indestructable knives

[Raukodur]

I happened to come across this page:

http://www.knifetests.com/BussefFFBMtestpage.html

I had never seen anyone put knives through such abuse, but I was even more amazed that there are knives which can take it.

Anyone have examples of other such knives? Maybe ones less expensive, more available than the battle mistress he tests?

[Benner]

Oh dear, do you realise what you have started? 

[CQC-7]

I would assume that the blade being tested is not just somthing you can pick up at wal-mart.  At least I have not seen them there.  This guy has too much time and money on his hands.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Oh dear, do you realise what you have started? 

Who'd be a mod eh?

[WhichDawg]

Noss (who does those test) is a pretty nice guy, I've seen him in several forums, and he is quite controversial! (gawd bless him)

I have/had several of the blades he tested and my Ranger is as tough as any! with a great warranty if I go too far, which I kinda did;

I was batoning with a stone (I know dumb but all I had at the time and I needed fire) and put a few nicks and scratches on the spine, Justin (maker/creator of Ranger) cleaned and smoothed it up for me for free! and let me tell you I beat the double-toothpicks outta it!

now the question is do you/we need such blades/tools? most of us don't! and we hopefully will never need to push a knife so extreme but...

for a "glorified sharpie" which is probably thicker and heavier then most tasks require I am glad I have such blades (Busse/SwampRat/ScrapYard/Ranger/Rat) because some day I may not be able to get any blades! or if I'm someplace my life depended on my tool(s) it's good to have such "Glorified Prybars!"

[AHB]

A bit more about Knifetests here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,21537.msg399785.html#msg399785 

[Raukodur]

Thanks for the link.

Please can we keep this on topic? The only reason I linked that website was to show the kind of knife I mean, the kind that can take a lot of abuse (hence indestructable in the title).

Yes, they may be sharpened prybars as it has been put, but I am just asking if people can offer up examples of knives they know that fit the bill.

Thankyou WhichDawg for talking about your Ranger, can you be more specific about which company/model you are referring to?

[jekostas]

If I were to spend $800+ on a Busse I'd damn well expect it to survive a ground zero nuclear blast.

A classic Kabar USMC Short Marine will do 90% of that at 8% of the price.

[Gareth]

While I've never put mine to anything like that kind of abuse the good old British MoD knife is as tough as old boots.  IIRC it's a touch over 1/4" thick and made for squaddies, so you'd expect it to be tough.

[Benner]

Thanks for the link.

Please can we keep this on topic? The only reason I linked that website was to show the kind of knife I mean, the kind that can take a lot of abuse (hence indestructable in the title).

Yes, they may be sharpened prybars as it has been put, but I am just asking if people can offer up examples of knives they know that fit the bill.

Thankyou WhichDawg for talking about your Ranger, can you be more specific about which company/model you are referring to?

On topic?    What's that then? 

[trailmaster]

this is issue has been around for some time. of course everyone is entitled his opinion and he is free to test knives as he likes. however, i feel that this guy is not really testing knives for what they are made for (and that is to cut) but he is instead pursuing a routine to destroy them just to see what happens. I doubt if a proper knife user will ever use his knife the way he suggests.

and the thing is that everything can fail and nothing is indestructable. even if you get a tank, there is always an anti-tank weapon to do the job destroying it. so my humble opinion is to test if a knife is good for what it was designed for ie to cut something, skin an animal whatever instead of deliberately trying to destroy it.

busse knives have a reputation of being able to withstand abuse and they are priced accordingly. but I believe that noone who loves knives will really consider abusing his tool like that. even in a survival situation a basic thing would be to take care of your equipment and not to try to "cut" concrete blocks with either a 20$ SAK or a 500$ busse. even if it doesnt break, it will probably be useless as a knife after a couple of such tries.  and why would someone need to do that in the first place? traditional hunters and outdoorsmen survived with much less, and survival at least for me is mostly a set of skills and any quality knife is good for it. it doesn't have to cut concrete blocks.

but again this is my way of thinking. others might think differently. I still hope the thread can lead to serious discussions because such topics have a certain kind of reputation....

ps. The "ranger" mentioned is one of the Ranger Knives which have also a reputation of being able to withstand abuse (and they are more value for money in my opinion for someone who needs such a knife).

[Raukodur]

Anyone else have good experiences with Ranger knives? Any specific model?

Any UK owners who have bought here recommend a retailer?

[WhichDawg]

I have a RD7 Ranger blade. Satin finish (semi custom); originally it had G10 scales but I found them to be too cold and hard for the uses I need, (chopping/batoning), to me G10 is nice for smaller scales but they transfer the vibrations and cold to easy in bigger blades.

so I had Justin Gingrich re-do to Micarta and like it much better! (not as pretty now but more functioncal)

before and after pics:

orange G10


tan Micarta (Spirit, Champion plus)

[Benner]

That knife is a lovely looking bit of kit.

