Surprisingly poor design.  No tang.  Hollow handle, without the benefit of storage.

I have several...I do believe I'm going to replace them all with OKC3S.

To clarify: I mean "big" relative to a (folding) pocket knife.  

Some of the much larger recommendations I see here wouldn't count, to me, as knives.  Like, this machete-looking monstrosities.

It comes down to use model.  Some people seem to think “survival” means using a knife for knife fights and hacking brush.  These people will often shout you down if you suggest that crafting, making shelters, and processing game would be far more common uses (for which “bigger is better” is actually counterproductive).

I have spent a lot of time outdoors. I have tried to do those jobs with a big knife, and was very disappointed.  For me, a little (4”, give or take) knife does everything I need to do with a knife.  Anything requiring a bigger blade would be better off done with a different tool.

End of the world fantasies, for me at least, revolve more around acquiring a harem of soccer moms rather than sentry removal or knife fights.

It's an oversimplification, of course, but to me "survival knife" means if you were shipwrecked with one knife as your do-all tool, which one would you pick?

I recognize that stamp and background...

Something like this

Attached File

But probably in some flavor of stainless vs the 80CrV2 that it is.

7.5" blade, 3/16" thick. Something that dances the line between small, thickish machete and large, thinnish knife. Bonus points for a small (2-3") blade piggiebacked on the sheath.

WTF!? Why has this not made an appearance in the support group thread!
The shape is beautiful! Do want!

I'm pretty sure it was, back in November-ish.  Wic hated it. Lol

Thank you.

I've only made one of these, I'm not sure if I'm ready for another. Lol. It's quite a bit different than what I normally make.

Wic hates everything. Make that in 3v and I’m in for sure!

The new ESEE 4 arrived today!
Attached File

Esse 5

Yep.  "Sole survivor of a plane crash in the Pacific Northwest" for me.

I have a Gerber Strongarm that I like, but if I’m headed to the woods I take my Condor Warlock machete and a Swiss Army knife.

The Warlock is a beast. I keep it pretty sharp in the belly for chopping, but I keep the concave part near the grip shaving sharp for detail work. It’s big, but for camp tasks it’s perfect. Even works great as a burger flipper in a pinch.

See my post on page 3.

@Dunderway

@whoanelly

Dude, you won't be disappointed (just broke for a while).  Ben is incredible.  I actually ordered mine while in Afghanistan and he added the Kydex sheath along with his ingenious belt-slip sheath.  He's a master craftsman...



@50_Shooter
I have the 110 Terava and it’s a solid knife.  Interestingly enough, I have the 240 Skrama enroute…



@50_Shooter

Your BK9 looks great; love the scales, and Spyderco-Hossom is awesome!



There's a lot packaged in this comment.  I recall an old mid 90's Tactical Knives article where the guy used a folder to construct a shelter, collect grass for insulation, process wood for a fire and carve triggers for traps...it was the Benchmade AFCK.  Ironically, I'm a student of the later Ron Hood's school of survival and he was a master with a large knife.  I always said large knives are for experts, as are smaller knives.  My biggest issue is that it's a PITA to carry a big knife.  I've found a good belt knife between 4-5.5" blade, and I can do about 90% of what I need for most primitive tool use.  Oh, and a belt knife is much easier to have on my than many of my bigger blades.

I'll defer the soccer moms to you

ROCK6

I like the way you think. I agree that a good 4-5' blade belt knife can solve most of the world's problems.
I have made a lot of knives in that range for guys that really use them.
#flatrockforge IG

I bought an Esee 4 and a Ka-Bar Ek 45 because of this thread