Best knife

[OVERKILL]

What are some of the best knives you guys have used, both folding and fixed, for toughness sharpness ability to hold an edge etc. One of my favorites is the Ka-Bar Marine combat knife, for the said abilities above. As far as pocket knives I prefer a lockback, although I've been known to carry a Case sodbuster from time to time. Also any info on multi-tools would be appreciated as the only 2 I own are Chinese made crap.

[Admin]

Hey Overkill,

Good Post.

I can speak with some authority on this subject, a long time ago, in another life, I was a blacksmith and bladesmith.

A good fixed blade design can't be beat for durability and utility. the Ka-bar you mention is a good example of such a knife. I would say that while my preferences tend towards carbon steel blades for most things, for Zombie prep, I've gone towards the side of stainless steel. I think the trade off between edge holding, and easy clean up might need to be made. I don't want to worry about making sure my blade is oiled before I re-sheath.

The sod-buster is a great little pocket knife. my grandfather gave me one when I was 10, I've still got it to this day.

I like the liner lock design for pocket knives, but I would recommend going with a decent brand of knife, as often the cheap chinese knock-offs lack quality, and we don't want things falling apart when we need them most!

The multi-tools are great for carrying a tool kit in your pocket, but function less as knives than the others do. I recommend either the Gerber brand or the Leatherman brand, both of which I own, and have had good experiences with. I'm sure there are other good brands out there, and I'd love to hear from folks who have experience with them!

I think that's about it for now, I'll add more later as other share their opinions and experiences

[OVERKILL]

 Awesome, glad I found someone with some knowledge. I agree with the knives being near useless on a multi-tool. I got a friend who probably has about a dozen multi-tools but really does not know a lot about tools in general so his advice, while appreciated, is sometimes less than useful. My multi-tools I have are pretty good for what I use them for now, for the most part. One has one of the screwdriver bits broken and serves as a casting tool with the pliers for removing the steel clips from molten wheel weights and the blade (which was way too soft to sharpen) for scraping slag off the pot and other various things. The second is a Shrade which is functional, but the magnet in the bit adapter fell out, but it has otherwise held up good for what I've put it through. I always carry a pocket knife because the multi-tools felt really blocky and awkward when used as a knife (at least to me), so within the aspect of tool function and disregarding the blade totally, what are some specific brands and models of multi tools you would recommend?

[Admin]

My Gerber multi-tool was loaned out about 3 years ago, and never returned, so I don't know the model number on that... it wasn't one with a flashlight.. I can tell you that much

I've got the original leatherman, I don't even know if it has a part or model number, it's pretty basic, but functions well... you know, the K.I.S.S. thing (Keep It Simple Stupid) and does everything I've needed it to, probably the thing I use it for most is pulling splinters, or maybe as a screwdriver when I don't want to go into the trunk of the car. But I tend to have at least some tools with me in situations when I might need them, so I don't try to change a tire using my leatherman as a lug-wrench, etc.

I think you've already been asked to start a reloading thread, and I'll second the motion, I think that would be a great topic, after all, we'll need to do (hopefully) a lot more subsistence hunting than we will Zombie hunting, and light hand-loads are a great way to reduce damage to meat.

[Rykoon]

Not that well with melee weapons but in knives...... i would use mabye a combat knife

[moneymike2009]

a good bushknife is the Gil Hibben Mark4 Combat Machete 12inch stainless steel blade with an over all length Bing 17 1/2inches long. find good quality blades at bud-k

[OVERKILL]

Not that well with melee weapons but in knives...... i would use mabye a combat knife

Well, I guess a katana would count as a very long knife,weren't talking about them earlier? If so, is it from experience or what you would consider optimum? The reason I ask is because I'd like some advice on techniques and how to train, and tips on what to look for as far as quality in a katana or swords in general. Glad Moneymike posted about budk, I used to get get the catalogs but never ordered because I thought it was mostly junk. I suppose everbody can be wrong once, or once a day in my case

[Thumper]

a good full tang surval knife can be a very usefull tool, i have an ontairo spec plus marine combat knife. its heavy and tough. I also like S&W knifes well made but won't break the bank. as for the multi tools. i have both gerber and lether man. I perfer the gerber. strong, well made and thought out, and tough, but it won't flex, and i have broken several of them because of that. the leatherman is a great tool as well, but its stamped and prone to twisting, but i haven't broken one, yet, but I twist them up. here is a great site for cheap but good knives.
www.budk.com

[OVERKILL]

 Where do the Gerbers break at, Roger talks about his like it's manna from heaven

[Thumper]

i've broken just about all of the toys out of the inside and I broke a jaw off once. bu i think that had to be a flaw.

[bruce]

the Leatyherman "wave" is the best multi-tool out there IMO, has everything you need on it and you can get it open with one hand once it gets good and worked in. The new Gerber has some good heft to it and also has locking blades like the Wave. the bad thing about the Gerber is all the bades, file or saw is way too short. which is bad when you are trying to use the file or saw. As far as a knife, I prefer a U.S issue surplus Bayonet for hand-to-hand combat situations, hefty, good fixed blade with no serrated edges and a good hard sheath that keep it good and snug with no rattle around, keeps it nice and quiet while on the move. For a good zombie slayer type blade, U.S issue machete'. Hands down superior blade. thick steel blade, takes an edge easily and is flat black for night op's. I personally have 4 in the house.

[oldnick]

bud k has some really good quality knives for reasonable prices. I've picked up a couple bowies from them for $10-15 ea and i've been very impressed with the quality.

a bowie or kabar for a tool
a good quality machete or Gurkha kukri for a backup zombie slasher.

be wary of "katanas" that they sell in a lot of stores and catalogs. most are purely decorative and would break after a couple of uses. If you want to go with a katana, look for something like "combat ready" in the description. so far the cheapest i've ever seen a real katana is around $80

[Admin]

When buying a knife at BudK or wherever, it's important to know what steel the blade is made from, otherwise you end up with a "wall hanger" which is just a shiny piece of crap that looks like a knife.

run, don't walk, away from things marked "stainless china" 420a or 420b 420c is not great, but it might hold an edge.

Other things to avoid:

440a
440b
"stainless" that doesn't give a denotation on what type.

Most of the online retailers sell some decent knives, but remember, you do tend to get what you pay for.

That being said, any knife or sword (almost) is better than nothing, so if you can't afford the best, get the best you can afford.

[ZOMBIE_EXTERMINATOR]

KURUKIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! from Resisdent evil extinction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or a Machete

[OVERKILL]

 The last knife I bought was a Marbles. I thought since they used to make the sights that went on the factory Winchesters ( an all American rifle if there ever was one) would make a good knife. When it arrived I found out it was Chinese with the Marbles logo stamped on it. Good design, poor execution. Anybody have some tips on
A) Good carbon steel knives, especially folders
B) Knives made in America, the furniture factory I worked at closed a few months ago, putting me out of a job for a while, so the whole "buy American" rings a little truer now