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Micro-Bevel’s Guide to Choosing the Best Survival Knife
For more cool stuff register and join my fledgeling knife forum here:
microbevel.darkbb.com
Be one of the first to join! Go now!! Or else!!!!! J/k but its awesome seriously!
The knife is the single most important piece of survival gear someone can carry. Luckily, it is also one of the most compact, easy to carry, and versatile pieces of gear. Unluckily, threes a lot of garbage knives out on the market, and it can be hard to decipher what is a true survival blade and what is just marketing hype.
This tutorial is intended for those who know nothing about knives, so some of the information here may seem obvious to you. If it does, then good, you are already one step ahead of the game. The first thing to learn is that there are different kinds of knives, and they are constructed with different purposes in mind. Here we are dealing with the survival knife, specifically long-term wilderness survival. So, what key attributes make up the ideal survival knife, and what should you look for?
There is no easy answer to that question. Everyone’s opinion about the perfect blade differs and is as unique as they are. But before I get into that, let me quickly point out 2 kinds of knives that should be avoided!
The first is the infamous “Rambo” knife. Bigger is not always better. Remember, you are trying to survive a realistic situation, not kill a bunch of soldiers etc... And then blow up a helicopter. In a realistic survival situation, you will be faced with tasks like dressing game, making intricate snares, making fuzzy sticks, and for that, a smaller knife would be much better. The Rambo knife is just too big. Not only would it prove cumbersome, its clumsiness is also actually a safety concern as well, and missing fingers is definitely something that would be a hindrance in a survival situation. Also, there may be exceptions to this (I don’t know of any), but usually the Rambo knives tend to be EXTREMELY shoddily put together of the worst imaginable materials, absolutely they would fail to stand up to any serious use, especially LONG TERM use. Usually the Rambo knives are just for collectors to be put on display, not rely on for their survival.
The second is the “Hollow-Handle Commando” knife. There is just a host of things wrong with this kind of knife; I don’t even know where to start. Ok, yes I do. Let’s start with the hollow handle. If you lose the knife, you lose anything you might have stored in it. Also, apart from the EXCELLENT ONE PIECE A-2 tempered Chris Reeve Mountaineer 1 & 2’s, the hollow handled knives are almost always made of 2 PIECES!! WTF!! The hollow handle is one piece, and the blade is the other piece. Usually, they are held together by a pin. Again, let me say WTF. Your knife is your life in this kind of situation, and your life is hanging on by a tiny pin. One more time, all together now, WTF. As if that wasn’t enough, they are almost ALWAYS made of shoddy materials. Like an aluminum blade. Maybe that’s why they cost about 8 dollars. Really, the only thing dependable/consistent thing with these knives is that you can expect poor quality, materials, workmanship and design throughout, and NOT sparingly. If you learn anything here, let it be this: AVOID the Hollow-Handle Commando knives!
Now, onto the checklist of what I consider to be the best survival knife.
1. Full tang, also known as the SANDWICH tang.
2. High performance steel:
CPM-3V (My favorite steel)
INFI (Better than CPM-3V, but is only available through Busse Combat. This is hands down the highest performing steel I have EVER tried, nothing even comes close, its CRAZY!!)
CPM-S30V (Most so called knife experts say to stay away from stainless steels, but this modern stuff is really a different ball game, my S30V Benchamde Rukus [610] hugely out-performed my Ontario pilot survival knife [1095 CARBON steel])
CPM-A2 (Not as good as either the INFI or the 3V, but tougher than S30V, and a lot cheaper to buy. Not a stainless steel.)
There are other great steels out there, like Cowry-X, Vascowear, CPM-D2, SR-101, SR-77, A8, etc..
Just a heads up, these steels arent cheap, so be prepared when you see the prices !!
3. High performance handle materials.
G-10 (Extremely durable, hugely expensive, made up of layers of fiberglass soaked in resin then baked to extreme temperatures, will not swell, crack, melt, even under extreme temperatures and the harshest of chemicals)
Micarta (Paper[Smoothest], Linen[Medium grip], and Canvas[Grippiest, and toughest of all three]. Not as expensive as G-10, but very high performance, and very aesthetically pleasing [espcially compared to G-10]. Similar performance to G-10.)
