That Busse is pretty cool.  Is that linen micarta for the handle?

Black/Orange G-10 handle.  Knife is a 2012 Team Gemini Light Brigade Series with "Muddy" blade finish.

Jan,

The Survive Knives GSO-7/7 arrived yesterday, too late to take to the cabin.  It came shaving sharp out of the box, and I did a little batoning with it today.  Still shaving sharp.  Not sure about the included Kydex sheath since I have never used Kydex.  From tip to scales (handle) the blade is about 6 3/4" long - long enough to baton with it.  The blade is 3/16" thick at the back.  Pics below:

With trusty hardwood baton:

Bow drill divot.

Hi Howard, how would you compare this knife to the Esee 6 or Ontario RAT-7

Howard it is nice looking and glad it seems to be holding an edge.  Looks like you have that and the trailmaster, which one would be your go to?

Tobias, I don't have an Esee, but compared to a RAT-7, which should be essentially the same knife (except for those Escuela de Supervivencia Escape & Evade = ESEE devotees).  This Survive Knives GSO 7/7 is 1  1/2" wide, a bit narrower than the RAT-7.  It feels a bit more balanced in my hand, and of course the RAT-7 blade is a full 7" long.  You can't see it but there is a lanyard hole under the scales (remove the handles/scales, run a lanyard through and put the scales back on.  Also, I have a small hand [#3 military glove], and this GSO-7/7 feels a tiny bit more comfortable than the bigger RAT-7 grip.  I need to work this knife more before giving it a final verdict; especially because I have "New Knife Syndrome", but it did a good job on the oak kindling I split today.  It is definitely a hunk of steel.

Forgot to mention that the Survive Knives GSO-7/7 has an abbreviated "hollow-ground" blade, that is, minimally contoured, not a deep hollow grind.  The RAT-7 is flat-ground, a straight taper from the spine to the cutting edge.

That is a tough question to answer, Jan.  For a "deep woods" or "survival" knife I would go with the Trailmaster.  But, the Trailmaster isn't a "hunting" knife - too long and bulky for skinning, but would sure hack a pelvis.  The GSO-7/7 is more of an all-around knife; short enough to be carried on the belt comfortably, and possibly just short enough so that I wouldn't look like Rambo at the local hardware store.  It is baton worthy, and while not a good skinner, you can choke up on the blade for basic skinning.  If I was going into the bush for an extended period (weeks or months), at this point, I would take the Trailmaster, and a pocket knife, but I have a GSO-10 [should be the same length blade as the Trailmaster] coming by the end of November.  That will be a better comparison to the Trailmaster.  Backpacking on a "survival" level means you can't have everything you want so I would give up a smaller fixed-blade and axe in favor of a bigger knife (Trailmaster size) and "Pocket Chain Saw".  Of course, I welcome other points of view.

Well Steve, it ain't as big as the Trailmaster or Busse, but long enough to be "embarrassingly long" at a garden party.  I tried it on my belt, but it sits too high for comfort.  It really needs a nylon "Tactical" sheath like the Busse sheath - something that would drop it down to a more useful level.  I still have a "battle harness" (shoulder straps clipped to a web belt) where I could strap the knife upside down on the shoulder strap, but there is not much call for this arrangement as an EDC.  I think my best option is a tactical nylon sheath with protective plastic(?) liner.

Hahaha. That rig around my neck would sure allow this knife to shave what little chest hair I have.

We hit the big 70 today.  Not bad.  I wonder if we can hit 100 by Christmas.

Oops forgot to throw in a gratuitous knife photo

I recently purchased the Turtle Man Lightning and the Heavy Hunter Sidewinder from SMKW.  Both are  well made economy priced hunting knives.  Having bought them at roughly the same time, it was inevitable that I would wind up comparing them. My wordy comparison is at http://www.iknifecollector.com/profiles/blogs/turtle-man-or-heavy-h... if you care to read it.

