KaBar Becker Combat Bowie

06/19/2014 by Jason Mitchell

-Price Paid: $86.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

The Becker BK9 is my new emergency survival knife packed in my "get outta town" bag and will be used at my campsite. My BK9 is primarily used for cutting thick branches needed to make firewood. The 1095 steel is very durable and has batoned quite well. The blade has stayed sharp even after cutting out several hard and thick branches. The blade thickness allows it to easily split wood, too. The Zytel handle absorbs shock very well which was a good surprise. Others have complained about the Zytel handle slipping from their hand. But, with my large hands, I never saw that problem. Even so, I could add some hockey tape to the handle to overcome any problem. So far, the black coating on the blade has only slightly worn away. Since the blade is made of 1095 Cro-Van, I apply Mineral Oil to prevent any rusting if the blade does get wet before storing it away. The tip is very sharp and it is great for drilling holes in wood. The 9 inch long blade gives it a machete-like feel. After using it several days, I still did not see a need to resharpen the tough blade. Overall, Ethan Becker designed a great outdoors tool for heavy duty use. It is my new go to knife at my campsite, too.

KaBar Becker Campanion

06/19/2014 by Jason Mitchell

-Price Paid: $69.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

This is a great knife with a long 7 inch blade which is a very thick quarter inch of tough steel! It weighs a full pound (16 oz.) that is perfect for heavy duty use like batoning. Becker included a very good Zytel handle. The shape fits a large hand very well.Excellent knife!

DPx Gear HEFT 4 Assault

06/17/2014 by Jason

-Price Paid: $170.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I am personally not a big fan of the sheath but aside from that, this is my last survival knife. I have two, this one and a Busse Team Gemeni, so I should be good. I would say the handle could be a bit more trim but still love the knife. If I can I will post updates.

Ghost Knives Banshee D2

06/17/2014 by Fredrick

-Price Paid: $65.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

This appears to be a new company, but it looks like they took their time coming to market as this inaugural knife appears to be the design of seasoned vets. The knife is lightweight and very practical for backpacking (what I primarily use it for). From my experience D2 isn't the toughest steel, but the relatively small size of this knife seems to help negate this potential weakness. The tradeoff is a compact easy to carry knife that holds an edge better than any other knife I've owned. The knife also comes with paracord (the have a huge selection of colors and styles)which wraps really nicely onto the handle; again from a outdoors-man perspective this makes a very nice handle for the knife that can also be used as rope or fishing line in a bind. All in all a great knife and I look forward to seeing what products come from this fledgling company in the future.

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CRKT M16-13Z

06/17/2014 by Mike Charles

-Price Paid: $58.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I've owned 3 of these knives and the only reason I don't anymore is because I keep giving them to family members who need a solid dependable blade. The quality of the knife itself is great and mine seems to hold an edge fairly well. It dulls from razor sharp to "working sharp" fairly quickly, but stays working sharp for a long time and can be brought back to razor sharp with a few passes on a sharpening steel. The only advice I would give a new purchaser of one of these knives is 1) find the position you like for the clip; then use red Loctite on the screws or they WILL get loose. 2) if you want a better grip use a dremel tool and small cutting disc to checker/crosshatch the handle. I own the wood pattern version of the m16-13z and it came with smooth grips. The checkering resulted in MUCH better grip when wet, oily and/or bloody (yes, it's been all three at once). 3) If you own the autoLAWKS version DO NOT take your knife all the way apart unless you are mechanically inclined and have nimble fingers. Average people will be able to get the knife back together and functioning, but chances are the "auto" part of autoLAWKS will not function. It's a fiddly little spring that's best left alone in my humble opinion.

