Choosing Fixed Survival Knife.

[KBA]

Here's what I would want

Mikko Inkeroinen - Tommi Puukko 80crv2




Himalayan Imports Khukri - 52100

 

[A.P.F.]

Fallkniven F1 would be my first choice, if that's the only cutting tool I had. My preferred choice would be a light ax (3/4 single bit Hudson's Bay) and a smallish blade, Mora or even a SAK.

^^^^This.

 

[ocnLogan]

...

P.S. Workmanship-wise, the Becker often has a heat-curved blade and loose grinds (and sometimes the edge is not even remotely centered to the spine)...

You've mentioned this previously, and I've asked this previously but don't think I got an answer, so I'll ask again.

Was the Becker in question a roll stamped model? I know that they moved from roll stamping, to laser engraving the "stamp" because some blades were being warped in the stamping process. Comparatively, I've never heard of one being reported with a heat warped blade. So, I'm wondering if the model in question was a roll stamped one. Again, they haven't been roll stamping any of the Becker knives since the tweener models came out in... what was that, 2013? So that particular issue shouldn't exist with any new stock.

My roll stamped BK2 (of ~2011) has a slight curve to it, that you can only notice if you take off the handle scales, and lay it on something flat (piece of glass for instance). It has been a non issue for me. All of the other Becker models I have do have centered edges, and grinds that are just fine. I'll never say that they're flawless, as thats just not true. But they are completely functional.

To the OP,

In my experience, these complaints at least are not ones that I'd worry about.

Also, you'll find that everyone's personal perception of what is best is based on their experience, preferences, and environment. Myself, I find that 7-8in knives aren't much use to me. They're too big to feel easily workable for small tasks, but still too small for chopping. I have found that I'd MUCH rather use a folding saw to cut wood, and then use a smaller knife to split the wood for kindling if I need to. This is why I prefer knives in the 4-6in range, with a strong preference towards the smaller end (because I know I'll have that folding saw with me).

There are lots of great options out there, but many of them cater to those different preferences. You just have to figure out what you're wanting .

 

[The cow]

Its really hard to go wrong with the ESEE 6. Great warranty and quite a few aftermarket scales you can choose from.
Rat 7 and TOPS are good too.
I would advise against the Tom Brown Tracker. It is a knife that you have to adapt to. End up realizing the edge geometry is crap and reprofiling it.

 

[spykez]

A small mora is cheap to buy and a pleasure to use. If you don't like it, lose it or f$&@ it up, you're not out much. I like the mora companion. Try it and see if it works for you. It comes in carbon steel as well. It's not got that macho second kind of cool, but heck for the price, ergonomics, size and weight, sheath, I think it's brilliant.

Some hate the sheath, there's no retention strap, it'll get loose, sure, I'll grant them that but I honestly can't find anything wrong with it.

 

[GREENJACKET]

ocnLogan is right about the usefullness of a saw. If survival is about getting out of the bad, then for wilderness use to me portability is really important in that if the package is small and light weight you might just be carrying it when things go wrong. The ultimate portability are probably a SAK or Leatherman, but with some preparation these two are great combination:

 

[DeAdEyE956]

Had an esee6 great affordable knife and comes with a decent sheath with lots of options.

 

[Thomas Linton]

I think there are two schools of thought when it comes to the best "fixed blade survival knife"

Never that simple.

Those who follow that any knife you have on you at the time is going to be your best choice, and those who follow that having a large stout blade is going to be the ideal choice.

The knife you have is the knife you have. The knife you don't have is irrelevant. Having said that, there are a range of choices, many arguable and some just silly. If you have the silly choice, it's what you have but you could have done better. That's why you're here.


Personally I lean very strongly to the first category, so my recommended fixed blade knife is small, something that I know I will carry on me everywhere I go. You don't typically see folks walking around with big 5+" fixed blades. Thus, if I had to make a recommendation it'd fit within the 3-3.5 inch blade length area. From that category price then comes into play. You can find some rather nice blades for decent prices since they are smaller blades. Something like the esee izula is a popular choice.

