Knife you could rely on for survival

Cars? sorry, new member, late arrival, to answer the OP
the best knife to truly, and i mean in all honesty rely for survival, would be a bulky ass carbon steel knife with a well developed patina, those with skill can perform small cuts with it as well as big cuts, and because of its bulky nature, you can even use it to build a shelter, and about a million other things. So if you are wanting an actual model, id suggest Tops BOB its a ridiculous over-built tank of a knife that you can be rest assured wont break if you happened
to get lost in the alaskan frontier.

with regards to rust
When the Europeans came to the Americans to trade with the Native indians living here, they gave them steel knives and axes for furs, wampum (sp?) food etc. The native indians up to this point were using flint and obsidian for their blade materials.
I assume the knives and axes were made from basic 1055 steel with basic patinas already formed, (stainless wasn't a thing then) --- to get to my point, the native indians had no idea what steel was, how to sharpen it or take care of it. so they used their new steel knives and new steel axes just like they did with the flint/obsidian variations developing deeper grey patinas, they began to pit, they developed surface rust, and all they did was wash and dry it off, and scrape it on a rock when they were having trouble cutting, but it served them as it should, as someone here said "95% of the world cuts with rusty knives" So don't avoid CS knives because you have some hang up about rust. who cares? use the knife, wipe it off, don't store it wet, or in a wet sheath and every so often wipe some oil on it. it will be fine, and will likely out last you
 
Interestingly enough, remember that crucible steel didn't start happening until after the 1740s...
Prior to that, most steel was made using the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blister_steel
aka cementation process, which could yield a rather large variance of carbon depending on where the ore came from, and how many times it was forge welded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucible_steel was after the 1740s (and was the first time that impurity free steel was possible)

To summarize; prior to the 1740s - there was nothing close to 1055 steel, it had lots of impurities, and could have a pretty wide range of carbon content.
1740s-1855 crucible steel was possible, but likely expensive and who knows if it was used to trade to native americans?
1855+ Bessemer steel ('modern' steel really started)
 
I have read this thread with some interest and here are my off-topic thoughts on this matter.

Any cutting implement will suffice for survival , sharp rocks , even the cut-off top of a tin can if needed.

I notice that only a few posters have mentioned that the WILL TO SURVIVE as well as KNOW-HOW is far and away more important than any tool or implement.
Just about everything else can usually be improvised in one way or another
Also little or no mention has been made about cooking utensils , water containers and suitable clothing.

Survival is just that , it usually happens at the least convenient time , and the use of what you have with you is mandatory.

There is no "magic bullet" that will ensure survival.

Peace.
 
Astrogator said:
I notice that only a few posters have mentioned that the WILL TO SURVIVE as well as KNOW-HOW is far and away more important than any tool or implement.
Just about everything else can usually be improvised in one way or another
Also little or no mention has been made about cooking utensils , water containers and suitable clothing.
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Agreed.
However, that is because this is the General Knife Discussion portion of a knife forum. We talk about knives here. Other parts of the forum are better suited to the discussion of survival in general, of which a knife is but one component.

Speaking of the topic, I pretty sure this Not A Survival Knife I just got could help me survive.
8mQcJo7h.jpg
EEmUG4nh.jpg
FeSa9bJh.jpg
OGrm0XKh.jpg
 
I'm pretty sure this one would work out quite nicely. Stout enough for chopping, sawback for notching, enough smooth spine towards the tip for batoning, and a fine enough point for most anything else.

IMG_2404.jpg

IMG_3027.jpg

IMG_2403.jpg

Yeah, I'd survive just fine. :p
 
It is fun thinking about what survival knife you have or would choose. Fantasy stuff mostly... The truth is that just about any knife will do including your $10 Vic kitchen knife. Compared to that, a Mora Companion is pure luxury. A knife is important to US, but it is only one component of the tools one might consider IF you have time to consider at all beforehand in an actual survival situation. Me, I'd probably be dead in a month and the survivors would be picking through my knives for their improved "survival knife".
 
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't need anything more than a Leatherman Wave or a Victorinox Fieldmaster.

Life is too precious to trust one single blade.
 
craytab said:
Agreed.
However, that is because this is the General Knife Discussion portion of a knife forum. We talk about knives here. Other parts of the forum are better suited to the discussion of survival in general, of which a knife is but one component.

Speaking of the topic, I pretty sure this Not A Survival Knife I just got could help me survive.
8mQcJo7h.jpg
EEmUG4nh.jpg
FeSa9bJh.jpg
OGrm0XKh.jpg
Click to expand...
I'm liking that Benchmade, how do you like it? Would you buy it again?
 
shinyedges said:
That size knife would be directly competing with may swatmandu and infidu. I'm tempted, thank you for the write up.
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Yes it would. As you can see it competes in size and purpose to several of my go to knives. I wanted one when the were announced but I wasn't going to pay map, especially given the sheath issues.
 
craytab said:
Yes it would. As you can see it competes in size and purpose to several of my go to knives. I wanted one when the were announced but I wasn't going to pay map, especially given the sheath issues.
Click to expand...
If I come across one at a good price I may give one a try. Whenever I have more than 2 fixed blades competing for carry/use time I tend to grab my favorite and neglect the rest. That's when I usually sell them. Knife dilemmas.

I've had a few of Shane siberts designs, I like them. Something grabs me about the design.
 
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