Cold Steel & Survival (10 Reward Points)

DrWaffles


I'd say my modified trail hawk.  It would help with gathering larger pieces of firewood and shelter building. Plus it would allow me to save my knife for more delicate tasks like skinning, gutting ect...

Except you only get ONE so you wouldn't have your knife.... 

A "knife" can be found anywhere. A chopping tool is much harder to make. Les Stroud marooned himself on a deserted Pacific Ilse and what did he find on it? A washed up bottle. Sharp hand held "knives" can be made from scrap metal, glass, flint shards...and these items are found everywhere in the world. A 'hawk or axe is much harder to make...my reason for a chopping tool.

  "Got tight on absinthe last night, did knife tricks" Ernest Hemingway

Good point.  About 35 years ago I worked with an old Choctaw man.  He talked about how his daddy taught him to make bows and arrows when he was a boy.  They used tin cans for arrowheads, and the thick glass at the bottom of bottles as obsidian.  and shaped and scraped the bows with pieces of broken glass.

Warthog

DrWaffles


I'd say my modified trail hawk.  It would help with gathering larger pieces of firewood and shelter building. Plus it would allow me to save my knife for more delicate tasks like skinning, gutting ect...

Except you only get ONE so you wouldn't have your knife....

...when would i ever be without my knife? o_o

I wouldn't be found without a gun either but the question was "if it did happen", not "when it does happen".

  "Got tight on absinthe last night, did knife tricks" Ernest Hemingway

Absintheur


I wouldn't be found without a gun either but the question was "if it did happen", not "when it does happen".

A rhetorical question but I know what he meant :P

all very good points, i like the idea of the riflemans hawk. it sure would make building shelter, which in most cases is a 1st priority, alot easier. also the hunting capabilities are notable. but the question is "if you had one product", and by that id have to go with a knife, probably a bushman. not many people are skilled in flint knapping, and would waste valuable time trying to make a knife. also after using the hawk to build shelter the edge might not be usable for other "knife suited" tasks.

"Not so tough when someone hits you from behind with a golf club, are ya!" - grandpa simpson

Mine would be a kukri for sure

I'd go the non bowie bushman. Mine is currently a spear at the moment :)

my non-bowie bushman is a spear now too, but I will likely be taking it apart soon.
I prefer the bowie blade bushman.  I'd really like o see the minibushman come back.
That is the handiest little knife I have for camping/survival due to it being easy to carry so it is likely to BE carried...

Euh... Is Lynn C. Thompson allowed ? I think i would fell pretty confortable with him in a survival situation ^^

Ok just joking don't take any offense...

If Lynn is not avaible a the moment where the survival situation occurs, il would say the SRK; seems to be a great blade.

Cheers.

Vince.

After i saw what punishment the kukri machete took!!
Its practically indestructable and extremely versatile
 
Plus it has reach and is inexpensive which is good!!!
 
When they finally rescue you off the deserted island theyll find you grew fat off of all the coconuts you cracked in half with the machetee!!!!!!!
YAY

If we love our Republic, is it treason to call yourself a democrat?
- Please feel free to use your brain!!! and Read this:democracy vs. republic =O P.S. Unless the govt. tells you not to!

Its so hard to pick only one item!

I am having a hard time picking between a large fixed blade knife like the SRK or Recon Tanto, a latin machette, a Bushman, or a blowgun. 

I am gonna go with the Bushman for the versatility.  I can get a spear, hunting knife, defense weapon and storage out of a Bushman.  

Regards, Dan My Meez Image

ughh tough call...i like my war head cause it can be made into a spear but i like my tomahaks so i can cut a limb and sharpen it into  a spear.
so im gonna say my kukri it kinda blends them both

I wish they would make the mini-bushman again, maybe a minibowiebushman even...
I really like mine but would like it better if I could find a survival type sheath for it.

I guess I will have to peruse SMKW and see what turns up there...

the mini bushman looks cool. what size is it?  never seen one before. 

I'd be tempted by the versatility of the bushman, but I too would go for the kukhri - more hardcore chopping power for shelter building, and lots of blade area to customise.
I'd probably keep the bottom of the edge razor sharp for whittling and sharpen the back of the tip for skinning.
It all depends on enviroment though, maybe I'd go for a hawk if I was in a colder climate.

I have a carbon V recon scout. i only say it instead of my laredo bowie ( also carbon V) simply because its coated, and has a little better grip. i can put a shaving ege on it very easily, and it holds it for a while. i have never used it on a soft target before, but i believe it would function well in a self defense situation. on the zombie side of the equation, id go with the bowie. on the zombie side, and having it NOT be some thing  i own, warrior katana, or two handed great sword.

The kukri would be my choice. It served me well in South Africa years back and offers the best compromise. I could skin with a kukri but I could not chop with a Master hunter or the like.

Last Boy Scout

An unloaded pistol is a poorly balanced club.....Lynn C. Thompson

Hard to think about having only one item in a crisis where survival is at stake. I would have to choose a big bowie like the Trail Master. It covers wilderness and self-defense survival equally well.  Those who choose the bushman could argue the same, it would be a wicked bush-whacker or weapon attached to any length baton or shaft. Warthog had a great setup for his. The trail master is better off for firewood though(IMO), and could even be a pry bar if you were in a burning building or some similar escape-type survival emergency.

Spetsnaz shovel.

Dig, chop, etc...

i would say magnum kurkai and rifleman's hawk and bushman, its pretty much covered everything for me that can be done

Most likely the Bushman because you can use it as a makeshift spear

yeah probably the bowie bushman because of its multiple uses

Eenie, Meeny, Miney, Moe
If I had to survive
Which way would I go
 
So many choices
And all would be grand
But I would have to go
With my Bush Man!
 
I love the Bushman.  I bought mine before they came out with the Bowie Point model, so I will have to get one of those, now. Good sales technique Lynn! :)
 
I'd choose my "Bushy" simply because it would contain my little survival kit, I can use it to cut a staff to make a spear, I can cut and gut if needed, and I could make kindling for a fire and light it with my waterproof matches that I was smart enough to pack in the handle before I got myself in this God forsaken mess.
 
Okay, which way is North? Where's my compass?  Oops!  I knew I forgot something.  If I survive this ordeal, I am going to kick myself in the butt. 
 
Wait a minute.  What's that up there in the clearing?  Hey!  It's a Wal-Mart parking lot!  I can find my way home from here.
 
Fire up the grill, Honey!  Daddy's coming home!
 

 
               

I have to agree with the kukri lovers here although the idea of the Rajah and the Bushman is appealing too.

Q.  What is the quickest, easiest, way to sharpen a machete?
A.  On the bones of your enemies.

Of what I have I'd pick my Latin 18 inch machete. But from what I hear, the Bowie Bushman sounds like an excellent knife

Hey all,

  I would probably have to go with the standard bladed Bushman.

My one item would be my 12" bowie machete, or a 12" barong machete (consider them pretty comparable). An 18" barong machete might be nice, but I think it would become unwieldy for finer tasks.

Those shorter machetes, either one, I know to be capable of taking down smaller trees, can split word etc. for fire and shelter. They are combat capable. They are light enough to not be a burden to carry, but heavy enough for most any use (like cutting down those trees). They are on the smaller side of the machete world, so they could potentially be used more readily in skinning game etc. And they have proven in my experience to be exceptionally durable.

I think they're the finest compromise between brute power and the finesse essential to many tasks.

I'd go with the Trail Master because of the energy it would save engaging in life saving exercises like shelter and fire building. Also, it has a much higher utility value than just as a "chopper" and can assist in woodworking for tools, traps and defense.