Good All around fixed

[19-3ben]

Damn, Chris. You do some incredibly fine work.

 

[SALTY]

The whole SHTF knife concept is different than a knife for hiking and general use.

SHTF in an urban/suburban environment will require a sharpened prybar for entry/exit and access to material/foods/etc.

SHTF rural/woods (different types of "woods") required a view towards shelter making, wood processing, etc.

Both of the above situations lend themselves to plain old 1095 or its cousins as it is forgiving, easy to sharpen, takes a wiked edge and durable - millions and millions of truck leaf springs and lawn mower blades can't all be wrong!

For a knice general purpose outdoorman's knife, I would go in a different direction: shorter, lighter, higher grind and while my preference would still be 1095, 52100 or maybe eben D2, I would consider a stainless steel or even possible a so-called super steel. Ditto, and aside from the foregoing, the comments on the H1 Spyderco Aqua Salt are worthy of serious consideration. At its price point and your budget you caould have it and another knife or two depending on how fancy you need to go.

This post would not be complete without a plug for a Becker 15, 16 or 17 (Tweeners) and a BK9.

In fact, with your budget, I personally would have an Aqua Salt, BK9 and a BK15, 16 or 17 depending on your preference among the "Tweeners" but if you are really set one just one knife for it all - then it becomes much more complicated and that's why we have this forum and the brain-trust of its membership.

 

[Charlie Mike]

Busse.

 

[orca8589]

Smatchet!

I've always wanted to be the first one to say that in one of these threads! So, what did I win?

Okay, joking aside, in my opinion, the best option is start small, and work your way up if you need to. The first that come to my mind are the Mora Companion, Kansbol or Bushcrafter models (cheap enough that you can buy several as spares.) But if they're too small, then you can move up to some of the smaller ESEE models, or the Condor Bushlore, or the Spyderco Bushcraft and Southfork.

A little larger & heavier than those (IMO) are:
- the TOPS B.O.B. (Brothers of Bushcraft)
- Ontario RAT series and the Blackbird
- Benchmade Buscrafter
- Bark River Gunny & Bravo 1 or 1.5 or 2
- Becker regular series and the Tweeners
- Cold Steel SRK, Recon Tanto, G.I. Tanto (super cheap & tough)
- Boker... something. (look at the fixed blade section of any Boker catalog. Too many to list here.)

And finally, you can also try the custom knives section on the exchange. If you don't see a custom knife already available that works for you, you can have one made exactly the way you want it.

~Chris

 

[bleiz]

Thanks Salty

That is a very valuable point!
Indeed I see this more as a suburban environment knife for SHTF purposes
Let's say 75% urban 25% wilderness

CAn we orient the search this way?

The whole SHTF knife concept is different than a knife for hiking and general use.

SHTF in an urban/suburban environment will require a sharpened prybar for entry/exit and access to material/foods/etc.

SHTF rural/woods (different types of "woods") required a view towards shelter making, wood processing, etc.

Both of the above situations lend themselves to plain old 1095 or its cousins as it is forgiving, easy to sharpen, takes a wiked edge and durable - millions and millions of truck leaf springs and lawn mower blades can't all be wrong!

For a knice general purpose outdoorman's knife, I would go in a different direction: shorter, lighter, higher grind and while my preference would still be 1095, 52100 or maybe eben D2, I would consider a stainless steel or even possible a so-called super steel. Ditto, and aside from the foregoing, the comments on the H1 Spyderco Aqua Salt are worthy of serious consideration. At its price point and your budget you caould have it and another knife or two depending on how fancy you need to go.

This post would not be complete without a plug for a Becker 15, 16 or 17 (Tweeners) and a BK9.

In fact, with your budget, I personally would have an Aqua Salt, BK9 and a BK15, 16 or 17 depending on your preference among the "Tweeners" but if you are really set one just one knife for it all - then it becomes much more complicated and that's why we have this forum and the brain-trust of its membership.

 

[19-3ben]

With that much time in an urban environment a knife's role might be more in the way of breaking into or out of structures. May want to look at Becker BK3. They are discontinued but can still be found used.

Edit- I should add that while the BK3 is a great demo tool (I think there's a video somewhere of a couple guys disassembling a Volkswagen with one), I don't know that it would be the all around tool you're looking for. I just wanted to mention it since I think of it as being an awesome urban survival type tool.

 

[SALTY]

Thanks Salty

That is a very valuable point!
Indeed I see this more as a suburban environment knife for SHTF purposes
Let's say 75% urban 25% wilderness

CAn we orient the search this way?

Other than knice sharp 6-inch general purpose knife, your SHTF mission profile lends itself, as stated by 19-3ben, the discontinued epitome of a sharpened prybar - the Becker BK3. However good it is as prying, it understandably lacks some in the knife department so the venerable Becker BK-9 is worth considering. Your budget allows versatility and redundancy if going the Becker route.

1/4" or even 5/16" stock with a 1095-ish steel and a not-too-high grind, leaving a lot of support for the spine sounds like what you would want. In the Becker line-up, in your budget, I would get a 3, a 9 and a Tweener!

 

[Axe nut]

I'd look at the Ontario spec plus line, 1095 steel, no special sharpening equipment, and short of using explosives they can't be hurt irrepabely.

 

[bleiz]

I like the look of those Bark river knives and the steel is good. Do you know if the lanyard loop at the end of the handle can be used as a glass breaker / pry bar

Bark River Bravo Squad Leader. Under your budget.

 

[Gaston444]

For the ultimate of breaking or chopping into: Ontario SP-53:

 

[Charlie Mike]

I might as well toot my own horn... I make knives that fit the urban survivalist mindset. I'm an Iraq veteran (infantry) and I carry/use the stuff I make.







My "personal":

 

[cbach8tw]

Clean and simple, get a ESEE 4 or 6. Or you could try a Becker 10.

 

[donscpoo]

These 3 are my favorite blades at around the 5.5".

From the top - Busse SMD, Randall #15 and S!K GSO5.1.



Don

 

[GREENJACKET]

Survive Knives, and a Silky Saw will cover it, and be far more efficient than anything bigger.

 

[ostanley99]

I'm surprised no one's brought this up. Take a look at the Buck 119 special. Definitely a must have for everyone

 

[bflying]

Another vote for the ZT0180. It's not as elegant as many shown here, but it's rock solid and feels great in the hand.

Steel: Vanadis 4 Extra / Full Tang
Blade: 4.2"
Overall: 9.2"
Weight: 8.7 oz

Ok, that first pic was not so great. So took a few more during lunch. These may not be much better, still just phone pics.