TOP 4 Companion Belt Knives Under $50

man there's just nothing quite like enjoying the wilderness you know being able to go out there with friends and family and enjoy this amazing world and just all of the adventures that you can have and enjoy the beauty of creation is just awesome to see and enjoy and being able to live in the Rocky Mountains and do that with my family and in turn be able to take you guys along on a regular basis here at the channel you guys come in week after week and watching these videos and really I feel like being able to all of us together going adventures to discuss systems talk about gear talk about life and just the concepts of life and the concepts of how gear may make our lives just a little bit easier and a little bit more enjoyable so today I'm really excited to do this particular video because I want to talk with you about belt knives that are 50 dollars or less and what are the top 4 belt knives for 50 dollars and you know I understand that for many of us we are on a very tight budget we're trying to figure out where you know the money goes where we're gonna put it here invest in the kids invest in retirement best in the home you know all those different things and so where does all the money go and I know for many of us were on tight budget you know and you want good quality products good quality gear on a budget price and so in this video I just want to share with you my opinion after having tested out a lot of different blades really put a lot of thought into this video what for me would be the top 4 belt knives I could recommend to you and the belt knife to me is a fixed blade between 4 inches and about 6 inches it's something that's not super heavy it's not really a survival knife you know you can carry it on your belt all day you know you could hike miles it's not gonna you know get in the way or wear it weigh you down or pull your pants down you could attach it to maybe like the shoulder strap of a backpack and it's not going to get obnoxious that's my thought in a belt knife system so I want to share that with you these are would be great to pair with you they're like hatchet or an axe or a large wilderness blade a big chopper and this will do you're kind of smaller finer stuff and then you'd have that other tool to do the bigger harder splitting of wood and chopping down trees and branches and that type of thing so that's the concept that we're looking at here today and so guys what we're about to look at are my top four belt knives that I could recommend to you that are 50 bucks or less so with that folks let's go ahead hop to it check these guys out and see what's out there well folks number four on our list is the steel wheel druid 205 that's what we have here and honestly this blade came out of nowhere for me now when I was thinking of the concept of this video I really wanted to have a good stainless steel option because the rest of what we're about to see here is some form of high carbon so for those of you in really humid environments or that's just what you like to use a stainless steel I wanted to be able to offer you a good option and an option that you would be excited about and that I was excited about so I was hunting around online really wasn't seeing a whole lot and then I came across this new release now the druid line from steel wheel has been around for a while they have several different blade shapes sizes they all have all the way up to 9 inches all the way down to 3 and a half inch blade shapes but they're all similar in that you get this leather sheath which is a fantastic leather sheath friction held dangle to show that to you since we're talking about it I mean check that out awesome and at the $50 price point come on somebody fantastic little setup there but they'll all come with that they're all going to come with this TPE handle and you can see here that this handle is really well done it's like crate on I love the checkering that they've done very rounded organ ah McFaul it's got a maximum thickness of 0.9 which is really nice and kind of beefy for my large size hands fits well got your little guard here no jimping but I can hold this in any single you know grip that I would want lanyard hole full tang out the back which is awesome fantastic really reminiscent of the underwhelmed fall can even f1 that I reviewed about a year ago you know I was really expecting a lot out of that knife was really underwhelmed in the quality of sheath the price point the thickness of the blade the handle we're all just kind of goofy and just weren't connecting with me so I was underwhelmed and I ultimately sold that blade I have no plans to do that I plan to keeping this baby because it is sick and basically everything that's kind of f1 idea offers I think this is better executed in almost every way the handle again much thicker fuller a little bit better guard we're having the exact same blade length basically of 3 and 7/8 of an inch long and if you've been watching my channel for a while you know that basically 4 inches is minimum blade length for me on a fixed plate if it's smaller than 4 inches I usually just end up using a pocket knife and would prefer to stay away from a fixed blade so this is like the minimum I would not go any smaller than this on this knife size and dimensions 4 so 4 inches we got that high