The perfect Survival Knife

Thomas Linton said:
So if I am wearing a cotton tux in a blizzard that is the "perfect survival clothing"?

And if I have a rotten can of dog food, that's the "perfect survival food"?

The falshlight with dead batteries?

The leaking tent in the storm?

The motor vehicle out of fuel?

The $2.00 Packi knife?


All "perfect" by your slogan.


You will have to use what you have on hand; so, it would be useful to actually discuss what might be rational choices of gear since the whole point of this forum is to prepare for the unexpected but possible wilderness survival situation by selecting suitable gear AND by increasing knowledge.
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I thought it was obvious that I redirected the question with my answer. :rolleyes:
 
razcob said:
I thought it was obvious that I redirected the question with my answer. :rolleyes:
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Sorry. It's was my impression that you recited an oft-repeated slogan that seems both incorrect and not useful. If you "redirected the question," I failed to pick up on the new direction. :confused:
 
I don't think there is any such thing as a cotton tuxedo.
 
In my opinion, again this is my opinion, I feel that if the Beck/Tom Brown Tracker knife is given a new convex edge and a higher grind (both can be done) it is the best survival option. It can be brought and kept to a razor sharp edge, it can take on most "survival" sawing situations, it can chop like mad, it can withstand a great deal of ABUSE let alone use, it can carve, be thrust into objects...etc... Is it the greatest knife design ever made? No. But in my opinion, the Beck, Tom Brown Jr. or whatever you want to call it design is the best suited for multiple tasks and survival environments and situations currently available.

-Jeff
 
longbow50 said:
What does Tom Brown Jr. carry?
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I have been to several of Tom's classes, and i have never seen him with a knife. He will usually asks to borrow one of the students knives, or he uses a piece of flint to demonstrate carving a bow & drill set,or to cut plant fibers, etc.
 
Tracker said:
In my opinion, again this is my opinion, I feel that if the Beck/Tom Brown Tracker knife is given a new convex edge and a higher grind (both can be done) it is the best survival option. It can be brought and kept to a razor sharp edge, it can take on most "survival" sawing situations, it can chop like mad, it can withstand a great deal of ABUSE let alone use, it can carve, be thrust into objects...etc... Is it the greatest knife design ever made? No. But in my opinion, the Beck, Tom Brown Jr. or whatever you want to call it design is the best suited for multiple tasks and survival environments and situations currently available.

-Jeff
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Fan of the Tracker model are you, Tracker? :D

Tom
 
It seems like the upshot is akin to the oft asked question by the neophyte "what is the best way to start a fire if you are lost in the woods?" They always expect a reply regarding the virtues of bow and drill, flint and steel etc. and are somewhat nonplussed when answered "with the matches you take with you." Not as interesting a conversation, but more to the point and useful.

Knife-wise, anyone could post about how a 7 inch fixed blade in S30V steel is the perfect survival knife. However, if I am not wearing it with my suit riding home on the subway, it's not doing me much good. The knife I have with me, a good sturdy folder, becomes the perfect knife. Otherwise, as we say around here, 40 agents, 40 opinions.
 
Then there's that old saying, "Better is the Enemy of Good Enough".

My "perfect" knife is small enough for EDC, yet big enough, strong enough, sharp enough and with a blade shape to do every job I ask of it -- all in a single knife :rolleyes:

I haven't found that knife yet so I keep carrying an EDC that's perhaps inadequate for some jobs I'd like to do, but Good Enough that it justifies being carried. EDC isn't correct though, because a true EDC would never be changed and I do change the knife I carry depending on what I'm doing and where I am.
 
Hasn't someone said this a thousand times? There is no "perfect" knife for all survivial tasks and survivors. It's all compromises (like what can you practically carry).

The knife you have will be your survival knife. The clothes you have will be your survival clothes. They may depart from "perfect" by such a margin as to take the breath away, so informed choices make for better options, even within the compromises the world forces on us.

The discussion is about what would be preferable, and exchange of 40 -- or more -- opinions/experiences/information may be useful.

Tom
 
On that note, the Doug Ritter RSK Mk1 Folding Knife by Benchmade is a good compromise for a purpose designed as a survival knife. It isn't particularly expensive, it has good steel and an excellent blade shape.
This is an eminently practical everyday carry utility knife with the robustness and functionality needed if it becomes your lifeline for survival. It's a working knife that is pure function, with everything you need, but nothing you don't.
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Note that they don't say it's perfect. It isn't a prybar, but a prybar won't fit in your pocket for EDC. They even sell a mini-RSK for those who think the RSK is too big. 99% of a knife being useful is having it available.
 
ras said:
On that note, the Doug Ritter RSK Mk1 Folding Knife by Benchmade[/URL] is a good compromise for a purpose designed as a survival knife. It isn't particularly expensive, it has good steel and an excellent blade shape. Note that they don't say it's perfect. It isn't a prybar, but a prybar won't fit in your pocket for EDC. They even sell a mini-RSK for those who think the RSK is too big. 99% of a knife being useful is having it available.
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I carry one each time I leave home. :thumbup:

Sometimes, it has a "friend" -- or two. :D
 
A yellow mini-RSK lives in my EDC backpack. A fullsize RSK lives in my truck console. The RSK series are very good knives, you could spend more money and do no better from a functional standpoint.
 
i think to define what is the best tool you need to define what type of work would you expect from the tool. if yo want to cut up wood, then no one will argue that a chain saw is hard to beat. but then again not very practical to carry. so what do you want to accomplish with your knife, do you see the need to pry open car doors, is this a knife to get you through an unexpected stay in the woods or are you thinking you might get stranded on a deserted island for a prolonged period. the tasks you might think of associated with each would define what you would need. if you are sitting in an east coast city it is unlikely that you would be stranded on a deserted island.

alex
 
Yea, I know that my post about the Beck/Tracker knife sounds a bit bias given my handle...but if you read carefully, I try HARD to offer this as MY opinion on what I think is the best "overall" design for many uses and environments CURRENTLY available. As much as I like the knife there are many things about it that keep me from picking it up everytime I leave the house. 1. Too heavy...period
2. Factory edge is a joke (it will not cut anything)
3. Grind lines are a joke (w/out custom work done to the edge and grind lines,this knife has probably 1 year of hard use before it's garbage.)
4. Spine serrations really suck and they are dull (again needs attention)
5. The Black Coating will not protect anything, it will only get in the way of your cutting and cause drag, lag and sloppy cutting bite
6. The Sheath/Carrying System is probably the worst in the business, the knife rattles around in the sheath and is "barely" secure. The rotating clips dig into your waist or back...it hurts and it sucks. Again, get a custom sheath made...I know someone who can HOOK YOU UP!!!
7. The gut hook is a joke and will never work the way it is. Again, find someone to raise the grind line and raise the "hook".
8. Should not be thrown the way it is marketed
Anyway, in my second opinion of this knife, without the modifications, all this knife is, is a suvenir from a decent movie.

-jeff
 
Well, this knife has some good points that I like in a survival knife. Its not the perfect knife but I made it like I like em'.....
its long enough to chop if need be. the actual blade is 6" but the extended riccasso makes it closer to 7" ans if you choke back on the flared but it chops like a 8" blade :)
The 3/16" stock gives it a decent wedge to chop and the high grind make it a good slicer too.

Also, the extended riccasso makes it easier to choke up on when you do fine work. Though I'd jump in on the thread :)
 
I'm building two survival packs; one a backpack the other a large bucket. If I'm prepared to survive for three days or more, as humans become thretening searching out food, I need to have two practical knives: one for preparing raw food and one for self defence. Do you have some suggestions?
 
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