First, let me say that, based on what I've seen on your webpage, it looks like you are making very nice survival cutlery already. Secondly, I'm also a proponent of the two-surivial-knife-combo. And thirdly, as has been said before, the optimal survival knife depends on the conditions and the user's style. Having said all that, if I could pick only one knife for all-condition surivial use, I'd wish it resembled the following:
1) The blade should be between eight and ten inches. Both the smaller end of this range and the larger end of this range have their own advantages and disadvantages. Eight inches is at the outer extreme of the length which I can still use with excellent control for fine whittling, slicing and so on; control becomes reduced at ten inches. The shorter the blade is, the lighter it is to carry, the easier it is to wear, and the easier it is to draw from its sheath. Longer than eight inches, a leg strap starts to become a necessity (and I find leg straps annoying), sitting down or general torsoflexion becomes impeded, and the knife becomes difficult to withdraw from it's sheath (because you have to pull the handle so high with your arm in an awkward position with your hand near your armpit) unless you crossdraw. On the other hand, when you actually need to use the knife for woodcraft or ice-chopping in do-or-die situations, a ten inch blade of the (otherwise) identical design seems to offer about 50% more chopping power than an eight incher. Chopping efficiency is further increased because ten inch blades are much easier to precisely aim. The extra length also gives you a lot more cutting edge to work with. Those two extra inches of reach can also be critical if you should need to use your knife defensively. Due to the above, any length choice in that range is going to be a balance of compromises, but acceptable for survival use.
2) The tip should be drop point or a wide slightly clipped point. This is for tip strength, which is important in an ultimate survival knife.
3) There should be a good amount of belly, for more edge and better cutting.
4) It would be nice if the first several inches of spine behind the tip were serrated. This would be nice when cutting fibrous materials. However, these serrations would need to be effective, durable, and easy to sharpen, or else don't bother. Bad serrations are worse than none. Also, tip strength is of greater importance than serrations, so the serrations should only be added if they can be done without significantly compromising tip strength.
5) A convex edge grind is nice--strong, and easier to maintain when you're stropping with a belt and sharpening with river cobblestones.
6) A slight recurve seems to increase chopping and slicing to a surprising degree, so that would be nice. It's not terribly important, though.
7) The knife should be at least 1/4 inch thick at the spine, if not 5/16. This is partly for strength, and partly for weight to increase chopping power.
8) The knife should be flat ground, so that it is acceptably thin behind the edge, for good penetration.
9) A wide aspect ratio is preferred- at least 1.5 inches, preferably close to two. This will make the edge angle of that 1/4 inch slab more acute, thereby a better penetrator. It will also put more weight behind the edge. It will also make the knife more effective when used for such secondary things as shoveling or hammering.
10) It would be nice if the spine was slightly humped, to give the knife more weight and chopping power for a given length.
11) The majority of the spine, beyond the first few inches behind the tip, should be flat, for greater ease and effect when using the knife in conjuction with a branch baton.
12) There should be a finger groove in front of the main handle, to choke up and hold the knife with more neutral balance, for precise work.
13) There should be a thumb-ramp, for control and for keeping my hand from slipping.
14) The handle should be "flattish" in their aspect ratio, to keep it from twisting in your hands. This will also make it easier to mount to limbs for more leveraged chopping.
15) The handle should have a full tang going through it.
16) It would be nice if the handle covered the tang all the way around, for comfort holding the knife in extremely cold or extremely hot conditions. That's not truly important (because there are easy and good work-arounds), but it would be nice.
17) There should be a front and rear guard--real ones, ones that are effective--to prevent your hand from slipping forward dangerously or back off the knife.
18) It would be nice if both the front and rear guard had holes through them, so that you could braid a paracord D-guard on. These increase safety, chopping power, and comfort.
19) The front and rear guard should be rounded, instead of flat and coming out at 90 degree angles. The roundedness makes the guard's strength much greater.
20) The handle slabs should be made out of material which is a poor thermal conductor--a good insulator.
21) The handle slabs should be absolutely securely locked on, where they'll never accidentally come off. I like the hollow tubular rivets for holding handle slabs on, which not only hold the handle slabs on securely, they also give you extra holes to use when tying the knife to something with cord.
22) The handles should be made out of material that is very impact resistant, saltwater resistant, cold and heat resistant, non-water absorbing, and durable.
23) It would be nice if the handles could be shock-absorbing; but that is not very important.
24) The handle slabs should be textured enough to increase grip security, but not textured enough to turn my hands into hamburger.
25) The handles should flare wider in the middle, to give you a wider swell to hold onto for a more secure grip.
26) It would be nice if some metal was sticking out of the back of the handle, to be able to use for smashing things, or as a blunt weapon.
27) The entire knife, other than the handle slabs, should be made out of a single piece of metal, with everything integral.
28) Th metal should be able to handle serious brutal use without fracturing, bending, or significant edge chipping. It should also be pretty hard, like <58 Rockwell C hardness. By now, you may have guessed that my steel of choice is INFI, but I expect other steels can also be used to "Ultimate Survival Knife" standards by a capable knife maker.