Will this knife be your only cutting tool?

Will you likely be where fire-building can be critical?

Does it rain a lot where you most likely will be in wilderness?

Budget?

Do you mind wiping the knife off after use? That served men in the wild well for centuries. There were few SS knives around until the last seventy years or so. Yet men survived in the wilderness.

Persons widely acclaimed as experts in wilderness survival differ on "best" - or even "better" - knives.

 

[gazz98]

Of the 4 mentioned, I would suggest the ESEE or Ontario. I think the ESEE or Ontario offer better value vs the TOPs and the Tracker, well, that blade profile isn't my favorite. I prefer a traditional clip or spear point. If you go with the ESEE, I'g suggest getting the ESEE 6 hm. The newer handle looks much more comfortable.

I would also look at the Beckers if you choose to stay with 1095. Very solid knives for the money.

If you are looking for less expensive options, I've been very impressed with the Gerber Strongarm for $50. Condor also has some nice offering in 1075 steel too.

 

[cuchulain77]

I used a Ka-Bar Marine knife for the past 20 years but recently gave it to my son. I just bought this Bark River Bravo 1 and I couldn't be happier, really nice and with the A2 tool steel that I prefer on a fixed blade it's much cheaper than the BR knives with ELMAX or other more expensive steels. This knife was $147 off eBay and I think it kicks ass for that price.

I'm going to try to climb Mt Wittenberg in the Catskills and snowshoe this weekend, if the weather isn't terrible I may do an overnight, I'll try to break it in a bit, for now it feels like it could split logs.

Also "survival knife" connotates a knife type, everyone can and should own one, you don't need to be a mountain man living off the land or living in the Amazon for a year to own a survival knife. If you hike, hunt, camp, whatever you should carry at least the barest of essentials in case you get lost, injured, etc... decent fixed blade and a ferro rod are my top two I wouldn't leave home without.

Excuse the knife over the duvet cover, but it's the best I could do:

 

[GREENJACKET]

Its funny how the term "survival knife" has changed over the years. Pilots knife, to Rambo knife, to bushcraft knife. Completely out of fashion but they are all sheath knives! The sheath knife could be anything from hunter to farmer to scout use. Heck, even trench or combat knife. Whatever someone decided to carry whoever they were that came in a sheath.

As a generalisation a survival knife seems to be a beefed up blade of any real type or style. That has a bit more steel than ideal just so it might survive better if pushed beyond general use. Makes them slightly less efficient but unlikely to break. Not failing when push comes to shove is worth having over pure efficiency.

For a while survival knives had to be big. Thankfully this fashion is seeing some reality as most aren't big enough to be good a chopping which was the point of going big in the first place.
For a while the one tool option was in fashion. Thankfully, though a fun concept, thats being questioned and why have one inefficient tool for everything when a couple of tools might do it all a whole lot better.
Big, heavy, bomb proof might have attraction in theory but no one wants to carry them. Reality is something much more sensible and portable.

The rest is what you are willing to carry regularly. Size, weight, and style. In practice that reflects the person's character and what their skill set is to how they see the world. Much of that is what you were brought up on and used to.
I'm not a great fan of Kukris and struggle controlling them. My Gurkha friends have no problem with theirs, so who am I to argue with that? I found in my travels that the locals usually have the skills and tools that best suits their environment.
The examples I showed above work for me, my mindset and adaptable enough where ever I've found myself. Here I could give my "every knife has some luck built in" reasoning lecture. Most half descent made knives do just fine. Knowing how to maintain them is as important as the actual steel or what they are.

So for all my waffle, buy the knife you like and find out what works for you. The Bark River looks a great one.

