Recommend a goo knife?

[Barry Pollock]

Hey, I need a knife. I've got a small, very lightweight swiss army knife, mainly for the scissors, but I would like something with a little bit of meat to it. You know, something that is actually functional for survival.

Problem being, of course, that knives a are heavy. What I'd really like is something that can act as a saw as well.

Recommendations?

[Brian Hall]

The izula is a nice knife and not super expensive. I think it weighs around 3oz or so. Not sure about the saw… Everybody seems to like the mora knives too.

[Aaron Benson]

I'll second the Izula. I carry one everyday and like it very much. It's not UL but it's light for the build strength; it's handled all the small and medium jobs I've thrown at it, as well as some good batoning. The warranty is nice, too.

Mora is a great knife at a great price. It's more delicate than a thicker bladed-knife but is a popular choice for the price point alone.

I don't carry a saw but there are some decent foldable saws available that aren't overly heavy or pricey, considering. If you want to carry a saw, go that route, rather than looking for a fixed blade knife with a mediocre "saw" cut into its back.

[todd]

Gotta admit that I love my Izula, as well! Light, tough, sharp, reliable.

[Tohru Ohnuki]

I would go for a Mora or something equivalent on the inexpensive side, ragnar has a nice selection:
Ragweed Forge

All the scandinavian designs are based on real woods use, not marketing to mall ninjas. For a good saw I would get a Bahco, or those Gerber/Fiskars that are everywhere:
Fiskars pruning saw at amazon

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

All of the above.

Izula in carbon if you can get it and don't mind taking care of it. IMO probably will be the toughest of the lightweight knives. Do a orange paracord wrap and lanyard so you can find it when you drop it. I don't have one, but it's on my list. We have Mora carbon blades and love the way they sharpen up and ease of use.

The Fiskars collapsable saw works great, especially at about 3 oz.

[BPLwiia]

I have the IZULA and wear it as a neck knife. I also carry an ESEE-3. If your hand is a tad larger consider the IZULA-II. The ESEE HEST is a fantastic knife if you can find one.

None of these, however, will give you the sawing capability.

[Mark Binder]

A blade made form a hacksaw seems to fit your parameters. Cut to length, sharpen and a few wraps of tape for a handle and voila. Or you can get fancy:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Two-Bladed-Pocket-Knife/

[Nick Larsen]

Wear it around your neck or on your belt then the weight isn't as big of a concern.

Forget about the saw, unless you carry a full size buck saw, a 3-4" knife will be able to cut better/faster/with less effort, anything that small saw could handle.

Learn how to use a knife properly, and you'll find you don't need a saw for anything survival related unless you are planning to build a log cabin.

I would agree with everyone else about the Mora if you don't want to spend much, or check out Ragweedforge for some of the nicer knives he carries. There are a lot of great custom/semi custom makers out there as well.

Question is, are you looking to spend under $60? Get a mora. Or can you afford to spend $100 or more? Plenty of semi customs out there, as well as the other knives on Ragnar's site.

The Izulu's are nice little knives, but a little too thick for such a short blade in my opinion.

Also, keep your eye out for something in your price range over here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/754-For-Sale-Fixed-Blades

Ray Laconico, Fiddleback Forge, Dfarmer, all put out some really nice stuff.

[Vince Contreras]

The Spyderco FB-01 Bill Moran knife is a contender as well, methinks. I've had one for a year or so now, and it is a perfect "camp" knife. Slight belly makes it a fine slicer, and a true, flat grind makes sharpening easy. Fat handle that you can get in orange, with a mirrored blade that can double as a signal mirror.

I've got mine set up as a mini survival kit, with two 2" straw fire sticks behind 10 feet of milspec 550 cord, and a Maratac AAA inside a Gorilla tape holster.

Note the lack of hole on the blade, making this a very early model.

Weighs just under 8oz total, and I could knock another ounce off if I swapped in a smaller Tek-Lok.

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

Deer is optional.

[James Wyse]

Unless you go custom, I don't think you can do much better than a Bark River Knife. Although Fallkniven is also very good. Both use a convex edge, which is both stronger, and more easily sharpened than mass-produced v-ground edges. They are not cheap knives, but you get what you pay for. They are right now delivering to their dealers a new model, the Canadian Special in 3V steel. They should be posted in the next few days. I've been using a Canadian Special in A2 steel for camping for a while now. It's very versatile. I intend to pick up the 3V version as well. But there are lots of other models, both small and large. And they come in a wide array of different synthetic and natural handle materials. A word of warning, though. You may find yourself getting addicted to them.

There are several excellent online dealers, if you're interested.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/Bark-River-Knives-465
http://www.the-knife-connection.com/
http://www.dlttrading.com/

[Vince Contreras]

…but that convex grind is not very easily maintained in the field, unless one has brought a sharpening kit as well. And so, I wouldn't consider them "survival" knives. They are superb bush knives though.

[Dale Wambaugh]

The Swiss Army Hiker and Farmer models are about as light as you will find with a saw included. A Classic pairs up nicely, giving a scissor and small blade. For another ounce or so, the Swiss Army Trekker is the one to have. You can get a one-hand opening model that has a thicker blade, a choice of serrated or plain blade, a handle that you can grip comfortably while working with the saw, and you get screwdrivers and a can opener too.

