What is the Best Bushcraft Knife for beginners on a budget? [Free buyers guide]

What is the best bushcraft knife for beginners? Especially those on a budget?

In the first journal entry of this occasional series, we started to answer the question “What is the best bushcraft knife?”. We looked at the typical uses a general purpose bushcraft knife needed to accomplish, and concluded that determining your best bushcraft knife depends on what exactly you plan on using it for and the key features this dictates.

As a minimum, for general purpose bushcraft use your knife must be able to process wood in a variety of ways, allow you to prepare food stuffs and ideally allow you to pound and scape materials.

The second question I am often asked as a bushcraft and survival instructor, when discussing the tools of the trade, is: “What is the best bushcraft knife for a beginner?” Often this is followed by the caveat “I am on a bit of a budget at the moment.” I also get a variant of “I am looking to spend several hundred pounds on my first bushcraft knife, what one should I get?”

That last one makes me wince.

My normal philosophy is to recommend that you buy the most expensive piece of equipment that you can afford at that point in time. Buy cheap, buy twice. The exception, for me, is with beginner knives. There are many things that a beginner needs to learn, such as, how to hold and use the knife in a variety of grips, how to use the knife safely, how to clean and care for the knife and how to sharpen the knife effectively to name but a few. 

Inevitably the best bushcraft knife you first buy will not suit your personal preferences once you have learnt how to use it. There is always something that could be improved. Do you really want to take your brand new £300 or £400 custom-made pattern welded, stag handled knife wonder knife to a sharpening stone with no idea how to sharpen it and risk ruining it? It happens more often than you might think.

The best bushcraft knife when you are first starting out may not be the one you think you want but something much cheaper that gives you the freedom to learn without the financial penalty of making mistakes.

Fortunately, there are a number of really affordable quality choices available that are more than fit for purpose. All of the knives in this category cost less than £100 and many of them significantly less!

If you haven’t already can I suggest that you take a moment to read my best bushcraft knife foundational journal entry, that gives you loads of really usefully information on the typical uses general purpose bushcraft knifes are put to and the key features those uses demand. You can find that post here:

These journal entries are part of an occasional series discussion all aspects of the best bushcraft knife. For your convenience I have gathered all of the key points into a best bushcraft knife buyers guide that comes with a handy checklist. Just enter your details below to get an instantaneous download link.

Mora Companion

There is no doubt that in the modern era of bushcraft Morakniv of Sweden reign supreme at the budget end of the market. 

The Mora Companion is a high quality knife for its budget price range.

Most people who attend a bushcraft course will be familiar with this knife, it’s the staple student knife for bushcraft instructors. Whilst not a full tang knife, it’s more than capable of holding its own for the vast majority of bushcraft tasks. It’s available in both carbon and stainless blades, and a range of colour options. I have used these for many years and happily carry one whilst instructing and for all activities up to wilderness expeditions.

Mora also make the Companion in a heavier duty version, the Companion HD, with a 3.2mm (1/8”) blade thickness.

Either of these knives would make an excellent best bushcraft knife choice for a beginner.

The Mora Companion is available from Amazon by following this link: https://amzn.to/3nOUgsq

Mora Bushcraft Black

The Companion’s bigger brother is the Bushcraft Black. Morakniv designed this knife to be more attractive to the outdoorsman with its slightly thicker carbon steel blade and soft grip. This knife was my go-to best bushcraft knife for a number of years and it did everything I ever asked of it. Again, I would be hesitant to carry this knife, as my only knife, on a wilderness expedition, where a broken handle could become a matter of life and death. However, it remains a very credible choice for the beginner and an excellent choice for a back up expedition knife.

The Mora Bushcraft Black is available from Amazon by following this link: https://amzn.to/3pRyhTm

Condor Bushlore

Condor knives of El Salvador have made a name for themselves over recent years releasing a wide range of knives, to suit every taste, that remain very affordable. Amongst these offerings is the Condor Bushlore knife. The 110mm (4.3”) full tang blade is made from high carbon steel that is scandi ground and immediately recognisable as a bushcraft knife. These knifes are supplied with a high quality leather sheath and hold their own against some far more expensive knives.

The Condor Bushlore might make the best bushcraft knife for the beginner looking for a full tang knife at an affordable price.

Hultafors Craftsman

Hultafors are another Swedish company who target their range of budget knives at the craftsman. The Craftsman knife is very comparable to the Mora Companion and at less than half the price is very affordable - ideal for learning to sharpen on. Available in both stainless and carbon steels with a range of colours and blade options, these knives are very hard to better for the absolute beginner and would certainly make their best bushcraft knife for learning sharpening.

The Hultafors Craftsman knife is available from Amazon by following this link: https://amzn.to/2HpNolF

Best Bushcraft Knife for beginners summed up.

There are many knives out there at the budget end of the market. Many of these are poor quality imports being sold as the best bushcraft knife for you.

I own and have used all of these knives at one time or another. Many of them have been loaned to students on courses and to my children when they were learning. for that reason I am happy to recommend them as a good starting place for the beginner who plans on using it within the constraints mentioned.

My advice for the beginner searching for the best bushcraft knife is to save your money and start with one of the knives mentioned in this journal entry. Use it to learn what you really use your knife for and the key features that are important to you. Learn how to sharpen well, then consider moving on to a more expensive knife that has the features that are important to you.