How Big Is A Survival Knife ?

Over the years my idea of a "survival knife" has gotten smaller. Not knocking big knives, I still like those too. It's usually just easier and more convienient to carry a smaller knife.
 
Screw the knives!!!!!! Carry a Starfish!!!!!!!!










The best sized survival knife is the size you're comfortable with.
 
I just have to know...what is the task that you assigned to a mora where it failed so badly? I mean I assume you must have owned a few...what were you doing to them when they failed you so terribly?

I am really stuck on this as I have owned so many simple, wood-handled moras and they have performed really well, in most cases out-performing much more expensive knives!

So what was it that you were doing with them when they failed on you?
 
Mine vary, but I have no proof, because I can't reasonably claim I've survived because of it. I've poked at wingless bipeds with knives large and small. I'm uncertain of the outcome if I hadn't. I'm certain I would have been worse off, but I can't claim to have survived because of either of them.

Sure, some have helped me avoid embarrassment. I've been soaked to the skin and very cold and used a now retired 6” weight forward design to get me warm and dry. It might have been a life threatening survival case, or it might have lead to me just being another embarrassed twat needing extraction. Dunno. Similarly, I was in an auto accident in which our vehicle wrote off a Volvo that pulled out on a gloomy miserable bit of carriageway at the wrong time. The chances are our vehicle was going to get some more, from behind, and make things a lot worse. Thing is, somewhen during the crash I expanded, and lost the button from my rather baggy trousers. I was going comando, and after several goes a shoving the vehicles whilst holding the strides up, I yanked out a length of speaker wire and cut a makeshift belt with it. I don't even remember what that blade was save for probably a Spyderco. I don't know if the message is, a Spyderco probably saved me from ..., a parable about belts, or it really made no difference no other traffic would have hit the wreckage.
 
To me a survival knife should be between 4" and 7" and plenty stout.

My Bravo 1 is the only knife I have that I consider a survival knife.

My Fox River certainly fits the same criteria but I think of it as a hunting knife.
 
my struggles for the perfect survival blade continues, that is why I put together so many piggy back set-ups... MY BK1& BK11,Chopweiler & SW, DF & DM,Bravo1 & PSK,inbound FBM and couple it with my BATAC,SAK hiker & RC4, RMD & SW, ETC...the struggle continues, upon release RC6 & Izula...
 
Everyones needs, locations, comfort zones, and experiences are pretty darn different, hard to say there's an objective standard with all those variables.

In my kit, there are only two things that have never really changed. I always have a decent SAK, and I always have a small-medium sized fixed blade (Mora 510, M2K, Farmer Bushcraft, Tora bushcraft, etc.).

I really like how useful a big knife is too sometimes, so I'll lash my kabar bowie to my pack. Other times I just take the ol' reliable Fiskars hatchet. If I'm going light, the Fiskars saw comes along instead.

But the SAK and small fixed blade are always there!
 
I believe the answer to this question should always be the same answer people get when they ask about pistols: Try a few knives from trusted companies, and pick what you feel most comfortable with.
 
Rescue Mike said:
I think it's safe to say that everyone is familiar with my loyalty to the Busse Family of knives. However, I have REFRAINED from uttering those words. This is due to the fact that I have not abused, or even held, a Mora. I would caution you to reserve your judgement until you have had the chance to evaluate that particular knife, and then form an educated opinion. As a result, I spent a whopping $30 and bought 2 Moras to evaluate.
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Hi Mike,

I guess it goes without saying that we'll be looking for a report! :D

Doc
 
One of two things is happening here. . .

Scenario 1 - Pit Jr. has gotten ahold of his dad's password and posted this because he is eyeing some of Pit's cool toys.

Scenario 2 - Pitdog, you have a serious illness and an intervention is in order. For your own good, you should shipp all of youur knives (even Jr.'s Mora) to me while you address your addiction. :)

-- FLIX
 
Originally Posted by Rescue Mike
I think it's safe to say that everyone is familiar with my loyalty to the Busse Family of knives. However, I have REFRAINED from uttering those words. This is due to the fact that I have not abused, or even held, a Mora. I would caution you to reserve your judgement until you have had the chance to evaluate that particular knife, and then form an educated opinion. As a result, I spent a whopping $30 and bought 2 Moras to evaluate.
DOC-CANADA said:
Hi Mike,

