes some of the most usable knives for your money.  Made from 8 inches of Carbon 5160 steel.  It is flat ground drop point with a chunky micarta handle.  Essentially a pry bar!  But this is possible with carbon.  If I crash my bike and bent the gear lever in I would use this to reef it back into possition.  It is powder coated to protect it from rust as it is a tool steel with a low Chromium content.


Finally the Swamp Rat Camp Tramp.  Swamp Rat Knife Works make many a good knife.  They are owned by the Busse Combat Knife Company.  You may have heard of them because they make the finest and toughest knives known to man.  The Camp Tramp is differentially heat treated meaning the spine is softer than the cutting edge, this means the knife can take huge shocks without fracturing.  In a review the little brother, the Howling Rat, was finally broken after being hammered through the hinge of a car door and that only broke the tip!

[cptd]

Well I wish I could respond with all of my different knife and multi-tool models and recommendations.

The bottom line is I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a knife. Haven't left home without one since high school.

I started with Benchmade and Spyderco and have used Buck, Gerber, Kershaw, Protech, CRKT, and others for knives. Gerber and Leatherman for multi-tools.

In uniform I always have a Spyderco Delica Wave or Endura Wave and a Leatherman Charge Multi-tool. In my man purse I have a Spyderco Native, and a Benchmade Griptillion. On my body armor I have a Leatherman, and on my load bearing vest I have a Cold Steel Hai Hocho, and a Gerber multi tool and sometimes a few more folders.

I like the interchageable screwdriver bits on my mutis. They get buggered and can be replaced that way. I have found that the needle nose Leathermans are not good for twisting and that the blunt nose Gerbers are not good for finer work.

I had a Leatherman Juice get run over by a Bradley that still works and just has more character now.....

In civies I mostly carry my protech auto, cuz I can, or one of the other lock backs.

As has been said previously, once you have a knife with you all the time you will feel naked without it. When I am wearing clothes I am carrying a knife.

I use a Lansky diamond sharpening system for all but my kitchen and fully serrated knives. For those I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker.

The absolute constant is to have a knife always. Beyond that choose the one that fits your hand and makes you happy so that you carry it all the time.

Since I lost a $150 Benchmade in Afghanistan I only carry knives that cost less than $50 in uniform now, and I always keep a spare or two hidden away where the enemy can't blow them up easily, I also lost about $400 worth of knives in an ambush.... Hence the keeping the spares seperated but accessable.

My wife has a Kershaw Scallion that she picked out and stays in her purse most of the time. She never uses it but it makes me feel better.

I hope someone finds this useful.

Mike

[Kenzo]

For anyone interested...I just found out it is illegal to bring a firearm into Mexico, even with a valid concealed carry license. That is what I expected. We're planning a Copper Canyon trip later this year. I hear no knives too, but I imagine that is for large sheath knives. I'll be learning more about that.

Anybody have the lowdown on knives into Mexico & Canada?

DO NOT EVEN MAKE THE MISTAKE OF HAVING A LOOSE ROUND OF AMMO IN YOUR BAGS OR ON YOUR PERSON IN MEXICO!!!

there are many true horror stories of many years in mexican prisions all the while extorting money from you and your family back in the states...

even when attempting legal entry by land & sea...

many high dollar boats from the US now reside in mexico...

vehicles and even motorcycles are fair game if the mood  strikes a thief...but most of these issues a less prevalent in tourist areas.

mexico is the definition of a corrupt state/government. 

PS i carry a multi-tool but i have not done much offroading or even an overnighter at this point...i'm such a noob   

[revs]

The absolute constant is to have a knife always. Beyond that choose the one that fits your hand and makes you happy so that you carry it all the time.

I agree 100%.  If you are going to carry a knife, it must be a knife that is comfortable for you to use.  If you get a knife that you don't like, it will never get carried or used.  And that is a waste of money.  And, secondly but equally important, is to keep that knife sharp.  A dull blade won't cut anything, but your fingers.  That from personal experience.   There are many systems out there for sharpening a knife.  Some easier than others.

Revs

[Myron]

Since I lost a $150 Benchmade in Afghanistan I only carry knives that cost less than $50 in uniform now, and I always keep a spare or two hidden away where the enemy can't blow them up easily, I also lost about $400 worth of knives in an ambush.... Hence the keeping the spares seperated but accessable.

yeah the same thing happened to my mate.  After a partrol he realied that he'd lost his Ratweiler in the thick bush.

