What Knife for bug out bag

[crusader rabbit]

FQ, while I applaud frugality, sometimes it can be misapplied.  Here's what I mean...

Many years ago, I bought a 26'sailboat from an old guy who had wanted to cruise California's coast.  His wife hated the boat, so he never got to go cruising.  Said he just got too old waiting for her to die, so he decided to sell the boat.  Anyway, the boat had a small galley and I mentioned I would go over to K-Mart and buy a cheap set of cookware to keep aboard.

Here's where I get to the point, FQ... 

The old guy said, "Son, if you buy quality you only pay once.  If you buy cheap, you pay every time you use the thing."

That's guided my purchases of guns and tools for more than 35 years, now.

[Overload]

FQ, while I applaud frugality, sometimes it can be misapplied.  Here's what I mean...
The old guy said, "Son, if you buy quality you only pay once.  If you buy cheap, you pay every time you use the thing."

That's guided my purchases of guns and tools for more than 35 years, now.

There is a major exception to this: Time.  That is, if you bought quality skis 20 years ago, while they'll work today, current skis are better.  The same is true a lot of things that technology/machines have improved.  Guns are an exception to this exception, although I believe that rifles today are more accurate.

[fightingquaker13]

CR
I've always belived that there two kinds of items we buy. Gear and stuff. Stuff, defined as street clothes, stereo equipment, furniture that I don't sit in much or just holds up the cheap TV, tools I rarely use etc.. I'm shopping at TJ Maxx or Wally World for that stuff. Then there's gear. Hunting, fishing, firearms, rain wear, tents, first aid, cooking equipment that I use everyday, tools I rely on etc. There, my past practice has been to buy the best I can afford and then buy a bit better if I could manage it. Thing is reality has caught up with me. A lot of the stuff that was top of the line ten years ago (and I was and am happy with) is now middle of the road. A $150 pair of Ocean Rays sunglasses bought a decde ago, when that $150 went a lot farther? I can get equivelent performance for $25 from Bass-pro now. The same with my spinning rigs. I used to spend about a $100 per reel and the same on rods. Now shops have stoped repairing them. Unless you're mechanically inclined enough to get into the gears of a ten ball bearing reel (which I am not), then the smart solution is to buy three $60 outfits from Pfleuger instead of one $350 Daiwa/Crowder rig. And guess what? That el cheapo Pfleuger is the same 4 bearing reel that you payed $100 for when it was top of the line from Shimano a decade ago. You were happy with it then, wjy not now?
FQ13 who is firmly of the "buy it once and buy it right" school of thought when it comes to gear that matters or you use everyday. Yet old age and poverty has also taught me that there is a virtue in "good enough for what its for". I am trying to find the balance. I am torn between Filson's (a company I will praise with my dying breath) slogan of "Might as well have the best" and the the more mundane "Do the snook really care what rod you caught them on"?

[billt]

I'm buying a lot of tools and "stuff" from Harbor Freight. All I ever hear is how crappy their "stuff" is. I've yet to have anything break I've bought from them. If I'm buying something for occasional use, it's the first place I look. Their "stuff" costs as little as .30 cents on the dollar compared to "Home Depot quality". If it only lasts half as long, I'm money ahead. Sure I'm helping the Chi-Com economy, but I'm helping mine more. Besides, that whole "buy American" nonsense is meaningless in a global economy. That is what we have, no matter if we like it or not.  Bill T.

[billt]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95563

I bought this model from Harbor Freight more than a year ago. It runs like a top. Cleans cases unbelievably well. Made in China............... Cost $79.99

