Blades and Other Field Steel
Click For Full View
George W. Jasper Commander U.S. Rescue & Special Operations Group
Often U.S. RSOG cadre are asked by military personnel as well as other professionals, what is the best blade to carry to the field? Our answer is always whatever blade you are carrying when you are thrown into chaos is the best. Of course they say “Well sure but what do you recommend for this type of operator or that kind of soldier.” What we usually find out is that people are looking to hear thoughts or ideas that support their own views on the subject. There’s nothing wrong with that but we probably aren’t going to tell you what you want to hear. Every preparedness minded individual envisions the “blade” as being the primary tool that they need to accomplish most of the tasks that they will need in a chaotic situation. Whether that blade is used to go head-to-head with an enemy soldier or carve out an existence in remote jungle terrain. We wouldn’t argue that but what type of blade that we choose may be entirely different from the next S.E.R.E instructor’s choice. When U.S. RSOG cadre go to the field most of our cadre are carrying a large field blade. Most have 7-10 inches of working edge and are of a very basic design. A strong high carbon steel is our first choice for this blade. Attached to the outside of the sheath of the field blade is usually some type of a smaller folder or multi-tool with a saw blade. We know there is a stigma attached to large blades because of the Rambo movies. It is what it is. Understand a field blade is not a hunting or tactical blade. Its uses range from butchering, to whittling trap triggers to chopping timber to build shelters or a bamboo raft. The more that you use it the more responsive that it becomes in your hand. Would a 4-6 inch blade accomplish the same tasks? The answer is, “Sure.” Probably not with the same efficiency when it comes to chopping though. We have never gone into an environment whether it be jungle, timbered forest, everglade swamp, mountains or desert terrain that we didn’t need and appreciate a stout blade that could be used to chop with. We aren’t talking about using it to hack through impassable jungle growth or build log cabins. We are talking about mass producing trap triggers and constructing framing and harvesting piles of edible plants. Of course some smaller task are easier with smaller blades. Smaller blades are easier to carry in different configurations such as on the hip, around the neck or in a boot for example. The type of blade that any individual soldier, sailor, airman or marine carries should be based solely on his ability to manipulate the blade into doing what he needs to get accomplished. So if it works for you then use it.
Blade Specs
Putting blade length aside our cadre look for a metal type usually before we look at specific design. A strong flexible steel that is easier to sharpen than most stainless steel is very important to us. There are good stainless steels on the market that are tempered to reasonable hardness. Some of the steels that we look for are Cold Steels Carbon-V, 154cm, AUS-6, AUS-8, ATS-34, 1095 and D2 just to name a few. We usually use E-Z Lap diamond sharpeners when we are in the field, because they work well and they are small enough to carry in the sheath kit. That doesn’t mean that they are the best stone to sharpen with. They are just convenient and reasonably worthy of their $6 price tag. With that said an individual who is doing battle with the Reaper in some dark far away land, may not have a ready-made diamond stone handy. So a smooth rock may be the next best thing at hand. The better metals sharpen easier under those worst-case circumstances. The only steel that we recommend a novice knife buyer to shy away from is 440 stainless. Its usually hell to sharpen once the factory edge is lost. An important factor to us is that a blade is built from a “full tang” constructed design. Quite simply that means the blade and the handle base are all cut from one piece of steel. The wider and thicker the handle steel is the stronger the design. Marine KaBar Fighters are full tang construction but have less steel in the handle so that the leather washers can be fitted on. That isn’t a good thing over a period of time where wet leather holds moisture against the steel. IF it’s going to break then it usually happens at the hilt. Does that mean that KaBars are a bad choice? No, not at all. It just means you need to maintain your blade when you come out of the field with a weapons brush (tooth brush) and some Break-Free. Some of our cadre spray paint their blades with OD spray paint. The paint gets mauled while in the field but it just takes seconds to touch it up when barrack in garrison. Most people have a love affair with “cherry new” gear, we don’t! The more character the better. Use it, abuse it and maintain it.
The “balance” of the blade is very important and it is different for everyone and different in all knife makes and models. Balance isn’t about a secret point in the axis of the knife that would be the perfect spot to teeter-totter a blade on a granite edge. It’s more about if it has weight forward in the blade or weight aft in the handle. Maybe the knife is to hefty or to light weight, both can be uncomfortable for the user. We prefer a little “weight forward” that isn’t extremely lopsided toward the blade. The handle or the “grip” of the blade gets attention from our cadre because we are looking for good ergonomics or “feel” and the non-slip tackiness of the handle. Usually a Kraton rubber handle is preferred. Or some kind of swells or grooves that are cut into the handle to help keep it in the hand when it’s wet from sweat or rain. A good blade must have a cross guard or hilt on it to protect the blade hand from slipping up onto the blade. We aren’t big on serrations on sheath knifes unless they are on the spine or top of the blade. Don’t confuse serrations with saw teeth, because serrations usually don’t cut wood worth a damn. They do however come in handy for cutting through rope and the sternum of a deer when field dressing among a million other things. A little bit on sheaths. Our cadre usually use friction fit Kydex sheaths without any tricky locking mechanism. If we ever carry a Cordura sheath it has a plastic insert to house the blade. Leather is great except when it is wet, and then it takes forever to dry which isn’t good on steel. We have $300 custom blades that we carry in improvised sheaths built from old conveyor belts, Fastex buckles, pop rivets and 100-MPH tape. Tough, secure and durable is the name of the game. Attachment points on the sheath are also a big seller for us.