Overall, its an excellent knife with a fast dependable opening action, and a blade lock that you can visually inspect to make sure it's functioning (which is primarily why I prefer it to the SOG Flash II, amongst other reasons). The extra money for the autoLAWKS is definitely worth it. The one I own right now has spent so much time in my hand and my pocket that the wood pattern on the flakes is worn away, but the autoLAWKS still works great, and its nice to have the extra assurance when you really have to bear down on something, that the blade is gonna stay in position. Maintenance wise it's a pretty simple keeper. When the flipper seems to slow down from the speed you set originally just throw it in some hot water with dish soap, soak for an hour, scrub with an old toothbrush to get the worst of the gunk, rinse, dry, a couple of drops of gun oil, work the blade back and forth to get the oil in there and work non water soluble dirt out, wipe the dirty oil off, add a couple drops of clean oil and a light coat to the blade and put it back in your pocket. Do that every three months and you're highly unlikely to have any mechanical problems with this knife. I've already bought 3 of these knives and can say with perfect confidence I will definitely buy more if they keep making them. If you make the small changes to it that I suggest you get a lot of knife for not very much money.

Al Mar Eagle Heavy Duty

06/13/2014 by Keith

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

I was a bit hesitant to buy this knife as Al Mar seems to be less popular than some other brands in this price range; however, the fit and finish on this knife is the best of any knife I've ever bought in this price range! And I own a lot of knives! It's pinned construction and cannot be taken apart--not a deal breaker for me, but I think Al Mar should design this knife, so it can be taken apart by the user for cleaning. I'm rating this knife a 9 overall.

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Ontario SP42

06/13/2014 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $60.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

The SP42 is a light, quick in the hand, fixed blade that can serve as a fast fighting knife or as a lightweight survival knife. It is tough 5160 steel and a good blade design. The price is good as well of right around $60 on amazon.com. This is a great option for a bug out bag or just a jack of all trade knife at a great price.

Spyderco Manix 2 Lightweight

06/09/2014 by Darren

-Price Paid: $70.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

The sweetest EDC I've owned and my first Spyderco. So lightweight, yet solid in my grip. Ball bearing lock is way better than expected and better than liner locks or frame locks I've owned. Love it so much I'm thinking about a Manix 2 XL! Give it a huge thumbs up for an American made knife that's affordable to nearly everyone.

Buck Trio

06/09/2014 by Nike

-Price Paid: $40.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

I don't know is this knife is the same model, but I have a Buck Stockman 371, made in China and I'm very pleased from this tool! Light - weight only 80 grams, little - perfectly fit in my little front jeans pocket and very handy. The stockman knife pattern is great and people from USA should be very proud with this. In the buck version unlike others companies, the blunt blade is on the opposite side of the primary blade and for me this is very right decision. The blades are very sharp out of the box and easily can be re-sharpen. The steel is a standard for such kind of tools - stainless 420, hold the edge well. No blade play. OK, of course this is very lightweight knife for common task - food slicing, packages opening, light wood carving and bush crafting. The knife is very suitable for biologist for sample taking, other types of plant cuttings and so on. The handle is very ergonomic – this is my first knife of such kind of type and I was really and nicely surprised how ergonomic the handle is, even without modern and fancy materials. Simple cheap wood lamellae but very well designed and shaped provide good ergonomic and knife fit perfectly in the hand.

Schrade SCAXE4 Tomahawk

06/08/2014 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $37.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

The Schrade SCAXE4 Tomahawk, is designed to be a full-size tactical tomahawk. It is best used for hand to hand combat not woods use. It is tough and well build. If you are in the market for a tomahawk, this would be a good option when you are on a budget.

Benchmade 5 Rescue Hook Strap Cutter

06/08/2014 by DanEllis

-Price Paid: $25.00
-Used for Other
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I keep this in the center console of my truck for one of those just in case emergencies. It's pretty compact and handy if you need to cut straps or paracord. The reason I got it is because I drive fire roads quite often in remote areas and if I were to ever run into trouble I'd want to be able to cut myself out of my seat belt. It's sharp and effective, but let's hope I never have to use it for real.

Survive Knives GSO-10

06/06/2014 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $350.00
-Used for Outdoor/Survival
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

The Survive! Knives GSO 10 is like a Ferrari in the knife world. Not everyone can afford it and it can do the things other knives can, but it can do it faster and look better doing it! Especially when it comes to carving and cutting it is so easy to use and feels like a smaller knife in you hand then it is. It did not chop very well out of the box that is why I gave it a low ergonomic rating, but with a quick MOD, it now is like a wilderness lighsaber. If you have the money, the GSO 10 is one sick blade!