A Survival Knife Should Be Able To........

A survival knife ought to have a handle comfortable enough for prolonged use.

A survival knife ought to have a secure, high quality sheath.
 
I have always thought that whatever you call a survival knife should be able to be enough tool to build a shelter for your given enviornment and be useful in gathering enough wood for at least 1 night. Add in that this is the minimum standard for me and any knife I carry should be able to perform all this before needing any resharpening. Now if it is a 10in Bowie, obviously the pole cutting and firewood will go quicker but with the right skill set, a SAK will get you there too. Just not as fast. In the nicer weather, the SAK would work fine because your shelter would probably need only be a simple lean to and wood could be procured by simply picking up downed limbs. In the winter though, I prefer a heavier blade for chopping and splitting to get larger shelter poles and standing firewood. Also out here in the Great WET Northwest, batoning and splitting will almost be required to get to dry wood from the late fall till early summer. I have had and have a large collection of what other folks would call the "perfect" survival knife. All shapes and sizes and all would get the job done. Each individual needs to figure out what works for them in their enviornment. For me an 8-10in blade camp knife, say 1/4in thick, and at least 1 1/2in wide in the blade makes me smile :D Now my Dad is a little different. He can do everything he needs with a Case Peanut sized blade.............and an Estwing axe backed up by a Stihl chainsaw. He laughs at me with the "big knife" and he won't go any father than he can manage to transport his gear in the pick up. Different strokes fer different folks :)
 
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A survival knife should be able to take instruction from you. "Get me some water, some food, and build a small house for me."

:D

Seriously, a survival knife should have a sturdy enough blade to take at least a small amount of sensible abuse, based on the situation. Full tang, although I have seen some great hidden tang knives that could be considered survival knives. I prefer full tang blades. A compromise on edge, closer to thin, but still thick enough for general purposes. An all around blade, perhaps 4-5" blade length. THE MOST COMFORTABLE HANDLE YOU CAN GET YOUR MITTS ON! Convex, flat, hollow, scandi grinds, I would prefer convex or flat ground.
 
A survival knife should be able to do anything you would need to do to survive. In my case, I consider that batoning, and at least light chopping for fire and shelter. It should also be able to skin game, and make traps efficiently enough that they can be used. I would also want it to be maintained as easily as possible. A dull knife wouldn't be fun to try and use if we needed to rely upon the knife. I would prefer 3/16, maybe 1/4, with a length of 7.5-10 inches. Length depends on where I would be, as well as thickness.

That said, any knife should do, as long as the user has the skill and mindset to be able to use it efficiently.
 
Bill Siegle said:
I have always thought that whatever you call a survival knife should be able to be enough tool to build a shelter for your given enviornment and be useful in gathering enough wood for at least 1 night. Add in that this is the minimum standard for me and any knife I carry should be able to perform all this before needing any resharpening. Now if it is a 10in Bowie, obviously the pole cutting and firewood will go quicker but with the right skill set, a SAK will get you there too. Just not as fast. In the nicer weather, the SAK would work fine because your shelter would probably need only be a simple lean to and wood could be procured by simply picking up downed limbs. In the winter though, I prefer a heavier blade for chopping and splitting to get larger shelter poles and standing firewood. Also out here in the Great WET Northwest, batoning and splitting will almost be required to get to dry wood from the late fall till early summer. I have had and have a large collection of what other folks would call the "perfect" survival knife. All shapes and sizes and all would get the job done. Each individual needs to figure out what works for them in their enviornment. For me an 8-10in blade camp knife, say 1/4in thick, and at least 1 1/2in wide in the blade makes me smile :D Now my Dad is a little different. He can do everything he needs with a Case Peanut sized blade.............and an Estwing axe backed up by a Stihl chainsaw. He laughs at me with the "big knife" and he won't go any father than he can manage to transport his gear in the pick up. Different strokes fer different folks :)
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Cheers Bill, your knives are some of the ones I envisage when the term survival knife is mentioned. For me the prime criteria is that the knife must not fail, it must be sturdy enough stand up to missuse when dexterity may be compromised and I think all yours are up to the task !;):thumbup:
 
A survival knife should be...

