"Survival" Knife Design - what's makes them differ so much?

guns_and_labs

guns_and_labs

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Jul 6, 2007
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I am intensely curious about what designers think about when they design knives for "survival". I have acquired several "survival" knives, from sources that can be considered expert or connected to them, and the variations are striking, even within designers. For example,

ESEE-5: designed for downed pilots, it has a very thick blade and a saber grind, but by comparison,
ESEE-6: designed for wilderness survival, it has a thinner, longer blade and a flat grind.

Both of these above are designed in conjunction with jungle survival, so presumably they have different reasons that a downed pilot survival knife from the nordic regions:

Fallkniven F-1: designed and issued to Swedish pilots for survival, with a shorter, thinner blade and a convex grind.

Then moving over to Africa, I understand Chris Reeve's hollow handle knives were designed for survival in the African bush, across the ocean from the ESEE pilots, I presume, and it has a hollow grind.

I'm not sure what US pilots are issued, but I understand at least one astronaut chose a Randall, with yet another specification sheet...

Do these designers have reasons specific to their situations that drive their design, or are there simply differences in opinion as to what one does when surviving?
 
I have enjoyed becoming more familiar with the GSO series of SurviveKnives.
Designers have their own ideas of what is "necessary" for a survival knife, and these points may differ from manufacturer to another. And, of course, they are trying to sell a product, so "advertising" helps swing the undecided buyers.
Thick blades are nice as they can be used to baton for shelter. Thin blades are nice as they generally slice better. Tough blade-steels may stand up to lateral stress better than a harder steel which retains its sharp edge for a longer period. Of course, those softer steels, more quickly dulled, may be easier to re-sharpen on a "river-rock" in the field. Hollow handles can contain fishing line and hooks, and fire-starting materials. Also, a bow-drill divot in a knife-handle can aid in starting a fire.
I suppose the purchase and choice of a survival knife is an individual decision, based upon your needs and experience. In the end, it's all up to you...

Since you are in Alaska, you have your own ideas of survival needs and what you find necessary in a knife.
 
Environment, skill set, perceived need, all of these vary pretty widely and all of them are considerations when designing a knife. And that's without getting into the marketing angle and cool factor of the stuff people are selling.

Just for grins and giggles compare the ESEE 5 or 6 to the Ritter Mk5 or Mk6. Both pairs are designed by experts with impressive resumes and are almost polar opposites when it comes to design.
 
I stayed away from Survive! knives and Gerber knives, as they seemed (to me) to be marketing and demand-driven, rather than having any roots in survival schools or military training, but I would welcome input from Guy Seiferd, of course.

I continue to be drawn to the comparison of the ESEE-5 and the Fallkniven F-1. Both are designed for "downed pilot survival" explicitly, but their designers live in different terrain. Is there more batoning in the jungle than in the nordic forests? Is that why ESEE has a knife so obviously optimized for batoning? The F-1, on the other hand, is darned near perfect for cleaning and skinning game. Is that because the Swedish pilots are expected to produce their own meat?
 
Well if you look at the design of the esee5 it was designed for bashing cutting and smashing your way out of a downed aircraft, specifically choppers. The esee6 is much more oriented to bushcraft, and when I used both I found the esee6 to baton easier through wood than the 5. It took less effort, and effort = calories, always important to remember. The falkniven I really have no idea why they picked that, you would have to look at their requirements. The US has issued the pilots survival knife from Ontario for years, not sure if they still do. It had a sort of saw back to cut through plexiglass and a decent pommel for hammering.
 
Variety is the spice of life.

Really, different sometimes translates into more interesting. If they all looked the same it would be...blah.
 
Early man got along fine with flint, and to him every single day was a survival challenge on an order of magnitude that we can only begin to imagine.

The most important part of the knife is the edge and its ability to cut that which we need cut. EVERYTHING else is just support for the edge. Length, width, thickness, material and shape are all about the look of the knife: that 'something' that appeals to the maker and the buyer.

So pick what appeals to you. Even though it will never be as sharp, even the lowly kitchen paring knife is much stronger than the average flint flake.
 
I think a survival knife should be adapted to the environment that you're in. A woodlore style knife might be good for wooded areas but not so good in the jungle were a machete reins supreme. This might account for all the different blade styles. I doubt they have come up with a perfect survival knife that fits every situation.
 
cricketdave said:
Well if you look at the design of the esee5 it was designed for bashing cutting and smashing your way out of a downed aircraft, specifically choppers. The esee6 is much more oriented to bushcraft, and when I used both I found the esee6 to baton easier through wood than the 5. It took less effort, and effort = calories, always important to remember. The falkniven I really have no idea why they picked that, you would have to look at their requirements. The US has issued the pilots survival knife from Ontario for years, not sure if they still do. It had a sort of saw back to cut through plexiglass and a decent pommel for hammering.
Click to expand...
I think you pretty much have it there. The ESEE-5 and the Ontario are certainly up to disassembling an airplane or two, opening crates, etc., and seem to fit the "sharpened pry bar" philosophy of Becker et al. Fallkniven seems to assume the pilots can get out of the aircraft, and then are in the woods... and the ESEE-6 is just flat out woodcraft-focused.
 
It all depends on what you mean by survival, and where you'll be doing it.
-Do you need to get out of something like a plane/helicopter?
-Are you in a cold environment where wood for a fire or shelter might be good?
-Are you in a jungle type environment where you'll have to clear a path (like pilots in WW2 flying missions in certain environments..)?

Also, are you thinking of a survival knife as the knife you'll always have with you?
If so, a folder is good (or a small fixed blade).

Or are you talking about something to have when you go out in the woods in case you get lost or something?

Or will it be in a car's "survival kit" set-up?

There are a ton of variables, so there will be a ton of different designs.

Plus, there's marketing as well.
 
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