Big knife for tropical rainforest

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Puncha

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I will be attending a 3 day jungle survival course pretty soon and as the course briefing materials say that we SHOULD each get ourselves a suitable large fixed blade, I went to the nearby outdoor outfitters to see what they had behind the counter.

The friendly clerk offerred the following knives to me:

Kershaw Outcast at US$132
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=167

Spyderco Forager at US$361
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=247

Ontario RTAK 2 at US$180
http://www.osograndeknives.com/Ontario/ontario_-_rtak-ii,_micarta_handle,_comboedge,_ok8629.htm

I choose the RTAK 2 and left with it as it felt right in my hands, swung naturally and was the only one of the three which came with a good factory edge. I also liked the MOLLE compatible sheath which attaches nicely to the LBE webbing issued to me when I was a army draftee. :) The store owner also threw in a free pair of brand new vietnam war style jungle boots.

Do any of you guys have experience with any of the three knives mentioned? Which is the best in your opinion for jungle use? Which one would YOU have choosen?

Ps: The prices are high because I live in Asia and the blades have to be imported in. I am partially paying for shipping costs.
 
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Do you also have a good machete? I'd imagine that would be more important/helpful in a jungle environment.
I think that all 3 knives you listed are a great compromise b/w knife and machete (at around 10") but if i were in the jungle, i'd have a good dedicated machete (16+ inch blade) and probably a slightly smaller fixed blade... like an Ontario RAT 3 or RAT 5 as a secondary bladed weapon.

That being said, i've hacked around some dense brush in the the US with a machete but never been to a true "jungle" environment so hopefully some more experienced members will weigh in.
 
+1

A Machete will cut all out of proporion to it's weight & cost.
Much better then a much thicker big knife blade.

And you can easily sharpen them with a file, or a flat rock if you have nothing else.

I'd have gone with an $20 buck 18" GI Onterio, and a smaller 5" high-quality knife for all-around camp chores.

rcmodel
 
+1 on the machete, Never been to a rain forest but I've helped clear literally acres of land from brush and briers with an el cheapo, I just keep it real sharp and I never have a problem with it.
 
I also agree that for the jungle a machete would be optimum especially if backed up by a smaller fixed blade. I have several cold steel machetes and they are good for the money, Corona also makes good machetes very comfortable in the hand and you can get these from your local Ace Hardware store. I have never used one but I am dying to try a tramontina bolo. I have cleared countless acres of briars and cleaned out my back yard of overgrowth. I moved into a house that has been sitting vacant for 3 years. The cold steel bolo worked wonders through the foliage. Note I did have to take a grinder to the handle though as it was slightly to big for my hands. I prefer the handles on the spear point and kukri machetes. While you can do everything with a machete a small fixed blade to compliment would be ideal. I suggest something like a Swedish Mora or a belt knife from knives of alaska.
 
A knife is a tool. Without an expanation of what the tool would be used for, making a decison on what to buy is hard.

Its like asking people to come over to help build something and to bring a saw.
 
As someone living in the tropics now I often go into the jungle. I use a 14"
machette
 
Gordon:

Thank you for your compliment about my English. I had British expatriate teachers in high school and went to college in the UK.

To everyone else who suggested a machete:

Will the Cold Steel heavy machete do ok? The store also had it on sale but it was covered with a fine layer of dust and hence did not seize my attention.

http://www.coldsteel.com/heavymachete.html

and before anyone else asks.....no they did not have any latin or bolo style machetes on sale.

To Dionysusigma:

I cannot own or carry a kukri. For some obscure reason (I actually confirmed it with two seperate LEOs), it's prohibited by law.

Lastly, to everyone:

A friend offered to sell me his NIB camillus made BK&T BK1 brute bolo style knife for about US$100. Should I buy it? Will it serve well as a tropical wilderness knife?
 
A few years back, our oldest son was in San Jose Costa Rica on buisness for 6 months. He arrainged for me and my better half to come visit, with a 5 day rain forest trip tossed in. He's a good son!

In the 5 days we were in the rain forest, hiking, camping, and the guides teaching us about the rain forest, all the cutlery I saw was 12 inch Tramontia machete's and sak's. All the guides had a sheath on thier belt for the small machete, and also a small black nylon pouch that held a basic Swiss Army knife and a Bic lighter. All camp chores were done with the 12 inch Tramontina, exept for trail breaking, and whoever was in the point position carried a longer machete. The last night of our trip was a pig roast, and the guides carved up the roast pork with the small machete's.