 

[armytxn]

As plenty of people have said, don't trust one knife to be the "do all". Instead, look for a trio of tools to handle a wide array of chores: a multitool such as a LM or SAK will give you a good small folding knife and a can opener; a midsize knife that can handle skinning chores as well as moderate cutting tasks; and a good hatchet or axe for firewood and shelter prep.

The thing to remember about military issued survival knives: they are meant to keep the person alive for a short time (couple of days) because there is usually an AF pararescue team coming to get them.
They are not meant for long term survival.

 

[hexenjager]

I would agree a BK-7 is a better choice than any 6 inch knife...

Its biggest advantages over the SOG would be its quality sheath and the huge carrying ability of its front pocket.

However, compared to the Super Bowie, it is still only 13.5 ounces to the SOG's 17.4 ounces...

Plus, the SOG is a stick tang, which could mean its weight distribution is slightly more blade-oriented: That plus the weight would call it for me...

I would also take 1/4" stock and a hollow grind over much thinner 3/16" stock and flat grind. My only reservation with the Super Bowie would be the Taiwan origin (which is why, to my eyes, it is so dirt-cheap)...

It would be nice to hear the reasons why you think the Super Bowie is not as good as the Bk-7: I am perfectly willing to listen... I hope it doesn't all revolve around hitting on it with a stick...


Gaston

P.S. Workmanship-wise, the Becker often has a heat-curved blade and loose grinds (and sometimes the edge is not even remotely centered to the spine), so you can't really begrudge the SOG's price... The SOG is a work of art in comparison, and still less than half the price of a Sebenza...

Certainly. To begin with, let me say that without more info from the OP, all we have to go on for our recommendations is the knives he mentioned plus our own experience and ideas on what a "survival knife" should be. To me, that's a generalist in the world of knives. One that can be pressed into service for about any task that might come up in your situation. Like any generalist, it's going to be a series of compromises. Giving up some performance at this task to add some in another area. Unsexy as it sounds, a survival knife is the all wheel drive minivan of the knife world. Not REALLY good at anything, but good enough at most things to get by and reliable enough to keep putting along.

As for the super bowie, unlike you I am not a fan of hollow grinds when it comes to wood processing and especially bushcraft jobs (shelter and fire probably the main bread and butter of the broad survival knife concept). Have I used some hollow grinds fooling around and turning large sticks into small sticks? Sure. A few. I didn't like them as well as a flat ground blade (full flat or saber) with a convex edge overall for all the tasks involved. Personal preference.

Secondly, I haven't found aus8 to be the end all of steels as you have (though I thought in the past, your best steel in existence was 440b). Can a perfectly adequate knife be made out of aus8? Absolutely. Is it the best steel I've ever personally used in a $200ish knife? Nope. In my fairly meager collection, that would probably be sr101 or possibly well heat treated a2. My experience has been better edge retention and I haven't broken any of them yet, so apparently tough enough.

Third is that tip. The needle like tip on the super bowie is not what I'm looking for on a survival knife. It's more prone to breakage and damage if you're cold and your hands are shaking and stupid and you don't have much left for fine motor skills, like you could be in a survival situation. I agree that batonning is tough on knives and to be avoided if possible, but I'm not willing to discount the possibility if I really need to split wood to get at something dry. Since you dismiss batonning, I'll give a different example. That needle tip would be a pain processing an animal. There's a reason hunting knives tend not to be that pointy. It's really best not to contaminate your food with the animal's feces or urine and an extremely pointy tip is more likely to cause an accidental perforation than a less pointy one. I have not processed game with my super bowie, but I have with my tech bowie which is pretty much the same blade butt smaller and therefore easier to work with for that task. It can be done, but it's more of a pain and requires a lot of that fine motor control you might be short of when it's needed most. My (completely imaginary like nearly everyone) potential survival situations don't call for much stabbing of people, so a different tip design is preferred. It'll still be stabby enough on the unbelievably remote chance that it matters at some point.

