Survival Knife Suggestions

The best "survival" knife is the one you will have with you all the time. It doesn't matter how good a knife you have, or what your sweet woods set up is, if they are not on you when you are in a "survival" situation. Yes it's nice to have a good chopper or woods knife (Condor Kumunga gets my vote), but get yourself a Vic. or a small fixed blade (Mora, Izula, BK11, CS Bird and Trout), and practice "survival" skills (fire building, shelter building etc.) with them.
 
marcinek said:
If my survival depended on cutting branches for shelter and skinning squirrels, first thing I would want on me is a SAK Farmer. It does both very well. And its light enough to not interfere with mobility...allowing one to get the heck out of Didge and back to civilization.

Now...if one is deliberately going out to practice survival....it really doesn't matter which knife one brings, in my opinion. You want to test your skiils? Bring a Vic Classic. A box cutter. No knife at all! Now there's "practice."

Bottom line...I'm with panzertroop. I don't know what "survival" means anymore (other than sales). Possibly, bigfoot, is you tell us in more detail what it means to you, we can be more helpful.
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LOL...I'm with you guys. Survival knives are hype. I also think that those who know what they need don't need to ask the question of what to get. It's a catch 22.

To the OP let me tell you what you're going to find out quick. Survival tasks are best done with a two blade system. A bigun and a smallun. And, this is the shocker, you can get this done for less then 20 bucks. A mora and a tram machete will do everything you're looking for. If you want nicer then find blades similar to those and spend what you like.

If you abso-freaking-lutely need ONE "survival" knife then go with a knife similar to, or slightly smaller then, the swamp rat ratmandu. The knife wont chop but if you use a baton it will be just as good as chopping and a little safer. If I was only going to take a single blade it would be a hatchet or a machete. "Survival" knives are for chumps.
 
I happen to carry a Cold Steel Bushman in my car. It's 9" (if memory serves) and good to have in case I need to chop or, in a rescue or emergency situation, dig, pry or whatever. As for "survival," a bug out or zombie apocalypse or SHTF type scenario is pretty far down the list of reasons I have it on me, but I'm happy to have something tough, large, sharp, and cheap enough that I can wail on it without a lot of financial pain if it gets torn up. It's a tool, not a financial investment. I always carry EDC folding knives as well, more appropriate for any situation that involves slicing and light cutting.
 
Shotgun said:
"Survival" knives are for chumps.
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:D Now now...I wouldn't go that far. I would love to have THE one survival knife. I would also love being on a beach with Sofia Vergara, right now.

Both about equally likely and realistic. Fun to think about though.
 
Mud Shrimp Moe said:
I happen to carry a Cold Steel Bushman in my car. It's 9" (if memory serves) and good to have in case I need to chop or, in a rescue or emergency situation, dig, pry or whatever. ....
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Couldn't you just drive away from whatever "survival" situation you're in? :D

"Starving...energy fading...must...drive...to...McDonalds..."
 
I don't want to push buttons, but "survival" knife isn't any sillier than "tactical" knife for most users. The odds of one getting caught in a "survival" situation* are generally higher than being caught in a fight against an assailant armed with a knife or blunt weapon. (i.e. not a gun or not just his fists). As I'm not a soldier or a law enforcement officer, I won't generalize about those occupations' needs. But for most civilians, a truly "tactical" scenario is unlikely in the extreme.

Personally, if I ever have an opponent pull a knife on me, the one piece of gear I most want to have is a pair of quality running shoes.



* i.e. first responder to rural traffic accident, car breaks down in rural area at night, deeply lost in State or National Park, etc.
 
Just realized you live in washington. If you wanna talk through PM's I can stear you better. Survival in the south and the deserts is completely different from our area. I'll be offline over the weekend though.
 
marcinek said:
Couldn't you just drive away from whatever "survival" situation you're in? :D

"Starving...energy fading...must...drive...to...McDonalds..."
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Okay know it all. What if we have an EMP go off? Then what do you do? What...do...you...do? :eek:
 
There are so many opinions on what makes a good survival knife that you can't really know what will work out for you or what won't till you try it yourself on different survival-type tasks.
Any fixed blade by a reputable maker will suffice in a survival situation , Imo

I'm kind of rooting for that EMP to happen. Maybe life will return to normal. :D
 
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Perhaps I am mistaken, but when I hear people asking for advice on a 'survival' knife, I tend to think that they mean 'camp' knife. Something they can take with them into the bush and have a useful piece of kit for their all-round camp chores. In which case, a piggy-back system is not a bad idea at all... :)
 
Mud Shrimp Moe said:
I don't want to push buttons, but "survival" knife isn't any sillier than "tactical" knife for most users.
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Never said it was! :) They are equally silly.

