I'm somewhat knife ignorant and would like opinions on a particular model. So far in my small collection all I have is the Kabar USMC 7" knife, a couple of Kershaw folders (Leek, Blackout) and an inexpensive (cheap?) Gerber 4 inch fixed blade. The one I'm looking at is Zero Tolerance Shifter, a 5 inch fixed blade. Would this be a good outdoors knife? Would it hold up? KAI USA : ZT Product Details The store wants $100 for it. Any opinions are welcome and if you can think of a better knife for the price please let me know. While I'm at it, I have a cheap fixed-blade "Winchester" knife that is rather small, maybe 6-7 inches overall length with a 3 inch blade. I would also like to find a similar-sized replacement for that without breaking the bank. Thanks for any help.
Knives Go to YouTube.com and Search for The ZT Shifter and there are men on there that are Reviewing it. I heard one myself. I have an iPod Touch, which doesn't show the URLS of all of YouTube video's, or else I would have given you the 1 about the ZT. If I used my Browser, I could have gotten the URL. So I Googled the ZT and here is: Sandvik steels which a person talks about the steel of the ZT. It's a Very High grade steel!! I Highly recommend looking at TOPS Knives! The reason being: they have a Lot of variety! TOPS Knives.com I hope youfind the knives you want.
I haven't used that particular blade, but ZT makes some excellent knives. However, that particular model is definitely designed for combat, not general survival (though I'd prefer a 6" blade for fighting). For an all-around outdoors knife in the $100 range I'd maybe look at the Ontario Ranger series. 6" - Amazon.com: Ontario Knife Ranger RD 6 Series, Fixed Blade Knife with 6.0" Black Powder Coated Steel Blade, & Tan Micarta Handle, Overall Length 11.75".: Patio, Lawn & Garden And for what it's worth, I'm really liking my Ka Bar Becker BK2: Amazon.com: Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Campanion Fixed Blade Knife: Home & Garden Like the Ontario Ranger, the blade is 1/4" thick, great for splitting wood and damn near indestructible. For your Winchester replacement, maybe look at the Mora Bushcraft: Amazon.com: Mora Bushcraft Series Triflex Carbon Steel Blade Knife: Sports & Outdoors The blade is a bit longer at 4.5", but at 20 bucks, this thing is hard to argue against.
Thanks guys. I posted this on a few different forums trying to get as much info as I can. I really don't know the difference between a "combat/tactical" blade and an outdoor/survival blade. It appears the Kabar I have already has the steel that would be considered good for outdoor use, but I figured it was a "combat" knife. This is where my ignorance comes through. But I do enjoy learning more about this sort of stuff.
Combat/fighting blades tend to (but not always, especially as there are many styles of fighting blades) share the following characteristics: a 6-7" carbon steel blade relatively light weight designed specifically for stabbing through layers of clothing and other gear have handles designed for grip even when wet double edged large finger choil or guard to prevent the user's hands from slipping onto the blade while thrusting Survival knives often share some of these, but tend to made of thicker steel, also in the ~6" length. They do not always have the best grips for wet work, and are hardly ever double edged. As always, there are exceptions to the above rules. In general, look for full tang construction for either type, and avoid hollow-handled 'survival' knives. These tend to have the handle bolted to the blade and easily break. Think of the survival knife as a multi-tasker. It must be able to baton wood, cut paracord, dress a deer, carve a spear, anything you can throw at it. It may not excel at any one task, but can tackle any. The combat knife is more of a uni-tasker; it is designed to kill and injure human beings.
Wags01, thanks for that. So would the Kabar I currently own (USMC 7") be considered a "combat" knife then? How about the Kabar Becker series? And I'm assuming the Esee knives I'm hearing so much about are more general purpose/survival/outdoor knives?
The USMC Ka Bar is indeed a fighting knife, but its design gives it a good amount of task flexibility. The Ka Bar Becker series (including my BK2) is generally oriented towards survival (though the BK7 is called a 'fighting knife', it is only single-edged) and general utility, and in my opinion, are excellent knives for the price. The ESEE knives are, from what I hear, superb knives, though I haven't had the opportinity or the funds to acquire any yet. They certainly seem to be more survival oriented than combat-oriented.
