Sometimes big knives save lives. The Mu-20-028K is a heavy knife from Master checking in with a 7″ blade and 5.5″ hilt for a 12″ full tang monster of a knife. Well-made and well-built, this knife was fun to test and will definitely be making its way into one of my kits.

Market

This knife is a survival/combat knife hybrid. This makes the market very viable for those who want a good survival knife that will not easily break. Of the knives I recently tested, this one has the most meat on its bones, which makes it good for most uses. 6 of 10.

Usefulness

With a thick blade, this knife is a little bulky for the “regular knife tasks” of cutting and carving. This long blade can be a challenge when you are cutting stakes or using it as an eating tool. For the other knife tasks, it is utilitarian and relatively useful. 6 out of 10.

Utility

As we all know, in survival situations, we sometimes expect more out of our knives than we should. While the Mu-20-028K is rather average at the knife tasks, it does shine for the other tasks that we sometimes call upon our knives to be useful for. The thick spine makes it great for batoning, an area where lesser knives break. It also functions well to scrape bark fibers off of trees. It makes cutting through fish bones easy, though larger animal bones will quickly dull it.

One drawback is the “serrated” spine. While I am not a big fan of serrations when they are done correctly, decorative serrations are just about useless. Unless you are looking for a fighting knife, these decorations eliminated the Mu-20-028K from many of the tasks we use the back of a knife for (fire starting, scraping, etc.). This knocks a great utility score down to an above average score of 6 of 10.

Usability

This knife is an OK knife and a good tool for around the campfire. The weight and thickness of the blade allow it to be a substitute for a machete, but its length prevents it from shining in this area. One major drawback is that there is very little finger guard for such a heavy knife. The weight makes it likely that you will swing and pound it harder, so the lack of a guard puts your fingers at risk. 4 out of 10.

Cool Factor and Overall Score

If you want to look like Rambo, this knife is for you. If you want to function like Rambo, you will need a better knife. Looks aside, this is a pretty standard camping knife with a little heft that can make many tasks easier. I give it a score of 7 for cool factor, which rounds out to a total score of 29 out of 50. It is not a bad knife, I will likely keep it as a “beater” knife in one of my kits, but I will augment it with a more manageable 8″ Knife.

In a survival situation, rarely do you need a knife this long. In the movies, they are used to attack enemies or fight off large animals. In a real survival situation, hopefully you do not have enemies hunting you or large animals stalking you. Either way, you would be better off building a spear than trying to fight off either with a knife. This is a good backup knife, but I would recommend that you carry something smaller and lighter as your primary knife.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Christopher W Smithmyer

Dr. Christopher Smithmyer is a writer for NRN, the Vice President of International Affairs at Brav Online Conflict Management, and an Adjunct Professor of MBA Business at Doane University. He is also part of the founding team at BlackWalletLTD, one of the leaders in stable coin 2.0 ecosystem maintenance. Dr. Smithmyer’s focus is international business and finance, along with reviews of board games, weapons platforms, and survival items.

Latest posts by Christopher W Smithmyer (see all)

• Game Review: Legacy at Sea by DPH Games - May 6, 2024
• Ace Magic Press Release - March 3, 2024
• Outdoor Game Review: Defenders Expansion for Capture the Flag Redux - March 3, 2024