I never saw any other kind of knife the whole trip. It inspired me to taylor my own gear after them. A small machete and a sak will do anything you have to in the real world. I think any other knives are products of Arnold Shwarsteneggerish fantacies.
 
Will the Cold Steel heavy machete do ok?
Click to expand...
A traditional machete has a very thin blade. About .075" to no more then .125" thick.

Thats why they cut through underbrush & vines so darn well.

A thicker blade has to wedge apart the plant fiber and takes more effort to cleanly slice through things.

Great for chopping chunks out of a tree (like an ax) but not so good for cutting smaller stuff in one smooth stroke.

The 2mm blade of the Cold Steel heavy machete translates to .079" blade thickness, and it should cut very well with that much width behind the edge!

I still feel there is no need at all to pay $100 - $200 bucks for a brush knife that won't cut as well as a $20 buck machete!

rcmodel
 
why is it that a decent machete that is nearly a pound of pretty good tool steel is $15, while a pocket knife with less than an ounce is $100?
 
I've wondered the exact thing many times Bob. Thats why I love Victorinox bantam's-10 dollors, Opinels-less than 10 dollars.
 
SEAsia has far woodier plants than South America so a thicker/heavier blade will be more useful. South American machete designs may not perform as well because of their thinner blade profiles.

You should see if you can get the same blade that the survival trainer is carrying. It will probably be some variant of a parang/barong/bolo/golok/e-nep. Leaf-shaped blades work very well for chopping, slashing, hacking, cutting and digging.

The Becker BK1 Brute for US$100 sounds like a good choice.

If you have time, take a look at the Bark River Knife & Tool Golok (but I think you can probably find just as reliable big blades right where you live).
 
For hardwood and thick scrub like I found in the pacific northwest I favor a short, chunky blade like the U.S. Army Bolo Knife, Model of 1917.
edged_bolo_m1917_800.jpg

For softer and/or thinner stuff I favor the 14 inch Tramontina, which is basically a large butcher knife.
TT414.gif


Both were easy to find at the local flea market for prices ranging from five to thirty-five dollars.
 
Boy!
You must have better flea markets then we do.

Decent 1917 Bolo's are going for $75 - $150 on eBay, and finding one for sale at less then that at a flea market, or even finding one at all, is a pretty good trick!

Heres another suggestion for a good jungle knife however:
https://virt1.enter.net/~woodmanspal/tools.html

The brush hook is especially useful.

rcmodel
 
I worked for 3 years in the jungle in Panama. I carried a 30" Tramontina machete and so did the campesinos.
 
Cold Steel Kukri machete. Under $20. Replaces axe, short machete, and big knives.

Needs a little work on the edge out of the box. But it's good steel that gets plenty sharp.
 
I started with the military Collins machete, primarily because I got several cases for scrap price. The Tramontina of whatever length is now the standard for cane and soft woods. I only use heavier blades in hardwood and slow-growth-wood areas.

Fancier blades are for show and confidence-building. Utility blades are for use.
 
A friend offered to sell me his NIB camillus made BK&T BK1 brute bolo style knife for about US$100. Should I buy it?
Click to expand...

Yes!

If you're in SE Asia why not get a golok or perang from a good local smith?
 
I have quite a few of the mentioned knives so I'll give you a quick run down of my opinion.

The Kershaw Outcast is a great knife but seems to me, when holding it, that it would almost be better suited for fighting. It's well balanced and is not nearly as heavy as you'd initially think by looking at it, so I'm not entirely sure how it would handle pure chopping tasks.

The Becker Brute is well-named and has a very thick blade. Again, it would do better against objects with MORE resistance, like wood, than against lighter stuff, like vines and such.

I also have a Colt Jungle Commander, which I haven't seen mentioned yet. It's a decent knife with a front-heavy feel which has done well hacking up smaller stuff.

Finally, my personal choice in this. The Cold Steel heavy machete. I have two of them, just in case one breaks, which it hasn't in a few years I've had it.

It is very front-heavy and when you start a swing, it will finish it for you.

For the price, and for your task, it is a great choice. It is a short blade which can be easily carried and can cut like something larger.

That's about all I can think of.
 
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