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Five "SHTF" knives

The Five knives in you collection that will be in you long time bug-out bag for when the "SH- uh Stuff Hits The Fan"

The caveat, the assumption is you already have your EDC(s) on you so these would be in addition to your EDC. For sake of argument if you carry more than 2 EDCs you can only have two of them unless you make the others part of the 5 SHTF knives. (no more than 7 knives total)

I'll go first, I normally have about four or five knives on me or within arms reach at all time. Two of them are my true EDCs,

1) A Victorinox Midnite Manager (Red LED light and Black ink pen)

2) A Victorinox Spartan Lite with plus scales (White LED and Blue ink pen)

(I'm not including my Hibbard Hawkbill, Case Mini-Trapper or the Gerber EZ which are also normally with me at all times)

My five SHTF knives,

1) Camillus Mk2 Fighting knife. It served me well in the past and has served fighting men and women for over 60years with great success. It's old school but I know what it can and can't do. A trusted friend.

2) Camillus MIL-K knife. Another old school knife but, quite frankly, the camp knife was just about perfected when they came out with this one. As much as I use the end mounted punch blade to make holes in things, I truly can't imagine NOT having a camp knife in a survival situation

3) The LC-14-B Woodman's Pal. I actually bought this knife with a bug-out bag in mind. I was looking for a cleaver style hacker that could handle tough wood-cutting chores. I've cut down 2 inch tick trees with my Camillus fighting knife but it isn't designed for that time of work. The Woodman's Pal is. I considered a machete but went with the Pal because I think it will handle a wider variety cutting duties. The stone is integrated in the sheath so it is part of the deal.

4) The Victorinox Hunter. This was a hard choice. The Outrider has a pair of scissors which could come in handy but the selling point of the Hunter is the serrated hawkbill/guthook blade. The saw blade is also something I want. I've cut down many sapling trees with this short saw blade and it does so quite well. I also considered the Rescue Tool it has a glass saw not a wood saw.

5) The ESEE Izula. A small neck knife as a back up seemed essential to me. My tow best options are the TOPS Cheetah or the Izula. The Cheetah came with a better whistle than the Izula but I've got three other whistles The main selling point for the Izula was the cord wrapping for the handle. The Cheetah's handle is permanently attached., The Izula will work well enough as a small fixed blade back-up to the Camillus and will save wear and tear on the two folders. Because the handle is cord wrapped it could also make a decent make-shift spear. Being pink gives me the psychological edge because I wouldn't want to be caught dead with a pink knife!

So there's my five SHTF knives. What are yours?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on July 22, 2013 at 15:09

Tobias, Looks like you are ready to go. I like your choice of knives - esp the Pal. I will have to think about this for awhile before I post my 5.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 22, 2013 at 15:40

Very nice choices. We should get to see everyone's EDC also. I love the old Camillus Army knife, from back in the day. This sounds like fun, thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on July 22, 2013 at 16:11

Great discussion. I like stuff like this, seeing what everybody else has forces you re-consider your options. I will have to pull my bag out of the back of my truck and evaluate it's contents.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 22, 2013 at 16:42

Ken, it does take some time to come up with the blades within your collection that you're essentially betting your life on. It is a mix gamble and there is no doubt what you can afford plays a big part in the game.

Robert, agreed we should also see the EDC choices as this should probably influence you decision making

Brad, it does force you to reconsider what is in the bag.

A lot went into my decisions. And while I might change out some of these knives in the future I think two of them will be among my five SHTF knives forever; the Camillus fighting knife and the Woodman's Pal.

I've thought about picking up Ontario TFI or an Esee 6 to replace the Camillus Mk2 but there is a psychological attachment to that knife that keeps it in the bug-out bag.

My choice to buy a Woodman's Pal was specifically made because I didn't have a serious chopper and too many machetes have failed me in the past. Since buying it, I've been putting it through the paces to make sure it'll do what I hope it will do. So far so good. I also thought about a kukri but I like the hook on the top of the Pal.

These two knives provide me the same level of comfort when in the woods as my Spartan Lite does as my EDC.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 22, 2013 at 17:14

You know Tobias, it will be interesting to see, how a persons top 5 SHTF changes from his top 5 favorites. This may be very interesting, dear Watson............lol

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on July 22, 2013 at 18:27

Okay, here are the tools that have been in my bag for the past couple of months.

Estwing Tactical Tomahawk

Schrade+ XT1B X-Timer

Benchmade Adamas Fixed blade

Boker Plus VOX Rhino Neck knife

SOG Field Pup & Power plier multi tool

I think this will suffice until I evaluate the Corneta WOTAN and the other 3 knives Cesar is sending in a trade(1 tactical, 1 traditional and the Push Guthook skinner). I reserve the right to change my mind whenever something better comes along.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 22, 2013 at 20:42

part of why I did it.

Robert Burris said:

You know Tobias, it will be interesting to see, how a persons top 5 SHTF changes from his top 5 favorites. This may be very interesting, dear Watson............lol

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 22, 2013 at 21:02

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 22, 2013 at 21:05

This is the 5 that I pick, with my EDC, the cream colored folder. I would have posted my user Hobo, but my grand daughter has it...

Robert Burris said: