Looking for a good survival knife

You may want to check out the knife reviews and testing forum here on Blade Forums. There is a very well reviewed Fallkniven S1 pro review that sounds like what you may be looking for.

I've seen a video of a Fallkniven A1 tested to destruction and even though the blade steel was cracked from being beaten on with a hammer through steel it still held together and didn't break into pieces like say a one piece solid steel type blade would do. I guess the laminated blade steel is quite tough.

Here's one and the last test on the A1 in pieces check out all the 1 thru 7 test to see just what the A1 went through and I would think the smaller S1 would fair the same as well. It seems like Fallkniven makes a very tough survival knife for sure with it's laminated blades. Good luck on your hunt.

 
The Riggins
I'd like to answer a couple of questions that were asked.
I'm looking for a blade length between 4 and 6 inches ideally.
The steel can be anything but stainless. A good tool steel would be great.
The thing that killed the ESEE for me was the coating on the blade. I don't like how it affects cutting.
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anything longer is just not needed
Stainless works well, particularly steels like S30V
The ESEE blade coating does not have an effect on cutting.

other than that, the usual questions pop up. What grind? What tasks? Where are you expecting to survive? Survive what? :)
 
Riggins, it's time for some feedback from you. What are your expectations? What are you going to do with this knife? Camping? Preppering? Armaggedon?
 
TheRiggins said:
The profile if the scales was one issue but the big nail in the coffin was how the coating on the blade affects how it cuts. I had been concerned about that and several reviews backed up my fears.
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I've been using the RAT(ESEE)6 and 3 for a few years now and the only negative effect from the coating I've experienced is when batoning. The coating grabs the wood a little bit. Definitely worked better after I removed the coating.
As far as slicing or basic cutting needs I've found no ill effect. I use my 3 for all my game dressing. Works great. Good slicer.
JPfBJhi.jpg
 
If you plan to be surviving in the woods and chopping a lightweight hatchet will save your edge from being battered and in constant disrepair and a solid fixed blade or even a folder for lighter weight for slicing or piercing tasks would probably serve you best, but if I were just going to have 1 knife for whatever might come with that budget I'd probably buy a Chris Reeves Green Beret $320 it's s35vn and fairly thick (about 1/4") and sturdy, not super hard so it's easier to sharpen in the field and won't chip out if you do need to batter it a bit, but I'd recommend testing some different steels and hardness first as other have said to see what you like best and learning to freehand sharpen if you don't already know how since a dull or damaged blade would be about as valuable a paperweight in a survival situation.. even if you can't get your knives screaming sharp you should at least be able to bring a working edge with a little practice. I know you said you're worried the coating would affect cutting but I don't think it really would unless you're trying to make very fine slices like chef work, I think your edge angles would play more of a role and as others have said you can strip the coatings easily with chemicals but then depending upon the level of corrosion resistance of the steel you'll probably be more prone to rusting.
 
If sharpening skills are a concern and need some practice, a good place to start would be picking up a Schrade SCHF38 for about $30.

It's an inexpensive but completely useable "survival" knife you can beat on without reservations, it's decent 1095 steel, relatively easy to maintain its edge and takes a very good one. It has a straight edge, easier to maintain without a recurve.

Throw in a Mora companion for the time being, and add a slipjoint of your choosing and have fun surviving for under <$100
 
TheRiggins said:
I'm looking for a blade length between 4 and 6 inches ideally.
The steel can be anything but stainless. A good tool steel would be great.
The thing that killed the ESEE for me was the coating on the blade. I don't like how it affects cutting.
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Swamprat Ratmandu, Rodent 5 or 6, if you don't mind stripping the coating (easily done), working the edge over, and rounding up the sheath style you want.

Fiddleback Production Camp Knife, about a half-inch bigger than your specifications, but an awesome one-knife option in 3V.

Watch the exchange for any of the GSO's in 3V, models 4.1, 5, 5.1, 6.

CPK Field Knife which is out of production and hard to come by, but an awesome knife.

All the above blades are tougher than heck, but there's tons of stuff out there. Don't overlook the BK16 either.
 
