Good advice. Wonder if the modern braided "limp" line would hold straight?

yes

You can wet your line and pull it straight in a jam.

I know somebody will be along directly to steer Model 18 dress up to a survival knife thread somewhere else due to cutting in on eye candy rather than folk actually trying to use the things, so I will post of a photo of the rarest of rare, the Wham O Superballtip version.

Truthfully, the newer shorties chop and hack much better thanks to all the extra brass mass also acting as counterweight to speed up snap and dampen rebound. The larger diameter heavier latter cap also provides great rear grip security when doing said chopping, and yielding larger knife type power.

As for goodies, whole point original was meds/matches/wrap, for surviving a few days until rescued, hypothermia and dehydration the true killers, knife insurance in case owner had nothing left but what was on belt. Bank fishin' and trap settin' while waiting sounds quite pleasurable, though. Personally, i would pass on the fishing/trapping gear and make sure I had several square feet of plastic for a solar still and water to drink.

This is obviously a new new knife, wanted to see how current knives compare to my older ones with ribbed cap, JRB, etc.

Pleasantly surprised, very stout but useful blade. Whittles and carves suprisingly well, teeth on large side probably would work better without clogging on wood for notching, probably would hang up on originally envisioned Shawnee chopper skin.

Value added brass, original thought to be a detriment, turns out to have above mentioned positive aspects, and knife chops far better with counterweight cap than it does without.

Strength goes (or should, considering info in previous posts) without saying, and a good choice for that one knife in the woods crowd.

Personally I prefer the only slightly larger Buxton Fighter package for that one knife, but would be quite happy with the shorty 18.




To me, it seems a certain idea, perfected, in very logical progression.....

 "Their knife should be strong enough to pry open a stuck canopy so that the pilot could exit rapidly from the aircraft after a sudden and unscheduled landing. If that didn't work, it then had to be capable of smashing Plexiglass or chopping and cutting through the aluminum aircraft skin. After the pilot was out, this prybar had to become his all-around survival knife. And it could be no more than 10 inches in overall length!.......
...Because an airman would probably be wearing thick gloves while prying, smashing, or cutting with this knife, it needed a hilt and handle adapted for such use. The double-guard hilt was made larger than the Model Number 1 Fighter's, so that a gloved hand wouldn't have any chance of slipping up onto the sharp edge...."

Good points, whilst I have fishing line (and hooks, sinkers etc) inside mine I suspect the line would get used in shelter building if I use up all the paracord that is wrapped around the handle.

It can chop well, although I knew a sas guy who traded his 5.5 for the 7.5 to be better at chopping, I opted for the 5.5 and am happy with it.

The only downside to the knife for the bushy crowd is that when battoning the baton gets chopped to pieces by the sawteeth.

In a military survival situation, nobody is going to be beating on anything and making all that racket, and instead would be leaning on knife while bending whatever undergrowth for shelter or bedding.

The chopping ability was suprising, I hate to say nearly as good as my older 7.5s, as they are the best out of all Randalls tried, and the best out of all similar size knives ever tried. But, I will say the chopping ability of the newer smaller knife, with the extra brass, sure seemed familiar. The 7.5s are as handy as a gladius, while the 5.5 seems more a boy scout knife in handiness. My 7.5s are now retired.

The #18-5 1/2 can be even handier, for grab and go, or just go, stuffed under belt or even IWB under a shirt (but no comfort award winner with that cap). The less weight lugged to car daily, the better.

Who has had a SS walking stick that did more than sit in the corner of the room?
Trying to decide on aluminum or SS.
any advice or pros & cons would be welcome.

I find my SS can get heavy on long hikes. I would think an Aluminum example would fix that issue. I do like the indestructible feeling of the SS, so I put up with the weight.