Heinnies stock a selection BTW.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Damn that's still a nice Ranger Dan

[jekostas]

Them zombies don't stand a chance!

Or trees, they don't stand a chance either, but yeah, definitely the zombies.

[Styerman]

Sadly , most indestructable knives  actually suck as utility/cutting tools . For day to day life give me a Scandi , a Mora or a Vic. Pioneer . And before you ask , I have been there and done that .

Chris

[Raukodur]

Thanks for the suggestions for the Ranger, pleased to see they are available in the UK for not too unreasonable a price.

Any other suggestions, especially for such knives which can be purchased in the UK?

[jekostas]

Thanks for the suggestions for the Ranger, pleased to see they are available in the UK for not too unreasonable a price.

Any other suggestions, especially for such knives which can be purchased in the UK?

Kabar USMC series!  Damn near indestructible, and they've been in use with little change since World War 2.

[Raukodur]

Thanks for the suggestion of Kabar, the heavy bowie in particular looks very interesting, any experience of that?

[jekostas]

Thanks for the suggestion of Kabar, the heavy bowie in particular looks very interesting, any experience of that?

Not that model.  I had a powder-coated USMC short for a while.  Somewhat obtuse angle on the edge as it's only half ground, but an extremely tough knife.  Not expensive, either.

[Raukodur]

Hmm just happened on the D2 extreme, looks same as USMC but made from D2, and more expensive. Anyone have any experience of that?

[Raukodur]

Ok, I thought about what I wanted.

Basically my thought process ran that I want a knife that I can use for whatever I feel like, and I want it not to break. Putting it through crap will obviously ruin the cutting edge, but if it does not break or deform too badly, an edge can be put back on.

The knives I was looking at previously are all in the range of £100+. Some of them can take a lot of punishment. But then I can across this:

http://www.knifetests.com/ColdSteelKukriMacheteDestructionTest.html

The cold steel kukri machete.

Seems it can take a LOT of punishment, and is relatively easy to sharpen. But the thing that makes this shine is the incredibly low price. So low I don't think anyone would hesitate to use it in any situation whereas with the more expensive knives you may be tempted to spare them in the particularly rough jobs.

My thinking may be flawed, if you think so please do offer advice, I am a novice when it comes to knives.

Also, anyone who has experience of this, your opinion would be welcome.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Grant has one of those, and swears by it

I've had/got a few of CS's big blades, and although there quite expensive, they won't let you down

[sergemaster]

Amici,
I you were going to select the Kabar pattern, please check out the version produced by Case. It's a heck of allot better and stronger than either the Camillus or Kabar models, plus holds and keeps an edge much longer.. I still use mine that I carried in the Army back in the 1990's and the only modifications that I ever did was have the leather handle chemically treated against any type of rot, and the edge professionally reground from the not to bad but rough factory edge.

Cheers,
Serge

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That look's like it's in good nick for it's age

[jim guy]

I dont like watching their videos, why would you try to bust concrete blocks with a knife? I have a becker bk9 that I have used for chopping wood and cutting tree limbs and havent even had to re sharpen it yet. Knives are ment to cut not bust concrete.

[Stirling3749]

Those things look heavy. 

[WhichDawg]

I dont like watching their videos, why would you try to bust concrete blocks with a knife? I have a becker bk9 that I have used for chopping wood and cutting tree limbs and havent even had to re sharpen it yet. Knives are ment to cut not bust concrete.

because sometimes when your chopping things you can hit stones/rocks or something harder than you intended and may want a blade that can take it and last.

any tool is intended for anything you see fit and want. some can do it, others can't. 

it's why some people like "MULTITOOLS!" even in their knives 

[Raker]

For the indistructable knife, breaking wise, it usually takes a differentially heat treated blade to be able to hold an edge and still not break.  That said, there is no perfect knife for all conditions of use.
The concrete block cutting will enable the testor to see what type of deformatin the blade will sustain when hitting rocks or other uncuttable substances. 
I think I am  probably the first person to have a knife used in a test of cutting a concrete block.  This was done by Cliff Stamp and the link to the thread on bladeforums is http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159731&highlight=ray+kirk+bowie
I have checked his web site and am unable to access it.  I don't know if it has  been deleted or he has a new one. 
Any way, the concrete block cutting needed to be explained a bit as something other than just trying to destroy a knife. 
Since there is no perfect knife for a knife user, I see nothing wrong with modifying any tool to suit the personal needs of its owner.  I have been doing ever since I figured out how to use grinder.  The main thing is to have the knife with you when it is needed.