29) I second what Andrew says below, the handle should be angled slightly downward from the blade.
If I come up with more, I'll edit it in.
I like your work Chris, and I appreciate that you are asking for out input.
1) The blade should be between eight and ten inches. Both the smaller end of this range and the larger end of this range have their own advantages and disadvantages. Eight inches is at the outer extreme of the length which I can still use with excellent control for fine whittling, slicing and so on; control becomes reduced at ten inches. The shorter the blade is, the lighter it is to carry, the easier it is to wear, and the easier it is to draw from its sheath. Longer than eight inches, a leg strap starts to become a necessity (and I find leg straps annoying), sitting down or general torsoflexion becomes impeded, and the knife becomes difficult to withdraw from it's sheath (because you have to pull the handle so high with your arm in an awkward position with your hand near your armpit) unless you crossdraw. On the other hand, when you actually need to use the knife for woodcraft or ice-chopping in do-or-die situations, a ten inch blade of the (otherwise) identical design seems to offer about 50% more chopping power than an eight incher. Chopping efficiency is further increased because ten inch blades are much easier to precisely aim. The extra length also gives you a lot more cutting edge to work with. Those two extra inches of reach can also be critical if you should need to use your knife defensively. Due to the above, any length choice in that range is going to be a balance of compromises, but acceptable for survival use.
2) The tip should be drop point or a wide slightly clipped point. This is for tip strength, which is important in an ultimate survival knife.
3) There should be a good amount of belly, for more edge and better cutting.
4) It would be nice if the first several inches of spine behind the tip were serrated. This would be nice when cutting fibrous materials. However, these serrations would need to be effective, durable, and easy to sharpen, or else don't bother. Bad serrations are worse than none. Also, tip strength is of greater importance than serrations, so the serrations should only be added if they can be done without significantly compromising tip strength.
5) A convex edge grind is nice--strong, and easier to maintain when you're stropping with a belt and sharpening with river cobblestones.
6) A slight recurve seems to increase chopping and slicing to a surprising degree, so that would be nice. It's not terribly important, though.
7) The knife should be at least 1/4 inch thick at the spine, if not 5/16. This is partly for strength, and partly for weight to increase chopping power.
8) The knife should be flat ground, so that it is acceptably thin behind the edge, for good penetration.
9) A wide aspect ratio is preferred- at least 1.5 inches, preferably close to two. This will make the edge angle of that 1/4 inch slab more acute, thereby a better penetrator. It will also put more weight behind the edge. It will also make the knife more effective when used for such secondary things as shoveling or hammering.
10) It would be nice if the spine was slightly humped, to give the knife more weight and chopping power for a given length.
11) The majority of the spine, beyond the first few inches behind the tip, should be flat, for greater ease and effect when using the knife in conjuction with a branch baton.
12) There should be a finger groove in front of the main handle, to choke up and hold the knife with more neutral balance, for precise work.
13) There should be a thumb-ramp, for control and for keeping my hand from slipping.
14) The handle should be "flattish" in their aspect ratio, to keep it from twisting in your hands. This will also make it easier to mount to limbs for more leveraged chopping.
15) The handle should have a full tang going through it.
16) It would be nice if the handle covered the tang all the way around, for comfort holding the knife in extremely cold or extremely hot conditions. That's not truly important (because there are easy and good work-arounds), but it would be nice.
17) There should be a front and rear guard--real ones, ones that are effective--to prevent your hand from slipping forward dangerously or back off the knife.
18) It would be nice if both the front and rear guard had holes through them, so that you could braid a paracord D-guard on. These increase safety, chopping power, and comfort.
19) The front and rear guard should be rounded, instead of flat and coming out at 90 degree angles. The roundedness makes the guard's strength much greater.
20) The handle slabs should be made out of material which is a poor thermal conductor--a good insulator.
21) The handle slabs should be absolutely securely locked on, where they'll never accidentally come off. I like the hollow tubular rivets for holding handle slabs on, which not only hold the handle slabs on securely, they also give you extra holes to use when tying the knife to something with cord.
22) The handles should be made out of material that is very impact resistant, saltwater resistant, cold and heat resistant, non-water absorbing, and durable.
23) It would be nice if the handles could be shock-absorbing; but that is not very important.
24) The handle slabs should be textured enough to increase grip security, but not textured enough to turn my hands into hamburger.
25) The handles should flare wider in the middle, to give you a wider swell to hold onto for a more secure grip.
26) It would be nice if some metal was sticking out of the back of the handle, to be able to use for smashing things, or as a blunt weapon.
27) The entire knife, other than the handle slabs, should be made out of a single piece of metal, with everything integral.
28) Th metal should be able to handle serious brutal use without fracturing, bending, or significant edge chipping. It should also be pretty hard, like <58 Rockwell C hardness. By now, you may have guessed that my steel of choice is INFI, but I expect other steels can also be used to "Ultimate Survival Knife" standards by a capable knife maker.
29) I second what Andrew says below, the handle should be angled slightly downward from the blade.
If I come up with more, I'll edit it in.
I like your work Chris, and I appreciate that you are asking for out input.
