Need advice on a fixed blade

[Fallschirmjaager]

Hello all,

I'm deploying to Afghanistan in about two weeks (at pre-mob now) and am looking for a good utility/combat fixed blade to take with me. I'm not super well versed when it comes to knives in general, so help and knowledge are appreciated. I likely won't be able to have it shipped here, so whoever it's from must be able to ship to an APO.

I'm looking for something LARGER than a CRKT M-16 and SMALLER than an M-9 bayonet. Durability is my primary concern, so neato coatings/treatments that prevent rust are cool. If the coating scratches with use that doesn't bother me, but I need it to not degrade the life of the blade. Holding a super sharp edge is nice but not a priority, as long as it cuts reasonably well. I don't have a whole lot of room on my gear to put a sheath, so I'd like to avoid the really fat drop point style where the blade is like a billion inches from edge to spine. Good sturdy grips that work well with gloves are a definite plus, as are versatile/good quality sheath options.

Price range is ~300, less is obviously better but I do want high quality.

Suggestions?

 

[gunrunner]

Anything busse would work fine. You should call them to see if they will ship to an apo.

 

[psycosteve]

The first thing I would do is look at the steel your going to want in your knife . A softer blade will sharpen up more easier in the field but will dull much more easier . The harder blades are a pain to sharpen up so constant honing is going to be required . I would say go with a high carbon steel as your setup is geared for aried enviromets and rust is not going to be much of an issue . The next thing I would recommend is a tanto point over a drop or a clip point . The tanto point is going to work as a pry bar and is better for penitration of body armor . I would avoid knives with serations as they are harder to car for out in the field. If I had to have a knife with serations it would be on a small folder not on my fighting knife .

 

[rj1974]

For a production knife check out the Ontario RAT , Kabar becker line or Cold Steel SRK they are all tough as hell and well under your price point .

There are many custom semi custom makers out there that would suit your needs too .

 

[ohen cepel]

Randall Knives does quick ship for military in your situation. Worth it to look at their stuff.

I took a #15 with me when I went. Served me well.

Don't know what you're going to be doing. Rust there usually isn't an issue. Smaller, stout blade worked well for me. Bigger stuff seems to get left on the FOB after the first few trips.

 

[Darkemp]

Hello all,

I'm deploying to Afghanistan in about two weeks (at pre-mob now) and am looking for a good utility/combat fixed blade to take with me. I'm not super well versed when it comes to knives in general, so help and knowledge are appreciated. I likely won't be able to have it shipped here, so whoever it's from must be able to ship to an APO.

I'm looking for something LARGER than a CRKT M-16 and SMALLER than an M-9 bayonet. Durability is my primary concern, so neato coatings/treatments that prevent rust are cool. If the coating scratches with use that doesn't bother me, but I need it to not degrade the life of the blade. Holding a super sharp edge is nice but not a priority, as long as it cuts reasonably well. I don't have a whole lot of room on my gear to put a sheath, so I'd like to avoid the really fat drop point style where the blade is like a billion inches from edge to spine. Good sturdy grips that work well with gloves are a definite plus, as are versatile/good quality sheath options.

Price range is ~300, less is obviously better but I do want high quality.

Suggestions?

M9 is a hell of a knife and one of the best values out there. Makes name brands looks like kiddie toys. I'd buy another Ontario in a heartbeat.

 

[MDMOUNTAINEER]

This is a stout little knife I got for Christmas. It's seems well built. Good for bushcraft and utility. It isn't a chopper. I've batoned it quite a bit to see if it would break, not really because it was suited for the task. So far so good. I did strip the black laquer finish off and force-patina'd it with yellow mustard.

http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Becker...ie=UTF8&qid=1360462572&sr=1-1&keywords=bk+16]

I'm very fond of Beckers and have been using them for years. My favorite being the BK7, but that may be a little too big to fit your requirements. I'm tough on my blades. They get used everywhere around the farm, from prying, skinning and butchering deer, chopping, you name it. And I've found the Becker line to be the most value for the least money. I have more expensive blades, but the Beckers get used more. One day I'll break one, but so far I haven't.

If you have a budget of ~$300, I'd buy one of those, and one of these

http://www.joeboboutfitters.com/Benchmade_15020_1_Axis_Bone_Collector_D2_Plain_Edg_p/bm-15020-1.htm

and that will likely cover most of your needs while still leaving money for a diamond stone and beer funds.

Thank you very much for your service!

 

[Doc TH]

For that price you could get a Fallkniven, made in Sweden. Superb steel and wear resistance, edge retention. Check out their website or look on Amazon.

 

[RaVis]

Save your money. Go production - plenty of 'em are just as good as the higher-end stuff. I read too many stories of pricey knives getting jacked or lost on deployment.

I'd recommend:

Becker BK2 Companion/Campanion by KaBar made in the US. VERY stout knife with a full-tang design 5.5" blade at 1/4" thickness and 10.5" overall. Stout. Compact. Won't get in the way. Extended butt tang for smashing/hammering. Comes with a sturdy polymer sheath and the whole package won't run you more than $65

http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/1

ESEE 4/5/6. Seriously field proven blades.

I have to give a shout out to Justin Gigrich (former Ranger) who established Ranger Knives now manufactured by Ontario. This guy has great respect in the knife community and is on top of his game - always easy to touch base with via e-mail/phone to talk knives. He'll make you a custom knife. Or, he'll mod one of his production knives how ever you'd like.