Carbon Fiber (Again, hugely expensive, weighs next to nothing, and offers similar performance to G-10 and Micarta.)
Try to seek these materials more than natural materials, even though they may look much nicer (maple burl) they will fall drastically short (performance wise) to the above materials.
4. Good design.
This is very personal, but here is what I prefer:
.22” blade thickness (spine, taper to tip)
3-5” blade length (like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls). Personally 4” or 5” is perfect for me, even up to 7” is ok.
1 ½” to 1 ¾” wide blade (from spine to cutting edge, even up to 2” is OK.)
DROP POINT
Convex grind, or full flat (distal) taper with a convex edge (this is the best), or even a scandi (scandinavian) grind is ok.
Comfortable, contoured handles (like the Busse Combat Magnum scales.)
NO GUARD
A good example of great design is the Ray Mears/Woodlore knife or the Busse Combat CGBS (But this one has a tiny elf choil which really sucks).
The key thing is to always remember: Your knife is your life!
Keep in mind, this is all just my opinion, and its more important how the knife feels in YOUR hands, so feel free to deviate from this guide. I recommend going to a local shop and handling a bunch of different knives and seeing which one feels best for you!! Also remember that non-stainless knives require some care to prevent rust (but in my experience I don’t even oil mine, I just dry them off and don’t get any rust anyway. Most people recommend that you DO oil them..)
Here are some manufacturers I trust and actually own some of their knives:
Busse Combat (I own a CGBS)
Swamp Rat Knife Works
Scrap Yard Knife Works
Spyderco (I own a Jester, and I had and Endura 4 in SS handles, and a Byrd Cara-Cara)
Microtech
Chris Reeve
Benchmade (My little brother has a Griptilian in the ORG handles and 154-CM, and I had a 610 Rukus)
RAT (Randall’s Adventure Training, uses low end 1095, but their customer service and warranty are AMAZING, and the knives are extremely well thought out.)
And, just for fun, the $850 Bear Grylls Semi-Custom knife.
By the way, there other great manufacturers out there, these are just MY personal favorites.
I hope you found this guide to be helpful.

Have a beautiful day!
For more cool stuff register and join my fledgeling knife forum here:
microbevel.darkbb.com
Be one of the first to join! Go now!! Or else!!!!! J/k but its awesome seriously!
The knife is the single most important piece of survival gear someone can carry. Luckily, it is also one of the most compact, easy to carry, and versatile pieces of gear. Unluckily, threes a lot of garbage knives out on the market, and it can be hard to decipher what is a true survival blade and what is just marketing hype.
This tutorial is intended for those who know nothing about knives, so some of the information here may seem obvious to you. If it does, then good, you are already one step ahead of the game. The first thing to learn is that there are different kinds of knives, and they are constructed with different purposes in mind. Here we are dealing with the survival knife, specifically long-term wilderness survival. So, what key attributes make up the ideal survival knife, and what should you look for?
There is no easy answer to that question. Everyone’s opinion about the perfect blade differs and is as unique as they are. But before I get into that, let me quickly point out 2 kinds of knives that should be avoided!
The first is the infamous “Rambo” knife. Bigger is not always better. Remember, you are trying to survive a realistic situation, not kill a bunch of soldiers etc... And then blow up a helicopter. In a realistic survival situation, you will be faced with tasks like dressing game, making intricate snares, making fuzzy sticks, and for that, a smaller knife would be much better. The Rambo knife is just too big. Not only would it prove cumbersome, its clumsiness is also actually a safety concern as well, and missing fingers is definitely something that would be a hindrance in a survival situation. Also, there may be exceptions to this (I don’t know of any), but usually the Rambo knives tend to be EXTREMELY shoddily put together of the worst imaginable materials, absolutely they would fail to stand up to any serious use, especially LONG TERM use. Usually the Rambo knives are just for collectors to be put on display, not rely on for their survival.
