Looking for the best survival knife for canada

roughneckrob

roughneckrob

Joined
Jul 3, 2009
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I am looking for the best survival knife for the Canadian climate. If you were stuck in the Canadian wilderness for a long period of time which knife would you recommend?
 
depends what you want the knife to do...light weight? wood processing? animal processing? Lots of things that it might be used for.
 
I've been looking at a couple of different Busse knives, But I have been told they may corrode in winter and spring. They are nice knives though.
 
A Fallkniven A1 would do quite nicely.

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I think Les Stroud carried the Buck 119, but there are many many choices. If you're concerned about corrosion get a ss blade, but if you're not going to be in saltwater 1095 or D2 would probably be a fine choice too. There are too many manufacturers and too many different kinds of knives to list based upon such very broad criteria.

Ideally in such a situation I'd want several knives. Maybe a larger 7"or 8" bowie, and a 3" to 4" drop point for animal prep, and a nice folding knife, and I'd probably throw a good multi tool in my pack as well as an axe and saw.
 
I currently own a Cold Steel Natchez Bowie which is a nice knife but has a sheath that I hate and find to big for carry in the bush. A Emerson Super commander and a Emerson super Karambit for self defence purposes.
 
I'll throw my vote in for Busse Combat Knives, check out their subforum here. They make some excellent knives.
 
roughneckrob said:
A little of everything, if such a knife exists.
Click to expand...

I think the knife in question is the smatchet. :D

I'm sorry I can't be of any useful help. I will say that Busse knives are top-notch. I recently got to handle one for the first time and I was very impressed.
 
There are literally dozens of great choices available in an all round survival knife.

Of the knives I have experience with I would suggest giving these consideration:

Fallkniven:
F1
S1
A1
A2

Bark River:
Gunny
Bravo 1
Bravo 2
Fox River
Fox River Magnum

Kevin
 
My suggestion would be a Gransfors axe (or any local axe of good quality). A Fallkniven F1 (or maybe S1) for cutting wood, meat, whatever and finally a good multitool. You should be able to carry the knife all the time otherwise it is pointless to have one.

If you look what the locals used back in the days they had an axe and a knife.
It all depends on what kind of extra tools you have. If you have a chainsaw then nothing is hard.

One good rule of thimb (I just made this up) is to never have a bigger knife than the tour guide. He has walked and talked and slept in the area for a long time and knows what is best. He probably carries a 4" blade of some kind. Maybe even a cheap Mora because he knows how to use it. A 1000 dollar knife is not better than a 5 dollar knife if you do not know how to use it.

So in short: three tools. Axe, 4" blade fixed and a multitool. It is a classic choice except that the multi used to be a folder. Nowadays you have "modern technology" even deep in the wilderness and might need a screwdriver or pliers.
 
Thanks for the help, The reason I asked this question in the first place is because I am about to begin survivalist training with a local group that offers these courses, I should be able to finish all courses in a year or so. Once finished I plan on taking annual trips alone into the wilderness for 10 days at a time. They tell me next to proper clothing and fire, your knife is the most important item. I will take my rife when I go alone, but if I get lost, the rife is only as good as my supply of ammo, so it is important for me to have the best knife possible. you are all right, there are alot of choices.
 
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You should have asked this question iver in the Wilderness & Survival Skills section. The one that will get the most votes by People who are out in the Bush alot - RAT CUTLERY RC-6. I don't have one so I wont say yes or no to this knife. KA-BAR/Becker knives are also Awsome knives for the money ! I have the BK-9 & it's awsome. My favorite woods bumming knives are my handmades by Stomper & Sicily02 & Koyote here on BF ! Check these guys out :thumbup: Top quality,Awsome tools & Great guys to deal with ;) The cost is usually around the same price as production quality knives.
This is the "LOBO" by Stomper..it's my newest custom & I really like this knife, it's built like a Tank & lazer sharp !
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Stomper (John) does high quality/dependable knives :thumbup:
jkhandmadeknives.com
 
Although with all of the knives available you could find just about what you need. However with one of out knife makers here, you can get exactly what you want. You draw it, they will make. What more could a guy ask.

Short of that, the knife that you are describing is the Bravo one from Bark River. It is a tank but not to heavy and awkward. It would be hard to beat and is Almost a JK.:D
 
I don't use my knives in wilderness "survival" scenarios... more for cutting wood and the like around the backyard... but I'd think the Finnish leuku style would be practical.... and their climate could be roughly analogous to our own. One interested in a sort of knife/hatchet hybrid might look into a medium sized khukuri.
 
Though I don't have one (yet), I also vote for the RAT RC-6P. I've only read stellar reviews of any of the RAT knives, and the RC-6P has everything I think a GP/survival knife should have. As soon as the holiday season is over (and the mail traffic gets back to normal) I'm ordering one for myself. I'm also thinking of getting a "survival sheath" for it, to transform it into my "grab knife".
 
I usually carry a couple of knives in the outdoors. A larger knife like a chopper (Swamprat battlerat or Scrapyeard SOD or a small axe or hatchet), a medium fixed blade such as a Swamprat Ratmandu, Rat RC6 or Fallkniven S1, and a SAK (climber or compact).

If I had to narrow it down to one knife i would look at something in the 6 inch range (Fallknive A1).
 
i live in the laurentians in quebec and the only suggestion i would make is stainless over carbn steel. th abundance of pine will get your blade all sappy. and youll be cleaning it often. so stainless would require a bit less maintenance. i personally use a caldwell 1-5 in 154 cm for most tasks.
 
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