[Fireplug]

I rather like my Randall model #1 I had made back in '83, served me well in Grenada and Beruit as well as the other "interesting" places uncle sam sent me.

Hey Guns, I work just up the road from the Randall store/factory in Orlando.  Expensive knives but very high quality and hard to find.

[MSGT-R]

... served me well in Grenada and Beruit as well as the other "interesting" places uncle sam sent me.

Uncle Sam didn't send me anywhere but the flightline @ El Toro to park airplanes, and the flightline @ Pendleton to babysit Marines in the rear .. 

[gunny]

Top, both were important jobs, don't be sad. I may have been all over the world, but there is NO place like home.

The randall knife is the best, but I do think their quality has slipped since his dad passed away. I've got an AG.Russel knife that I really like but it's so special purpose it can't be used for a whole lot {AG.Russel Sting 1A} The gerber pocket knife and the old K-bar do most my duty work in the field dressing deer and other game as well as fish. The Randall model 1 is one of those special purpose knives that can be used for other things, but was modified by randall to be a fighting knife more than anything else. Very nice carbon steel blade, it rusts easy so you need to oil the blade a lot even if your not using it. I'd like to get another model 1, the current one has a few chips in the blade from a lot of field use and is basically just my wall hanger know, sits on the same wall my NCO sword hangs on my love me wall.

[David K.]

.... The "multi-Tool" are obviously better than nothing. The Swiss Army type knives, are definitely good, multi purpose, but for light duty only !!! The Multi purpose type knives by Leatherman and the like are OK, but better to have proper tools!  Personal tastes vary, that being said, I'm partial to smaller, good quality folding knives, and smaller fixed blades. For excellent performance at a minimal cost, not pretty but very functional, in a fixed blade, try the Mora knives from Sweden! ( Also sometimes listed under the Frost banner ) ...cost is between $10 and $20, and there's a choice of stainless or carbon steel , although the carbon steel is harder to find... laminated blades, either wooden or plastic handles and plastic sheaths. For a big folder, either one of the older Schrade, before they moved operations to China, or the old standby, the Buck 110 . ..... David K. ....

[Myron]

The Randall model 1 is one of those special purpose knives that can be used for other things, but was modified by randall to be a fighting knife more than anything else. Very nice carbon steel blade, it rusts easy so you need to oil the blade a lot even if your not using it. I'd like to get another model 1, the current one has a few chips in the blade from a lot of field use and is basically just my wall hanger know, sits on the same wall my NCO sword hangs on my love me wall.

Now thats an expensive knife.  Glad to hear you got the Randall Model 1 in O1 tool steel as apossed to the Randall 5 in 440B stainless.  I had a 440C stainless knife I used all the time (a Boker Plus Tanto), I rammed it into a wall to start a hole with my tinsnips for a penetration...it chipped in several places and I had to use a 180 grit (dipping it in cool water from time to time) to get the edge back.

I keep hearing 01 is damn dough stuff but have never used it.

[MSGT-R]

Pictures would be good... Randall Model 1:


AG Russell Sting:


K-Bar:


..and my personal favorite in my collection;the Hibben Raven. Not practical, but beautiful.

[Myron]

holly cow!  That's alot of money sitting in that first photo!!!

[MSGT-R]

That first photo was a company I found when I Googled Gunny's knife model. Its always good to be able to see what someone is writing about.  I only own the last two (and a few others like that).

[jszalabama]

Listen to Gunny.   I'm a Chief, and I've worked around a few Gunnies and never once heard bad gouge from any one of them.   

I usually have a Benchmade in my pocket and a Leatherman (Charge is my favorite) somewhere nearby.   I've got a couple Benchmade folders, including one tanto-blade auto(duty only), and have never had a complaint about any of them. 

[gunny]

and to think, when I bought my first one it was only about $130. inflation, go figure  still a great blade, just got randall's new book in the mail, I'll have to mark what I want and leave it where Mrs. Gunny can find it 

[brymway]

... As someone mentioned previously, with knives you get what you pay for. That being said thee are some good "bargains" in lower priced knives. The Multi-Tools are great as back-up and handy to throw in your tool bag. A decent folding (lock-blade) be it Buck , Case or whatever, is close to ideal when carried in a belt case. ...the case is less prone to having the knife fall out when you fall over ! The Swiss Army knives are very handy, compact and keep a decent edge, however, the blades tend to "wobble" ! If you want a cheap and very functional fixed blade, look at the "Mora's", excellent edge retention and very strong for their size .... at around $12 or so, you can afford to have more than one handy at all times ! ' Can't imagine not having a small blade handy at all times !! .... David K.

+1  I make knives for a hobby and I will only buy a few mass knives.  A leatherman-once while I was out in the field while in the Army, I was pulling a 12 hour shift in a com van out in the middle of nowhere.  We had a master lock without a key so I pulled out my original leatherman and proceeded to file thru the hasp in a little over two hours.  Now I have a Wave.  It's just good to keep on the bike.
     Swiss Army Knife-Ever so handy.  Has all the stuff.  Two blades, can/bottle opener, corkscrew, scissors, toothpick, tweezers and a saw that'll go thru wood three inches thick(I've done it)
     The Mora!  My favorite.  I can pick up the original red handles for about $9.  I don't like stainless blades except on those above.  I get Mora's in Carbon Steel.  Much easier to sharpen.  Harder is not always better.  Case-in-point Buck knives.  Great little knives until you have to sharpen them.  Then, I hope you have some free time on your hands. 
   I had a High-end name brand knife.  Over $100 knife.  Sharpened well, held an edge good.  It was stainless.  But one time I had to hammer thru a piece of cold pvc and put some side tension on it and the blade snapped in half.  I've seen a guy put a brand new Buck knife point into a two by four, pry it to the side and snapped the tip off in the wood.  You won't do that with a carbon steel knife; at least a Mora.
I know this post is old.  But I thought I'd throw this in for the searchers.

[SLO-KLR]

  brymway
My everyday carry knife has been a CRKT M-18.  It has been an excellent knife for all round use.  It is a little bigger than most folders but not cumbersome.  It opens easily with either hand which is important to me because I'm left handed and most knive's are designed for right hand use. I'm sure there are better knives and certainly more expensive but it has fit the bill for me.

[ballistic_ken]

Just one, I'd pick a multi-tool.  I prefer the Leatherman Wave.

Myself, I carry the Wave, and a Benchmade every waking hour.

While on the bike I have a Buck or Fiskar hatchet and a Ontario Knives TAK for serious camp work.

[Myron]

and to think, when I bought my first one it was only about $130. inflation, go figure  still a great blade, just got randall's new book in the mail, I'll have to mark what I want and leave it where Mrs. Gunny can find it 

Is it true they have a huge waiting list?  I've heard some people wait for years to get their blades.  I can't afford a Model 1-7 from Randal so I think I'll go with BlackJack or better still Bark River.  Their blades are growing on me big time!

http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=5123

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/Bark-River-Knife-and-Tool-SOCOM/c465_469/index.html?osCsid=d398da5816dd22c1e0ef3ebba080427d

[verboten1]

I have this neck knife, and will have a good folder eventually.

most likely have a bigger fixed blade in my pack too

[KLR650Rider]

   Some one ask about carring knives into Mexico & Canada.
   A friend of mine has made the Inuvik & Deadhorse Alaska trips multiple times on a KLR. He always carries a fish skinning knife mounted on his bike for . . . well skinning fish when he camps for the night. Everytime he goes thru customs in Canada, they confiscate it. He immediately stops at the next Walmart or whatever they have up there & reloads. My advise is to not carry a knife your really fond of into Canada.
   On Me-he-co - don't know about knives . . but guns or as mentioned even a bullet will get you prime time jail time! See the powers that be don't like the ordinary citizens armed . . . they might get some silly idea about taking their country back from the politicians, armed services, and police!!! Same friend had a very interesting tale about his travels thru Me-he-co!!

[Rode2Nowhere]

I'm on my second LM Wave. Used the first one so much I wore the detents out. All the tools I need, and one-handed blade opening.

I can tell you this, that new Skeletool might have my name on it for my next one... 

[fallen angel]

myself, I'll never venture into the woods without my fixed blade knife. Folding blades are nice for quick jobs, I even have one on me at all times. But nothing matches a fixed blade when you're in trouble. I've even used it to split wood, try that with a folding knife