http://www.hornady.com/store/Lock-N-Load-ultra-Sonic-Cleaner/

Same thing "NEW" from Hornady............Cost $134.12 I'll bet anything it's made in the same place. So much for "buying American". Thanks, but no thanks. I'll let someone else pay for Hornady's packaging and mark up, for what amounts to the same damn thing. "No other cleaning tool on the market even comes close." Sure it does, and at half the price no less.  Bill T.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Thats about it BillT. If I use it every day, or will be wet, cold, defensless, bleeding or otherwise sorry if it fails, I'll pay premium with a smile  and consider it a good deal. Otherwise, Max, Tuesday Morning (a great place for yard tools and serious pro quality kitchen gear, as well as the girly things its known for, BTW. The selection is small, but they get good stuff at absurdly low prices. Its just hit or miss, kind of like a flea market or farm auction, but I got a couple of pro grade Sabatier chefs knives for $20 each (a $100 savings) and a Dewalt 18 volt drill for $35, SCORE!). I mean, I dropped $750 on a well bred bird dog pup without blinking an eye. Likewise $250 on a pair of hiking boots. But  $20 is the most I'll pay for a shirt, $30 for a pair of chinos and $15 is my max for jeans. I still get my hair cut at a barber shop where I'm out the door for $15 with a nice tip, and if I won the Powerball tommorow, I still wouldn't replace my eleven year old F-150. Its all about priorities.
FQ13

[tombogan03884]

FQ, If they have one of those "Beauty Schools" around you you can get the same haircut for $5 and watch cuties the whole time  
OT, I have 3 knives, a Buck 105>is my house knife, peeling potato's, slicing onions or opening ammo cans.
Yes FQ, they do hold an edge better, they may have gone with more wear resistant alloys rather than the "sharper" alloys of other knife makers.
I will comment that Puma Knives take an incredible edge, but they do it by making the blade more brittle .
The other 2 knives do everything else because 1 or both are always with me, A Swiss Army knife with scissors, and a magnifying glass.    
the last is a S&W Urban "extreme Ops", I use it for cutting card board .  
In my BOB I have a hand forged Trail Axe by Snowe & Nealy of Maine.

I own other knives but those are the ones I live with, and I've been using the Buck for at least 25 years now.

Now for a question.
 Does any one have any experience with these "Ceramic" blades ? They are supposed to hold an edge forever, but I would think they would be brittle ?

[fightingquaker13]

Now for a question.
 Does any one have any experience with these "Ceramic" blades ? They are supposed to hold an edge forever, but I would think they would be brittle ?

They are as sharp as our wit Tom. No BS, they hold an edge and will slice a tomato (my ultimate, "how sharp is your knife" challenge), as well as my my Buck, Solingen, or Sabatiers. Downside? My great Aunt, whose one and only ceramic knife I used for this post had one. She dropped it on her tile kitchen floor. Maybe it just landed exactly wrong, but still, it was in three large and a few small pieces. Nice for the kitchen maybe, but not for the bugout bag. Even in the kitchen. I could have dropped any of my knives and suffered no more than a bent edge or a punctured foot if it landed exactly wrong. My unscientific survey of exactly one example says no. Buy good steel. Its as sharp as you are willing to make it and it won't break. Just my .02.
FQ13 

[tombogan03884]

They are as sharp as our wit Tom. No BS, they hold an edge and will slice a tomato (my ultimate, "how sharp is your knife" challenge), as well as my my Buck, Solingen, or Sabatiers. Downside? My great Aunt, whose one and only ceramic knife I used for this post had one. She dropped it on her tile kitchen floor. Maybe it just landed exactly wrong, but still, it was in three large and a few small pieces. Nice for the kitchen maybe, but not for the bugout bag. Even in the kitchen. I could have dropped any of my knives and suffered no more than a bent edge or a punctured foot if it landed exactly wrong. My unscientific survey of exactly one example says no. Buy good steel. Its as sharp as you are willing to make it and it won't break. Just my .02.
FQ13  

I've been thinking that way ever since Boker first sold theirs back in the 70'sand 80's.
Years ago my Dad brought home some dishes, He says look, their unbreakable, and gave it a whack on the table.
I turned one over and it snapped in half when it hit the table    

[billt]

Now for a question.
 Does any one have any experience with these "Ceramic" blades ? They are supposed to hold an edge forever, but I would think they would be brittle ?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98186

Melanie wanted to try one, so she bought this one the last time we went to Harbor Freight. The thing is unbelievably sharp, and stays that way! The ceramic that is used in these things is pretty much all the same so don't pay a ton for one. I've seen them in cutlery shops in the malls going for $85.00 and higher. As was said, the downside is they are brittle, and will crack or even shatter if dropped on a hard surface.  Bill T.