Great Outdoor Knives

New site WildernessKnives.com

2012-08-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

Howdy,
I know that I haven't updated for quite a while now. New updates and some of the old material on the blog have been moved to wildernessknives.com. Come visit the new site soon!

New Pocket Knife Website

2011-01-18T22:33:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted much here because I just haven't had time, but hopefully I'll get to post more often! Most information about pocket knives and folders can be found over at http://best-pocket-knives.com/ now (although I'll probably still put some of it here, too). If you like pocket knives, come over and check it out!

Case Knives - Awesome Traditional Pocket Knives!

2010-12-31T19:22:00.001-05:00

A lot of good companies make tactical folding knives like Benchmade Knives, Spyderco, Kershaw, and Cold Steel Knives, but for a good traditional pocket or folding knife at a decent price, it is really hard to beat Case Knives. I did a summary of the five best knife patterns made by Case. Check it out and see if you agree!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:51:00.000-05:00

The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest event in the history of the world! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and that we all get knives to play with!

A Great Source for Knife Nuts

2010-12-01T18:33:00.001-05:00

One of the best sites for knife information and discussion is bladeforums.com. There are subforums on just about every aspect imaginable relating to knives, tomahawks, axes, etc. The Wilderness Survival forum is an especially good forum for anything related to the outdoors. A free membership is required to read and post in most of the site. Check it out soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T12:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

My country, tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
of thee I sing
Land where my fathers died
Land of the pilgrims pride
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring

Youtube Benchmade Griptilian Review

2010-11-12T19:45:00.002-05:00

I posted a little while back about the Benchmade Griptilian that I owned and I thought it was great. Nutnfancy has a great review on the Grip on Youtube. He covers a slightly different variation of the Griptilian than I did, but they are basically all the same knives. This really is an awesome folding knife!

5 Best Buck Knives

2010-11-06T19:12:00.001-04:00

Buck Knives have to be one of the top brands when considering real working knives. They aren't the fanciest blades around, but they do the job. You just aren't afraid to get a Buck dirty and you don't have to baby it. They have a number of good models available, but my choices for the best are at Five Outstanding Buck Knives - Good Quality and Good Value Outdoors Knives.

Build a Survival Kit

2010-11-03T19:05:00.001-04:00

This is a little different than the knives normally covered here, but some other pieces of equipment are important as well. This guide to making a survival kit covers most of the basic kit needed with some recommendations for each part. This is a very basic list to cover some essentials, and everyone will have their own additions, and maybe even subtractions, to it.

How To Choose a Pocket Knife - The Five Best Folding Knife Companies

2010-11-01T16:35:00.001-04:00

Fixed blades are my favorite, but I love folding knives, too. I put my picks for my favorite folding knife companies on How To Choose a Pocket Knife - The Five Best Folding Knife Companies.

There are other great companies out there that I hate to leave off the list such as Buck, Boker, Queen, and others and I certainly am not diminishing their qualities. I love Buck Knives and have been carrying one regularly, but they didn't quite fit on this list as it tends slightly towards higher end knives.

Awesome Video Review of the Cold Steel Trail Hawk

2010-10-28T17:48:00.003-04:00

iawoodsman has a great video review and use video on youtube.com covering the Cold Steel Trail Hawk.

I have never used a Cold Steel tomahawk, but this video really fascinates me. The potential uses that a tomahawk can fulfill are amazing - no wonder they have so many fans. For a cheap price, these look really interesting!

Small Fixed Blades Overview

2010-10-25T11:52:00.004-04:00

Small belt knives in the less than 4" range are a very useful and handy piece of equipment. For many campers and backpackers, this is the only fixed blade knife carried in order to hold down weight. If another tool, whether a larger fixed blade, axe, hatchet, tomahawk, machete, is carried for chopping or splitting, then a small fixed blade is all that is needed in the outdoors. If only one knife is carried, my preference is for a slightly larger knife, but many experienced outdoorsmen carry only a small fixed blade with them. It all comes down to personal preference and use.