As for the stick tang making it more weight forward, it also has a very large steel pommel to balance it out. The balance point is on the leather handle around halfway between the guard and the white washer. In other words, it's slightly handle heavy. Serious question: do you actually own a SOG super bowie or are you just reading the specs off of a website?

Speaking of the leather handle, I don't understand the logic of recommending stainless for low maintenance yet still suggesting a stacked leather handle that will require more maintenance than something like micarta. Don't get me wrong, I love me some stacked leather and many of my very favorite knives in my collection have it, but it needs maintenance, especially in the types of locations where stainless presents a great advantage over high carbon or tool steels due to high moisture.

I'm certainly no expert in the field of survival, but I've hunted and played in the woods enough to form a few opinions on what I believe I'd want in such a situation and what I wouldn't. You might ask why I even have the super bowie if I find it so impractical. Simple. I think it's gorgeous. It's not an all wheel drive minivan and there's room in my collection for that. That's not what the OP is looking for though.

 

[GREENJACKET]

For wood processing then I agree a flat or scandi grind are superior to hollow ground.
Pointy tips are more than able to process game, just have to be more careful. Good for bleeding out. In truth to dress out game doesn't require much knife, nearly anything can work but just might not make a very neat job of it.
Stainless or Carbon steel, whatever you fancy as both can be done well, not all are though. Blades that break are annoying and has little to do with how thick or what steel. Everything to do with how well heat treated. Heat treated brittle or heat treated too soft. All in the reputation and what luck built into that steel blade.
Most handle materials can be made to last the life of the blade, well very nearly. Stacked leather is an excellent material. Far too many whatever the material are too slippery but look nice.
Stick or full tang, both can be done to work well enough. Depends how its done. Both fail just as easily when done badly.

I actually think the best survival knife is the one you have used for a few years. One you are familiar with and used long enough to have real confidence in. A new knife is a gamble because until you have used it you won't know how much luck it has built into it.
There are some models that have stood the test of time, quite a few mentioned above. I'm not such a fan of the big names like SOG, Ontario, the usual mainstream brands. Do like Essee, Fallkniven, Survive knives, Bark River. Personal choice, go for the reputation from reading reviews and then take them with a pinch of salt. Most reviews rave, which isn't so helpful. Price is no reflection. Your call, have to jump at something and hope the knife has that luck.

 

[knoefz]

Great options you have to choose from.

Esee 6 is just awesome. Can't go wrong there.
I have the Esee 5 myself but I guess the 6 is more versatile.
I opted for the TKC handles to make it even more comfortable.

This knife makes me smile every time I handle it


The Tracker is not for everyone, you'll find many haters on different forums
But there's also also a group of fans that use their trackers very intensively for all kinds of outdoors tasks.
I do love mine (have the RS6 version)

Many people thin out the grinds on their trackers to improve cutting performance.

 

[Knife 'em]

I bought an Esee 4 earlier this year. I like it a lot. No complaints. An Esee 5 or 6 would be nice too.


To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.

Friedrich Nietzsche

 

[22-rimfire]

I would look at the BK-7 and ESEE 6 knives as a middle of the road "survival knife". I assume this is woods use mostly.

I love big fixed blades and I consider anything with a blade 7" or longer "big". But I hate to carry a "big" fixed blade. Hence, I am unlikely to have said knife with me in a survival situation. You usually don't plan for these things as you wander out the door of your comfortable home.

I think Gaston's discussion on wear of carbon steels is a bit exaggerated. Sure they are likely to wear a bit faster than the super steels. But in terms of a woods situation, you'll either be dead or well gone before there is any concern for edge wear. Sharpening? Ease of sharpening is a bigger concern. Hence you choose a tough steel that can be sharpened in the field should you need to. But not too easy...