  • small enough that I'll have it on me (< 5")
  • long enough to baton (> 4")
  • strong enough to cut saplings
  • hard enough to hold an edge but not so hard as to make it hard to sharpen with a stone
  • hard enough to throw sparks
  • sharp enough to cut tissue and carve wood.
  • pointy but strong point
  • comfy

I think with these criteriae I can do or make just about anything that I need to survive
 
Widerstand said:
Mind explaining how a knife is going to 1. "alert others to your position or situation with 2. some ability to navigate"?
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1. You carve out a spindle, top bearing and hearth and create a bow drill fire that can alert others to your position (think signal fires).

2. Cut a sapling and make a shadow stick compass (3 methods) or create an Ottomani Sun compass.

Doc
 
For nine months out of the year where I live the best survival knife is a hatchet IMO. I find my GB mini out chops and out splits any knife of similar weight and out carves a knife that equals it in chopping and splitting. I don't have much experience with machetes but recently bought 12 inch tram to see if it equals the GB.

In the summer...any knife works. Been known to have just a SAK on day hikes.
 
A survival knife should be something you never have to use. If you find yourself having to use a survival knife you f--ked up somewhere.

Unless, of course, Murphy and his damnable law decides to f--k something up for you...

Then it depends on the situation. A good all around knife will be able to hold an edge reasonably well through hard use, but take an edge fairly easily when it gets a little slow. It should be able to perform whatever task you intend to use it for: shelter, fire, food, etc...

When I'm thinking of what knife I'd want with me I always pick one that I think would build a good shelter from the ground up (a good A-Frame or swamp bed setup). If it's tough enough to do that without tearing my hand all to crap, then it should do everything else pretty well.

This is taking into account that you can last a week or two without really suffering from lack of food, shelter having to be made versus found or gathered from debris, and fire having to be made (which is generally a given) for water preparation. In most places food can be found: grub worms, insects, plants, possible fresh kills from other predators. So, to me, it doesn't have to be the greatest skinner or gutter. It just has to open the animal up enough for me to get the guts out, chop off the unwanted outter parts, and -- the case of fish, if I'm lucky enough to catch one or seven (cuz, let's face it, fish have a habit of not showing up when you want them most) -- scraping the scales off. I don't use insanely complicated traps (K.I.S.S.), so whittling them isn't really a problem with the kind of knife I like.
 
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KEmSAT-Survival said:
A survival knife should be something you never have to use. If you find yourself having to use a survival knife you f--ked up somewhere.

Unless, of course, Murphy and his damnable law decides to f--k something up for you...

Then it depends on the situation. A good all around knife will be able to hold an edge reasonably well through hard use, but take an edge fairly easily when it gets a little slow. It should be able to perform whatever task you intend to use it for: shelter, fire, food, etc...

When I'm thinking of what knife I'd want with me I always pick one that I think would build a good shelter from the ground up (a good A-Frame or swamp bed setup). If it's tough enough to do that without tearing my hand all to crap, then it should do everything else pretty well.

This is taking into account that you can last a week or two without really suffering from lack of food, shelter having to be made versus found or gathered from debris, and fire having to be made (which is generally a given) for water preparation. In most places food can be found: grub worms, insects, plants, possible fresh kills from other predators. So, to me, it doesn't have to be the greatest skinner or gutter. It just has to open the animal up enough for me to get the guts out, chop off the unwanted outter parts, and -- the case of fish, if I'm lucky enough to catch one or seven (cuz, let's face it, fish have a habit of not showing up when you want them most) -- scraping the scales off. I don't use insanely complicated traps (K.I.S.S.), so whittling them isn't really a problem with the kind of knife I like.
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Interesting post with some good points being made !

I take it you would be more in the heavy duty camp that the pointy Bushcrafter camp then ?
 
How about tasks such as prying, ability to be used as a hammer, being able to take your weight if used as a Piton etc....do you think these worthy of consideration ?
 
pitdog said:
How about tasks such as prying, ability to be used as a hammer, being able to take your weight if used as a Piton etc....do you think these worthy of consideration ?
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Those could fall into the "doesn't break" category.:)
 
I have to say that BK-2 meets all the criteria for me. I also cheerfully admit that there's always a Vic Farmer in my pocket, too.
 
pitdog said:
Interesting post with some good points being made !

I take it you would be more in the heavy duty camp that the pointy Bushcrafter camp then ?
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Actually, my favorite knife so far is ESEE's ESEE 5. It's gotten more use than any knife I own and that includes my BK9.

I think the little bushcrafter knives are stunning when made right. I wish I could make a definite judgement call as far as whether I like them or not, when compared such knives as the ESEE 5, but it would be doing them a disservice to give them a negative review without having ever so much as even held one.

