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Time to examine a twist in survival knifes. And overall disappointment in Gerber

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    • Time to examine a twist in survival knifes. And overall disappointment in Gerber

      Bear Grylls vs Les Stroud... ? OK here is the back story. Gerber is made with pride in America, but BG is made somewhere else. Gerber has "Made in the USA" right on the blades. I cannot confirm where BG is made. These may be high carbon steel, but that can be subjective. BG has a few manufacture issues, might not want to baton a log with it. For the price point, not bad at all. But watch this...

      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      Honest I watch it twice - I think You Tube is safe.


      However - clearly survival stuff is of little interest to the group.
      Yeah my focus is more on surviving raising four children and keeping my wife happy. Having a big fancy knife is not really that helpful in my case. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Meh. Both are cheap knives. As in most things in life, you get what you pay for. If you are looking for a $30 fixed blade knife to perform like a Cold Steel, Fallkniven or ESEE, good luck with that! You'd be better off looking at TOPS, Ontario or even K-Bar before even thinking about junk like Gerber, BG or Les Stroud. Columbia River(CRKT) used to be top-notch, but have gone too mass-market and their QC and product has suffered a bit.

      Made in USA is fairly meaningless in the world of fixed-blade knife quality. Some of the best steel for knives comes out of Germany(Solingen), Japan and Sweden. I'd stay away from Chinese steel because I don't trust them to spend the money to formulate the right metal mix in the first place and their QC is terminally suspect.

      Here's the deal....thirty bucks for a POS knife or 150 bucks for a knife you'll pass down to your kids. Your call. If you want cheap, but serviceable, look at TOPS, Ontario or K-Bar for fixed blade knives...even Morakniv before that other stuff...YMMV
    • uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      Is that the VA Tech version of spelling garage? :D
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      I’ve used my B-tank (acyletne) with a #14 tip, that thing roars, though that is prolly not the most efiecient. I’d send Tuckahoe a PM, I’ve wanted to build the forge/smelter that he built. But also the net has a ton of ideas from forges to pizza over, neat stuff!
    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      Is that the VA Tech version of spelling garage? :D
      I think it’s Dootch. :D
    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      Is that the VA Tech version of spelling garage? :D
      It's our local redneck version. Around here we have "gorodges" complete with furniture, refrigerators, liquor cabinets, stereos, pool tables, re-loaders, neon signs and of course a few tools- Gen X calls them man caves. I've even seen a stripper or two in a gorodge 8o
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • I would not ask anyone to purchase a $400 knife but made in the USA still means something. Here is a well thought out website...

      CLICK

      And I like my CRTK

      Here is Benchmade
      [IMG:http://cdn.hiconsumption.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Benchmade-Knife-551BK-Griptilian.jpg]
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Wise Old Owl ().

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      uncle meat wrote:

      Or...go to the flea market, but an old file (buy two), heat cherry dull red taking out the temper, grind, buff and build handle. Wahlah!

      Old RR spikes make pretty good knives too in ya wanna try your hand at forging...or so I’m told.
      what would be a good way to heat the file that hot in my gorodge or back yard?
      Is that the VA Tech version of spelling garage? :D
      It's our local redneck version. Around here we have "gorodges" complete with furniture, refrigerators, liquor cabinets, stereos, pool tables, re-loaders, neon signs and of course a few tools- Gen X calls them man caves. I've even seen a stripper or two in a gorodge 8o
      Paint stripper?

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      I would not ask anyone to purchase a $400 knife but made in the USA still means something. Here is a well thought out website...

      CLICK

      And I like my CRTK

      Here is Benchmade
      [IMG:http://cdn.hiconsumption.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Benchmade-Knife-551BK-Griptilian.jpg]
      I didn't say you needed a $400 knife. My point was that a made in USA $30 fixed blade knife is going to be crap(doesn't really matter WHERE it's made, it's the price point that is the problem) and that for a reasonable amount of dollars more you can have a real quality knife that will last generations and serve you better during your lifetime. The weblink was nice, but was specific to EDC folders made in the USA and rather than stating any facts was mostly just patriotic rah-rah'ing about how American industry is rebounding. No facts, just hyperbole.

      Look, I like cheap knives. They serve a purpose. I carry a CRKT Minimalist Bowie on my pack shoulder strap. It's for emergencies, so enduring quality and ease of resharpening are moot points. I need edge sharpness and blade hardness right out of the box. $15.
      amazon.com/Minimalist-Bowie-Co…nife-Sheath/dp/B0030IT76C

      I also use a cheap Schrade WaterRat4 on my kayak PFD, again for emergencies. Same needs fulfilled.
      amazon.com/Schrade-WR4-Partial…eywords=schrade+water+rat Same price.