Great Steel
We try to steer people into their own choice of what they carry because there isn’t any perfect blade for all situations. There are a lot of blades out there to choose from and many personnel that we come in contact with tell us they a have a hard time deciding which one(s) to buy. When we are field testing a knife it is abused for at least a year before we make a decision on its abilities. That is why when asked for recommendations we don’t usually give any until the testing is finished. Whacking on 2x4s for an afternoon or chopping rope isn’t enough in our world to fully test a blade. Nor is torture testing it in a vise with a sledgehammer any real indication of the workability of a blade. Working a blade over while doing field related task and resharpening it 15-20 times over a year’s time, will really start to show weaknesses or a stellar performer. Blades are evaluated differently by such things as materials, design and price tag. No one can expect a low-end blade to match the performance of a more expensive blade. If it does then it is a real fine and people need to know about it. So here are a few makes and models that we trust to rise to the occasion when the Reaper sweeps your legs out from under you and puts his boot in your chest. They are not all rated equals in performance but they do stick out in their relative fields.
Cold Steel- Cold Steel produces some of the best if not the best steel and basic designs in blades. They are no nonsense, rugged knifes that can be abused for years. Even a novice hone can sharpen them well. The only draw back is their Cordura nylon sheaths, really sharp knives do bad things to nylon sheaths. Plus the sheaths aren’t built with attachment points. The Carbon –V Trailmaster is one of our all time favorites. They can be found for around $120 dollars, which is dirt-cheap compared with other blades with similar quality. The Recon Scout, Recon Tanto, SRK and Master Hunter are all very good choices.
Busse- Real good basic designs and good steel support these custom blades accolades. If you have the wallet for it then you can’t go wrong with Busse blades. There are a lot of knife artists out there that draw fancy blades on paper then cut and grind them out. Craftsman are an entirely different sort, they know their metallurgy as well as they know their art. That is where the strength of the knife comes from, great steel and great temper.
Ontario- For anyone looking for a good quality of blades in the lower end bracket, look no further. Ontario’s Bowie is well balanced, sharpens great and has a very real handle. You can abuse these knives but not to the degree that you could a Cold Steel. Their entire line of blades is noteworthy. We really like their handles and carbon steel. Again we don’t like the Cordura sheaths but for the price we can’t complain.
Knives of Alaska- These are really well designed blades with well-made sheaths. Are they worth the price tag? Yes. Are they equal to the Cold Steel and Busse blades? No. If you are headed to a place that you don’t want to pack a big military looking blade or are going to butcher an elk, then this is your line of steel. The Light Hunter set, Brown Bear set and Bush Camp Set are ready for any primitive living environment. The .Alaskan Hunter and Wolverine are really fine replacements to a traditional Air Force survival knife
Outdoor Edge- Don’t let the price tag fool you these are a great purchase for the lower end shopper. Just think about all of the well-known blade companies that we could have mentioned but didn’t. We put Outdoor Edge above the others because they are well thought out, tough, really sharp and inexpensive as well. The Kodi-Pak and the Trophy Pak are the ones to look for. Both come with a “T” handled saw, which are powerful cutters. Plus they all have gut hooks on the knife blades. If you aren’t using a gut hook then you are wasting a lot of time.
Pocket Survival Tools
Click For Full View
The genius behind this concept of tools is nothing short of remarkable. As a back-up to a full sized field blade the pocket survival or multi-tool is an unbelievably prepared kit. Our professional pick is the Leatherman Super Tool 200 or the original Super Tool. On its own the Super Tool is a viable stand-alone tool to fend off the Reaper. Its stout multi-blades and most important the wood saw are the real trophies of this tool. The new Leatherman Charge and the Wave are good choices as well. Their one hand-opening blade makes them a handy tool, plus they are lighter in weight than the Super Tool, which may be a consideration to you when adding gear to your sheath knife. The Charge has a real knife steel (154cm) blade that holds an edge much longer that the standard stainless models. If you’re choosing a tool make sure it has a saw on it no matter what the make or model. Those little saws do awesome things for trap trigger building. The pliers and file lend themselves well to improvising fishing hooks from scraps of wreckage. Most of our cadre carry a Leatherman Clip in their back suit pocket when on protection assignments or when wearing blue jeans on the street. They are very lightweight and slim but keep in mind that they are not a tool built for doomsday obstacles. Most preparedness minded individuals already own one or many of these tools so we are probably not informing you of much here.
