Best Survival knife

Mikel_24 said:
Unless you mean to do spear fishing with the same knife, because you will feel in need to finish of your prey. If we are talking big tough fish... you will need a substantial knife with a strong tip. I have bent a few blades finishing off my prey... crappy knives...

Mikel
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Mikel - I agree, if you are spearfishing, I have only been spearfishing a few times and carried an ice pick for that chore. Never had to use it, I got by with pulling out the gills, but they where smallish amberjack and ling. I was just talking about regular sport diving.
 
btfury said:
I posted this in the general discussion forum before I realized that there was a whole survival section here (im new here. awesome forum!). Anyway, I'm wanting a "survival knife." something that will, to be frank, help me survive should the situation ever arise. The knife should be fixed blade, and up for shelter building, lashing to a stick for spear use and other survival related tasks. Maybe made out of D2 or something (not sure).

Some knives I've been looking at are the Benchmade CSK and the Kabar Gen II just to name a few. I'd love some recommendations!

Also, I'm a SCUBA diver, and it would be great if this knife could stand up to some diving, as well.
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I guess, IMO that the knife you want is the SOG seal 2000. It can be used for diving too. There is a video review about it in here somewhere.
 
the perfect knife is up to you , first why do you need it, what are you going to use it for , them what size fit's you the best, many questions to ask oneself before buying one, specially outdoors when your life can depend on it.
 
Dont' waste money on cheap 15 or 20 dollar knives. Spend about 60 bucks. I don't own one yet, but a Rat Cutlery RC6 must be a good knife and good carry system for 100.00. An empty sheath or holster may be a good fire starter or something to chew on.

Cold Steel Recon Scout, Kabar, and Ontario Marine are qood knives and sheaths, for around 50 to 70 bucks.

A little more and you have a RC 6.
 
I'm gonna disagree. There's nothing cheap about a decent Mora except the price. A $20 victorinox, $20 puukko, $35 kabar, and $20ish machete will give you a lot of good dirt time experience and can serve as beaters when you upgrade. And without the broad experience of multiple types of knives, you can't make a judgement that i'd tell you to trust for yourself on a $100 knife without some experience using different things.

I'll give you a basic example. The basic Kabar weighs in at 11ish ounces. I cna't chop efficiently with it, though i know an ex marine locally who can clear an overgrown yard with one like a machine. I have this longknife I made, same weight but with a 9 inch thin blade, dropped handle, and tapered belly. I can chop with that all day, and cut down saplings without it being worth the effort to grab the GB hatchet. My friend, he can't comfortable even hold the thing. So, if recommended a Kabar for chopping and I recommended a longknife, who would you listen to?

Experience is a great teacher, and seriously, you can get years and years of heavy use out of a mora, even if it's "cheap" Same with a vic SAK, or a kabar for that matter.
 
koyote said:
I'm gonna disagree. There's nothing cheap about a decent Mora except the price. A $20 victorinox, $20 puukko, $35 kabar, and $20ish machete will give you a lot of good dirt time experience and can serve as beaters when you upgrade. And without the broad experience of multiple types of knives, you can't make a judgement that i'd tell you to trust for yourself on a $100 knife without some experience using different things.

I'll give you a basic example. The basic Kabar weighs in at 11ish ounces. I cna't chop efficiently with it, though i know an ex marine locally who can clear an overgrown yard with one like a machine. I have this longknife I made, same weight but with a 9 inch thin blade, dropped handle, and tapered belly. I can chop with that all day, and cut down saplings without it being worth the effort to grab the GB hatchet. My friend, he can't comfortable even hold the thing. So, if recommended a Kabar for chopping and I recommended a longknife, who would you listen to?

Experience is a great teacher, and seriously, you can get years and years of heavy use out of a mora, even if it's "cheap" Same with a vic SAK, or a kabar for that matter.
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those three paragraphs make things make alot of sense. i agree, you should try several inexpensive knives with different uses ( like a fiskars, a tram, a mora and an SAK, vic farmer probably) before you go spending alot of money on one knife. when i just got interested in survival, i thought i could fill all my outdoor neads with a 10'' long, 1/4th of an inch thick so-called ''survival knife''. now, several years later, i would much rather use either a good 18'' hatchet and/or a 4-5'' fixed blade and maybe a slippie. the point is, i would have saved alot of money if i , at first, tried a few less pricey knives to explore my tastes before i bought an expensive one.
 
