Recommendation? Best Survival Knife

I happened to fall upon the release of the Bark River/Vehement MACV-SOG a few weeks ago. Most of them were gone within hours. However, I purchased them as an investment in the hope that I could sell them NIB at a later date.

Bark River Knives - SOG Knife - CPM3V
The New MACV-SOG from Bark River is Co-Branded with Vehement Knives. Matt Martin of Vehement and Mike Stewart Designed the MACV-SOG project together.

The knife has the Best Features of all three of the variations on the original MACV-SOG knives that were made for 5th Group of the U.S. Army Special Forces in the Vietnam era. Matt Designed the Slightly Longer variation Blade and Mike did the Handle and Pommel. The guard style that is being used is referred to as the "Fat Guard" variation from the first initial Run in the 1960s. This is actually the first time these knives have been made totally in the U.S.A.

The originals in the 1960s were made in Japan and other copies have been made in Japan and in Taiwan. The Bark River MACV-SOG is 100% made in America. The black sheath has been designed by Jenna Martin of Vehement Knives.

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MACV-SOG in Green and Gold Elder Burl


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MACV-SOG in Brown Stacked Leather, Closest to the Original Used in Vietnam

We would not want to ruin such nice collectors knives now would we.
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You're asking a question that has been asked many times before in one form or another. It depends highly on the situation, environment, and terrain as well. By situation, I would mean are you talking 'crashed in a plane in the wilderness and need cut through the fuselage to get home,' you're deployed on some SF mission to a seriously nasty place' or simply something you put on your pack when you go on a overnight hike 'just in case.'

Generally speaking, I don't believe there is a single 'best' survival knife...one knife that does everything well...which is why when I head to the woods, I'm usually carrying more than one cutting tool.

But if we were going to pick a single 'survival' blade...IMHO in general, it would be a top end, stainless, full tang, fixed-blade at least 3/16th thick in the 5-8" range with ergonomic grip of comfortable materials and good traction, good guard, lanyard hole, and good sheath (with storage if possible). Saber or high flat grind. Stout tip and functional pommel on the list as well.

There are several out of the box that come to mind...Fallkniven, Survive!, ESEE, to name a few of the top, respected choices. Busse-kin as well, though most of their offerings aren't stainless.

All that being said, if you said 'Boss...we're going to helo you to the middle of nowhere (outside of extreme artic situations), drop you off, and you can take one knife,' I'd opt for the Busse NMSFNO. While not stainless (though well coated), when matched up in SpecOps sheath (which it fits nicely) with some supplemental supplies (fire starter, etc), I find it hard to believe I could do better in the blade dept. Rare/hard-to-fine Nexus Spartaco would be an extremely close second. I wouldn't be bummed with a Fallkniven A1 Pro or GSO 6(ish) either or Ratmandu (though I wouldn't want to go much smaller).

Good luck,
BOSS
 
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Here is a recent one that I had a friend make for me. I saw a pic of this one about a year and half ago. I wanted one made with a bit bigger blade. So I save the pic until I could find the right maker.

I even got me a Detail- by- Detail Owner's Manual for it which describesexa you what every specialized part of this knife is used for. While this might not be your cup of tea, it certainly is mine! We all have our different Likes and Dislikes!!
 
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This one is another favorite of mine. It's made by Aitor and is the Aitor NATO Magnum Bowie. It's very rare because it's not made anymore!! I love this knife so much that I recently bought a 2nd one just like it from Knife Works, and the new one has my nickname on it on both sides!

So far, Knife Works is the Only place I've found that still has this knife. I believe it's called Knife Works. Anyway, blade on it is 8 1/2" roughly. This is the inspiration for my having the much Bigger one made that I posted FIRST.

I am sure you can definitely see some resemblance. But anyway, this Aitor NATO Magnum Bowie Knife has excellent ergonomics, awesome weight, and is made just Damn Well!! Hope you guys like it!
 
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This one was made via the 5 year anniversary of my baby brother's passing away. He was just 36 years old. On the Right side of it, I put his nickname on the blade followed by his Year of Birth and Year Of Death. I had that side stamped in Black as a symbol of him not being with us anymore.

On the other side is my nickname and the name of this knife, where made, type of steel...I had that put in White engraving to symbolize that I am still alive!!

This is the 2nd knife I.had made in his memory. The first knife was made the year that he died, which was 2012!!
 
Survive! makes a good knife from what I hear. I would strongly advise against getting in on their order list as they are unable to make their product in a timely manner.
Winkler and Battlehorse make excellent knives.
 
Jhansenak47 said:
They are not well known in the USA. If this was a majority European forum then you might see them.
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:) I believe they appear in the Manufacture's Forum : ROSarms International . So the love HAS been paid for ! ;)
 
black mamba said:
I will second abbydaddy's recommendation for the Carothers. I have one of his 3V Field Knives, and it's terrific. He has a special heat treatment that produces great edge retention while retaining the toughness that 3V is so noted for. The Field Knife is 9¾" OAL.

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Just out of curiosity, what do you think would be more useful (in consideration with respect to size and weight as well as utility,) the Carother's Light Choper or their new Not a Survival Knife?
 
Andrew124c41 said:
Just out of curiosity, what do you think would be more useful (in consideration with respect to size and weight as well as utility,) the Carother's Light Choper or their new Not a Survival Knife?
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My thoughts are conjecture, since I don't have the knives in question, but I feel like the Not a Survival Knife would be more generally useful than the Light Chopper. I personally want the light chopper more, but that is because I have my wants satisfied in the survival knife range, and I clear a lot of brush. If I was looking for a one-knife-do-it-all solution, I think the Not a Survival Knife would meet those needs better.
 
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