I'd personally avoid any knife that wasn't full tang... so a "handle compartment" would a no no...

Ever though of a small pouch on the sheath instead?

 

Get a good full tang knife like the Cold Steel SRK and buy an accessorie pouch for all your extra stuff. Storage handle knives always get slop in them, where the handle meets the blade.

 

Yeah, most of these have been shot down for not being full tang, the compass being in an exposed spot prone to damage and the fact that if you lose your knife, you lose your kit.

Having a kit on your sheath and a full tang is the way to go.

If you must have a Rambo type knife, look for a Buckmaster, but keep reading until you talk yourself out of it.

Look at a BK9 or SP10.

 

Buckmaster



I purchased a Buckmaster way back in the day when they first came out. Carried it for years. Still have all the original items from the handle, except for matches. I keep it in my BOB more for nostalgia and sentimental reasons. Have you seen the prices of them on the web? WOW they have gained value.:thumb:

 

I haven't, I'm almost afraid to now.

 

Strange, I followed a link to one for $28, but don't see any others with prices except one oddball for $450. I wonder if the new one is made in China?

 

gaitor jungle king 1 or 2 smokey mountain knife works...
tom

 

I did allot of research about two years ago on this very issue. I didn't find much but that the Chris Reeves knives were the best that could be found. Now a days there is one knock off that is built the same way for a little cheaper. I lost the link, and don't know anyone that has used them so I couldn't tell you if they are as good or not.

 

Schrade is now making one that is all one piece of steel like Reeves'. I forget what they call it. Look in their catalog.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Schrade-SCHF1-Extreme-Survival-One-Piece/dp/B001CZFPSE

 

http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/products/survival/14"+Deluxe+Survival+Knife/DBHK56140.html
try that one.
tom

 

As others mentiond, the only ones I would trust are these Chris Reeve Shadow Hollow Handle knives. They are one solid piece of steel and are just as strong as full tang knives. Here is a link with photos. Be ready to shell out a few hundred bucks though.
http://www.donrearic.com/crshadow3.htm

Look at the cutaway photo on that page and you can see how strong this knife is.

To a lesser degree you can look at the "Buckmaster 184" but it will still run about 150-300.

Go for the Chris Reeve Shadow iii or Shadow iv for about $200 and change if you want a hollow handle blade.

 

Plausible: get a hollow handled all steel Cold Steel Bushman and get a machinist to thread the handle, use an appropriately sized bolt for the cap, superglue a bubble compass on the "cap", Duct tape the handle, then very VERY tightly wrap with cord or leather strips. This will, in theory work and i plan to do it someday,

oh yea screw the matches learn to find natural tender and carry a Ferrocium rod either glued to the bottom of the spine of the sheath or in the handle.

 

I have an older bushman, it's taken a beating. The handle has a taper to it, so it would be hard to thread. I modified mine with a natural cork, rubber cork, old mountain bike grip , then convexed the edge. For the money it's been a good knife & gets it's turn through the rotation.:thumb:

 

The Bushman is designed to fit on a shovel handle to make a spear. I've had one for years but only trust it to work around the yard opening bags. The hollow handle design was pretty much abandoned years ago. A full tang knife is much stronger, and will hold up to real use. As for stuffing a handle with items; most of the stuff that would fit in a handle would not work. A swissteel might, but not a real compass, wistle, or mirror.

 

Unless you can buy a Chris Reeves (discontinued) or a Randall (4 year wait) don't bother...The one's on TV and in print ads for $29.95 with the "survival kit" are pure, unadulterated junk...E-Bay had them for sale, minus the "kits" for ten (10) for $25.

The "Rambo" movie knives are made by United Cutlery and they are intended for wall hangers and nothing else, regardless of what their advertising hype lies told to you about them...They are usually sent to you dull and of a steel that if you could sharpen will dull in minutes.

The real Jimmy Lile and Gil Hibben made original knives start at $1.500.

Get a good fixed blade 5" knife and a 3½" folder with a few extras, like a Boy Scout Camp Knife and/or a multi-tool and a couple of Altois Cough Drops metal boxes and fill them with your necessary equipment and you're done...More expensive, a little more room but it's your life that is going to have to survive.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I was hoping there were manufacturers that made a Chris Reeves-type full-tang knife with the screw on compass......for a reasonable price. Its not worth 200-300 bucks to me.

I'll figure out a different, compact way to carry other odds and ends.

I'm looking at Ka-Bar full-tang knives to do the deed.

 

I have a cold steel bushman knife. Hollow handle but super strong knife. It also has a life time warranty.
I've beaten the crap out of mine and it;s still going strong.
I was using it the other day to chop tree roots out of the ground, using a short handle extension i made for it, and its not dented, chipped, dulled or anything...
If you can break the CS bushman, then you probably need a lesson or two on how to properly use a knife.