If you really want a saw, one that you can really saw with for emergency shelter and fire-building, the Gerber Sportsman saw is 3.4oz and $10-$12. It slides into the handle for packing, so you don't need a sheath or case. http://www.backcountry.com/gerber-sportsmans-wood-saw

If you want a good light knife, the Swedish Mora knives are a bargain. The Craftsman Allround model is one of my favorites. The Mora #2/0 is just 1.8oz with the sheath (see http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/43221/index.html?skip_to_post=367772#367772 )

[Konrad .]

If youre looking for a light fix blade, I find the following to be great

Mora clipper 840 (carbon steel), Essee Izula, Bark River Bravo Necker (either I or II depending on your own preference)

All 3 are light enough (3-4oz range) all are fixed blades with full tangs (yes, the mora has a rat tail tang, and the later two are skeletonized, but they are strong enough). If you want to just try the concept of carrying a fixed blade to see if its right for you, I can't recommend a better knife than the mora 840 or any mora for that matter. For 12 bucks, you get a hell of a knife thats field maintainable. You won't want to baton any wood with it, but it'll handle almost everything. I have both the mora 840 and the much more expensive bar river bravo necker II…I like them both, but have more faith in the latter for rougher work .

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

We focused on fixed blade …. good point, what about folders?

Ragnar (Ragweed forge – see prev link already posted) also has a Brown Mule Sodbuster folder at a great price and he has good things to say about it. Look under Traditional Knives in the online cat.

There is Opinel folders – seem to have good reputation on line, again at "won't cry if I lose it" prices.

A comment on the Mora #2 thin tang – it'll not stand up to much abuse. If you are batoning with it, the tang can bend inside the handle and possibly break out. (I read that somewhere) The GOOD side of that it is a cinch to pop the handle and fill with epoxy then slide back together. I cracked my handle, and when I put it back together it cracked a little more. (too much glue) Been using it ever since.

I think the Clipper-syle handle (not limited to the Clipper) has much better grip – having used both in slippery conditions. See the thread mentioned in a previous post.

[roberto nahue]

Not that light but I carry it on my belt evrytime I go out on the trail. If you want a survival knife o suggest you check this one out.

Warranty for life. It breaks. You get a new one. No questions asked.

Also a dedicated saw is a good recommendation. Just my 2 cents.

[roberto nahue]

That uses to e my combo until I started to scare hikers on the trail. Lol. Actually cuz I am trying to go lite. :).

Esee is a whole new company and with better warranty and nicer knives from what I've read on the bladeforums.com.

Both the esee 3 and 6 are really good survival knives. But I'd still go with the 3 and a small saw like the gerber.

I like having a fire everytime I can so cutting, splitting, chopping wood is what I need.

[Zachary Zrull]

And the cheap route is:
Gerber Profile at $20
Harbor Freight Japanese pull saw for $6-10
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=28005

[Eugene Hollingsworth]

I like this thread, and would like to vote it for "most congenial thread" – we all seem to agree about agreeing…

More off-topic: Roberto – I'm with you on the campfire, "scare the hikers," and any Gerber style pruning or pull saw.

I'm working out the details of a folding wood bucksaw that gives a full 23" throw, carries like a hiking pole, and all-up weight of 8 oz. My kludge prototype worked well but not perfect. Also, those "chain saws" work well in a very small, even lighter, package. Used one in the BWCA last year.

I'll probably never be ultra-light because I like toys that tend to be heavy.

[Paul Hatfield]

No matter how cheap you want to go, I would avoid anything Gerber. Check out Kershaw's or Cold Steel's offerings. You can probably find a Kershaw Bear Hunter in AUS8A for around $15. The steel is great, but unfortunately the handle shape is bad, and it looks like they switched to 8CR13MOV steel recently, so it will be a gamble as to what steel you actually receive.

[James S]

Curious of the Gerber hate? I have a handful of their knives I use for hunting and they are and have always been fantastic.

[Doug Johnson]

I have an Opinel. LOVE it. very light, simple locking system, sharp, beautiful. Cheap.

http://www.opiknife.com/products.asp?cat=Opinel+Carbon+Knives

[Chris Peichel]

+1 on esee izula or izula 2. I had a bark river bravo necker, really nice knife but I prefer the izula.

[James Wyse]

I've personally never had any trouble maintaining a convex edge in the field. Mainly because a properly convexed edge needs very little maintenance, at least in my experience. When it does require a touch up, a simple swipe or two on a leather strop, or even a piece of 2000 grit paper (easily packed), brings it right back. I don't bother bringing a strop on short trips because I simply never need it. My knife stays plenty sharp. Of course, I don't abuse it. For an extended trip I might bring a small leather strop with compound on it. It weighs next to nothing. When I say strop, it is basically a strip of wood with leather glued on each side.

KnivesShipFree used to sell a set of two small strops (their regular strop cut in half), though I don't see it offered now. But you could easily buy the full size one and do it yourself. Color it with compound and you're good to go. Sharpening this way is really easy, once you get the hang of it. They also sell a kit with everything in it, which would be great for home. But of course, I would never carry the whole thing–just the strop.

You can check it out here if the idea appeals to you:

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/index.php?cPath=637_638

And for videos showing everything you could possibly want to know about sharpening convex edges and making your own strop, look here:

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/pages.php?pID=4&CDpath=0

Lastly, I just have to make a pitch for the Fallkniven F1, in addition to the Bark River knives (like the Liten Bror). Fantastic knife for a pretty reasonable price, and more than enough to survive with.

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