The second is the “Hollow-Handle Commando” knife. There is just a host of things wrong with this kind of knife; I don’t even know where to start. Ok, yes I do. Let’s start with the hollow handle. If you lose the knife, you lose anything you might have stored in it. Also, apart from the EXCELLENT ONE PIECE A-2 tempered Chris Reeve Mountaineer 1 & 2’s, the hollow handled knives are almost always made of 2 PIECES!! WTF!! The hollow handle is one piece, and the blade is the other piece. Usually, they are held together by a pin. Again, let me say WTF. Your knife is your life in this kind of situation, and your life is hanging on by a tiny pin. One more time, all together now, WTF. As if that wasn’t enough, they are almost ALWAYS made of shoddy materials. Like an aluminum blade. Maybe that’s why they cost about 8 dollars. Really, the only thing dependable/consistent thing with these knives is that you can expect poor quality, materials, workmanship and design throughout, and NOT sparingly. If you learn anything here, let it be this: AVOID the Hollow-Handle Commando knives!
Now, onto the checklist of what I consider to be the best survival knife.
1. Full tang, also known as the SANDWICH tang.
2. High performance steel:
CPM-3V (My favorite steel)
INFI (Better than CPM-3V, but is only available through Busse Combat. This is hands down the highest performing steel I have EVER tried, nothing even comes close, its CRAZY!!)
CPM-S30V (Most so called knife experts say to stay away from stainless steels, but this modern stuff is really a different ball game, my S30V Benchamde Rukus [610] hugely out-performed my Ontario pilot survival knife [1095 CARBON steel])
CPM-A2 (Not as good as either the INFI or the 3V, but tougher than S30V, and a lot cheaper to buy. Not a stainless steel.)
There are other great steels out there, like Cowry-X, Vascowear, CPM-D2, SR-101, SR-77, A8, etc..
Just a heads up, these steels arent cheap, so be prepared when you see the prices !!
3. High performance handle materials.
G-10 (Extremely durable, hugely expensive, made up of layers of fiberglass soaked in resin then baked to extreme temperatures, will not swell, crack, melt, even under extreme temperatures and the harshest of chemicals)
Micarta (Paper[Smoothest], Linen[Medium grip], and Canvas[Grippiest, and toughest of all three]. Not as expensive as G-10, but very high performance, and very aesthetically pleasing [espcially compared to G-10]. Similar performance to G-10.)
Carbon Fiber (Again, hugely expensive, weighs next to nothing, and offers similar performance to G-10 and Micarta.)
Try to seek these materials more than natural materials, even though they may look much nicer (maple burl) they will fall drastically short (performance wise) to the above materials.
4. Good design.
This is very personal, but here is what I prefer:
.22” blade thickness (spine, taper to tip)
3-5” blade length (like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls). Personally 4” or 5” is perfect for me, even up to 7” is ok.
1 ½” to 1 ¾” wide blade (from spine to cutting edge, even up to 2” is OK.)
DROP POINT
Convex grind, or full flat (distal) taper with a convex edge (this is the best), or even a scandi (scandinavian) grind is ok.
Comfortable, contoured handles (like the Busse Combat Magnum scales.)
NO GUARD
A good example of great design is the Ray Mears/Woodlore knife or the Busse Combat CGBS (But this one has a tiny elf choil which really sucks).
The key thing is to always remember: Your knife is your life!
Keep in mind, this is all just my opinion, and its more important how the knife feels in YOUR hands, so feel free to deviate from this guide. I recommend going to a local shop and handling a bunch of different knives and seeing which one feels best for you!! Also remember that non-stainless knives require some care to prevent rust (but in my experience I don’t even oil mine, I just dry them off and don’t get any rust anyway. Most people recommend that you DO oil them..)
Here are some manufacturers I trust and actually own some of their knives:
Busse Combat (I own a CGBS)
Swamp Rat Knife Works
Scrap Yard Knife Works
Spyderco (I own a Jester, and I had and Endura 4 in SS handles, and a Byrd Cara-Cara)
Microtech
Chris Reeve
Benchmade (My little brother has a Griptilian in the ORG handles and 154-CM, and I had a 610 Rukus)
RAT (Randall’s Adventure Training, uses low end 1095, but their customer service and warranty are AMAZING, and the knives are extremely well thought out.)
And, just for fun, the $850 Bear Grylls Semi-Custom knife.
By the way, there other great manufacturers out there, these are just MY personal favorites.
I hope you found this guide to be helpful.

Have a beautiful day!
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