saber grind 90 degree spine so it's going to throw sparks like crazy does a great job with that good little clip point with a huge amount of belly and that clip is not aggressive it's not sharp it's nice and wide giving you good strength at that tip but another great feature is that the blade thickness is 0.14 on a knife of this size that is phenomenal at just over an eighth of an inch thick great you don't need an over built knife in this size range you wanted to be nice and thin so it'll be a mad slicer and that's exactly what this druid 205 is it's just a great slicer for food prep for woods craft whatever you want you don't need it over building I think the f1 from Falken even was like 0.19 or 18 which is totally overkill for a knife of this size in my opinion so I loved every aspect of that blade this bad boy is really nice and lightweight to under 5 houses and then like 7 ounces with the sheets so you won't even notice it on your person the thing to note that you know can't be all good at this price point now it's decent we're looking at 9 CR 18 MOV steel so this is a chinese-made knife now the fit and finish is fantastic that steel I've had experience with not only in other druid knives but also in other companies and it's a decent steel you're getting good rust resistance you're going to get edge retention and the heat treat that they do on this particular one with the rockwell combination which is like 59 to 60 or 58 to 59 something like that high 50s low 60s if I remember correctly that the druid is a rockwell din at as well as then their tea tree does a great job you're basically going to expect similar performance out of like a SOG seal pup maybe like a soggy Northwest Ranger or a cold steel SRK and oz 8 or the steel will Argonaut and hace very similar very hard to find a difference it's very tough durable I had the longer druid 230 which is their nine-inch one chopped but Todd even had the knife slightly flex and spring right back into place when we were batani so very tough durable and didn't have any chipping or bad wear issues and it's okay to get an edge back on it it is a stainless steel so it'll be harder than the other knives were about to look at today because they're high carbon but for the trade-off for the $50 price point for the sheath for the ergonomics for a good edge retention for the price this is a phenomenal companion blade our belt knife to have in the collection particularly for looking at stainless steel and you're on that fifty dollar budget price point so guys number four the druid 205 what fifty dollar belt knife size video would be complete without the more bushcraft black number three the more bushcraft black here coming in this sucker is a fantastic bushcraft knife if you're really into bushcraft then this is the knife I would recommend to you at that price point because not only are you getting some nicer features than some of the lower and moroz but the blade is just so set up for those bushcraft style tasks the the real fine triggers and traps insane you know feather stick making you know those type of things now I wouldn't consider myself to be a bushcrafter I'm more of a hiker backpacker just kind of general outdoorsman I actually kind of prefer utilitarian you'll see that the end of this video so I'm not going to sit there at a campsite and like weave a basket or make some you know giant rocking chair out of the materials around me and build seven traps and that's what I'm going to feed off of is the animals I can catch that type of stuff there's nothing wrong with that and I know a lot of you guys love that and that's awesome and you know that's a great skill to have so this would be the knife that I recommend for you for that now we are getting basically Moore's proprietary 1095 they call it something different but when you look at the properties is 1095 and we're looking at about four points three on the blade length that Scandi grind which again helps with all those bushcraft style tasks eighth of an inch thick so it's going to be nice and thin to do all of your slicing tasks 90 degrees spine it's got that black coating again more bushcraft black to fight against that rust so you don't have to worry about putting patinas and all that stuff you can see holds up well but I mean this knife has seen a ton of use and abuse and it's definitely you know taken its where then you got a bigger fuller handle with a deeper guard so that just kind of helps with you know really good solid lock up and grip on the knife you will love the ergonomic feel on the knife now this is a partial tang so it's going to go 3/4 of the way down here yeah you can watch videos at nauseam of people you know destruction testing and durability testing amorous very tough very durable we could argue because it's the only partial tang knife that it is maybe the weakest of all that we're going to see here today but these are small knives and this is a bushcraft knife you shouldn't be trying to cut down a forest or splits you know 10-inch Logs with this little knife he'll break you know or you know it'll be hard-pressed to do that well so the one downside I would say for the most part is the sheath it's pretty garbage you know flimsy plastic you know it gets the job done but if you are considering this as your main belt knife and then you're going to go with