TheRiggins said:
....I'm looking for a survival style knife. I'm not into the tactical thing I just want a very well built tool that I can take with me camping and backpacking. .....
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Back in the mid 80s I once though that I had found the perfect survival knife; this many years and thousands of knives later, I found out that I was wrong. I no longer look for that one perfect knife, instead I look for knives that can make whatever I need to do a little bit easier. Every knife is a compromise. Enjoy the journey and remember that your results depend more on you than your knife.

Welcome to the forums.
n2s
 
TheRiggins said:
The profile if the scales was one issue but the big nail in the coffin was how the coating on the blade affects how it cuts. I had been concerned about that and several reviews backed up my fears.
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If you can't overcome the drag caused by a coating, then maybe hitting the weights might be more critical to your survival! :)

I don't know what you mean by "survival," but I suspect it is what just about everybody means when they use that word, i.e., "outdoor recreation" like camping and hiking.

5-6 inch blades for that strike me as bad at everything, and good at nothing. If I need to slice (like skinning, cleaning fish, whittling, making feather sticks, doing bushcrafty stuff like deadfall trap notching, etc), then I want a slicer. 4 inches tops. Thin. A SAK will do great.

If I want to go out and bash the bejeebus outta innocent trees, then I want a chopper. Thick. Bomb proof. 7 inches minimum.

Pick what you wan't to do, or get one of both styles and do both well.

5-7 inches....meh.
 
Forget the "one tool option", its a fun exercise but not much use as you end up with a tool that is poor at everything. Rather than have one heavy lump, have several good tools.
Victorinox Farmer or Hunter, or even a Leatherman.
A pocket sized folder, something from Spyderco or Benchmade.
An Esee or Survive Knives in a 4" to 5" blade. Save some money and a Terava 110 or 140 is a good bet, until you find something sexier. Fallkniven are popular. So many to choose from.
A Skrama.
A Silky Saw.
An Axe such as the GB SFA.
If you lose one you still have the others. From that selection for whatever your adventure, going heavy or featherweight, you can chose which mix fits the task. If its not on you its not much use.
 
Lot of good advice here. My RC 6 is my favorite fixed but 99% of everything I do outdoors can be easily accomplished with the RC 3.
 
Hard Knocks said:
Swamprat Ratmandu, Rodent 5 or 6, if you don't mind stripping the coating (easily done), working the edge over, and rounding up the sheath style you want.

Fiddleback Production Camp Knife, about a half-inch bigger than your specifications, but an awesome one-knife option in 3V.

Watch the exchange for any of the GSO's in 3V, models 4.1, 5, 5.1, 6.

CPK Field Knife which is out of production and hard to come by, but an awesome knife.

All the above blades are tougher than heck, but there's tons of stuff out there. Don't overlook the BK16 either.
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I really like the GSOs but man they seem hard to come by.
 
Aldebaran said:
Many people like the Fallkniven F1. It is a good and lightweight knife that gets a bunch of work done in the wild. You mentioned back packing so weight might be a consideration. If you can carry more then I would suggest a Fallkniven A1 as the big knife companion to the F1 for bigger jobs and chopping.
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The F1 is a great choice, and the right size, although I like the bigger S1 also. But, I do prefer the smaller knives close to 4 inches in length, so I use my Bark River Gunny, or Fallkniven F1 for most outdoor work. The other knives mentioned a great to, ESEE-3, or 4, Bravo 1, or Bravo 1 LT, etc.
 
TheRiggins said:
I really like the GSOs but man they seem hard to come by.
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Yes, unfortunately. They do take a concerted effort to obtain. If you like the GSOs from the ones I listed, there are ways to get them. If you haven't stopped by their forum here on Blade, I'd invite you to do so, as the guys there are good about sharing information to get one found. There's more than one way to come up with them other than ordering direct. If you do that, prepare for a long wait. If you get really serious about one of these, start a thread over there, and I'll help you all I can (or if you get a paid membership so that you can private message, that'll keep competition out of your business, just as an fyi). Cheers sir.
 
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