There are many excellent quality small fixed blades that would make great outdoors knives, although there is a bit of overlap between the small and mid-sized fixed blades. The Fallkniven F1 is a very popular and very good quality model. The price is around $100, but worth the cost if such a knife is desired. Falkniven's H1 is another option, although not nearly as common. Bark River Knife & Tool (BRKT) makes a number of models that fit this general range. Many of their knives straddle the line between a small and mid-sized fixed blade. The Gunny is a recent model that is similar in size to the Fallkniven, but slightly more expensive. BRKT is not an inexpensive company, but they make excellent knives. The ESEE RC-3 is a great choice for a small hard-use knife at a reasonable price. ESEE makes some of the toughest knives in the business and have a warranty that is unsurpassed. The Rat-3 by Ontario is another option. It was designed by the same people who make the RC-3, and is a good knife, but is made by a different company. Most users prefer the RC-3.

On the other end of the price range, the Frosts Mora Clipper is a great knife at a very cheap price. They aren't really meant for heavy use, but they can take a great amount of punishment and keep on going. All Moras actually would be good choices. In the U.S., the plastic and rubber handled Moras are more popular than the wooden-handled models, but both are quality knives. The Kershaw Antelope Hunter and the Echo are fairly inexpensive, but good quality knives that are not as well known, but have good reputations. Buck makes a few models in this size range that are great choices, especially the Pathfinder. Case and Ka-Bar both also make some small hunting knives that fit the category. Almost every good knife manufacturer offers knives that fit here.

Wilderness Folding Knives Overview

2010-10-24T16:07:00.003-04:00

Folders are the handiest knives around because they can always just sit in a pocket, waiting to be used. Sheath knives are handier only if you carry a sheath knife on your person all the time, and most of us can not do that. For some ludicrous reason, even some wilderness areas do not allow carry of a sheath knife, while folders are permissible almost everywhere. Everyone should carry a pocket knife in or clipped to their pocket when in the wilderness (or actually, all the time).

Good folders can range from a tiny Case Peanut to a Strider and everything in between. Any size can be useful, but the smallest probably won't be quite adequate in the field for most people. If a larger knife is carried as well, then any pocket knife should do. Swiss Army knives are some of the most popular models for the outdoors and for good reason. Victorinox and Wenger are the best known brands, but all the well-known models are made by Victorinox. The alox-handled models and the larger models are the most popular among outdoorsmen. The Pioneer Harvester and the Farmer are excellent choices in the smaller alox models. Both have a good blade and a saw, which are the most important options for the woods. Among the larger models, the Rucksack, the Trekker, and the Forester are great choices. All have a larger blade and saw, making them more useful than the smaller models if used as the general use knife. Pretty much all Victorinox models are great quality, but those named are some of the best for the outdoors.

Traditional folder types such as the stockman, trapper, copperhead, peanut, and congress are also good options. The stockman and the trapper are the favorites among these for wilderness use, but all are good. Case, GEC, Boker, and Queen are some companies that make excellent traditional knives. If cheaper options are needed, check out Rough Rider and Steel Warrior. Neither of these companies make knives as good as the others mentioned, but they are very cheap and decent quality.

For a more modern "tactical" style, Benchmade, Spyderco, Cold Steel, and Kershaw make cheap to moderately expensive, but excellent quality, knives. Benchmade is the top of the line as far as these knives go. Their Griptilian is an amazing knife at a little under $100. Mine did everything that I wanted it to do, until I lost it. The Rukus is a huge folder that was recently discontinued, but a great knife. Spyderco also makes good knives. The Delica and Endura are the most popular and best known. The Spyderco Tenacious is a Chines-made knife that is getting a good reputation for a working knife. Kershaw and Cold Steel make slightly cheaper knives, and Kershaw in particular has a great reputation. The Kershaw Tyrade is an excellent knife if you can get it, and the Junkyard Dog II, Needs Work, and Skyline models are also great.

A folder shouldn't be your only option if possible, but one or more should definitely be part of any outdoor kit!