Need a Second Opinion on a knife

Hey, Im looking to buy my first hunting/survival knife. I've found two very good knives on the internet. The first one I found on Amazon.ca, Its a Ka-Bar Combat Bowie knife. The second Knife is just a fighting Bowie knife and I found it on ebay.

Just follow the link and tell me what you think


Note:
The Ka-Bar is $44.00 (+ S/H) and The no name fighting knife is $19.99 (+ $9.00 S/H)

Thank you
Kelliott

The is the Ka-Bar
www.amazon.com...=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This is the No Name (Ebay)
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reply to post by Kelliott


well if u want a good quality knive u would have to spend more than that. but since it is going to be your first one
i would go for the Ka-Bar.they make really good knives.

id say no to the no name thing just my opinion.

peace

reply to post by Kelliott


I'd advise you not to buy a knife but instead forge one.
Or have one forged for you.

Custom made steel knives are awesome.

reply to post by macG84


Hey, thanks brother. Yea the Ka-Bar was what I was origanlly thinking, but im also not looking to spend too much. If I can keep it under $100 and still have a good knife Im happy

Peace brother

reply to post by Kelliott

personal i would go with the KA BAR, good knife as well as price, do not worry about the sheath being made out side the usa, it is a KA BAR, nice find, get it!!!!! what more could i tell you?

reply to post by archasama


Lol.. well I think getting one forged is a little out of the way. Not looking for anything extreme just a durable quality knife.

reply to post by Kelliott
your passing on the KA BAR?? for god sakes man why?? just got to know

Ka-Bar is combat tested and probably combat-evolved. One problem with knives that I have found in the field is that the quality of the steel.

I am no metallurgist but some knife blades seem to be brittle there chip and loose sharpness when they hit bone.

Can anyone explain this to me? Is there a best range of steel or hardness?

Rgds

T

reply to post by bekod


Lol! Im not passing on the Ka-Bar ! you guys have made my mind up for me

Ka-Bar it is !

Thanks guys! Happy New Year

Kelliott

full tang > semi-full tang

tang end > pommels

scales > wrapped handles

BK2 > Ka-Bar

lot's of research > little research

reply to post by tiger5
you are right there is the case hardness 440 420 ect some have good edge and stain res 420 is often used in divers knifes and for use in mass production knifes. i will find web site and let you all know. found it go here for steel info and for good knives. www. NorthAmecricanKnives.com yes just they way it is written. Warring do not drool to long.

I just got a Ka-Bar in a tanto point. Excellent quality! The Ka-Bar is made from 1095 cro-van steel, a decent, all-around steel. The no-name knife is made from ....? Who knows? Apparently the ad doesn't say. Get the Ka-Bar. If you take care of it, you'll still have it 50 years from now.

reply to post by Kelliott


Here's a beautiful hunting/survival knife for only $10 (on sale now) at Harbor Freight. I have this knife in my collection and it is a quality knife. The stainless steel blade is very thick and durable, plus you can use the saw to cut limbs with; also there is a survival kit in the handle.

www.harborfreight.com...

check out RAT and Ontario knives, just picked up a RAT and its a really nice knife. Ontario is almost identical and a little cheaper. Ebay has both, RAT is running 125-250, and ontario is 60-200$

reply to post by RussianScientists
had 2 POS good weed digger and throwing other than that save your money.just my op or the 2 i got were bad production runs.

Originally posted by Romans 10:9
full tang > semi-full tang

tang end > pommels

scales > wrapped handles

BK2 > Ka-Bar

lot's of research > little research

I'll definitely second all of that!

Hopefully the OP will be back here to read all of this...

Okay, y'all, let me give you some basic (and a bit over-simplified) information.

If the steel of a blade is its body then its soul would be the heat treatment (i.e. hardening and subsequent tempering). Please, if you get nothing else out of what I have to say then remember this: a proper heat treatment on cheap steel will outperform an inadequate heat treatment on a high-end, expensive steel. And there are many types of hardening and tempering processes, and each one of those has many, many different techniques that can be used to accomplish it.
Every kind of steel is designed for a specific range of uses and thus has an appropriate range in its potential heat treatment (a high-carbon steel can generally be made very hard [mid-60s RC], while a high-chromium steel is generally pretty soft [mid-50's RC], etc.). The design is also as equally important. As much as I hate to admit it, there is just no single tool that will do everything. So the overall shape, geometry, edge, etc. has just as much to do with the knife's usefulness as its steel and heat treatment do.
The tool then created from the specifically heat treated specific steel then has also a specific range of uses. Your small knife with a 23-degree edge and high-hardness probably shouldn't be used to pry into an ammo box. Your katana with a moran grind and high-hardness edge (though a soft, tough spine) probably shouldn't be used to chop down trees. Etc...