Any knife, if used within the boundaries of its designed intention, will work perfectly fine. I haven't used any woodlore-type knives, so I don't know how strong they are exactly. I can say for certain that, with them, it seems the emphasis is on slicing and carving versus brute work.
 
KEmSAT-Survival said:
Actually, my favorite knife so far is ESEE's ESEE 5. It's gotten more use than any knife I own and that includes my BK9.

I think the little bushcrafter knives are stunning when made right. I wish I could make a definite judgement call as far as whether I like them or not, when compared such knives as the ESEE 5, but it would be doing them a disservice to give them a negative review without having ever so much as even held one.

Any knife, if used within the boundaries of its designed intention, will work perfectly fine. I haven't used any woodlore-type knives, so I don't know how strong they are exactly. I can say for certain that, with them, it seems the emphasis is on slicing and carving versus brute work.
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I have to fess up and say, for accuracy's sake, that I'm in pretty much the same boat as KEmSAT-Survival. I haven't used any of the current crop of bushcrafter knives, either. I've used a lot of smaller knives, but non made specifically for bushcrafting.

I see a lot of them that I would love to try, but I simply can't afford them.
 
you could signal off of a knife by reflecting sunlight, provided that it lacks a stupid "tactical" coating like ESSE and Cold Steel knives. I doubt many people have used any of these knives in a situation where a reflection off of the blade alerts the guards of the secret military base they are sneaking in to, but I could be wrong.

I believe in a durable, comfortable blade between 4 and 5 inches in length that I can carve with. I use a collapsible Wyoming saw for wood processing work, and a small hatchet for chopping, leaving my Mora Clipper and Victorinox Ranger to do the fine work. However, if I could only have one tool, I would take my Falkniven A1, the perfect survival knife. It is comfortable, stupidly durable, and can chop and baton through anything. Its overkill when I have the aforementioned tools, however.

To see what a survival knife should be, look at the designs of the Becker BK9, the Falkniven A1, and the RAT 5. They really are perfectly designed tools, and it is mere personal preference between the three.
 
grayman19 said:
you could signal off of a knife by reflecting sunlight, provided that it lacks a stupid "tactical" coating like ESSE and Cold Steel knives. I doubt many people have used any of these knives in a situation where a reflection off of the blade alerts the guards of the secret military base they are sneaking in to, but I could be wrong.

I believe in a durable, comfortable blade between 4 and 5 inches in length that I can carve with. I use a collapsible Wyoming saw for wood processing work, and a small hatchet for chopping, leaving my Mora Clipper and Victorinox Ranger to do the fine work. However, if I could only have one tool, I would take my Falkniven A1, the perfect survival knife. It is comfortable, stupidly durable, and can chop and baton through anything. Its overkill when I have the aforementioned tools, however.

To see what a survival knife should be, look at the designs of the Becker BK9, the Falkniven A1, and the RAT 5. They really are perfectly designed tools, and it is mere personal preference between the three.
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I always thought the coating on the blade was to help keep it from rusting. Never thought about alerting guards in a secret military base.

Then again, you will probably be alerting as many guards in a secret base with an uncoated blade, as you will be signaling searching aircraft in a survival situation, but I could be wrong. Hell, I was wrong about the stupid coating. ;)



I'm not big on small knives myself. I want something that can build a shelter rather fast and can cut up what's needed fast.

The way I look at it is like this, if you are lost, you will not stop 3 or 4 hours before sunset to start building a shelter with a SAK. You will walk and walk and walk thinking your camp, car, friends or whatever are just around the corner.

By the time you accept the fact you are lost and spending the night in the bush, it's dark. I am not screwing around with a small blade trying to build a shelter for the night and gather small pieces wood I can find in the dark and my knife can handle.

I will grab whatever I can find and that is usually large chunks of wood in the dark and I want a large knife that can make wood fast for a fire from the large chunks.

I also want a sheath that can carry small things to help me out in doing tasks. Like 550 cord, a Bic, matches, PJCB's and things like that to make building a shelter and fire fast and easy.

The first night is the hardest because you will not stop walking before it's dark. You just won't. Everything will be done in the dark and I'm not walking all over hell's half acre in the dark trying to find small trees or branches I can cut with a small knife. I'm just not doing it.

If you're still lost the next day at night fall, you better be smart enough to start building before dark or you deserve to die out there.
 
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