      Every vehicle I own has a $20 Kershaw Kuro folder from Walmart. Same needs fulfilled.
      walmart.com/ip/Kershaw-Kuro-Se…Knife-1835TBLKST/21609442

      But, when you start talking about "batoning" firewood, you are talking about using your fixed blade as a tool, not for emergencies. That's when, IMHO, you need to switch to a far better knife. When the knife becomes an oft-used tool v. a rarely-used emergency device. If you want to go around batoning firewood or other such things, take a look at Cold Steel or Ontario. Buck, Schrade, Case, Gerber and Kershaw are at the low-end of fixed blades. You get what you pay for.
      I've got one of these, and it is a scary thing. Not cheap, but the greatest Bowie I've ever used. Be sure to watch the video in this link. Especially at the end. That's what a quality knife can do without being damaged. Batoning...yeah....lol....this is the knife that cut through two tendons on catcher Mike Matheny's finger while putting it back in the sheath in 2000 and kept him out of the post season. He didn't even know he cut himself until he saw the blood!
      coldsteel.com/trail-master-in-01-steel.html

      The post was edited 1 time, last by ScareBear ().

    • OMG... after watching that Coldsteel video ScareBear posted, I realized that I need a meat-slashing and rope-cutting knife. Those guys in the video were awesome!
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • StalkingTortoise wrote:

      OMG... after watching that Coldsteel video ScareBear posted, I realized that I need a meat-slashing and rope-cutting knife. Those guys in the video were awesome!
      It's a proof of product video. The slashing through THREE braided manila ropes in one pass is proof of the knife's essential qualities. Same with the bamboo. Same with the big birds. Not that you go around doing this, but that the knife will: a. behave as advertised, b. not sustain damage, c. impervious to harm. There is another video of the angle of deflection the blade will withstand.

      Pounding a nail? Well, that won't harm this knife, how about yours? Hmmm?

      Batoning a 2x4, hammering a nail into a 4x4, one-pass slicing of three braided manila ropes...the point is...unless you've got this knife, or better, your knife is likely inferior. Way inferior.

      It's a tool. If you don't need/use this type of tool, whatever...the point is there are 30 buck fixed knives and there are real knives. Whatever you want or don't want is fine by me...
    • While I agree with your premise of acquisition and usage of quality tools, at times an inferior quality tool will serve the intended purpose. When I teach the Scouts how to sharpen a knife, I use an inexpensive knife rather than bring out the good ones.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC
    • ScareBear wrote:

      StalkingTortoise wrote:

      OMG... after watching that Coldsteel video ScareBear posted, I realized that I need a meat-slashing and rope-cutting knife. Those guys in the video were awesome!
      It's a proof of product video. The slashing through THREE braided manila ropes in one pass is proof of the knife's essential qualities. Same with the bamboo. Same with the big birds. Not that you go around doing this, but that the knife will: a. behave as advertised, b. not sustain damage, c. impervious to harm. There is another video of the angle of deflection the blade will withstand.
      Pounding a nail? Well, that won't harm this knife, how about yours? Hmmm?

      Batoning a 2x4, hammering a nail into a 4x4, one-pass slicing of three braided manila ropes...the point is...unless you've got this knife, or better, your knife is likely inferior. Way inferior.

      It's a tool. If you don't need/use this type of tool, whatever...the point is there are 30 buck fixed knives and there are real knives. Whatever you want or don't want is fine by me...
      I was being facetious, or face-tits as my niece likes to say...

      If I'm buying a tool for occasional use, I'll go to the hardware store or Harbor Freight. But for my mechanics tools, I only buy reputable brands. Same with hunting knives. Skinning an elk with a cheap blade will make you wish you hadn't taken the shot.

      As for backpacking, my multi tool is down to a small folding blade with folding scissors. Perfect for opening food pouches or cutting moleskin.
      Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH

      "The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
    • Dan76 wrote:

      While I agree with your premise of acquisition and usage of quality tools, at times an inferior quality tool will serve the intended purpose. When I teach the Scouts how to sharpen a knife, I use an inexpensive knife rather than bring out the good ones.
      Yep. Cheap knives have their place in my life. Every tool for it's purpose...
    • ScareBear wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      as a backpacker all i've ever needed was a swiss army knife. and every time i get a new one i get a smaller size.
      Agreed. I only carry a Gerber Dime these days. Except when it's going to be cold. Then I strap the mini to the shoulder strap, but I still have the Dime on a micro biner on a gear loop on the pack at all times...
      I just moved up from the mini swiss to Gerber Dime. I like the way I can clip it my pack with a mini biner and I wanted the bottle opener just in case I run across some trail magic of non twist off beers.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • uncle meat wrote:

      I’d never let my grand daughter in the cafe...just sayin’ :S
      I’ll bet your a ton a fun at party’s. :D
      Yea I am so f- in popular. Are you kidding me? I have a separate office and she is allowed to visit.

      RS - lets both tone it down to family values, what I am saying is ... if you had a daughter, would she be offended by one of your posts? I have a lot to do better too.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup: