what is a survival knife for you?

When I think of a survival knife I think of a knife I would like to have with me if a survival situation arose. For me that could be anything from a basic hunting knife to one of my bushcrafty type knives. I have been in a stickie situation like that- I wouldn't call it a life or death situation but being lost overnight in a 55,000 acre swamp is serious enough and people have disappeared there. The $20 Wal Mart Gerber on my belt served just fine though. In a more prolonged situation a better knife would be nice but you never really know when those situations will pop up so like someone else said it'll likely just be whatever's with you.
 
For me....I find that I can be randomly and without warning teleported to any spot on Earth. Poof! Antartica. Poof! South American rainforest. Poof! Cockpit of a jet about to crash deep behind enemy lines. Poof! New York City overrun by zombies.

During these events all my gear (cash, Bic lighter, flashlight, multitool, GPS, cell phone, etc) except for one knife is removed from my person.

So I have to have a knife on me at all times that can do everything. That is my survival knife.

And that survival knife looks totally awesome when I go car camping with my buddies. Added bonus.
 
res1cue said:
its a knife that you have on you when you need it.



I thoroughly agree with this statement as whatever knife you are carrying when TSHTF immediately becomes your survival knife. Right now for me it would be the Spiderco Manix 2 clipped to my right pocket.
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I have an office job. I don't expect to need a survival knife at work. That's why I just carry a small or medium-sized folder on most days. When I go out hiking, mountain biking, or trail running, I carry something more substantial, but I take weight into account. I don't see myself ever having something like an ESEE 5 or a BK2. For me, a good survival knife can get the job done without becoming a burden.
 
I think there needs to be a clear distinction between a "survival" knife - which I think is simply a dependable knife of almost any sort that you ALWAYS have on you to serve as a tool "just in case" - and a knife that you can potentially THRIVE with in a wilderness/SHTF situation. So you end up with THRIVE knives like bushcrafters and 5+ inch blade monsters you could use to thrive in a bad spot and they're labelled "survival".

The other thing is geography and seasnon...a 7 incher really may mean survival in a Colorado winter, but you're fine with a small folder in a temperate zone with lots of ready firewood, etc.
 
sogflash said:
I see people asking for a good survival knife, but what exactly is a survival knife? what are you going to survive with it? is a survival knife meant as something serious?
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It's the top one. That's what real men use anyways.
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knarfeng said:
DING DING DING. We have a Winner!

Absolutely, positively, that's it.
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Amen
I dont care how fancy or expensive my EDC happens to be at the time, if I roll my truck or get in a plane crash, my knife will be used HARD.
Abused even. And I know it.
 
A survival knife is a strong, comfortable knife with a blade style that can handle a wide variety of the tasks you deem most important. You will have to decide if carving and skinning are more important than chopping or fighting. It is the type of knife most of us carry as much as possible.
 
Aside from the truth of the "whatever you have with you when you need it" philosophy, to me, a "survival" knife means a tough and reliable tool for anything it might be useful for. Of course, this means different things to different people...

When I'm out camping, backpacking, etc., I have a small fanny-pack that I keep with my gear and take with me whenever I'm away from camp for any reason other than going to the outhouse. It's a PSK; has micropur tabs, a compass, whistle, etc., in it, so that should I get lost or injured while away from my main gear, I can handle a night or two in the woods. The knife I keep in that pack is a Ka-Bar "Eskabar" BK14. A small, solid, and rugged little knife that I can use for all sorts of bushcraft use. Am I going to baton with it? Hardly. But, I can make a small shelter with it, use it to make fire, and so on. That's my survival knife.
 
If a survival knife is 'what you have on you when you need it', the follow up question is obviously, what knife would you want to have on you when you needed it? For me, I'd want something both sturdy and fairly versatile, plain old Kabar USMC fits the bill fairly well, as does a BK2. For true wilderness scenarios I prefer something bigger paired with a smaller bushcraft knife like a Mora, but if I had to pick one I'll take the bigger knife every time. I could get by in the wilderness with a Kabar Heavy Bowie as my only tool fairly comfortably I think.
 
it has a compass and a hollow handle, serrated spine and are dully enough that you don't have to worry about accidentally cutting anything.
 
I have always taken the term to mean a bushcraft type knife I would use in a wilderness survival situation.

But, I am a heli-pilot and I work in very remote areas so the chance of being stranded and needing a knife to 'survive' with is a real possibility. I guess other people would have different ideas of what they need to survive.

I personally always have my Fallkniven F1 and other quality folders and equipment with me when working. The knife is an essential tool for making fire and shelter. Having fire as soon as possible is extremely important in an aircraft crash. Not only for warmth and cooking, but also for improved morale and to give stranded people hope.
 
The true answer is "the knife you have on you when the emergency happens."

When I think about the knife I would LIKE to have during an emergency, I'd want a Becker BK7 with a good multitool tucked in the sheath.
 
Foilist said:
The true answer is "the knife you have on you when the emergency happens."
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No it isn't, it's something somebody said once and it sounded cool so people keep repeating it. It tells you nothing. I know there is absolutely no way for me to avoid sounding like an asshole right now but I find this really annoying.

Now the second part of your post actually contains information. I could, in theory, be stranded with nothing and have to get by, but since I don't plan on allowing that to happen I want to know what tools will be useful when I need them.
 
Moses2792796 said:
No it isn't, it's something somebody said once and it sounded cool so people keep repeating it. It tells you nothing. I know there is absolutely no way for me to avoid sounding like an asshole right now but I find this really annoying.

Now the second part of your post actually contains information. I could, in theory, be stranded with nothing and have to get by, but since I don't plan on allowing that to happen I want to know what tools will be useful when I need them.
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Point taken. When I hear (and use) the old cliche about "the one you have on you," I interpret it as meaning "the one you are likely to have with you almost all the time, even when you are not expecting a survival crisis." I always have a multitool, a small folder or fixed blade, a light, and something to start fire.

If I were going out somewhere where there would be an elevated likelihood of a wilderness survival scenario, I'd want a big fixed blade. Shelter and fire making would be the high priorities, and I have learned that can use a big knife better than a hatchet for that stuff.
 
In all seriousness, a "survival knife" is pure marketing. People were surviving in harsh conditions with knives long before the term ever conjured images of Sylvester Stalone or Dolph Lundgren.

There is no way to prepare for every situation that you might find yourself in should "survival" be a factor (I'm assuming that the general understanding of "survival situation" is common enough that it involves being semi-minimalist; you probably can't get to things like chainsaws, electricity for heat/lights, decent shelter, etc.). If you were in the desert / woods / jungle / mountains / third-world country / modern-urban setting, you could probably benefit more from a different knife (or knives) for each situation.

The ultimate survival knife is a folding-slicer, a medium fixed-blade, a small axe, a machete, a pistol, and a rifle. Sadly, no one knife can do all of that (save possibly a mantis - but then again, I don't fully understand most of their knives or the need to install a flux-capacitor in a knife-like machine that looks like a bicycle that's been crushed into something roughly shaped like a handle).

Any knife is going to be a compromise of the above, and the best thing to do is to be prepared for the worst possible survival situation that you might find yourself in. A medium-sized fixed blade (good slicer, not too thick) is a very handy thing to have and in my opinion, one of the best tools for survival.

But if given the choice I would pack a chopper, a smaller slicer, and a machete too.
 
EZ Bake said:
The ultimate survival knife is a folding-slicer, a medium fixed-blade, a small axe, a machete, a pistol, and a rifle. QUOTE]

Pretty much true for a white man like myself. Not so true for northern Indians that have so much bush knowledge that they use any, sometimes shockingly cheap knife, and not much else. I do not have that knowledge base other than some basics, so I need the gear. I want a big knife because it makes me feel safer in the primitive part of my brain, although the rational part knows better.
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Moses2792796 said:
I could, in theory, be stranded with nothing and have to get by, but since I don't plan on allowing that to happen I want to know what tools will be useful when I need them.
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You cannot plan on not getting stranded.
People don't plan to get lost, be in a plane crash, or whatever other stupid thing ends up happening.

So, the point actually remains that it's the knife you have with you.

Today, for me, that would be a Spyderco Tuff.:)
 
stabman said:
You cannot plan on not getting stranded.
People don't plan to get lost, be in a plane crash, or whatever other stupid thing ends up happening.

So, the point actually remains that it's the knife you have with you.

Today, for me, that would be a Spyderco Tuff.:)
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Isn't that the truth. This is why I always have a ferro rod on my keychain. And often have a folder on me, in a bag, axe in trunk, whatever. I'm not always 100% prepped and may get caught with my pants down. My prep seems to go to a higher state when I know that i'm leaving town for an isolated spot. Even a night out with a burst rad hose on an isolated road is better spent with gear from the trunk. Ya, when it comes down to it, even my little Becker necker is a ''survival'' knife if it's all I had. Which is at times the case. But if given a prep choice I tend to go big Neanderthal knife.
 
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