 

My main beef with the bushman is that it basically doesnt have a grip. I mean yeah, theres something there to grab, but round, tapered, and no guard. Its literaly a spear tip.

 

you could get a BK2 and undo the screws to store small items in. Also the Esee H.E.S.T has a small gap in the handles. Both are super good quality and strong knives.

BK2
https://www.kabar.com/product/produ...roductNumber=BK2&mode=category&categoryId=1,2,3,7&categoryName=Hunting/Sporting

HEST
http://www.rockynational.com/6302_HEST_ESEE_DPX_HEST.html

OR you could go the Esee 5 or 6 route and get this
http://eseeknives.com/rc-5-6-molle-back.htm

 

Found the one I was talking about. If you don't want to spend the money for a Reeves but want a hollow handle.....On e review is here:

http://www.canadianwildernesssurvival.com/reviews/Reviews/The Schrade SCHF1 Review.html

 

Don't minimize your chance of survival with a sub par knife. A small pouch or belt bag could hold all those items and you would not even no it was there. You could also make a custom sheath to carry those items.

But buying a knife that is made to hang on a wall and trying to work it will probably just lead to it breaking or at the very least a big disappointment.

Get a full tang quality made knife, there are a lot out there for a $130 and less.:thumb:

 

I have a huge one, like Rambo 2, it is made by carl herbz or something like that says rostfrei on it which is german for stainless. It has the sheath, and round stone looking to sell this thing for a fair price or trade.

 

I have one of the "RAMBO II" mass produced knives. My dad won it in a drawing and gave it to me for Christmas one year. I worked it a little bit on a few hunting trips. The thing is a piece of chit. The leather sheath is well done but thats all the good I have to say about it. The compass quit working, the saw teeth wouldnt saw thru a roll of toilet paper and it wont hold an edge for crap. I think its made by United Cutlery but I would have to look to be sure.

 

Cold Steel Bushman. Tough blade with hollow handle. Cheap.
Get a rubber stopper and plug the hole in the handle.
Its not my preferred blade, but have carried it that way for 15 years with no problems.

 

Buckmaster, Hmmm...

Most RAMBO knives are cool looking but lack functionality.

The BUCKMASTER was the closest to functional. Even then Buck had problems with the blade staying on the handle. Only a full tang knife will survive harsh treatment.

So plan on getting a good knive and having to carry the survival stuff separately. Get a pouch to put the stuff in and fasten it to the knife sheath or put the knife in the pouch.

You also don't need a BIG knife for survival. I've seen guys dress a deer with a folding Barlow pocket knife. As long as you have a knife with good steel that holds an edge that's all you need.

If you really want a BIG knife get a Machete.

:upsidedown:

 

Hollow handle knives are a very bad choice in 99.99999999% of the time. Very few makers have had strong knives of this type and if you can find one you're going to pay major dollars for one.

Here are just a few of the faults:

* Blade tang is too short due to the hollow handle requirement. Handle can be easily separated from the blade during normal use and can cause serious wounds to the user.

* Hollow handle provides minimal space for useful items. The 2-3 matches you can put in the kit are better replaced by a flint/ferro rod or magnesium bar

* Compass inside the screw top is usually cheaply made and if you use the knife to chop and/or hammer with (aka use it in any fashion as a bushcraft or for any survival use other than slicing spam) the compass will be either broken or lose its ability to function correctly.

You are far better off if you buy a decent fixed blade knife with a full tang and then put together a sensible lightweight survival kit that fits into an Altoid type tin or pocket sized waterproof plastic case from Wally World.

That said, if you really really really really want a hollow handle knife for not a lot of money, then go with a Cold Steel Bushman. It's a single solid piece of steel, can handle side pressure on the blade/handle joint. You'll need to get rubber or cork stoppers for the hollow cavity and I strongly recommend you place your survival items in a plastic zip-lock bag before stuffing it into the hollow of the knife. You'll also want to wrap the handle with paracord, sports tape, or put a bicycle/motorcycle grip on it to make it easier to use. Though it has the hollow cavity you're looking for, it was primarily designed for ease of use in mounting it as a field expedient spear.

 

Ok, I used the search function and did not find a thread with this title and didn't have time to read through a dozen or more threads to find something.

I'm looking for a durable survival knife with the compartment in the handle and a screw-on compass. I've searched and can't seem to find anything but cheap Rambo knock-offs.

I want to minimize what I have to carry on me on some of my ventures out into the woods and being able to store matches, fishing line,hooks,iodine tube and a compass in the knife is a plus to me. A knife like this would give me options.......and I like having options.

Anyone have a lead?

I would just buy a good knife and then make your own mini survival kit to go with it.

Here is a link that will tell you how to build your own mini survival kit that goes on the sheath of a knife.

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=121193

The person in the link used a BK7 but I've seen other threads where he did the exact same thing with a neck knife.