by Strider

The Ontario Little Bird is an interesting knife. It's very small but is built like a dump truck. I've had great success with Ontario knives over the years but I had some misgivings when I first heard about this blade. It looks cool but I had questions about how useful a knife with such a small cutting edge could be. Luckily, my friend and hunting enthusiast Jim Phillips set me straight. He's a big fan of the Little Bird and told me it was the best skinner he's ever seen. That's big talk but Jim was willing to put his money where his mouth was. After one hunting trip with Jim, all my doubts were laid to rest and I decided to add the Little Bird to my collection

The Buck Hoodlum is a part of the Hood's Woods line of outdoor survival knives, a collaboration between Buck and the late Ron Hood. When I first heard about this knife, my first reaction was that it was probably more knife than I'd want to lug around the woods. But my curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to give the Hoodlum a shot. While, I wouldn't go so far as to say that carrying the Hoodlum was pain free, the size of the knife was less of an issue than I had expected.

Ontario knives is an American company that's been producing knives since 1889. Ontario is one of my favorite companies for heavy duty production knives and today we'll be looking at one, the Ontario Ranger Falcon. Ontario's Ranger series are high carbon fixed blades with non-reflective black coatings that are marketed towards armed forces personnel. The Falcon is a broad bellied knife designed for heavy duty work.

Too Awesome for its own good!

I’ve got to hand it to Ka-bar, the Zombie Killer line was a brilliant idea. With the incredible popularity of zombie films, TV shows, and books someone was going to capitalize on the pressing need for zombie home defense weapons and Ka-bar struck first. While the idea is funny and cool, I wanted to know if the actual knives were any good. So I took the Zombie Killer Famine Tanto into the woods and subjected it to a series of punishing tests. After all, if you trust a weapon to save you when the zombie apocalypse comes, you better make sure it actually works.

The Buck Smidgen was constructed with the idea that “bigger isn’t necessarily better.” As the name implies, this is a small knife designed for smaller utility jobs. I’ve owned a Smidgen for almost a year and it’s become one of my favorite mini-knives.

Knives of Alaska is a smaller manufacturer specializing in outdoor knives. While many people may not be familiar with the company, they are one of my favorites and are one of the only manufacturers that I’ve never gotten a bad knife from. Today we’ll be looking at their Bush Camp knife; a large fixed blade bushcraft and survival knife.

When you look at the name of this knife you might be a little confused as to why it is being called the Buck TOPS CSAR-T. The reason for the joint name is due to the collaboration of Buck knives and TOPS Knives to create one of the meanest tactical/survival knives on the planet. Primarily designed for those who serve and protect, the CSAR-T is a great knife for anyone. Just a few general words on this knife before we get to the meat and potatoes; CSAR-T stands for Combat Search and Rescue Tool which implies its intended purpose. Secondly, this knife was built to take significant abuse and perform at the highest level in harsh conditions. With that said, I was ecstatic when these knives came out and have since been anxious to review it so here we go.

Starting in WWII, KaBar has been the leading supplier of combat and survival knives for our troops, providing the Navy, Army, and Marines with tough fixed blades that could tackle whatever challenge the troops needed them to face. Of there different models, the KaBar USMC Fighting/Utility knife has been a favorite among enlisted and civilians thanks to its rugged nature and ability to withstand brutal environments. I recently replaced my original issue and to be honest with you; I love my new one just as much as the old.

Cold Steel has some stiff competition in the booming hunting knife industry, but their Master Hunter still stands as one of the leaders in the field. Many consider it the best big game hunting knife on the market, but it also is adept as a survival knife. There are a few requirements a knife must meet to be eligible for my hunting pack and I typically don’t test my knives on anything but their intended tasks. First and foremost, I need my hunting knife to be between 4 and 6 inches and made from steel that is easy to sharpen out in the field. My knife also must have a secure sheath that is just as tough as the knife itself.

Cold Steel has been known for designing and crafting hard-working knives that fall under the tactical, utility, and survival categories. The Recon Scout happens to be one of their best offerings in the survival category, but it can also segue into the tactical field. The CS Recon Scout was viewed by the Special Forces of the US Army to be an effective, close quarter combat tool and subsequently the Armed Forces equipped our soldiers with the Recon Scout. The Cold Steel Recon Scout spans different knife type categories and can pretty much do any chore you need to accomplish, just think of it as a 7 ½ inch version of the famed Trail Master.

Spyderco often times is associated with folding blade knives, but that is not all they offer. Spyderco actually has some amazing fixed blades, one of which is the Spyderco Street Beat. A collaboration between Spyderco and French ex-Commando knife designer Fred Perrin, the Street Beat is one of the hottest Spyderco fixed blade knives out there. This is a small sheath knife that is extremely light and very well balanced making it quite adept as a self-defense tool. It’s also just really slick looking and the fit and finish is better than a lot of similar knives out there.

At first glance you might mistake the KaBar D2 Extreme for the KaBar USMC Fighting knife but don’t be fooled, they are completely different knives. While the designs are the same, there are a lot of things that really set them apart. Both the KaBar D2 Extreme and the USMC are great knives, but if I were to faced with making the choice between the two I would definitely go for the D2 Extreme. It blows most knives out of the water when it comes to the destruction tests and I would venture to say is one of the sturdiest knives you can buy.

The Trail Master is one of the flagship knives from Cold Steel, as it is one of their longest running knives to date. It is a beast of a knife that is capable of fulfilling almost any role and completing any task be it survival, tactical, or EDC. Cold Steel has engineered this knife to do serious work in an easily maintainable form. This bowie style knife compliments my collection, bringing great value to the table (and I can say I am not the only one who feels this way). The Cold Steel Trail Master is one of the most counterfeited knives on the market, so be sure to get one from a reliable source. Any hunter or outdoorsman (or woman) needs to have this knife; you would be remiss to not at least take a look at it.

Bear Grylls, star of the hit television show Man vs. Wild, has become a sort of cultural icon. Capitalizing on this success, Gerber has teamed up with Bear Grylls to introduce a new line of survival knives. They’ve been a hit, and I decided to take a look at the Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife. With a name like that it’s got to be good knife, right…? Wrong. The Ultimate Survival Knife is a complete piece of garbage. It’s over priced and the quality would be disappointing in a bargain bin knife. They tacked a lot of things on to the knife but the overall construction quality is awful and it seems like Gerber rushed this out to capitalize on the Bear Grylls fad.

When SOG came out with the Jungle Primitive fixed blade knife I had to get my hands on one immediately, just because it was a such a unique looking knife. As soon as I took the knife out of the box, I began questioning my purchase as it felt kind of cheap. Just as with any other knife, there are pros and cons to the Jungle Primitive. It has a nice weight for carrying and the balance is forward in the blade which I enjoy. But how was the rest of the knife?

I purchased a Pendleton Hunter about a year ago, but never got around to writing a review of it. It’s been a while since I reviewed a hunting knife, so the Pendleton’s time has come. The Pendleton Hunter was designed by Cold Steel as a reproduction of custom maker Lloyd Pendleton’s Drop Point Hunter. It has a short sturdy blade that you will open up any game and a contoured handle that provides a solid grip while you work. A Secure-Ex sheath is included and provides a carry system that won’t rot away or suffer cut/puncture damage.