If you just want to see a picture or two they are below.

Heavy hunter Sidewinder in sheath

Heavy Hunter Sidewinder (above)

Turtle Man Lightning (below)

Tobias, those are awesome knives - all of them.

What to post?  What to post?  I know.  I'll post a picture of a knife!  I really never thought of it as Knife of the Great Outdoors but apparently the muskrat is very popular among hunters!  Below is a latest offering from Rough Rider, a Hawbaker or Improved Muskrat. 

Some very nice collections here. Tobias, those bowies look great, I have been keeping my eye on those online.

Tobias, you are right about a Muskrat. Lots of outdoorsman like them. I guess, that's why I like a Moose, it's an improved Muskrat. Ken, takes his hunting all the time.

My Old Timer is an Old Faithful

Thanks Jason.  Both proved better than I thought they would be.

Saw a Hen & Rooster - Solingen Germany Fixed blade - stag - today. Nice looking knife, the guy wanted $60 Bucks for it. Wonder if I should have bought it.?

Tobias - you had a discussion on fixed blades somewhere, I can't find it?

Try here for the fixed blade discussion, Ken:  http://www.iknifecollector.com/group/knives-of-the-great-outdoors-f... .  I need to post some more knives.

Been a while since I posted a knife of the Great outdoors.  How about this one:

Imperial Camper:

or maybe this one, A Cattleman's Cutlery in Zebra Wood

Or maybe even this one, A Colonial Mountain Guide

But you might want to pass on this one:

Unless you need to skin a troll!

Nice knives Tobias

Taking this Bark River set to hunting camp this weekend.  I roughed-up the canvas Micarta for a better grip.  A-2 steel.

Another gratuitous Knife photo This one is of an Interpur Swiss Army Knock-off from the 1960s.  Interpur is a Japanese cutlery company. They are better known for flatware (knives forks, and spoons for the dinner table), than folding knives.

Below are the before and after photos 

BEFORE (as they appeared on Ebay)

Believe it or not, these were "Glam Shots"   I was worried that the scales had been damaged by a caustic mineral but decided to put in a one dollar bid anyway to see if I could fix it. Upon arrival I found the blades were almost rusted shut in the joints.  

First things first.  An SOS pad to the red scales, hot water spray down, followed by a bath in WD-40 (it removes water from cracks and crevices) and then a good wipe down and a little knife Lansky honing oil on the joints.  Finally i straightened the bail (I didn't even know it was brass!)

AFTER:  (cleaned, oiled and prettified!)

not bad for a buck! I like the brass pins and bird's eye rivets!

Great clean up job Tobias.

Yes, I agree, great job on that Knife Tobias

Just back from hunting camp.

Ivars,

I don't know for sure whether a relatively high-dollar knife is "better" than a less expensive knife.  It seems likely that two knives of the same steel from two different, reputable manufacturers would perform the same, so the less expensive knife would be the one to buy.  Is 1095 carbon better from ESEE, Tops, or Ontario?  I don't know.

Mystique is perhaps a factor in buying knives.  Folks are searching for a knife or knife steel that can do everything, stay sharp, be easy to re-sharpen, and never rust.  I am one of the guys who likes to try different and sometimes "exotic" steels, and they are frequently more expensive than "standard" steels.  I am not in the woods every day so it will take some time for me to judge which is best - for me.

However, I just bought a Tops BOB knife for around $100. and it is "old" 1095 Carbon steel.  I don't know yet if it is worth the price. 

Randall Knives.  Are they worth the premium you pay - for Swedish Uddeholm FB-01 or 440B stainless?  They are hand made, so you pay more for that.

Another consideration is inflation.  I am an old guy so 1980 isn't all that long ago for me.  A dollar ($1.00) in 1980 would be worth $2.79 today.  So, if I bought a $50. knife in 1980, the same knife today SHOULD cost $139.50 - if I did the math correctly.  If you work it backwards, a $50. knife today would have cost about $17.90 in 1980. 

