A secondary survival knife?

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Prks

Joined
Feb 2, 2016
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Hello folks

I am knew here so please excuse me if this was an old topic from the past.

Recently I have been considering which knives I would take for a survival situation.(I meant real survival situation rather than several days of camping in the woods.)

I currently own a Fallkniven A1 which I would definitely take it as my primary knife for a survival situation. Due to it's medium/large size, I would mainly use it for heavy tasks such as chopping, prying, batoning.

In addition to this primary knife, I think I will a secondary knife for the more delicate jobs such as carving, making feather stick and also processing some fish and small games. Because it's a knife for a real survival situation, I would require the blade to be a very balanced all round knife regarding corrosion resistance, edge holding ability and ease of sharpening. I have generally ruled out carbon steel blades(No offence here for the carbon steel lovers, I am a huge fan of carbon steel myself if only choosing and EDC/camping knife.) On the other hand, I also owns several blades in S30V, M390 and Elmax, they are superb knives however requires quite delicate sharpening methods.

So finally I have narrowed down my options of secondary survival knife to these ones:

-Ontario Blackbird SK-5

-Fallkniven S1

-Fallkniven F1

-Soon to be released full tang Mora Garberg

-A custom made knife in Bohler N690 steel with 1/8'' thickness and 4 1/2'' cutting edge.

What would you choose given these options or you could suggest something else beyond this list?

Thank you very much and your opinions are highly appreciated. :)

Filip
 
Of those, I'd take the F1. Would like to see one of the new Mora's eventually. No hurry for me.

My second knife tends to be a folder. I don't know what kind of survival situation you're envisioning other than total collapse of society perhaps. You will need a firearm for that.
 
Welcome to the forums!

What survival situation are you envisioning, apart from a few days planned camping becoming unexpectedly longer? Is it for a "just in case" kit in the car? Something else? How do you plan to have it with you if a survival situation arises?

If you want a knife that can stand some hard and varied use, consider a custom in CPM3V. It's not quite stainless (has been described as semi stainless like D2). It's very tough and holds an excellent edge. It can also take quite a thin edge while maintaining it's strength and toughness. It's good stuff. Keep a diamond stone handy (I would go with a Fallkniven DC4 ). I personally would go with something similar to a Kephart pattern.
 
Of those mentioned, the S1 is to close to the A1 in terms of size and handling. I would probably go with the F1 as a secondary knife as it's a lot more "nimble" than the S1 or SK5. That being said, the SK5 is an amazing knife. Simple, well thought out and pretty bomb proof. But, I would take the SK5 as a primary knife and not sure it would be a good compliment to the A1 which you would already be carrying.
 
You have a convex edge on the A1. I'd go for the mora or another type of scandi less than 3mm thick.

Scandi's excel at the tasks you have mentioned..

I'm not sure the Garberg is cost effective, I'd be looking at a stainless mora robust or the old school mora as a neck knife..

If you wanted to go high end you could get the spyderco proficient with s90v but it flat ground so better for utility tasks food prep but not quite as good at carving (though with practice it wouldn't make that much difference)

Then there's the GSO knives with 3v that I really like as well..
 
I would recommend the new Cold Steel SRK in 3V that will be coming out soon, saving my pocket money for that one myself. Otherwise a Mora to save on weight, the new full tang one or just a normal companion. Will also recommend a good folder. When it comes to me I like having a three blade system, one on my pack, one on my belt, and one in my pocket. Always great to have backups.
 
Prks said:
-A custom made knife in Bohler N690 steel with 1/8'' thickness and 4 1/2'' cutting edge.
Click to expand...

You can get a Bradford Guardian 4 in N690. It has a 4 1/8" cutting edge at .125 thickness.

I'd get that one.
 
I too am struggling with understanding a "real survival situation" in which one makes plans ahead of time.

For 4 season backpacking, I carry an Opinel #10 Inox and a Leatherman PS4 Squirt.

Outdoor Carry by Pinnah, on Flickr


In the winter, sometimes I carry an Emberlit stove and then carry a fixed blade like the Mora Companion. But that's only on XC ski trips.


My recommendation is to focus on dialing in either you backpacking or EDC kit. The knife that is included in those kits are your survival knive, imo. They're the ones you'll have with you.
 
Some good knives mentioned here. But did you pass on the DPx HEST/HEFT line of fixed blades? Mine have come in real handy in the wild as a second knife. I really like the prybar on the HEST II's.
 
Prks said:
I currently own a Fallkniven A1 which I would definitely take it as my primary knife for a survival situation. Due to it's medium/large size, I would mainly use it for heavy tasks such as chopping, prying, batoning.

In addition to this primary knife, I think I will a secondary knife for the more delicate jobs such as carving, making feather stick and also processing some fish and small games.
Click to expand...

If I were in your shoes, I'd be looking at smaller knives than what you've got on that list. Think about it. The F1 has a blade about 6 1/4". That's a decent sized blade, but it's not a big blade like the Becker BK9. As you state, it's in the medium/largeish kinda category. A blade in the 4.5"ish range is going to have a lot of crossover and redundancy. When "surviving" redundancy means extra weight, and extra weight is just plain no bueno.

I'd want something much smaller so that it complements rather plays backup. Perhaps something in the 2.5"-3.5" range.

