Budget ($40-80) Fixed Blade 5+" Hunting/Camp Knife Suggestions

[willym1]

Hi All!

Thought I would pass this by you guys and gals on what you would recommend for a good hunting/camping knife for heavy/normal use for a week hunting in Colorado.

I am a bit of an outdoor "noobie" and this will be my first true backwood camping and hunting trip.

I have narrowed down for my budget of $40-$80 and looking for a knife to:

- use for every day cooking prep
- use as tool for blind making/making trail/etc
- use as survival if God forbid something where to happen.
- heavy duty enough to last me a lifetime I hope

I have narrowed down to a few ideas, but want to see your suggestions without my bias.

Shoot me your ideas if you have a chance! Thanks so much.

[ducttapetech]

You cab spend way less than that and get a Mora. Most can be had for $20 and they a good quality.
Also they make a Bushcraft Black, and it is rock solid. But they will run about 50 to 60 range. Sometimes you can get a good deal on those.
Nate

[Aloha]

So I'll also agree with the Mora or similar type camp utility knife.  This smaller knife will be good for camp kitchen chores and "clean" knife stuff.  A bush craft/survival/work knife IMO is something in addition to this type knife.

What I carry; Mora/Rat 3/Mtech ( sorry I forget the name ) as general utility knives or camp kitchen knives.  I don't use my food knife for anything else and my Mora serves as my food knife. 

I'm also currently looking for a larger 5-7 inch blade as my big knife.  I've looked at Schrade SCHF line and see some real winners for the price they ask.  Many come in 1095 HC steel and some in Stainless.
In particular I like SCHF 37/38,  SCHF9, SCHF3N to name a few.
 
Condor also has some great big bang for the buck knives IMO.
Final Frontier from shot show 2015 looks sweet, Bushlore ( Micarta ) also looks good.

I'm sorry I didn't help but there are so many great knives and with some outdoor time you will eventually settle on what you require and wade thru the bs and hype of "best' and "fanboyism" of certain brands.

For your budget you can get 2 very good knives that'll last a good long while. 

   

[Dragon Lord]

Another mora fan here. It's a winner for the price and the task it can handles. I also recommend you have a food exclusive knife, or a folding knife for that. In that price range you have multiple and good options. I recommend a Baconmaker of ka-bar It's now on sale on a web store called knife center under 60 USD. Also the Becker bk2 is a good option but I don't know if you can get it into the price range. I think just in the mart(wal)

The Gerber LMF 2 it's another option for me . As I said there are a lot of good options, but these are my recommendations

[ducttapetech]

MORA! Get some!

Nate

[dks]

Also look into Ontario, Cold steel, Rough Rider, Schrade USA, Buck, GEC....  They should have various knives around your price range.

A lot will depend on the blade shape, the steel, whether you intend to kill anything with it, or to just use it for cutting food, skinning, working with wood, whether you want traditional looking knife or not, whether you want something nice looking or not...

For food, any salty environment look for a SS blade...


Avoid any extra thick blades unless you intend to chop wood

All sugestions are good, but you will know what you want


Also look into some heavier duty SAKs that will have a large blade and a woodsaw

[MadPlumbarian]

If anything I'd say a Ontario 499 Air Force Survival Knife. Their 5" come with a good sheath and a sharpening stone.
JR

[SteveC]

(Image removed from quote.)
MORA! Get some!

Nate

Those are nice !

[ducttapetech]

Thanks! They really are work horses. Any that has seen some of my bushcraft threads have seen how hard I use these knives

Nate

[Aloha]

DKS makes a really great point about a SAK with saw layer.  This would be another good knife to carry in pocket at all times while in the woods. 

[Luna Knife]

Get a Wenger ranger 58 and add 2 blades,  a very capable saw, and some tools.  Pair this with a Mora companion or robust.

That will cover a lot of camp/survival tasks for under $80

[ironraven]

+however many on the idea of a Mora.

There are a few hundred knives out there that fit. In that price range, CRKT is a sleeper brand in many ways, and they've got a lot of options.  You can't go wrong with a Ka-bar, so long as it isn't one of the el cheapo companion knives that are stamped in china- those simply suck. Camillus and Sherade these days are kind of hit and miss, what with their new overseas management teams. If you can get past Lynn Thompson, Cold Steel makes a lot of canidates. Buck still makes them in the US. Condor sneaks up on you- they don't look like much and they don't cost much, but they perform and ask for more once you've got them sharpened properly.

You might even want to think of a smaller blade (2-3") for a lot of your hunting tasks, and then a larger camp knife. A Buck Paklite goes for about 20-25 depending on the model (most of the time), and then partnered up with a bigger blade for rougher tasks

Alternatively, if you are thinking carbons steel, Old Hickory and Ontario both still make 7-8" butcher's knives. About 8-10 bucks on amazon. You have to sharpen in, but that means you put the angles on it YOU want, and you need to make a sheath. The sheath is easy- old detergent bottle, duct tape, and a heat gun (or any flame, just have to be more careful)- you can find directions on you tube. Dress the sheath up how you want. Don't laugh- these are the knives that really won the west and the north, not massive bowies. Couple bucks worth of sandpaper to use for sharpening.

[Schneider]

I have a KaBar I bought for that purpose but hardly ever carried it. Too much weight for most jobs that I need a knife in the woods that I can do more precicely and easily with the lighter blade like the Mora. Never got into that whole big blade for woods carry. I'd rather carry a folding saw or a Ranger 55 and do better than chop with a knife.

[SAK Guy]

Love Moras!!! Can't go wrong with a Mora!!!!!!!


This R Murphy Skinner is a US made copy of the Canadian Belt knives and it is very good. With a 4" carbon steel blade and very well made, it is one I often recommend to friends for an all around knife for hunting/camping.



http://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/hunting-knives.html

It compares favorably to the originals at half the price...


I have a couple of the originals too.

[willym1]

You are all the best! I am definitely going to grab myself a Mora as a camp/food knife then sort through my options for something that i can beat up on a bit too.

I plan on carrying an Alox Farmer in my pocket as well.

Thanks, keep the great recommendations coming!

[Aloha]

You are all the best! I am definitely going to grab myself a Mora as a camp/food knife then sort through my options for something that i can beat up on a bit too.

I plan on carrying an Alox Farmer in my pocket as well.

Thanks, keep the great recommendations coming!

Great choices. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

If the copy Grohmann is as good as the original then its a bloody good knife and I'd take SakGuy at his word

Not sure what they go for on your side of the pond, but TOPS make some fantastic blades, and you may be able to get a good deal on one

Oh and you really do need that Farmer

[Dale]

Condor Stratus

[kirk13]

Love Moras!!! Can't go wrong with a Mora!!!!!!!


This R Murphy Skinner is a US made copy of the Canadian Belt knives and it is very good. With a 4" carbon steel blade and very well made, it is one I often recommend to friends for an all around knife for hunting/camping.

(Image removed from quote.)

http://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/hunting-knives.html

It compares favorably to the originals at half the price...


I have a couple of the originals too.

(Image removed from quote.)

[SAK Guy]

 

[glorn]

Condor Rodan - $35 USD on Amazon

Mora Companion stainless - $15 USD on Amazon


Having two solid camp knives that are absolutely brilliant, cost only $50, have no pretentious flash, and are cheap enough to lose or damage?

Priceless.

[Grathr]

You cant go wrong with a Mora.
I would like many others, also recomend a Condor for heavier tasks. Like the Condor Basic.


Sent from a device made from star dust using tapatalk