Best Survival knife

I would go with Bark River or SOG Seal Pup. The Seal pup is more compact than the seal knife and can be around water. I would also look at the dive knive made by Benchmade - the h2o.
 
nodh said:
Remember that it is not the size that decides if you survive or not. It is if you have the knife with you when you need it. People have "survived" with pocket knives or Mora knives. The problem with a big Rambo-super-macho-kill knife is that it most likely ends up in your backpack and not in your belt.
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Nodh makes a very good point....
Nobody gets to choose when and where they might find themselves in a true survival situation.
So the best survival knife is the one that will have on you no matter what.

Are you prepared to carry a medium-to-large fixed-blade on your person 24/7?
If the answer is "no", then forget the large-to-medium fixed-blade as your survival knife.
I would recommend a nice folder or multi-tool and maybe a small swiss army knife.

And remember, survival is about knowledge, skills, and luck....not the type of knife one carries.

Folks die in survival situations because of dumb luck (for example: breaking your back in a plane crash) or because of poor decision making (for example: trying to swim from an island to the mainland across 10 miles of very cold water).
I seriously doubt that anyone has ever died in a survival situation simply because they brought the wrong knife.

My current survival knife is my Buck 110.
Why?
Because it's the one I carry everyday, all day!
 
Allen,

You and Nodh bring up critical points - both excellent posts. See Watchful's quote in my signature. Your brain - IOW, knowledge - is your best survival tool.


99% of survival situations, you don't even really need a knife to survive - if you have knowledge, dirttime, and common sense.

Jos, Jos Jos....:rolleyes: :D LOL!
 
On a more serious note: the best survival knife is the knife you have with you. (it has been said before)

In my case that's the Leatherman Wave, an Opinel nr. 8 and a Fallkniven WM1.

Kind regards,

Jos
 
newknife said:
which ranger knives would you recommend? are they comparable to the RC-4?
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The Ranger Knives used 5160 carbon steel & are quite thick(1/4") as opposed to RAT(1095) knives.They're more choppers than slicers & are quite affordable.They are pretty heavy too.

Out of the Ranger knives,I'd reccomend the RD-6.But like I said earlier,they have more of an angle comparable to an axe & are NOT slicers.Also they are anything but pretty.They're a huge chunk of steel with a semi-comfortable grip.

The RD-6 can be had for under $100. @ most places.

If you're looking for affordable no-nonsense camp/survival knives,I'd reccomend RAT

If you want something a bit nicer,I'd reccomend BRK&T.Plus the A2 steel with the convex grind is supposed to be better than RAT's 1095 with a flat grind.This is based on what I've read,NOT from personal experiance.


BTW,Welcome to Bladeforums:)
 
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The Rat Cutlery RC-4 will handle all your needs, yes including diving. Its coating is one of the most durable I've seen and with proper care as Brian allready stated will give you a life time of use. They come hairpopping sharp and are easy IMO to field sharpen. It also has the best sheathing options I know of.

That said Bark River Knife & Tool is a great bet as well.

CTWILDERNESS028.jpg
 
tonym said:
The Rat Cutlery RC-4 will handle all your needs, yes including diving. Its coating is one of the most durable I've seen and with proper care as Brian allready stated will give you a life time of use. They come hairpopping sharp and are easy IMO to field sharpen. It also has the best sheathing options I know of.

That said Bark River Knife & Tool is a great bet as well.

CTWILDERNESS028.jpg
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know a good place online to buy one?
 
Jeff S1 said:
I have to chime in one the F1, it is a fantastic knife and one I find with me more than without. The F1 is a great size and has a very useful blade configuration. I carry mine in the zytel sheath, tucked in my right rear pocket. I forget it is there most of the time. This has become my go to knife for almost every task and I could not be happier with the F1! I wish I found it years ago, to replace my misguided "bigger is better" knives which were left at home most of the time.
Spend the money on the F1 & you will be very pleased. I know that there are many other great makers out there, but I can only comment on what I own & use. Good luck.
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Jeff - Sounds interesting can yougive more details on the Zytel sheath or a pic? I have the leather sheath and an after market zytel belt sheath - very nice but a bit tacticool. Actually thinking of a highride belt leather sheath - almost the standard leather but adapted to sit higher
 
newknife said:
know a good place online to buy one?
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Knivesshipfree dot com

Derrik is a great guy and his prices are about the same or cheaper when you calculate shipping in. He ships super fast, and you always know if its in stock.

He goes by okbohn here on the forums.
 
btfury said:
I was looking at knives like the Benchmade CSK, Kabar Gen II, Gerber LMF Infantry, SOG Seal etc.
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Check out the Benchmade 155SBK, it's become my go-to knife and is an absolute beast - tough 154CM steel, coated blade, very grippy G-10 handle, effective serrations, great sheath.

bm155sbkd.jpg
 
I recommend buying 2 knives, actually - one for wilderness use and another purpose-built for diving. In the wilderness knife, I prefer a knife with 7"+ of blade length and made of carbon steel. In a dive knife, I can't give any recommendations based on experience. Quality stainless steel, probably a less-pointy tip design, and perhaps partially serrated, like a SOG Seal Pup.
 
I love my Buck 110, but a better 'companion' on a dayhike - or anytime you 'might' be caught off guard - is a Victorinox 'Farmer'. It has a great collection of 'users' for that 'sudden need'. I'm a recent convert here.

I believe that when Les Stroud, aka 'Survivorman', has carried his Buck 119 with him, he also had a multi-tool - I just don't know if it was a Leatherman or Gerber.

Stainz
 
Awhile back, I decided I needed a "survival knife," which in my mind meant something large and tactical and capable of fileting a Buick. I got myself an excellent Becker Crewman, which is tough as nails and surprisingly sharp for a thick blade. It's up for trade on the exchange forum because I almost never used it.

A far more practical knife for me has proved to be the Bark River Northstar, and I would recommend it or any other Bark River. It will do anthing a knife is supposed to do, and I find the convex edge easier to sharpen consistently than V-grind edges; the trick is simply knowing that you do it differently (a stropping motion instead of a slicing motion).
 
The most bang for buck with the criteria listed would go to the SOG seal pup or SOG seal pup elite I did 2 weeks in molokai with a seal pup as my primary dive/water knife and a Spyderco endura as back up.

Living in the Pacific nortwestI also hit the rivers and lakes pretty heavy my seal pup has held up well.that said my primary carry right now is SOG powerlock,RAT-3,RAT-1 folder.I would opt for the seal pup elite due to aus-8 as my seal pup is aus-6,and I probably
wouldn't have the serrations but for a dive knife I think you really need them

good luck with which ever you decide

Tyrantblade
 
A Vic Swiss Army knife is hard to beat. I like the Adventurer model. Many like the Farmer model. The Buck 110 will do 90% of what you need a knife to do.

The RAT Cultery RC-3 and RC-4 are in fashion these days. The RC-6 (6" blade) is coming out any time if you want some larger. I like the SOG Seal Pup Elite (plain edge) for a general do everything fixed blade that you won't be afraid to use. The Falkniven knives are popular and Bark River has some really nice blades that won't break the bank for most people.

Plan on two knives; a fixed blade and a folder. Three is better. A 12" machete is a useful tool.
 
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