I guess the best thing to do is to read as many reviews as possible about the knife you want.  Of course, there is probably bias in every review you read, unless everybody loves whatever knife is being reviewed.  In the end, if possible, do your own testing on similar knives with different price tags.  Easier to do with Whittlers than fixed blades, though, but even Whittlers have a price range (about $10. for a Rough Rider, $70. for a Case Seahorse Whittler, or $80. for a Queen Whittler).

How do you all test and assess / judge your outdoor knives?

Price is a big factor for me as they are fairly high priced where I live and postage costs can be huge to ship them from over seas/

The problem we get here with a lot of the knives sold is that they are in a heat sealed semi-hard plastic package which makes it very hard to handle and judge the make, weight, style etc. Even harder if they are online / overseas.

So far the most expensive knife I have bought falls in around $45.00AUD and is a fairly good knife but nothing so far surpasses the Airman's (MK1) rescue knife that was given to me by my old man that permenantly stays on my webbing.

The average price paid for my fixed knives suitable as an outdoor knife has been around the $3.00AUD mark care of last minute bids on Ebay.

Ivars,

Just a little bit more about inflation.  What I was saying was that in, say 1980, a $50. fixed blade knife would have seemed outrageously priced.  Today, a $50. knife is at the low end of modern steel fixed blades.

You'll get no argument from me, Jason.  If a $45.AUD (about $40. U.S.) knife gets the job done for you, I think that is fantastic.  I am the sort who has to try whatever new steel is out there.  I am looking for a knife that will cut wire, and steak, dig dirt, baton through knotted oak, never gets dull and when it does, a couple swipes on a bench stone will bring it back to scary sharp.  I want to thrust it sideways into a tree, climb up on it and stand on it to get away from a mean ole badger.  Hahahaha.

Different makers will use different styles of heat treating so the same grade steel may act differently depending on the maker. also depending on how the heat treating is done, the cutting edge might be harder than the spine.   This is often a good thing, Because a harder steel can be more brittle and less tough.  You want a tougher spine.    So the short answer is 1095 or 440A or any steel  is going to be different from maker to maker.

That said, I seriously doubt it is going to be dramatically different among major brand names (Ontario/Esee/TOPS/ etc.) 

What is more, some times the steel used might be overkill or just wrong for the task at hand.  After years of fretting and trying to figure out what is good and what is bad and trying to make sense of it all, I've come to the conclusion that there is no one steel that is going to be the answer to your cutting needs.

That said, I'm pretty happy with 440A for pocket knives and smaller bladed fixed blades and 1095 for larger fixed blades.   But 1070 is a good steel to hack with (machetes).  Victorinox uses X50CrMO which is about the same as 440A ( a little less carbon and a little more Chromium but with additional Molydbeum).  I like it as well.

I find all of these to be good all around steels.  Are there better steels?  Absolutely?  Are there worse steels?  Again, absolutely.  but there is a reason why these steels seem to be industry standards as well as standard  used by militaries around the world and why it has been used for so long.  And it isn't just because it is cheap! 

Thats my take on steel.  I guess I'm not much of a snob when it comes to it. I know I'm not an expert.

Hahahaha.  Tobias, you must have figured out that the more one knows, the less certain one is.  There is heat-treat, cryogenic freezes, water quench, oil quench, and on and on.  And, it is sometimes difficult to know just what you are holding in your hand, other than it is a knife of some particular steel from a reliable company in which you put your trust that they know what they are doing when they heat-treat it or freeze it, and made it in the optimal thickness for your needs.

you got it, Howard.  It seems like everyone has some way to prepare steel.  when i strated looking at comparison charts I started realizing that a a lot of the different steels are pretty much the same with a different name.    For instance   KaBar's Cro-Van and Case's CV are essentially the same.  The Vanadium that they add make the steel keep a better edge that your standard 1095 but it also has drawbacks.

