Affordable Hunting/Backpacking Knife

Although I do not own one personally, the Kabar Becker BK9 has consistently gotten fairly decent reviews. It may not be the best knife you can buy, but cost is significantly less then $300 (<$100).

Buy a shortish machete of central or south American manufacture (Well under $20 or less) and a decent quality file if you need a machete. Use the right tool for the job.


http://www.shootingreviews.com/mach...ge-care-and-feeding-for-your-new-best-friend/



If you want a quality 9-10 inch camp knife/chopper and don't want to break the bank, the Becker BK-9 or KA-BAR heavy bowie are my usual recommendations.


http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Becker..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387332287&sr=8-1&keywords=BK9


http://www.amazon.com/Ka-Bar-Heavy-...1387332407&sr=8-1&keywords=ka-bar+heavy+bowie

If you can spend 200ish I'd look into the Busse family knives. Best warranty in the business they just about dare you to break their knives. If you want to spend less than 100 go with the Bk9.

nebeel said:

Although I do not own one personally, the Kabar Becker BK9 has consistently gotten fairly decent reviews.

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I'm of the opinion that the current BK9s are among the best, most versatile, most intelligently designed, production camp knives available.

Are they perfect?

Nope.

But they nail the intersection of price and performance like nothing else.

If you have the cash go with the swamp rat, IMHO if you can afford a Busse or Busse'kin it is always worth it. Do some research on their stuff you won't be disappointed. The BK knives are good too, I have examples of both and use both. But I would go Busse if you can afford it. If you don't like it you can sell them for more than you paid when they discontinue them.

The swamp rats come for sale used on Blade forums from time to time also. Occasionally you can score a deal there.

rodwha said:

This knife caught my eye:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/rodent-9/

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The Rodent 9 is a nice knife.

The edge geometry and thicker stock will make it less efficient than a BK-9 for most tasks. You will also have to locate a decent sheath for the Rodent 9.





The OKC R9 and RD9 are also decent knives if the ergonomics work for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Ontario-9418B...d=1387335437&sr=8-2&keywords=ontario+ranger+9

Yes no sheath with any Busse's for free any ways. Definitely something to think about. With that said you wont regret a Busse'kin or the BK9.

rodwha said:

I don't care for the looks of the BK-9's handle, but functionality trumps aesthetics.

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It couldn't get any uglier if it tried.

But..serious thought went into the grip shape.

Smooth grip free of protrusions prevents hot spots and deceases user fatigue.

Large pommel and integral guard increase user and bystander safety.




Ergonomically excellent.


Forgive my late night sleep deprived photography.

After you spend a few hundred on a big knife (I've got plenty myself!), spend an extra $13-20 and buy a fixed Mora knife. I suggest a Mora Companion in either stainless of carbon steel for $13 from Ragweed Forge. You'll find that 4" knife incredibly sharp and handy for almost all the basic knife needs you will have in the outdoors. A Mora will make an excellent pairing to whichever big knife that you choose.

I would suggest a carbon steel for ease of sharpening. On a big knife, it makes a big difference. Sharpening a 10" stainless knife is no fun. The more you play around with the variables, you'll find that sharpness has little to do with the steel, and edge retention is largely determined by the geometry, esp when you're talking about chopping rather than wear resistance. I find the big difference is that carbon steels sharpen faster and easier.

In general, the edge on my carbon knives tend to fail by rolling; stainless by chipout. But they pretty much all fail at roughly the same edge geometries for a given task, so it's largely a wash... other than a rolled edge can often be fixed easier.

rodwha said:

I see you own the BK-9.
Would you say that the grip has a nonslip surface?

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Thankfully no.

A high friction grip on a large chopping knife will usually do more harm than good. The current production Kershaw "Camp" series are particularly egregious in this regard.


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=725229&highlight=camp

You want your hand to be able to move smoothly along the grip.
A well designed chopping knife achieves grip security by having a positive stop built into the handle.

The grivory grips that come factory on the Beckers are smooth, but they aren't slick. Folks who want a bit more grip to optimize control for more precise tasks have lots of options. It only takes a few minutes to cut in a bit of checkering with the edge of a file or add a bit of stippling. Sandblased scales are quite nice as well.

Something to keep in mind, when you are willing to spend north of a couple hundred bucks on a big chopper and sheath, you don't have to buy production. That sort of money puts custom working knives like the
Shirley-Owens Camp Defender, Designed by our own Sam "Sam1911" Owens and Lt.John "JShirley" Shirley and built by Sam Owns...




...or something from Bill Siegel in your price range.