RD 4/6

If you don't want to spend Busse money but you want a Busse... well, you can get something from their "kin" - either ScrapYard Dog Knives or Swamp Rat Knives. These two companies are, as I recall, run by Busse's wife and brother who wanted to make more affordable/easier to get knives for the rest of the folks.

http://www.scrapyardknives.com/knives.htm

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/

 

[JohnnyBmore]

Yes I am a Big fan of ESEE , as well as Bark River Knives ..

 

[RaVis]

Bark River Knives ..

I don't trust those to actual use. I've owned a few of them myself. Google "bark river knives are sh*t".

 

[gunrunner]

I don't trust those to actual use. I've owned a few of them myself. Google "bark river knives are sh*t".

Hold up there. Bark river not good for actual use?? Whatever man. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Cause that's just plain not true. You'll need to elaborate on that statement a bit. There are gonna be a few bad eggs come out of any factory. The bravo 1 is only the greatest knife ever made.

 

[rivertamer]

RaVis is on point...... Esee 4,5,6 would be my choice.... they are hard use and are proven in the sand box.... several friends of mine in Ft Benning, Ga deployed with esee 4's and were happy they did.

Great choice!

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[RaVis]

Hold up there. Bark river not good for actual use?? Whatever man. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Cause that's just plain not true. You'll need to elaborate on that statement a bit. There are gonna be a few bad eggs come out of any factory. The bravo 1 is only the greatest knife ever made.

I don't have to read it on the internet if I've experienced it myself. The suggestion was for others who are interested to search the topic before this thread gets side-tracked.

I've had everything from rolled to chipped edges. Hilt and pins falling out. Scales loosening. This was on three different BRKTs (GM1,GM2,Sandstorm). You should have seen the monstrosities they sent me back! Joke! Their QC sucks. Their knives look pretty, no doubt, but the quality, heat treat and blade geometry isn't there. They're selling out on the "Made in America" product and their knives are flat-out copies of original designs. Heck, the owner of BRKTs used to run BlackJack knives - do you remember what those looked like? Randalls!

If you tell me the Bravo was a collaborative design with some super-secret Recon Marines... forget it, not even going there. And I've had both the A2 and CPM 154 versions!

Do you want a tool that works? Or, do you want a tool that relies on its "lifetime warranty service" because believe me... you'll be sending it back throughout its life.

It's enough how they explained why their Goloks came out of factory with bent blades. That one I'll leave for you to search out.

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Hey...I hear you. Son is a combat engineer. Broke more than a few tips and bent more than a few blades whilst deployed. MOB. Martin Olexey Blades in Texas. Martin is an incredible maker and WILL CATER TO YOU IF YOU ARE DEPLOYING. www.martinolexeylades.com
He has a pry blade that is a modified tanto that is "harder than woodpecker lips" and sharper than Occam's razor. Son has been tickled pink. The lifetime warrantee Martin gave him(you break it, I replace it) is as they say, priceless. Pm me if you want a pic...I ain't smart enough to put up a pic on here.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE. COME HOME SAFE.

 

[RaVis]

I'd also say if you really want to spend closer to your budget check out the COMBAT line of knives by Jim "Treeman" Behring. This guy really goes out of his way for the members of the military.

He makes some tough blades:

http://www.treemanknives.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&grp=73



He's has this Recon Hunter listed at $280 on this site:

 

[Alea Jacta Est]

Hey...I hear you. Son is a combat engineer. Broke more than a few tips and bent more than a few blades whilst deployed. MOB. Martin Olexey Blades in Texas. Martin is an incredible maker and WILL CATER TO YOU IF YOU ARE DEPLOYING. www.martinolexeylades.com
He has a pry blade that is a modified tanto that is "harder than woodpecker lips" and sharper than Occam's razor. Son has been tickled pink. The lifetime warrantee Martin gave him(you break it, I replace it) is as they say, priceless. Pm me if you want a pic...I ain't smart enough to put up a pic on here.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE. COME HOME SAFE.

Www.martinolexeyblades.com

 

[bigjohn]

looked up the bark river info, WOW

 

[gunrunner]

I guess it's all in your experience. I have had no such issues with brkt knives. I will agree about there changing QC and blade geometry problems. I always have to regrind mine. But I don't mind that. I was actually just taken back a bit by your post. I usually agree with most of what you say. I'm not a fanboy for this company. I have just never seen any failures first hand and we work our knives over pretty hard.

One other thing, I don't care about that secret recon collaboration myth or any of that PR stuff. I just really like the bravo 1 spineless version. In use, I find it to be perfect for my needs. That's all.

 

[RaVis]

I guess it's all in your experience. I have had no such issues with brkt knives. I will agree about there changing QC and blade geometry problems. I always have to regrind mine. But I don't mind that. I was actually just taken back a bit by your post. I usually agree with most of what you say. I'm not a fanboy for this company. I have just never seen any failures first hand and we work our knives over pretty hard.

One other thing, I don't care about that secret recon collaboration myth or any of that PR stuff. I just really like the bravo 1 spineless version. In use, I find it to be perfect for my needs. That's all.

That's cool. No doubt you've had more knives pass through your hands than mine with the kydex work you do. Nice stuff, by the way.