either more expensive larger chopper like a BK 9 se humblest or you're going to go with a nice you know high-quality hatchet or axe then I would recommend checking out aftermarket leather or Kydex the the knife really is asking for a better sheath than what it comes with so under fifty bucks at our number three on our list this is a phenomenal knife if you're into bushcraft number two on our list coming in is the schrade SCH F 42 and 42 D designed by brian Griffin these guys are going to be the biggest knives that we look at today because they are both have just over five inches on the cutting edge these are going to be 1095 high carbon steel and we could argue the most tough and durable because they are fully full tang exposed tang knives with handle scales on either side so if you are looking at for that borderline almost like survival knife style this is the one that I would recommend for you and you're looking for that 1095 because that's what this knife offers you now coming in at under $50 it's really impressive for everything that we are getting we're getting a good leather sheath that's very doable it holds a knife well good quality now if you are considering making this like your go to belt knife then I would recommend again going with either aftermarket leather or aftermarket Kydex as well as aftermarket handle scales these are driver handle scales kind of like a hard plastic think of like holding onto a Nalgene bottle which is kind of annoying sometimes you know it I would either do stippling and pocking something like that and the handle scales never really quite line up perfectly the the Tang either comes out a little farther than the handle scales or the tangs a little in so there are companies that do aftermarket micarta and g10 for these handles I would recommend upgrading to that as well if these are going to be like the belt knife your going to use for this foreseeable future so the the handle scales though are very ergonomic that's what's awesome and really fits the bill is that they just feel fantastic plenty of real estate there again that full tang 3/16 of an inch thick 90-degree spine now these are made in Taiwan now that I have used many of the 1095 coming from this factory out of Taiwan that trade uses it's very good holds a great edge you know very difficult for you to find any differences between us 1095 from like a bar or Ontario Knife Company and some of those other companies out there very similar now I also like the fact that they do this really nice slick kind of titanium coating to fight against rust it's not gritty gunky annoying like a lot of the other 1095 blades out there so that's really cool that they do that and then basically you just kind of pick your poison the original 42 is going to have the black handle scales black sheath and a recurve so if you're into that that's the one you'd want to go with then you can get the 42 d which has the tan handle scales a brown leather sheath to match and then no recurve some more of a classic drop-point design really just picture poison and they're all within about two dollars of each other guys so for under fifty bucks this is one of the toughest blades you can get in a great belt knife option coming in at number two folks would come to the end with number one top dog my fav I'll so much so that I didn't buy it just once I didn't buy it just twice but I bought it three times right here at the channel purchase by getting statical the Gerber strong-arm and guys I got to tell you this blade is really mind boggling for a lot of different reasons first thing the black version will always come in at under $50 from what I've seen sometimes I can even pick it up for 41 you know if you maybe like a damage package over on Amazon the coyote tan will usually come in about 50 to 55 so it just kind of depends on color combinations but really what makes this knife stand out from the crowd in the $50 price range is one this is the only usa-made knife on the table that we're looking at here today and one of the few out there in that price range made here in the USA the other thing is the performance stunning for everything that we're getting we have 420 high carbon steel now usually I would balk at 420 high carbon as yeah whatever you know maybe for like a cheapo pocket knife or something like that but Gerber does a great job for the price point with this steel they do a lower Rockwell around 55 to 57 then they do a great heat treat and so for the money you're getting very tough tough tough tough durable steel that holds a decent edge and isn't too difficult to put an edge back on it and as you can see from this top one we have thrashed beyond compare on this knife this is probably one of the most heavily tested knives you will ever see here at the channel because not only did I do all the hard testing that I normally do but then I sent off to many other youtubers and they did everything from survival to bushcraft to literally tearing open a whole out door to a house with it cutting open an oil drum digging with it too you know tearing parts out of a car with it anything and everything in this thing just came back tickin after months and months of abuse aside from we're on that black coating basically good to go so guys I love the durability of the knife and really what also stands out is the fact that