MOD Survival Knife

[Twodogs]

As Ebay have now stopped selling knifes , Where can I get a MOD survival knife ?
Any hints and tips on spotting a genuine one ?
Is there any real advantage wood over plasic handle ?
Yes I know thay are regarded as rubbish but thats part of the fun .
Twodogs

[stanley lake]

Hi todogs have you tried army surplus stores thay usually have genuine ex mod knifes in and thay are usually stamped with a crows foot . as for the handles wood has a lot more character in it take a look in my thread ( 2 years in the making ) you will see what i mean cheers stanley

[RAPPLEBY2000]

they aren't rubbish,

When I taught Bushcraft & Survival professionally a few years ago I used two knives for everything!

a Gerber multi-tool, for fiddly stuff and an MOD survival knife for everything else.
everyone who tried it wanted one. no doubt someone will say "don't get one", but I used mine day in day out for years, I've never had a problem with it, i say they're pretty darn good!

lots of people poo-poo the idea, but most people don't know that even Ray mears use one when he published his first book "the survival handbook"!

I used it mostly for chopping through saplings up to 6" diameter, but it will also plane wood and you can easily make things like tent pegs etc.
also a hammer, log splitter, I've used all sorts of axe's but i prefer the MOD Knife as it is so much more versatile.

But because of the constant negative views i made a toy car for my son, just with the MOD knife just to prove you can carve with one!

(plus you'll never break it!

You can buy them you just have to get them over the counter at surplus shops.
Hoopers in Norwich sell them.

rich

[southey]

I don't think there rubbish they just have there place, and that is generally in the arctic chopping things! mine has on the blade the NATO stock number "5110-99-127-8214" and "J.ADAMS 1995" and an issue mark. I don't know of any advantage with either wood or plastic slabs. I found mine to be a very effective knife for the task of arctic survival, it is one hell of knife to re-shape the grind though, but thats more me needing a lower grit stone I think. you can pick them up at most surplus site such as Silverman's or surplus and adventure though i don't know if they are mod issue or copy's.

[wanderingblade]

A google search will throw up plenty of dealers - usually go for £30 - £40

Personally they are not a favourite design - not quite a knife, not quite an axe!

[Twodogs]

Stanley , I was up at anchor suplies today mooching about and thay had some in with the wood handle with the crows foot on the handle but no markings on the blade ,
To be honest the wooden handle was a terrible fit and would of trashed me hand in use .
This made me wonder about them being genuine or maybe seconds ?
Twodogs

[pwb]

Stanley , I was up at anchor suplies today mooching about and thay had some in with the wood handle with the crows foot on the handle but no markings on the blade ,
To be honest the wooden handle was a terrible fit and would of trashed me hand in use .
This made me wonder about them being genuine or maybe seconds ?
Twodogs

I have an old genuine issue MOD survival knife with the wooden handles and copper rivets, It also has no mark on the blade.
I think the handle is designed with over sized scales, I heard the principle behind this was to avoid touching the steel in Arctic conditions although it doesn't really do that well.

I must admit I quite like the knife but don't use it much.

Pete.

[Magentus]

I have one of these beauties - Bought it on this very site last year! It's got the NATO numbers and crow foot on the wooden handle same as PUUB's in the post above this one.

I heard that the handle is over sized so you can carve it to fit your grip. Don't know whether that's true or not but mine is nice and comfy now.

There is a thread somewhere about a moded survival knife - the person took the cross guard off and rehandled it so it looks more bushy.

Magentus

[Barney]

I have one of these, I broke the scales hammering it into some wood and then chipped the blade when I was prying some tacks out of an old clothes horse when I fitted new leather hinges.

I will get it out tomorrow and fix it. I always thought it was a good knife, until I abused it.

[Peter_t]

some very snobby bushcrafters wouldnt be seen dead with one yet carry billhooks. hmmm... similar dont you think? iv never used one but i would like to give one a try but personly i think £45 is way overpriced wilkinsons sword used to make them untill sheffield won the new contract. the WS knife is the same shape and size exept it has a full convex grind and the finish is much better. i wouldnt think twice if i found one

pete

[Magentus]

I use mine to hammer picture nails into the wall when I can't be bothered to go get my hammer! It's a beast.

[Magentus]

Forgot that your original question was where to get one. Here's a link for a genuine one for under £40.

http://www.penrithsurvival.com/penri...heath/pid/9635

Magentus

[Twodogs]

Cheers for all the info Gents.
I will hunt one down on monday maybe give SASS a bell .
Twodogs

[Mikey P]

a Gerber multi-tool, for fiddly stuff and an MOD survival knife for everything else.
everyone who tried it wanted one. no doubt someone will say "don't get one", but I used mine day in day out for years, I've never had a problem with it, i say they're pretty darn good!

Don't get one.

[spamel]

Speak to Andy on British Blades, he can get the basic knife with a slightly different grind ready for you to fit the scales of your choice. In fact, he may be a member here too! As I recall, they aren't more than twenty quid, could be even less but I cannot remember for sure.

