Looking to purchase but don't know where to start

Dohnny Jepp

Hi all. I'm looking at purchasing a good multi-tool and knife. I know little about both so I'd appreciated any recommendations on what to buy and where to buy from.

I'm sure you get these kind of requests a lot so I apologise for this!

Thanks in advance!

jugger

price range ???
what do you want it for ???
fixed blade or folder

Dohnny Jepp

I'm not sure what the price range is on these items. Price really isn't a concern but neither is brand names. Is their a big gap in quality between cheap and expensive?

I'm starting my "back up plan" if civilisation ever decides to fail. Picked myself up a generator and car battery charger recently and a few other "toys" but I'm missing the most basic equipment so I thought my next purchase should be a good knife and multi-tool.

I think folder would suit me better. Does a folding blade sacrifice any structural sturdiness? or would it be just as reliable as a fixed blade?

Doc Ruby

Have a good look through this thread. Most people have two knives, one decent tough fixed blade (a ka-bar in my case) and a pretty good folder (a caledonian edge from cold steel for me). Multitools, honestly there's not a whole lot to differentiate them for our needs. I have a prehistoric leatherman that has done trojan service but I don't think anyone has made a purely outdoors mutlitool.

Remember this if you forget everything else; the best tool is right between your ears. You can give a fool the best kit in the world and he'll come back starved and sick after a few days on his own. Those that know what they're about can take a knife and come back better fed than they left.

Learn the craft and nothing will slow you down.

Doc Ruby

More on knives here.

jugger

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

I'm not sure what the price range is on these items. Price really isn't a concern but neither is brand names. Is their a big gap in quality between cheap and expensive?

I'm starting my "back up plan" if civilisation ever decides to fail. Picked myself up a generator and car battery charger recently and a few other "toys" but I'm missing the most basic equipment so I thought my next purchase should be a good knife and multi-tool.

I think folder would suit me better. Does a folding blade sacrifice any structural sturdiness? or would it be just as reliable as a fixed blade?

price
you can pay as much as you want for not much extra you want a knife to cut well and stay sharp for a reasonable (depending on use ) amount of time its a knife after all

fixed or folder
how often are you going to be useing it will it be in the bottom of you BOB waiting to be used or will you be carrying it all the time , if its for a BOB go with a fixed blade if you want to carry it all the time a folder is the way to go if you go with a fixed blade get a full tang its stronger stay away from hollow handles !!!
a folder no matter what the maker says is never ever stronger then a fixed blade if you want fixed blade strength get a fixed blade . how strong is strong enough for you though how much pressure will your knife really be under through your uses ????

plain edge or combi edge (plain edge with a section of serrations)
which do you want i like combi edge for the most part lots of people hate the thought of them but they work for me i like haveing them for tough materials, a lot of people say you dont need them if your knife is sharp enough and thats true but its not a perfect world so it wont stay sharp for ever and i think its nice to have options

multitools
i have three rules when it comes to multitools
1 buy leatherman
2 buy leatherman
3 buy leatherman
leatherman are great products and they come with a twenty five year warrenty so if it gets broken the will fix it or repair it for you (a member of boards dropped a jeep on his and they sorted him out....true story) i have a leatherman mut a leatherman c2 juice and a leatherman oht in the post i have a gerber multitool too but it sucks ass
i like my multitools to have there blades and most of there tools on the outside not on the inside. my much loved mut has this feature where my gerber does not .For example if i want the the knife on my mut i put my hand in my pocket take it out and i can push out the blade with my thumb job done with the gerber i put my had in my pocket take out the gerber i flick out the pliers open the handle find the blade pull it out with my thumb nail close the handles and im done not quiet the same is it ???

if you deside to go with a fixed blade i would look at esse knives
http://www.eseeknives.com/knives.htm
i have the izula and the junglas and love them both but they are made from a high carbon steel and will rust so you need to do a little work keeping them oiled and such but you should always keep your gear well maintained anyways so its not a big deal

for folders i would look at spyderco benchmade coldsteel crkt and esse
http://www.spyderco.com/
http://www.benchmade.com/
http://www.coldsteel.com/
http://www.crkt.com/
http://www.eseeknives.com/knives.htm
spyderco i have the tenacious its not a lot of cash for a good blade imo
benchmade i have the mini griptillan from benchmade its ok but a little to small from me nothing wrong with it the fit and finish are really good but its just a little too mini
cold steel ....................i have nothing but i have heard good things
crkt i had a m16 folder i loved it but i destroyed it stay away from there Veff Serrations
esse i have never seen there folders but if there anything like there fixed blades they should be solid

for multitools ................buy leatherman
http://www.leatherman.com/

i like knives so i was ok with buying them trying them and usually keeping them
but you may not so research research research youtube is great for this. find a knife you like and check youtube try this reviewer
http://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy
he does guns knives back packs all outdoor gear he does ramble a bit but he makes good points i find him ok ( my wife hates him )

when you get your first use it as much as you can note the pros and cons and try again you prob wont get what you want first time but thats half the fun

when buying dont buy from the maker its always cheaper to buy from a different site like amazon or the bay for some reason and keep an eye on the hunting section on boards some times (not often) knives will come up for sale http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1021

and one last thing what ever knife you buy it wont stay sharp for ever so order your sharping stones when you order your knife

sorry about the rambleing nature of post just trying to give you some food for thought

clint highway

cant recommend leatherman enough
if your buyin the cheapest i found was amazon usa
even with postage came in 30 quid cheaper than anywhere else

thehippychippy

Leatherman, all day, every day!!! I carry the skeletool in my pocket all the time and the style is on keyring, all the time. For a fixed blade I'd go for a Mora. You can get them on HeinnieHaynes.com, eBay or there's a tool shop beside army bargains just of capel street that stocks some of them too. €15 and up. Their cheap, but great knives for the price, and, IMO, start with a mora, get used to using a fixed blade knife, then buy an expensive one, if you want.

Orion

Got a Leatherman Wave recently from americanexports.ie - was the best price I found at the time but I don't think I checked Amazon US.

ShadowFox

Have a look on heinne http://www.heinnie.com/Pocket-Tools/c-1-94/ for the range of multi tools and knives they are in the uk But before id hand out on an expensive multi tool id get a cheaper one to see how much you will use it first As for a knife start with a Victorinox or if your looking for something stronger a large folder (I like the Gerber one its cheap too) then go for your fixed blade like Doc Ruby I have a Ka Bar and love it but at christmas I got a Dajo survivor knife and like it a lot (not tested in the field yet) This Boker plus caught my eye the other day http://www.heinnie.com/Boker-Plus-Knives/Fixed-Blade-Knives/AK10-Fixed/p-298-971-6069/

FerFAL

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

I'm not sure what the price range is on these items. Price really isn't a concern but neither is brand names. Is their a big gap in quality between cheap and expensive?

I'm starting my "back up plan" if civilisation ever decides to fail. Picked myself up a generator and car battery charger recently and a few other "toys" but I'm missing the most basic equipment so I thought my next purchase should be a good knife and multi-tool.

I think folder would suit me better. Does a folding blade sacrifice any structural sturdiness? or would it be just as reliable as a fixed blade?

Price could be as little as 15 Euros for a Mora knives up to 500 Euros for a Busse knife. Generally you want a known brand, which doesnt allways mean expensive. Mora is a good brand, good product, and its not expensive. I wouldnt suggest buying from unkown manufacturers. Knife do have different quality, and you dont want a blade snapping or failling when needed the most.
In terms of multitool I strongly suggest a Leatherman Charge or Wave, which most people agree on being the
A folder only makes sense if you are carrying the knife on you, otherwise yes, you are sacrficing strenght compared to a fixed blade.
For folders, Spyderco is hard to beat. For fixed blades you have lots of good manufacturers. a Nice ESEE knife with a 6" blade would do very well as a general purpose knife.
FerFAL

Doc Ruby

Two reasons I like the ka-bar, first is it's a tried and trusted design, been used for over a hundred years now, and second its length lends itself to batoning logs or cutting down trees. You can technically split logs with almost any length of knife using a wedge, but it's just much easier with the inches you get with a ka-bar. That, and the butt doubles as a hammer.

Deerhound

Has anyone bought a knife recently on ebay or amazon? I tried last year and they both said that they had a policy of not selling to Ireland. Has this policy changed or was it only a short term thing?

ShadowFox

Deerhound wrote: »

Has anyone bought a knife recently on ebay or amazon? I tried last year and they both said that they had a policy of not selling to Ireland. Has this policy changed or was it only a short term thing?

You cant buy knives or anything with a knife on it ie multi tool on ebay any more try here
http://www.heinnie.com/

jugger

Deerhound wrote: »

Has anyone bought a knife recently on ebay or amazon? I tried last year and they both said that they had a policy of not selling to Ireland. Has this policy changed or was it only a short term thing?

never bought knives from ebay how ever i got the esse junglas from amazon with no problems or duty :cool:

Dohnny Jepp

Hi guys thanks for all of your advice. I've decided on a Mora. I'm also in two minds between two multi-tools. The Leatherman charger and a pocket size one which i can't remember the name of this second.

I'm also still looking for a pricier folder but the selection is so vast it's taking me awhile to make any headway!

Thanks again everyone!

ShadowFox

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Hi guys thanks for all of your advice. I've decided on a Mora. I'm also in two minds between two multi-tools. The Leatherman charger and a pocket size one which i can't remember the name of this second.

I'm also still looking for a pricier folder but the selection is so vast it's taking me awhile to make any headway!

Thanks again everyone!

Check out here for your mora http://www.dnoutdoor.com/Mora_of_Sweden/cat255083_181377.aspx