I guess it goes without saying that we'll be looking for a report! :D

Doc
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Sorry guys, I just stuck the Mora comment in to see the reaction ! :DOne thing I have learned on here is never degrade Mora's or Busse's or you can expect a serious backlash !!!
Mora's do their job I guess but I would term them a bushcraft knife and not a survival knife. To me a survival knife could be asked to perform al manner of tasks ,many of which would be heavy duty abuse !
Pit Jr has a Mora and we have one other which we both share and use when fishing and stuff ( below ).
ToddInlet013-1.jpg
 
SpookyPistolero said:
In my kit, there are only two things that have never really changed. I always have a decent SAK, and I always have a small-medium sized fixed blade (Mora 510, M2K, Farmer Bushcraft, Tora bushcraft, etc.).
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That's a great way to look at it. I'll even go one step further. When I'm trying out a new carry combination, I usually will throw my trusted RD9 in the trunk, or on the side of my pack, or something. My thoughts are "well if this kit sucks, at least I'll have my RD9". I guess that makes RD9 my preferred survival knife. The problem is, it's not my preferred woods knife. It's so big that although it can do small stuff, a small knife does small stuff better.

So now I'm torn because in a survival situation, I want my RD9, but otherwise, I don't really need it and like a smaller knife. I guess at some point I'll find the happy middle ground of a knife that is large enough to survive on, but small enough to comfortably carry. I'm not there yet though. So for now, it's kits for me. SAK, Medium Fixed, Large Fixed or Hatchet if it's a longer duration trip.
 
I have yet to find a knife I like as much as my bravo1. For me, its the perfect knife. I am liking the SAR5s ive been droolin over though..... My constant has always been a spyderco folder paired w/ a multitool, or sak though. I always have those on me. When in the bush I add the bravo, and hatchet or folding saw. More often then not its the saw. I do have a bark river machete on preorder, so we shall see......
 
This thread is a classic:thumbup:

I think all of us are at various stages of Pits knife owning journey.

And what Kismet said about all of us liking to buy knives.:thumbup:;)
 
A survival knife is whatever works where you are. As long as it cuts well, it'll make things easier. Having an enormous machete isn't much good in the arctic, where it's just dead weight. On the other hand, having only a small wood carving knife doesn't make things too easy in the dense tropical rainforest.

I like your hiking and knife pics, PitDog! Great scenery and nice user knives. :thumbup:

On the whole topic of Moras... I've used a lot of Moras. But then again, who in Finland hasn't? They're good at what they're meant to do: cheapo worker knives that will cut, and that you can abuse freely, knowing that when you break it or dull it, you can always get a new one for the price of a beer. They're simple, cheap, and the quality isn't high at all - but, the design is efficient, and it is much more efficient at wood working and such than any tacticool "knife" about a dozen times as expensive. But then, I think I've said that before. ;)

DOC-CANADA said:
I have been playing in the woods for years and years, working at learning wilderness survival/primitive skills techniques and the one constant for me is that I have yet to find a better bushcraft knife.
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In that case, I feel that it's my duty to at least suggest you try to acquire any other even slightly higher priced Scandi. Almost all of them are literally miles superior to the humble Mora in many ways: quality (as in consistency of heat treat for example), fit and finish, cutting performance, ergonomics, and so on. Moras certainly make better bushcraft knives than any "tactical", but there are knives much better still for that task.
 
hollowdweller said:
This thread is a classic:thumbup:

I think all of us are at various stages of Pits knife owning journey.

And what Kismet said about all of us liking to buy knives.:thumbup:;)
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I dunno, H.D.--looks, from the pictures, like we've still failed to persuade Pit that what he really needs is an at-least-15-inch Himalayan Imports khukuri. ;)
 
Cool, we are all somewhere along that journey..... I've gone from big to small to big and back again, expensive to cheap to expensive again; it's all about the journey, how much fun you have and what you learn. Like was said above, the best one is the one you got when you really need it. Hopefully it's equal to the task.
 
The perfect size for a "survival knife" really depends upon the size of the knife you have with you during your "survival situation". Whether I have my Diving Sparrow NBS (Northern Bushcraft/Survival)

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One of my Chad Carroll (Fieldstone Forge) knives

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Or, my Sak Super Tinker (sorry no photo) I am going to do what I can to make the best of my situation and not opine about whether the knife I have with me is "perfect".
 
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