I'm Looking for the perfect Survival Knife....

Xerogabe106 said:
I don't know if its against forum rules, but If you could provide the sources for those prices it would be greatly appreciated sir. Perhaps you could PM said info to me.

If you've closed or lost all those sites and don't feel like digging it up I wont blame you one bit lol

I do thank you for those prices though, its a good benchmark for when I do some shopping.
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Basic accounts can't do PM's. Reply here with your email or some other way I can reach you.
 
I dont have anything too good to say about ontario. Questionable company ethics, spotty heat treat, hit and miss fit and finish, You're much better off going with ESEE or KABAR/Becker
 
Jake Bauer said:
I dont have anything too good to say about ontario. Questionable company ethics, spotty heat treat, hit and miss fit and finish
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Can you elaborate on this or provide some links? I really like some of their designs so this is sad to hear. :(
 
In the end, there really is no perfect survival knife for everyone. Perfect means, for one thing, the user has to be able to afford it or it's really worth nothing,It has to be available, if you can't find one, it won't help you either.

Generally speaking, a good quality knife made from 01 , A2 or 1095 will take a good beating, be affordable and readily available because many companies and Makers make some darn good ones.
 
All I know is Ontario's RAT line was designed by ESEE/Rat Cutlery designers Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin, and Ontario shafted them. For further reading: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540826&highlight=steel

As far as bad HT goes, I've seen far more videos and read many more reviews of ontarios being batonned through logs and shattering than ESEE's and KABARs.

Fit and finish well, you have to hold an ESEE to know what that looks/feels like.
 
zev said:
Any thoughts on the Ontario Ranger series?
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I really like the Ontario Rangers. My only qualm would be that Ive never heard of them lol But I'm not very knowledgeable in the subject to be honest lol They look nice though.
 
Xerogabe106 said:
I really like the Ontario Rangers. My only qualm would be that Ive never heard of them lol But I'm not very knowledgeable in the subject to be honest lol They look nice though.
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Is justin not making knives anymore? :( Maybe hes too busy making the QC not suck on the ontarios. His knives are the bees knees i own three of them.
 
These are really great knives that are being posted. On the cheap side the BK5 or BK7 is a great way to go. Very tough and fairly cheap. Go check prices on www.newgraham.com . Step up can be Rat RC5 or 6. There is a lot of discussion about them but they are terrific. The 5 is .25 thick and is heavier which I like. Others don't. Another really good choice is the Smoke Jumper from Tops and it is a great looking knife. Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiulb9Xduyg for you to see. I own a RC5 and Tom Brown Tracker. You either love it or hate it. I love mine and I do a lot of hard work in the Northwest territories with it. Hope this helps.
 
Tostig said:
Fallkniven S1

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Copied from Wikipedia
In November 2000, the black versions of models F1 and S1 were tested and approved for use by air crews in the U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy. They successfully met the requirements for function, design, strength and reliability which the Naval Air Warfare Center required.

As a gift I got an S1 for Valentines day , I cant say enough good things about it , there are nice aftermarket sheaths for it too - excellent knife.

Tostig
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+1.

Fallkniven S1 and F1 models with coated blades are approved for use in the field by NATO forces.

that's not a claim that too many knife makers can make.

they're pretty cheap for a laminated blade too. you can get a blade blank and stick your own handle on it if you desire.
 
What a person finally decides on as a survival blade is perhaps more dependent on the skills a man has taken with him into the wilds than anything else. I've spent time with native people whose skill levels are so superior to anything you or I or anyone else on this forum have that for them the very question of what type of knife to use would seem bizarre, perhaps even humorous. Until relatively recently they didn't even have knives of any sort. And when they finally got knives they were nearly always machetes or in some cases butcher knives. I've watched natives build shelters, make bows, blowguns, jewelry, traps etc., with a 15 inch machete honed razor sharp. Then they gut, skin and butcher the animals they trap with that same machete. Forty-Two-Blade's post is noteworthy because without a word he makes a knowledgeable point! If you have little skills then the kind of knife you take will serve you only in an extremely limited sense. Learn your skills to the point that you can live in the wilds even without a knife and then reconsider your original question. You'll find that specific blade make is more a function of advertising than of anything else. I lived for three years in conditions that most would consider extremely primitive, and during that time had only a pocket knife and a parang. I never felt the need for anything else. And oh yes, one more thing: I've never cared for the word "tactical." It's one of those words that sounds neat but when analyzed falls short of anything other than hype. Nonetheless, if one wants a fierce (truly awesome) killing blade then once again consider the machete. Came across a fellow who had taken one clean swipe to the neck by an enraged native. Here was his body and over there was his head. Very, very nasty.
 
Just 1 more quick recommendation, a very sturdy and proven knife that's well priced: the EKA W11:

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This thread, so far bears out that there's no such animal as a "perfect survival knife" except in the opinions of various members.

My vote is: SMATCHETS!! :D
 
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I agree that there is no perfect answer. There is so many schools and so many philosophies amongst people.. I guess you just have to figure what your survival knife has to do, and then look for it again. Lot's of good examples here, like the F1 but I have doubt that VG-10 is too hard for my use.

But I can tell though, that the best survival knife is the one that you carry with you since it's the most propable companion when the poo hits the fan.
 
I've heard from a marine that used the BK-2 he has nothing but good things to say but that's just me
 
That being said, buy the best knife you can, and spend the money only once. Go with a maker/Company that has a no non sense guarantee. Very few do. Some that do are ESEE (RAT Cutlery), all Busse family knives, Ferhman Knives. If you have to dig for their warranty, they probably don't want you to bother them with your problems/or their products short comings. That should narrow it down for you a little. Good luck to you, and let us know what you end up with.
 
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