I always carry a knife. So I guess it is a survival knife. Today it's a SAK Classic. I also always carry my charged up "survival" cell phone with GPS.

If I'm going to the woods, I prepare, and I bring my woods knives. If I'm planning on or expecting to be in a survival situation in the woods....then it isn't a survival situation.

So I guess if I was expecting to eat squirrels and chop some branches, I'd bring my favorite little bird and trout knife and a big ol chopper and have a grand old time skinning critters and bashing the bejeebus outta trees. Sounds like a lotta fun. Really wouldn't have anything to do with survival though...
 
timberweasel said:
Perhaps I am mistaken, but when I hear people asking for advice on a 'survival' knife, I tend to think that they mean 'camp' knife. Something they can take with them into the bush and have a useful piece of kit for their all-round camp chores. In which case, a piggy-back system is not a bad idea at all... :)
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Nicely put. For camping, one should have several knives, really, one of which needs to be a larger fixed blade knife that one isn't so in love with keeping in mint condition. Or a hatchet.
 
panzertroop said:
So my question is what makes a knife a "Survival" knife. To me that seems like marketing hype more then anything. Any knife will cut limbs and skin animals. It's the skill of the user that's really important. IMHO
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EXACTLY! The tool is there to make your life easier. Survival is survival, so really any tool would do. Really the question is Which tool would do "x" job better than the rest?
 
uncouth said:
The best "survival" knife is the one you will have with you all the time. It doesn't matter how good a knife you have, or what your sweet woods set up is, if they are not on you when you are in a "survival" situation. Yes it's nice to have a good chopper or woods knife (Condor Kumunga gets my vote), but get yourself a Vic. or a small fixed blade (Mora, Izula, BK11, CS Bird and Trout), and practice "survival" skills (fire building, shelter building etc.) with them.
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I've heard this argument before and I agree. I've been carrying a mid-sized SAK religiously for a while now along with my keychain Vic Rambler and whichever one-hander I clip on to the pocket for the day. A SAK just makes sense. Compact, versatile, useful...

izula04.jpg

If I didn't live in such an urban setting, I'd just carry these two all the time. :thumbup:
 
Survival knife is the knife you have with you when it happens...
for chopping / building shelter / skinning a roadkill squirrel or three ... thats tough
ESSE 4 or maybe a BRKT Gameskeeper would do all ...
step up to maybe a Cold Steel SRK or a Blackjack 125 ... for the added weight.
Go to a true chopping knife and well ... mr Squirrel is gonna look like he did get ina KNIFE FIGHT ... name him Nic'
 
Survival knife? I don't really know what that means other than it is a knife you have confidence using and believe you can depend on it. I do not prepare for survival in the woods, but the TV shows are interesting, sometimes instructive, and fun to watch. As Woods Creeper said, your survival knife is the one you have with you at that moment... in my case that is likely to be a SAK plus lately a Spydie Delica. I could do a lot worse. My fixed blades are almost always at home, but one of them is usually with me if I head for the woods.

If I am out in the woods taking photos, I have started to carry my SOG Revolver. The saw comes in handy for some minor "pruning" and the fixed blade works just fine for most things, just not rough use. This is the pre-Fusion version.
 
I agree with everything said, but let's not get our panties in a bunch about use of the term "survival". There's definitely mucho hype and over-active imaginations out there, but I think it can somewhat legitimately describe a reliable, easy to carry blade that serviceably performs a wide range of outdoor tasks (e.g., skin squirrels and chop)--like it has for a long time. Getting off my high horse, I'd recommend the ESEE-4.
 
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The knife you have on you is your survival knife. The "survival" knife in your vehicle back at the trailhead is worthless.
If forced to choose only one knife to deal with my survival/emergency needs, it would be the Cold Steel SRK and here's why:
Finally, the Swiss Army Classic is one of the best, and under appreciated knives on the market:
 
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My take on a survivial/camp knife for my needs....In the summer the family and I take hikes in northern Pa...Its a mountainous wooded region and we only hike on designated mapped trails...Heres how it goes..I carry the backpack with everything we need for the day which is usually lunch,snacks and plenty of water...The wife, daughter and dog explore and I want them to have as much fun as possible thats why I carry everything (only around 15-20 lbs so its not really bad at all)...This year we did a couple 5-7 milers and next year we plan on doing more...


My worst case senerio ...Something happens and we have to spend the night out on the trail somewhere..I'm always carrying a firearm so my knife will be for shelter and fire..If any 4 legged or 2 legged critters mess around mister Glock 29 10 milimeter or Glock 27 40 cal is always there..I want a fixed blade strong enough to hack trees and prepare firewood..

I'm also asking forum members for input on my survivial knife..
CD
 
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