Now, reading it again, it's likely K-dog meant "cheap" as in $3 chinese lockback "schrade" on sale at Big5 and not a Mora.

In which case I'd tend to agree, I'd skip the $10 1/4 inch spined fixed blade chinese imports at ye olde department store as well.
 
CSG said:
I like the Fallkniven F1. BTW, you don't lash your knife onto a stick to make a spear!! You sharpen the stick with it (you don't want to risk losing or damaging your most important survival tool).
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I would like to know if you've ever tried sticking a sharpened stick in a critter, say like a wild pig. And if so, better you than me.

I asked Coote about this one time and he said he would prefer using a knife - of course in his case it was a Cold Steel Bushman.
Pigandspear.jpg



I don't mean to come off as confrontational, but I would bet if our early ancestors had a choice between sticking a critter with a fire-hardened stick or a quality knife lashed on a pole, I'd bet he'd choose the knife.

Of course, this depends on circumstance. If you had snared a critter and need to finish him off, you aren't risking your knife to any great degree. If your idea is regarding tying a knife on a pole and throwing it at a critter, then I would agree.

Doc
 
Doc,:thumbup:

Someday i'm going to break down and get me some of those CS socket knives.

I'm *trying* (hasn't worked out yet) to get a good tapered tang thrower design that can be thrown, used as a chopper, or wedged and lashed into a spear shaft. The necessary integral semi guard is not working. I should just get a bushman. or three.
 
Noshtero said:
The scuba part is the wild card. It takes a special knife, imo, to be "good" for scuba diving. Most knives, even carbon, can stand some underwater time if you're good about tuf-clothing them off to prevent rust. To withstand prolonged underwater time, however, and to withstand the abuse that a scuba knife is put through, is another thing. I'm inclined to recommend 1 knife for survival, and a different knife for scuba. I just picked up an Oceanmaster Beta Titanium dive knife, and that is one AWESOME scuba knife. Their proprietary beta titanium formula is light years ahead of regular titanium, which is known to be brittle.

As far as a survival knife goes. To someone who has very little criteria for what they want and what they need, I have a few tried and trues I like to recommend. For a do-it-all type knife, I like a 5-6" blade. Some here like smaller, some like bigger, so YMMV:

These range in price from $50ish to $200ish

Ka-Bar Gen II (I personally don't like these, but they work)
Ranger RD6
Fallkniven S1
Rat RC6

Stick around for a bit, you will get LOTS of options. If you could tell us more about yourself that would help quite a bit:

What's your camping/hiking/survival background? Done much? Just getting started?
What knives have you used in the past? Likes? Dislikes?
Are you prone to military-type tactical knives, or woodsman-type traditional knives?
Price range?
Experience with knives as far as maintenance, sharpening, etc...?
Do you carry any other tools with you when you camp? Swiss army knife? Axe?

Those should get us started :)
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First of all, thanks to everyone for your great advice. I've been poking around on the forum and checking out all of the knives you suggested.

To answer some of the questions posted by Noshtero,

1. What's your camping/hiking/survival background? Done much? Just getting started? I've been fishing all of my life, backpacking, rock climbing and whitewater paddling among other things for the past few years.

2. What knives have you used in the past? Likes? Dislikes? Never had a fixed blade knife. Started off with SAKs, then moved to folding ones from Wal-Mart, etc. Now I carry a Benchmade Griptillian.

3. Are you prone to military-type tactical knives, or woodsman-type traditional knives? No real preference.

4. Price range? I'm a firm believer in the old saying that you get what you pay for.

5. Experience with knives as far as maintenance, sharpening, etc...? Just your basic sharpening stones. Could do some learning in this area.

6. Do you carry any other tools with you when you camp? Swiss army knife? Axe? I typically carry my Griptillian and a Leatherman Wave. An SAK is always in my Jeep, as well.

I've pretty much written off using the same knife for diving and in the woods, so that should make things easier. I want something that would be up for assisting in shelter building if it ever came down to it, and tasks like that. I feel like I should have something sturdier than my Griptillian.

