Im reading the new Sportsmans Guide catalog and they have a cool Schrade ‘survival knife’. I think to myself “Hmmm, that’s odd. Schrade went out of business a year ago.” Then I see in the description that the knife is made in China. :::facepalm::: This is the same thing that happened to Grundig. A well respected brand disappears and the name is bought and used on cheap Chinese products. So: if youre buying a Schrade these days, make sure it is not a Chinese version.

Its sad, but it seems that the really good American knifemakers are falling by the wayside. Increased materials cost, union problems, overseas competition, etc, etc. Its gotta be tough.

Moving up from Fred Flintstone stone axes, the knife is your most basic tool. I own too many to keep track of and like guns no one tool does it all. Theres an old saying that you can use a big knife to do tasks suited for a little knife but not the other way around. Most of the time this is true but I’ve had occasions where there simply was no substitute for a smaller knife. (Cleaning brook trout, for example) On the other hand, you can almost never get a little knife to do the job of a big knife (splitting deer pelvis, prying things apart, hacking limbs from trees, digging firepits, etc, etc.)

It’s a personal preference thing so Im just gonna tell you what I like and why.

Multitool – I like the Leatherman Wave. For me, it fits the overwhelming majority of my needs. It has two blades, one serrated one not, and I use the serrated blade almost exclusively, keeping the regular blade in reserve for when I need a razor sharp edge for some delicate work.

Pocket folder – Since I carry the Leatherman I don’t usually carry a pocketknife. When I do, I like the small plastic handled Gerber folders. I find the Gerbers are easier to sharpen although it seems that the Buck holds an edge longer.

General Utility Sheath Knife – I like the Glock field knives. They are very inexpensive and very rugged. I find them to be an excellent all-around knife. For a little more money I also like the now-discontinued Becker Knife & Tool sheath knives. Brute ruggedness.

Others:
Most Kershaw knives…they just seem flimsy.
Cold Steel – decent product but I don’t care for Made In Japan much more than Made In China. Yeah, they have a great history of making swords, but unless its some wizened old Japanese man folding a bar of steel a thousand times to make my pocketknife rather than an industrial steel press, I’ll avoid them.
Spyderco – I like the knives but I am extremely hard on those belt clips. I do like their defensive knife with the terrifying S-shaped blade.
Ka-Bar – Seem like fine knives. I realize they went up Iwo Jima but that doesn’t mean better designs haven’t happened since then. Theyre an excellent knife for the money and I certainly wouldn’t turn one down as a gift, although I prefer the newer Kydex sheaths.

Whenever possible, I like half-serrated blades. Theyre harder to sharpen but I like that they cut smooth materials better than a non-serrated edge. (Wet nylon rope springs to mind.)

On the ‘specialty’ side of things, I have a lovely Anza hunting knife that I use for that purpose. For more bizarre adventures I have the BK&T ‘Tac Tool’.

To me, all gear is expendable. If the situation calls for it I’m willing to abandon, destroy or discard whatever is needed. Examples? Slip and fall during a river crossing and have to drop your pack or gun. That sort of thing. So, ideally, I like my gear to be good but affordable so I can have spares. While SureFire makes some really razoo folding knives I am not paying $350+ for a folding knife.

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Interesting link of the day