Tactical Folders
(Multi-purpose)
Folding knives have their inherent weaknesses when they are called on in the field. With that said most people are more likely to have a folder on them as their every day carry blade. So you may end up in harms way with just that folder, which you chose to carry many years back. So be sure to choose wisely! Remember this, there is no law that says you can’t own more than one good knife. Folders are usually carried as multi-use blades that are used for both utility and defensive situations. First we should define “tactical folder” in our world. It is a blade with a clip on it so that it can be secured in one spot on the waistband or the pocket. That way your hand will drop right to that spot every time you draw it to open it just like a combat handgun. The knife needs some type of one-handed opening hardware and should be ambidextrous. When you are on your back and a man is on top of you trying to shove a bayonet in your eye and his other hand is wrapped around your throat. You are probably only going to have one hand to deploy that folder with, because your other hand will be busy no doubt. Many of our cadre carry multiple folders, just incase they are unable to access their primary blade. This is not paranoid. Once you have started training realistically to draw and open your blade while an attacker(s) is beating you down, you will understand what we are talking about. Being snatched up from behind or wrestling on the ground will open your eyes up. We look for folders with a good strong cross-lock or better. How do you decide if a blade has a good lock or not? We use the TDI blade test. John Benner and his instructor staff run the Tactical Defense Institute out in Ohio. They put on an Extreme Close Quarters Survival course once a year that every American should try to get to. The course deals with such things a deploying a blade while doing battle with an attacker among other critical tasks. They test a blade by whacking the blade on its spine on top of a solid wood block. They do it fast and hard at least four or five times. Of course you must have your fingers out of the way of the blade channel because many blades can and do fold up. To include some of the most expensive blades on the market. The reason that we like this test is obvious, because you don’t want to deploy with a weak or faulty lock. The instructor staff at TDI point out the Benchmade AXIS locking system as better than the traditional cross-lock. Al-Mar and Benchmade are usually the blades that we reach for first in the higher end custom-production blades. Columbia River, Gerber and Buck in the lower end selection. Whether you choose a blade with serrations is totally about personnel preference. The majority of our cadre do not carry partially serrated blades anymore. Some of us do carry a serrated Clip-it Native as a lightweight back-up. We classify a tactical folder, as a dual-use tool for field/ defense, that short section of serrations on the blade seem to always be in the way when whittling wood. Special note: We like the Benchmade RTK that was designed by preparedness guru Doug Ritter. It has a very workable blade design. Check it out at his Equipped to Survive Website, which you can link to from this site.
Field Folders
Field folders are real wilderness survival and hunting tools that could be used as a defensive blade but it would have to be a real critical situation before you would want to count on one of these. We are very partial to the folders with a saw blade as part of their package. The saw blade just gives an individual so much more versatility out of a single tool. A gut hook is another good tool to add to the package, it will see much use if you give it a chance. Gut hooks have been making a come back in the last 5 years. That saw blade gives a fellow the ability to cut through stout limbs if need be, as well as make precision cuts on trap triggers. The first knife on the list is the Browning Big Game II. Two blades, a saw and a gut hook, it’s an outstanding package. May be a little pricey for some wallets but they are worth the money. The aus-8 steel sharpens easily and the slightly arched handle design makes for a real good grip. The less expensive brother to the big Game II is the Browning FDT. It has a beefier handle to it and can be opened with one hand. We aren’t bragging on the opening hardwear but it is what it is. Bucks CrossLock is a good solid stand-by and the new Alfa CrossLock PBS is a lower profile CrossLock. They have a similar type of set up as the Browning but only have one cutting edge. The old Buck Selector was a very inexpensive well-designed system that was way before its time. You may be able to track one down on e-Bay. If you’re not familiar with the Selector, it is a traditional Buck #110 lock blade but with lightweight plastic handle. What made it special was the ability to change different blades out, to include a saw blade, a deep bellied skinner and serrated drop point just to name a few. Schrade also builds a heavy-duty folder with a blade selector system and comes in a heavy-duty leather belt sheath. Gerber has a new fixed blade selector system that we have not field-tested so we can’t endorse it, but it may be worth looking into. Another expensive folder is the Schrade Bear Saw, which has one clip point Trapper blade and a cross-lock saw blade. Victorinox builds a Swiss Army One-Hand Trailmaster (look in Campmor) that is a real fine package. For the money ($30 + $5.50 s&h) it is hard to top this one. They also have the more traditional Swiss knives that also have saws, the Huntsman and the Hiker. We would hate to bet anyone’s life on the standard Swiss blade, but everything has its own niche in the preparedness toolbox.