you know Gerber I'm not necessarily a fan of a lot of their products they're overseas Chinese produce stuff is kind of junk to me I don't like it I feel like it's pretty low quality and then their us stuff which I believe is actually for the most part usually hits great price points sometimes is really focused on like lawn for in military tanto blade serrated which are fine for the military self-defense you know law enforcement that type of stuff but really really narrow in its usage you can't really use is just a utility knife or a camp knife and so I love the fact that when they came out with this they offer it in serrated or plain edge and just had a normal clip point with a good amount of belly that is fantastic I really hope Gerber does a lot more designs and this kind of this kind of vein of plain edges classic drop points or clip points making it very easy for us to use in a lot of different scenarios than if you want serrated offer that option great so what we have here is a full tank constructed knife 3/16 of an inch thick you're looking at I believe 4.6 4.7 on the blade length saber grind 90-degree spine so we'll throw sparks like crazy tough and durable as I've said you can go through and watch all the videos on that and then the handle is fantastic fantastic with that full tang not a partial tang with the pommel out the back there with that glass breaker great rubberized handle so it fits great in your hand and I love the bottom and top guards that lock you into place for military use so if you do want to use this as a military knife you absolutely can but they're not super obnoxious and huge so I can easily choke up over them and do fire woods crafts if need be I love that aspect of it but that's not the only aspect that makes this thing great is that you know if it came with like the sheath we talked about with the Mora you know they that'd be great I would totally take it because of everything this knife can do but on top of that they give you one of the best production cheese I think on the market honestly regardless of price point because what they give you is a glass reinforced nylon sheath with tons of lashing points that gives you a belt attachment so you could do it horizontal you know like Scout style MOLLE compatible they have this nylon belt attachment and Molli attachment that you could take off if you don't really slim it down make it really nice and not obtrusive if you want very durable and on top of that it's ambidextrous so if you are a righty or a lefty you can just rotate the blade and it clicks right back into place fantastic set up on that sheath that they offer you so guys with that now this is the most utilitarian version of it the reason I have three is I have this guy's kind of nostalgic because it was so beat up and that's kind of like my go-to you know if I want to take it out and have some fun in the woods this is the one I take and then I bought these two to go in my go bags my get home bags that go in my car my wife's car that's how much I trust this knife that's how much I've enjoyed this knife and the capability that I've seen with it so that is my go to get home bag so it doesn't break the bank and gives me a lot of capabilities not just a bushcraft knife it's not just a combat knife it has that good crossover and can do a lot of camp tasks but it can also do a lot of harder utility tougher to hand-to-hand combat if need be you know whatever it may be tasks that you were thinking you may need to deploy a knife in it has that capability just a jack-of-all-trades master of most honestly for the $50 price point is honestly mind-boggling and number one the gerber strongarm coming in at 50 bucks or less well folks I've had a lot of fun with you doing this video I've done a lot of takes because I want to get this right and really talk you through and give a good presentation to you so guys any one of these knives you pick your flavor you pick what you how you want to deploy the knife how you're planning on putting it into a system of yours but I got to tell you any of these knives would be fantastic just depends on what you're looking for in an awesome way to spend 50 bucks and get a great great quality knife so I hope this video has just helped you out shown you what's on the market showing you my top list this is my top list just personal opinion of mine you know there are plenty of other good knives out there to me these are the top and my favorite favorite $50 belt knives so as always thank you so much for checking out the channel please subscribe comment like share this video love to hear your guys thoughts chickens out on all the relevant social media and as always remember stay equip stay prepared we'll see out there

Channel: gideonstactical

Views: 761,916

Rating: 4.8213611 out of 5

Keywords: knife, knives, machete, gear, tactical, military, survival, survive, edc, outdoors, bushcraft, camping, hiking, backpacking, pack, prepper, diy, bug, out, combat, review, soldier, army, blade, gerber strongarm, gerber, steel will, steel will druid, druid 205, mora knives, mora bushcraft black, schrade, schrade knives, schrade schf42, schf42, schf42d, schrade schf42d, companion, belt knife, kabar, ka-bar, buck, cold steel, sog

Id: GgClJBqXMds

Length: 19min 32sec (1172 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 04 2016