If you have money to burn then there are plenty of stainless knives that will do just fine in a wide variety of tasks, including the outdoorsy sorts of things. Now, people swear by 440C or Buck's 420HC, but in my humble experience they both fall short of a good simple high-carbon steel.
If you're looking to get a good knife on the cheap, there are still plenty of options.
For a good, all-around outdoors/camping/survival/etc. blade then I would recommend anything from the Becker line (now being made by Kabar). Also look into Ontario (especially their Spec-Plus line).
For a little more money, Cold Steel has some nice blades. For the cost, though, you may want to look into semi-custom (Scrapyard and kin) and custom/handmade knives. Poke around on places like Bladeforums.
If you'd prefer a bigger blade then consider a good machete. From Ontario, Cold Steel, Tramontina, Condor, etc., they can be found pretty cheap. I've had experience with most of them and they've all worked just fine around the house and in the woods.

The reason I would not recommend a Kabar USMC for outdoors/survival use is because you may have to do some chopping and prying. The rat-tail tang of the USMC wouldn't be able to handle it for very long. Also, if a knife is being sold somewhere and you have little to no knowledge of it, then go and find the knowledge. Educate yourself before any task and I guarantee the task will go much, much more smoothly.

Now, I'm a big guy (I stand 6'2") and stout, so I can take a big blade on a hike and won't have to worry much about it. Some guys, they have to count down to ounces...I don't do that. To each his own, though.
But weight is something you'd generally want to consider, especially in a SHTF situation.
As for me, I would carry two or three blades. My general carry everyday (EDC) is just my folding knife - a Kabar warthog. In the woods, I generally carry that along with a more capable multi-tool (typically a Swiss Army), a small knife for bushcraft/food prep (typically a Mora Clipper), along with a large blade (which one depends on the kind I figure I'm going to need - my Ontario SP10 for splitting wood or if I think I'm going to need an intimidating blade; a Becker BK9 for general stuff; a CS Barong machete if I just need some light to decent chopping done; etc.). In a SHTF situation, I'd toss a big, heavy blade and a small, light blade in a pack and have a medium to large machete close to hand (they make damn fierce weapons). Read up on the economic collapse a little while back in Argentina...

Okay, I hope this clears a few things up. I could write much, much more...after all, there have been many books written on just this, not to mention the 10's of thousands of pages put toward just metallurgy and heat treatment.
I'd be happy to answer any more questions, just shoot me an email at [email protected]

Alrighty...


Take care, all!
Joe

Few things:

-You do not need to pay more than $50 for a good survival blade. Dont let the snobs fool you.

-The Ka-bar you posted is a great knife. Most Ka-bars are great knives, but are overrated, and some of their designs are a bit dated. I'd go cold steel first, for the price.

-I'd be VERY weary of the 'no name' that you posted. Stainless isnt ideal for a survival knife(you need a high carbon steel), and it lists no construction info on the knife. I'd bet it's a stick tang, and being stainless, I can GUARANTEE that it will eventually break on you

-Bowie's are good knives, but I'd strongly suggest looking into a kukri, I personally prefer windlass steelcrafts:
www.atlantacutlery.com...
I'd put it up against ANY knife or machete. I truly dont believe theres a better one out there.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
Few things:

-You do not need to pay more than $50 for a good survival blade. Dont let the snobs fool you.

-The Ka-bar you posted is a great knife. Most Ka-bars are great knives, but are overrated, and some of their designs are a bit dated. I'd go cold steel first, for the price.

-I'd be VERY weary of the 'no name' that you posted. Stainless isnt ideal for a survival knife(you need a high carbon steel), and it lists no construction info on the knife. I'd bet it's a stick tang, and being stainless, I can GUARANTEE that it will eventually break on you

-Bowie's are good knives, but I'd strongly suggest looking into a kukri, I personally prefer windlass steelcrafts:
www.atlantacutlery.com...
I'd put it up against ANY knife or machete. I truly dont believe theres a better one out there.

edit on 4-1-2011 by captaintyinknots because: (no reason given)

Agreed!
Well, except for the Kabar part. Remember, it was designed to be a combat knife, not a do-all. They've certainly proven themselves worthy in the woods, but I'd personally not bank on a narrow tang to keep intact for me.

But I would definitely recommend a kukri as well! Keep in mind that everything has its limitations, though. That's just a given.

As a tangential point: consider, though, there is an intuition with handling anything that is meant to become an extension of yourself. We all have our preferences. So, if you can, go and handle a knife before you purchase it.
Or, like a previous poster mentioned, learn how to make your own. That way you incorporate yourself right into the knife and, ideally, you would design it to be perfect for just you.

-Joe

Originally posted by RKWWWW
I just got a Ka-Bar in a tanto point. Excellent quality! The Ka-Bar is made from 1095 cro-van steel, a decent, all-around steel. The no-name knife is made from ....? Who knows? Apparently the ad doesn't say. Get the Ka-Bar. If you take care of it, you'll still have it 50 years from now.

This really wrapped it up quite nicely.

I concur. And I used to own a company called Knight's Edge, Inc.
(If you live your life on the edge, choose Knight's Edge! Uh,...before I went out of business anyway)