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Sidearms & Scatterguns Knife for Car

kthomas

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 17, 2009
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Tucson, AZ
Looking at getting a general use knife to keep in the car. I would like it to be less than $100. No strong preference between fixed blade or folding, but leaning towards fix blade right now.

Some options I'm currently considering is the ESEE CR2.5 & ESEE-3.

I'm not on the "up and up" with knives these days, so I'm sure some of you can illuminate some great options that I would otherwise overlook.
 
Mora, and put what's left somewhere else.

Get the thicker one with the swedish firesteel, like this but you can find it cheaper:

https://www.knifecenter.com/item/FT...re-starter-and-sheath-black-rubberized-handle

On mine, the nitriding or DLC or whatever burnt the initial edge a little. You'll want to use it a bit and put a fresh edge on it. Most cheap knives are burnt from the factory anyway, so no big deal.

Sheath is decent, built in diamond stone is coarse but works, sharpening a mora is a easy as it gets, squared spine throws sparks off the included firesteel as good as anything, handle is good for light or heavy work for extended periods without soreness or blistering.

I have an ESEE-3, Bark Rivers, BRKTs, and a lot of other stuff. This one would be my first choice if I had to live by it.

EDIT: Also a multitool. For everything but wilderness stuff, it does more than anything else.
 
I keep a cold steel Kukri and a Gerber axe secured to the highlift jack in my jeep, other than that I allways have a knife in my pocket.
It's just second nature to allways have a knife kind of like wiping your ass after taking a shit. ???
 
I have one of these. Anza Kinfe Company. Made from old files. Hold an incredible edge and feel good in the hand.
 

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I got a freebee from UPS years ago - it is a UPS branded Chinesium Leatherman. It has some tool bits- Phillips, standard driver, small nut drivers.


The bits and pliers have been used 3 times. Pulling a blown micro fuse needs a tool.

If you are asking about self defense... that is a different question.

Cold Steel 2 handed Katana Machete for the trunk. It needs to be beat up a bit to look like a gardening tool

What are your local laws? In CA, a concealed fixed blade is Illegal. In WA State, switchblades are legal...


Don't carry something that
1) gets you a ride in the back of a police car
2) you don't mind being stolen
 
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CRKT M16-13ZLEK is what I like to have in the car with me.

I have this but in the "emergency" orange. It has the seat belt cutter and window breaker. I also drive Btrains around, have used the seatbelts cutter for a lot more than seat belt.
 

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Take a peek at hoffner knives. Sometimes Brian runs some really good specials. He has straight and folders all tactical like you can get smooth and serrated not too expensive most have ability to break glass cutting seatbelts serrated works even if dull. I always keep two on me and at least two in jeep plus a machete and battle axe can never have too many. My. 02
 
Since you are in TX, you can pretty much carry just about any blade you want in your car since you won't have to worry about location restricted lengths, just don't carry around a tomahawk.

Hopefully with a bit more paying to the knife groups the last restrictions will be removed & we'll be truly free like we should be.
 
As stated above a Mora is a great cheap option which fits the bill of a solid utility knife. I like to keep it cheap as things in cars tend to get lost or walk away. Only other thing I suggest in addition is a leatherman or other multitool.
 
i keep a kershaw funxion emt. steel is meh, but it has a window breaker, seat belt cutter, and bottle opener built into it and it costs 20 bucks. if youre looking for super steel and no frills knife, the Kershaw dividend or link in M390 is great value. in fact, below $100 this is going to be the best possible steel youre going to get. actually its currently of the highest end steels for knives out there right now, its up there with s110v and elmax imo.

fixed blade wise, mora or esee are great. some people keep military style knives.

if youre somewhere rather humid, get a stainless or rust proof knife instead. carbon steels will rust unless you oil them and idk if youre going to be doing that regularly if its a car knife.
 
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For the money, the Gerber Strongarm is hard to beat for a beater blade. I like the idea of having a stainless blade in lieu of a carbon steel blade in a truck/auto. I love the ESEE 3 also, but to me it's more of an EDC blade.
 
It depends on what you need it for.

Machete: Ontario knife 18” US type. Have used it overseas extensively and trust it to get the job done.

True multipurpose: leatherman

Cheap: Mora. Good knives but not bomb proof

Good general knife: look at Kizlyar knives. Russian made and mostly with AUS8 or D2 steel. I have a couple and they are indeed very nice.
 
I keep a Kabar Becker crewman in my jeep and bug out bag. I also have a leatherman in the glove box, a camp axe in the back, and a Kershaw emerson in my pocket. You cant have too many cutting tools.