Your survival knife is the one you have with you. For me, that is more than likely a Vic SAK or some other folder. Sure, I'm not going to be cutting 2" diameter trees down with it unless it is a life or death emergency and I have time. So, the chopper discussion although I think important, becomes less important and knife choice bends to practicality. Hence, the BK-7 or ESEE 6 are about as large a knife as you are likely to have with you in the woods when bad stuff happens to you.

I usually carry about a 4-6" fixed blade with me in the woods, but seldom ever use it over the folder. So, it's just a "feel good" addition to my person. I would more than likely carry a machete in my part of the world than a "big knife". I would feel quite comfortable with about a 14"-16" machete. But I won't carry one for the fun of it. I need to anticipate it's need before I leave the house. In most cases, a small folding saw is more portable and just as useful on bigger wood.

 

[Velitrius]

Hello Jeffetcs.

Pick a knife that you will enjoy having and using. Chances that we will be stuck in some apocalyptic situation requiring some super duper has-to-do-everything knife today are remote, compared to the chances we'll encounter an opportunity to use, enjoy, and play with our knives. So pick one that you like, not what anybody else likes, or thinks you need.

You like 1095? Excellent, so do I. Don't let anyone scare you away from it by using terms like "rust-prone steel" or say it's a fad, of all things. These folks have bicycles, pickup trucks, shovels, etc. made of "rust prone" steel and they ain't whining about it. I've used 1095 for over 40 years now, and I live next to the ocean on a salt water estuary in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest. Got a pile of 1095 with no rust on it. I don't sprint home at the end of the day feverishly slathering rust-proofing on my stuff, I just keep it clean.

Pick a knife from a good company that knows how to heat treat the material you like and will stand behind your purchase. Learn to field sharpen it. Get proficient with it.

And enjoy it.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Its funny how the term "survival knife" has changed over the years. Pilots knife, to Rambo knife, to bushcraft knife. Completely out of fashion but they are all sheath knives! The sheath knife could be anything from hunter to farmer to scout use. Heck, even trench or combat knife. Whatever someone decided to carry whoever they were that came in a sheath.

As a generalisation a survival knife seems to be a beefed up blade of any real type or style. That has a bit more steel than ideal just so it might survive better if pushed beyond general use. Makes them slightly less efficient but unlikely to break. Not failing when push comes to shove is worth having over pure efficiency.

For a while survival knives had to be big. Thankfully this fashion is seeing some reality as most aren't big enough to be good a chopping which was the point of going big in the first place.
For a while the one tool option was in fashion. Thankfully, though a fun concept, thats being questioned and why have one inefficient tool for everything when a couple of tools might do it all a whole lot better.
Big, heavy, bomb proof might have attraction in theory but no one wants to carry them. Reality is something much more sensible and portable.

The rest is what you are willing to carry regularly. Size, weight, and style. In practice that reflects the person's character and what their skill set is to how they see the world. Much of that is what you were brought up on and used to.
I'm not a great fan of Kukris and struggle controlling them. My Gurkha friends have no problem with theirs, so who am I to argue with that? I found in my travels that the locals usually have the skills and tools that best suits their environment.
The examples I showed above work for me, my mindset and adaptable enough where ever I've found myself. Here I could give my "every knife has some luck built in" reasoning lecture. Most half descent made knives do just fine. Knowing how to maintain them is as important as the actual steel or what they are.

So for all my waffle, buy the knife you like and find out what works for you. The Bark River looks a great one.

Very thoughtful. :thumbup:

 

[GREENJACKET]

Last two posts spot on.
22-Rimfire, is basically what I do. Pocket folder, not too big sheath knife, and if I know I have some work to do then sometimes a Skrama... or a whole truck load of tools including a saw and axe.

Veltrius is right in that sharpening is what makes a knife stay sharp. I carry a DMT Diafold often, or expect the blade to last until home again.

I don't live my life all tooled up "just in case". No one does. But I do feel undressed if I'm not carrying some kind of knife. Even a penknife, and sometimes thats all that you can carry.