I really like the RAT RC-4, Ranger RD4 and RD6, Benchmade CSK and the Fallkniven S1. I hope this helps.
 
your choices/likes are good ones, you won't go wrong with any of them. Their are many threads/write-ups on all of them here, present and past. I would read as much as I could on them and make my "Final Answer!" :D
good luck and let us know what you get ;)
 
The vast majority of my knife use out in the field is food prep, cordage, cutting, foraging, and dealing with tinder. Assuming I have an axe of some sort, which I do, I'd go with a 3.5 to 5 inch blade, a slicer that can baton well. no axe? Me, I'd go leuku, but I wouldn't argue with any decent barkie, rat, or what have you in the 6 -7 inch range.

For sharpening, i'd consider a convex or scandi and learn the techniques associated. Both are easy to get good with (though I prefer strop with smooth side backed with shop roll to mousepad for convex)

I'm still not clear on your environment- Some of Magnussen's stuff is really sweet for temperate woods. I'm not as addicted to machetes for the sierra and central valley environment I'm in, but there are certainly time where they beat an axe. *seriously* look at sme of the smaller GB hatchets.

I'd go bigger on blade if I'm not carrying a chete or hawk/hatchet, smaller if I am.
 
In the other post, I believe you also mentioned the US-made Gerber LMFII - and someone poo-poo-ed it quickly - unjustly, I might add.

I guess I thought my Dad's old WWII KaBar was 'all' I needed for a long time. It went camping with me - and later with me and my sons - for a long while before I was 'enlightened', ie, found the various forums to which I attribute much of my buying suggestions. I also carried an SAK - and, until I lost it in a move, a fb hunter, probably a Western 66 - my mother got it with Green Stamps - LBJ was President. I seemed to always have 'what I needed'. Later car-trips included a Plumb 'camping' hatchet, too.

I have to admit - I like knives - and I now have a collection. Great 'bushcraft' selections - B R 'Fox River', 'North Star', and my favorite, 'Gameskeeper'. I liked the Buck 192 Vanguard for years for that, too. I have a collection to choose from. In retrospect, the heavy KaBar wasn't bad - especially when it was sharp - and I had my SAK or a Buck folder for 'small' duties. The greatest 'fun', however, has been the journey - the acquisition of so many fine examples of 'survival' and 'bushcraft' knives. I have come full circle... I feel all bases would still be covered by a larger fb knife - and a folder in the pocket. I'll go even further... as of yet, untested, save a few backyard uses. That Gerber LMFII, especially at $60 from the likes of LA Police, etc, and a Vic 'Farmer', my pair were $32 inc free s/h from Amazon, and I feel 'prepared'. The LMFII has one attribute over the KaBar - it's edge can be renewed easily - it has a sharpener of sorts in it's sheath! It also can cut down a small tree - and then be easily lashed to it to make a spear...

I do agree with others - diving is too different - get a separate and less expensive diving knife. As a sailor, and later as a sail boat owner/financier (They really are 'holes in a lake' into which much money is drawn...), I have float-tested a few knives... they don't float... retrieval is often impossible. Remember, it's the journey...

Stainz
 
thanks for the advice. would any of the knives I listed be suitable for light chopping? I remember reading a post about the Gerber LMFII and the guy saying that as he banged on the back of the blade with a rock to cut through a log or something, the blade broke (even though it said you could do this with the blade's owner's manual). Would any of the blades I listed hold up to this? Or is it generally a bad idea to do that with a knife..
 
Using a piece of wood to baton a knife works much better than a rock, and won't beat up your knife. But it is possible to do, and won't really damage a good blade other than cosmetically. I have seen carbon blades hammered through wood using a rock, even an inexpensive CS Bushman, and it just dinged up the coating.
 
As far as cost/weight efficiency for going through wood, you can do a hell of a lot worse than one of the Fiskars saws. They have a 6" and 10" extending model, as well as some folders. The 6" can be had from Home Depot for less than $15, or either one can be found at Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Power...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1216403048&sr=1-1

A small pruning saw is usually faster, easier, and safer to use than any kind of chopper for going through the sizes of wood you would normally use for survival use. Plus, these Fiskars weigh next to nothing. :thumbup:
 
as far as blade quality, factory sharpness and stuff like that, which one out of these would be the best blade?

RAT RC-4
Ranger RD6
Benchmade CSK
Fallkniven S1
 
btfury,

The ones you listed are all excellent. It's neck-in-neck between 'em for the most part.
 
All those are great. I would choose the RC4 myself. IMO is noses out the others slightly.
 
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