Now that said, if you want a 4"ish blade, then the blade that would naturally complement that might be something larger than the A1. Just something to think about. I just prefer to cover both sides of the spectrum. For me, my combo is an ESEE Izula 2, with a Condor Moonshiner. Of course, I'm cool with carbon steel. For stainless, you may be interested in ESEE's 440C version of the Izula.

I'll edit to add that if you'd be ok with D2 as a "semi stainless," the Becker BK24 would also be a great pairing.
 
I'm also not sure what is entailed in this planned survival scenario. Of the tools you mentioned, I would pair the A1 and F1 for the tasks mentioned. I will second the cpm 3v though. I like my gso 4.1 a lot. I am, however, a big fan of carbon steel. I have never had any problems with esee or becker knives 1095. Use and minor maintenence will keep high carbon knives just fine. You could also just use a well built folder instead of an F1. My Rat1 sees plenty of use in the woods.
 
While I'm learning more about knives in general I realize I know enough of an understanding to lend some advice but more a passion to learn further hence me signing up here. However the other half of the article I do feel I could contribute to as I spend days in the woods each week working/testing/wearing/utilizing different knives - both folders and fixed blades.

Like others have asked if you could clear up the specific advice you are looking for surrounding a survival situation, it would help narrow down the answers. For instance if this is in preparation for a bug out bag or emergency kit or just fun hypothetical talk...all is fine but more specific is better.

Everywhere I hike/explore I carry the same relatively small pack on me whether its just a day hike or I'm staying overnight or more...I'll circle back to the pack in a sec.

On my person I carry a medium to full sized fixed blade (insert your favorite survival or Bush knife here) on my right hip, a folder in my right pocket, and a leatherman skeletool which also has a nice folding knife on it clipped on a bet loop. So that's 3 right there however on my pack I have another backup tough fixed blade with a kydex sheath weaved upside down on the side of pack, where I can reach for it if I need to. I'll then carry a small to medium sized tough fixed blade in this case its always my Boker Pogn by Bawidamann. I can where it outside the pack, on my back horizontally and also inside the pack. To top it off I usually keep a back up small folder (like the original Kershaw Shuffle) and a full sized multitool in a sheath on my pack with its own damn knife, saw and plenty of other pointy things.

Every single day this pack is on me and the knives represent less than 5% of what's in there however it's just the "Ultimate No Bullshit" way to ensure that whether you get lost hiking in the woods to the zombie apocalypse lol you'd be fine knife wise.

Other logic is you WILL lose a knife. You may be able to back track and find it again but it will happen. For a survival situation I like the idea of a bunch of solid backup knives rather then just one backup. As far as gear goes in a survival situation, a good fixed blade ranks up there if not at the top. Plus you can also arm or give/lend an invaluable tool to someone you're traveling with who isn't as fortunate to have one or even trade one as a form of currency (just hope the latter doesn't happen lol)

As for the folders, I like having a tough, can take a beating and keep on functioning, simple sturdy folder for my right pocket, just as I carry one everywhere when not in the bush. It always changes but an example is my Kershaw Blur, Link or SOG Trident, Flash 2 or Reate D9, etc. (all tough but pretty light save the D9.) Great for smaller tasks but also can get lost. Put one or two extra of your light weight folders in your pack as they take up no room and although, Yes ounces add up to pounds, the weight increase is next to nothing.

At this point of you have to resort to the leatherman for blades, you're either really lucky or totally screwed lol. I use them for the other tools on em but did point their knives out for fun.

But in all if this were more of a hypothetical "only 2" knife question...I'd say I'd bring my Schrade SCHF37 worn vertically on my belt, r. Hip - And my Boker Pogn horizontally on bent directly behind me.

-Nick
 
To each their own, but I'm personally not willing to carry that much weight in knives.
 
mec003 said:
To each their own, but I'm personally not willing to carry that much weight in knives.
Click to expand...
Point taken, however besides the backup fixed blade...the smaller fixed and the folders weigh next to nothing...but then again maybe I do go a bit overboard lol.

Have just been doing it for years and have always misplaced/lost knives so like backups and options.

Cheers
 
Just my .02 but you would want something that is easy to sharpen or at least easier to sharpen. Of the knives on your list I have owned the F1 (sold it) and currently carry the Ontario SK5. I love everything about this knife but I must admit that if I was in a doomsday "The Walking Dead" type situation, I would take a quality 1095 or some other high carbon knife. Yes they do have some maintenance but the edges can be maintained in the field fairly easily as far as sharpening. I guess you could always carry a few sharpening stones but over time these will erode through use. I'd take a good ESEE or something along those lines if I could only have one knife in a true apocalyptic scenario. As far as handle material your not going to find anything as durable and grippy as micarta.
 
By secondary knife has always been a Cold Steel Bird and Trout.
1) Stainless
2) almost weightless
3) Can be easily cleaned and tossed in boiling water for sanitizing(my excuse for avoiding a folder).
4) Perfect for fine work and small game/cooking.
5) Can easily function as a small spearpoint for fish/game gathering in a pinch.

I want a second knife to be different in design and purpose than my primary- a knife can always overlap duty a bit in a pinch.
I have always thought to have a custom made based on this design in a superior steel.

Bill
 
If you're happy with your fallkniven, might as well get a smaller one.
My personal opinion is that I don't like knives of the A1's size as I'd just rather take an ax or a 10 inch chopper and I'll take a 4 inch blade and a folder.
 
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