....The fact is, in a real emergency, a knife is way down the list of importance. And the whole prepper thing about taking to the hills and living like a mountain man is pure adolescent fantasy. Study history and you'll find even the mountain men depended on the spring rendezvous for re-supply and companionship. During trapping season they often banded together into 'companies' for mutual support and protection.
Our niece, who was serving in the U.S. Navy was part of the relief teams sent into Fukushima, Japan in the immediate aftermath of the big earthquake and following tsunami. As a communications specialist, she worked on helping get local communications going. This meant being out in the devastated zone stringing commo line and tracking down breaks in the existing damaged lines. What she saw first hand was interesting to say the least.
The single most important items she saw were the short D handle shovels the Japanese disaster workers carried. They were used as pry bars, shovels, axes with one edge file sharpened, and as a third leg scrambling among the rubble. Allie said she never thought a short shovel had so many uses.
The other biggie was plastic tarps. With no shelter, there was a dire need for getting people out of rain, cold and wind. Cheap plastic disposable painters tarps made a good weather proof shelter that cold be heated with a candle.
But lighters and matches were high on the list. Knives were far down, and Allie saw lots of Japanese people in makeshift shelters made from shower curtains and such, cutting cord from wreckage of venetian blinds and shades to use for cordage in making shelters in what was once their city. Apparently small SAK's are popular among the Japanese people as EDC items.
What was once made, will be made again. That's history. Let some big catastrophic event trash civilization, and people will just remake it. It may take a while, but a knife will be far down the list of needed items. Villages, towns, cities, all will be rebuilt with the survivors living among the rubble as it gets all put up again. They did it after the Goths burnt Rome, they did it after the big fire in London, the rebuilt Chicago after the fire and rebuilt San Fransisco after the big earthquake. They'll always rebuild. That's what people do.
Any disaster will be a short term thing. The idea of society falling apart and individuals taking to the woods to survive is all fantasy. Prepare sure. A good supply of canned goods in rotation, a nice set of hand tools like saws, axes, hammer, crow bar, and nails, candles, spare Bic lighters, and some Mora's are good. Mora's are cheap to buy and stockpile, and will make great trade goods, as will the more basic SAK's like the recruit. A scandi puuko will do just fine as a personal knife. Or just do what the old mountain men did; carry a plain old butcher knife for cutting and a tomahawk for chopping and you have all the bases covered.
Store a reasonable amount (you decide how much, for me/us 8-10 months) of all you think you might need (don't forget medicines, medical supplies) and STAY HOME with those supplies! 
After that (and before) PRAY! 