[nige7whit]

Cheers for all the info Gents.
I will hunt one down on monday maybe give SASS a bell .
Twodogs

£45 at SASS, £36 at Penrith Survival.

I had one of these (from SASS), had it for years, sharpened it to perfection, then got bored with it, and sold it on ebay (wish I'd kept it).

They are what they are, a short, heavy, simple chopping knife, that takes up less room than an axe. I'd recommend one, it's got more flexibility than a small axe.

[widu13]

I've had one since 1986. It's a great utility knife. At it's limits it can whittle, skin and chop as well as split big trees. It's not gucchi but relatively cheap and robust. Top knife- I'm a big fan.

[Emile]

Sheffield knife makes & sells them for £41
http://www.sheffieldknives.co.uk/aca...ry_Knives.html

[Twodogs]

Hoping to go down Spamels route and using a blank .
Makes for a fun project as well.
Twodogs

[Graham_S]

I used one for years, I got one out of an aircraft ejection seat survival pack when they were replaced by swiss army knives.

A very robust knife and a capable tool.

[Matt.S]

I used one for years, I got one out of an aircraft ejection seat survival pack when they were replaced by swiss army knives.

I'm sure a toothpick, crappy scissors and a thin 3" slipjoint blade will be much more useful than a solid knife that can chop and carve when bailing out over who-knows-where...

[pwb]

I'm sure a toothpick, crappy scissors and a thin 3" slipjoint blade will be much more useful than a solid knife that can chop and carve when bailing out over who-knows-where...

I think most people would probably prefer a fixed blade in that kind of situation to, but the Victorinox they chose is a pretty good knife .
I've got a Hunter model and it's a fine robust lock knife.

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php...=330&Itemid=35

Pete.

P.S I've just noticed the last name on the thank you list on the link

[nige7whit]

I'm sure a toothpick, crappy scissors and a thin 3" slipjoint blade will be much more useful than a solid knife that can chop and carve when bailing out over who-knows-where...

Yes, but you can swap/trade the 'shiny' for something useful... That's why they used to give fast jet aircrew Walther PP pistols.... Not great against hordes of AK wielding locals,, useful as currency with local elders.

[Graham_S]

I'm sure a toothpick, crappy scissors and a thin 3" slipjoint blade will be much more useful than a solid knife that can chop and carve when bailing out over who-knows-where...

it depends on what you're doing.
the ejection seat has a maximum weight and a limited amount of space.
a lighter cutting tool would be far more useful. with the withdrawal of the MOD knife, what else can you carry?
Bearing in mind that a pilot who has ejected should only have to survive for a couple of days,

@Puub
As to the thanks, I didn't know about that site, thanks for the heads up.

[rawshak]

I have both the curent issue MOD and the older model D 'Wilkie' version of this knife, and they are both bombproof knives, although the older version is by far the superior knife if you can get hold of one. I generally carry mine when I only want one tool as it is such a versatile knife, although I still prefer an axe/small knife combo for general bushcraft.

[tombear]

Back in '88 when I was a student a granny on a carboot sale begged me to buy one so that some kids pestering her for it would leave here alone. At £5 I couldn't refuse and for what I was doing at the time, mainly chopping up small logs it was just the job.

A couple of years later I got arround to taking some metal off the back to make it a bit more versatile, tidied up the handle and got a Aktis sheath for it. It was getting a bit battered so I took it to a machine tool sharpener and he undid all damage to the profile. I even bothered to chemically black the blade... and I've not used it since. I'd got a safety puoko (sp?) and a small RAF Estwing axe and they had become my standard kit.



The last time I had it out was to scale a magazine knife. Now I'm doing more outdoorsey stuff I must bring it back into use as its a lovely bomb proof bit of kit!

ATB

Tom

[Twodogs]

Nice one ,
Twodogs

[pwb]

That's a nice looking knife tombear .

I also like the sheath, there seems to be one or two manufacturers making sheaths for the MOD survival knife now.

Years ago I resorted to making a canvas cover ,with a pocket, for the leather sheath.



Cheers, Pete.

[tombear]

Thanks! It has "RODGERS SHEFFIELD ENGLAND" on one side and "27C/2360 arrow" on the other. The latter being the RAF stores code.

Early models (pre NATO codes) are marked
1B (RAF and army small hand tools category)
22C or 27C (RAF survival Item)
0274 (Royal Navy "Tools, General")

Later they just had the code 5110-99-127-8214 with or without makers mark or date.

According to Flooks excellent book on Commonwealth military knives the cheaper and nastier versions with the rivetted on grips came out in the mid to late 1970s.

I think a lot of the bad press the type D gets is due to the poor quality of the later versions so, if you can, pick up a early one, most readily identified by the bolt on rather than riveted scales rather than a current issue one. The things are so robustly made that even a heavily used one will clean up very well, mine did.

Perhaps I should dig out the block of curly birch I got off Ragnar years ago and make some prettier scales for it? The bolts look to identical to those on the 1907 Pattern bayonet, minty new ones being available from people like D.S. Solutions.

ATB

Tom

[Twodogs]

Good Information there Tom many thanks
Twodogs