Best Bush Knife?

Trial153

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Call AG Russell, they might have one in stock. And they also have Priority ordering from Dozier for the models they agree to stock
 
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Apr 11, 2017
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Have you looked at the Ontario Rat 5?
It's a little cheaper than the Esse knife of the same size . Same blade shape .
If I were to choose the Rat 5 I would also get a after market Kydex sheath


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AgentVenom

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Jun 18, 2020
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Upstate New York
Kabar BK7 is my go too. I have one in a custom leather sheath with fancy wood scapes and a second in a KYDEX sheath with G10 Scales. The BK lines are the best at their price point. They come plain Jane with a passable sheath but are very upgradeable. Back woods I always have three tools GLOCK E-Tool with root saw (lightest most rugged etool I’ve come across), Fiskar x7 14” hatchet (super lightweight and cheap so I don’t feel bad abusing it), and a BK7.
The BK7 seems on the large size per your initial parameters so I’d go with the BK2 (5.5” blade)
 

robtattoo

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I've had one of these for YEARS. Beaten the absolute tar out of it on 3 continents & other than a little staining & a few grazes on the micarta, it's still looking great. The D2 holds a fantastic edge, is relatively easy to sharpen & the saber grind (it's advertised as a scandi. It isn't.) lends itself very nicely to butchering as well as wood splitting. It's got a very square spine & throws terrific sparks, plus the dangler sheath is supremely comfortable & unobtrusive.

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mcseal2

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May 8, 2014
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I like the look of that one. It's a size and shape I could see being very useful. Looks like it's proved it's worth to you, I like knives that show their use. It's like a happy medium between the Dozier KS-3 and KS-7 I have and priced right too.
 
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I've had one of these for YEARS. Beaten the absolute tar out of it on 3 continents & other than a little staining & a few grazes on the micarta, it's still looking great. The D2 holds a fantastic edge, is relatively easy to sharpen & the saber grind (it's advertised as a scandi. It isn't.) lends itself very nicely to butchering as well as wood splitting. It's got a very square spine & throws terrific sparks, plus the dangler sheath is supremely comfortable & unobtrusive.

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Do you happen to have a weight on that thing? Really like the look of it. Might be what I'm looking for.
 

Sell33

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Indiana
It’s crazy how many good knife options there are anymore. I have gone through a Ton of knives in the last few years.
The few that really stand out - Winkler, Dark Timber, Carother’s.

Foe more affordable production stuff Bark River and LT Wright are fantastic.

My current favorite couple blades are both Carother’s Performance Knives. If you can find a CPK Field Knife it won’t let you down. Neither will any by the others mentioned.
 

mtwarden

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found a little buddy for the big Camp II

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Sobrbiker

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Ditch the stainless requirement. If you say your going to use ferro rod, carry Vaseline impregnated cotton balls and you’ll always have fire starter and something to wipe blade down for rust proofing.

I’m a fan of cheap Mora knives-$20 and a solid do all carbon knife.
For sturdier use (and my custom skinner) I use an up and coming bladesmith TWS knives.
 

Shraggs

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Jan 24, 2014
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Zeeland, MI
I rarely carry an axe/hatchet anymore; larger knife is lighter AND it’s a knife :)

I carry a good folding saw (Silky) and with the two I can process firewood all day long, construct a shelter and anything short of building a cabin.

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Nice Canadian camp knife a beast!
 

mtwarden

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Nice Canadian camp knife a beast!

definitely- it came in two different thicknesses 3/16" and a full 1/4"; mine is the 1/4" :D

I've had several Fallkniven knives (still own a S1)- they are top notch knives! The A1 was on my short list, but found a screaming deal on the Bark River and snagged it
 

Shraggs

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yep i own the a1, a2 and s1 - all very good knives! the challenge with fallkniven is the varying high cost due to exchange rates. all made to blade smith starndards, but ergonomics aren't the best.

Bark rivers are so good too and more affordable.

you must have yours in 3v then..

my big chopper is their sts-8. 5/16 thick in 154cm a good all around knife steel but id rather 3v or cpm154 or similar in a really hard use knife.
 

zloomis

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Feb 22, 2017
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[QUOTE="Jagger0502,

  1. Planning to go with stainless Steel
  2. 4.5-5.5 inch blade
  3. Leather sheath
  4. Using as a solo knife for “survival” purposes would need to be used for all tasks including breaking down game and fish
  5. Will be used with a ferro rod - (planning on using SS and understand carbon is better suited, is it worth the maintenance of carbon?)
  6. Will not have a knife sharpener - in this case would carbon trump SS?

I like the blade length you have described and actually prefer closer to 4" than 6"

As for a ferro rod, it does not matter whether the blade is stainless or carbon, what matters is that there is a sharp 90 degree or steeper angle to scrape the rod, most "bushcraft" style knives do that by squaring off the spine of the knife so you do not need to damage the actual cutting edge. This is a great feature for any scraping task and makes quick work of tinder prep. Just make sure there is a sharp area on the knife and that the blade is not coated and you will be fine

I prefer carbon for ease of sharpening but depending on the climate it can be annoying dealing with rust. Typically after some use the blade picks up a bit of a patina that helps prevent excessive rust and some people actually force the patina at home.

As far as sharpening, the heat treat and the grind is arguably more important. If the blade has a convex final bevel and that has been well honed prior to going into the field you will likely not need to sharpen it until you get home unless you're breaking down big game.

A huge thing I have come to learn over the years is that most "survival" knives are wayyyy too thick for much of anything except batoning. If you will mostly be doing batoning go for something 3/16" or thicker, but for an "all purpose" knife I recommend 1/8" or thinner. A scandi or convex grind can still allow it to baton well but it will be better for carving, field dressing, skinning etc. A saber or full flat grind will improve the performance at the game processing at the cost of robust wood processing.

With all that said I would check out LT Wright and Bark River they have great functional knifes. Bark River uses fancier steels (3V is an awesome option) and LT uses more basic steels for a better price and that take an edge quicker. I would look at the Bushcrafter, the Gunny and the Fox River for a start from Bark River and I would look at the Genesis and the GNS from LT Wright as a start but you can't go wrong with either company all their designs are solid.
 
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