D2 is all the rage with several knife makers due to its semi-stainless nature.  It holds a better edge than 1095 but it is harder to sharpen.

1070 won't hold as fine an edge as 1095 but if you're hacking away at bushes all day, it going to be there for you and will be easier to sharpen up.  Plus it is less likely to break.

you'll want 5160 in some of your European Style swords.  However 6150 is used in some of the higher end combat/survival knives and is a fave among ESEE.

For the longest time ATS-34 was the new super steel but then came along VG-10 and 154CM.

And then end of the day, you can let your head swim or buy the knife you like and see if the steel lives up to your expectations.  I've done some pretty amazing cutting with the so-called junk steel 420J2.

Basically i used some junk knife for every crappy cutting job that came along for over two years before I realized I was being a steel snob and decided I had to re-eavaluate my assessment of the knife.   See the knife I and the review I was talking about at  http://www.amazon.com/review/R1DEHE7S688JDR/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UT...

I'm not much of a Trapper fan but it is an "outdoor knife"  My favorite of the Trappers is a non-traditional one.  I only have one of these so far but might pick up another.  It is a Schrade Old Timer Buzz-Saw Trapper. (has a metal pin and tweezers stored in the bone handles!)  The buzzsaw gets its name from a wood saw blade  in place of the spay blade.

I got this one as a birthday present.  Its a 100th anniversary BSA edition.  Schrade also make plain old timer version.

Not a bad knife but as this is a Taylor Brands Old Timer, it is made in China.  I'm guessing there are older USA made versions out there.

It compares nicely to the Current 111mm Trekker and/or the older 108mm GAK/Safari knife

Nice trapper, I hadn't seen one of these.

Nice Trapper, love the tiger styled scales

Now, that's a trapper I could like, Tobias!

Here is a nice Sheffield Camper on Ebay, Tobias I thought you might like this one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231119150582#ht_337wt_1292

Say Ricky, that is a nice looking knife.

Thanks for the Heads up, Ricky.  Looks nice, but a little too rich for my blood.

Yeah I was not familiar with the Sheffield camp knife, looked to be in good shape. I  still don't have a good grasp on some prices on knives yet.

A Japanese Hobo saving the day in the Land of Oz.  

If anyone has seen the movie Oz, the Great and Powerful, they already know, the Wizard saves Oz from the reign of the Witches, with his aid of his trusty Hobo pocket knife. While the movie is set in 1901, the knife is on of those Japanese made knives from the 1950s-60s.    Wizard refers to the knife as his "Lucky Thingamajig" as he gifts it to the Master Tinker.

Tobias, you have a great eye for detail. You are correct about the dates. I wish they would have contacted me before filming, I might have a Hobo closer to the correct date. I love my vintage Hobo's.

Chances are they are tightening a cross head or Phillips screw as the Phillips Screwdriver is the one mounted in the spine and not at the end of the knife.  This type of screw was  not used until 1934 and was not widely adopted until GM started using them in their production of automobiles.  (Which is interesting when you consider the Chevy "Stove Bolt" engines.  Of course the Phillips screws were used on Cadillacs.  The flat heads went into Chevys.

Has anyone been glad they lost a bid on Ebay? Well, I just did. I bid on a vintage Barlow, that I thought I wanted but later saw another knife up for auction that I wanted more. I was able to take the money I had bid on the first knife and add it to my bid on the other. The bidding is not over yet, so I won't mention the knife in question yet. Tell us if this has happen to you. 

I'm giving the short answer right now, Robert.  Not quite as many times as I've regretted winning but yes I've been glad to lose on more than one occasion!

Well, I lost on all bids. I am glad I did, not because I didn't want to win but because the price was more than I could afford.  

Robert,

I usually just put a price in my head and I wont let the fever of the moment get me to bid more  Not that I have never done it but if you can not get into the knife at the price that is right for you, let it go.