What is a survival knife ?

H

Hawkings

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Mar 31, 2006
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I've been reading a lot of post about survival knifes and knifes used in bush craft.

One of the points that came up goes along something like this:

Bush craft is the skills that will let you live of the land for as long as you would want to. (point being that this is something that you can controll..."I don't want to do this any more, so I'm going home now. or staying at home in the first place")

Survival is when something goes very wrong and you do not have a choice any more, Maybe you plane went down...maybe you got lost...your car breaks down....ect ect. (Point being, your focus is not to die or trying to die more slowly, there by giving a rescue team time to find you. or finding your own way out.)

Some people like a thin small blade like the mora while practising bush craft (Well don't we all like mora's :p ).

And a survival blade being more of a big blade like a khuri or busse, that can be use like an axe, shovel, hammer, prybar....ect..ect and not break. It might not be great for making a death fall and such, but fire and shelter is more important because chances are your going to be found before you starve to death. ( Yes yes I know, but stay with me on this one a little longer please ;) )

This got me thinking about the saying "a survival is the knife you have on your person in a survival situation" or some such:rolleyes: .

This means that a khuri or busse is not really candidates for a survival blade :eek: (Remeber that you do not plan a survival situation (You can plan not to end up in one and what to do in one, but you do not set the time and date on it) ).

Sooo....A survival knife, is the knife, that you have on your person while you are reading this, the one you have with you when going to buy lunch or go to work tomorrow.

and for most of us(And I do say most of us only :cool: ) this is not going to be a busse or even a fixed blade, most likely it will be a folder of sorts.
(For me it is a Vic' Farmer :thumbup: )

Is a folder the first and best choice for a survival knife ??

Well this depents on how you see it.

If I'm IN a survival situation, would I choose my Farmer...Uhmm no. not if I had a choich.

BUT in our world that we live in ( Most of us anyway), a folder IS the first and bedst choice for a survival knife! a choich that we make each morning we get dressed.

A folder is less likely to be taken away by a LEO, easier to to carry around ect ect.
All things that will make it more likly, that you will have it on your person IF things is going down hill fast.

When carrying the knife you think of as you survival knife(ie busse and such or even a simple mora) Chance are that you will have things planned out and there for a survival situation is less likely to happen.

SSSOOOOO my survival knife is a small girlyknife with no lock:eek: , Man I really hope things never goes wrong:) :)

(DISCLAIMER: I don't really know any thing about survival nor bush craft)
 
When it gets down to it, the knowledge of the person in how to use a knife is gonna outweigh what knife, a lot of the time.
 
This is a very pragmatic question.

The knife I carry everyday, everywhere is a SAK OH Trekker, I would think this would be a fine companion in a bad situation. With it I can make what I need and think of it as a tool first and weapon last (It can make a mean spear which a better weapon in the bush IMO).

If I had my druthers I keep my BK1 in the truck and I am never far from it.
 
I am most likely to find myself in a survival situation when I go backpacking. That means, in my case, I have a small multitool, folding saw, and (lately) Bark River Aurora (.217" x 4.25"). Might have an old Marbles No. 9 if I know I'll need it.

If the situation arises when I am in my Honda Crisis Response Vehicle, I have at least a locking folder, Ka-Bar, fixed prunning saw, intrenching tool, wrecking bar, and hand axe.

Otherwise, away from the house, I usually have a bag with a Bark River Woodsman, mini prybar, and Ritter folder.

On rare occasions, it's true that I only have a SAK or small, high-quality locking folder.

On rarer occasions, I am in buildings where no knives are allowed, but I still have the mini prybar.

I guess you do what you can to be prepared when it comes to tools.
 
The way I see, I wouldn't risk breaking my only cutting tool by using it as a spear tip. While not as durable, you can always carve a spear out of a decent sized, straight limb and then fire harden the point...

I remember doing this all the time as a kid, and its fairly impressive how much abuse one of these wooden spears can take if done properly!
 
Thomas Linton said:
I am most likely to find myself in a survival situation when I go backpacking. That means, in my case, I have a small multitool, folding saw, and (lately) Bark River Aurora (.217" x 4.25"). Might have an old Marbles No. 9 if I know I'll need it.

If the situation arises when I am in my Honda Crisis Response Vehicle, I have at least a locking folder, Ka-Bar, fixed prunning saw, intrenching tool, wrecking bar, and hand axe.

Otherwise, away from the house, I usually have a bag with a Bark River Woodsman, mini prybar, and Ritter folder.

On rare occasions, it's true that I only have a SAK or small, high-quality locking folder.

On rarer occasions, I am in buildings where no knives are allowed, but I still have the mini prybar.

I guess you do what you can to be prepared when it comes to tools.
Click to expand...


This is a good point. I tend to look at things in the "what is the probability of (insert disaster) happening. If I am at work, out to eat, or at Wal-mart, (barring a TEOTWAWKI type event), there is relatively small chance that I will be placed in a survival situation. Therefore my Sebenza and SAK will likely suffice.

If I am in my vehicle traveling to and from aforementioned places, there are more chances of something going wrong, i.e. blowout, freak snowstorm, getting lost, out of gas, etc. That is why I have a BOB with a sturdy fixed blade, xtra clothes, survival equipment, gun, etc.

If I am out camping or hiking, there is an even better chance of something happening that would place me in a survival situation, so I gear up accordingly.

I agree that not many are able to carry a 7"FB as an edc, but I like to have one with me if possible.
 
Everyday EDC situations are handled by the SAK Fireman as it has 2 blades and a saw.

When in the bush with a higher risk exposure a 7+ blade is nice to do all.

Skam
 
OK I'll play along.

My EDC knife in the urban jungle of Brazil (I live in a city of 4 million) is either a Spyderco Endura or now will be a Cold Steel 4 inch Tanto Voyager. In the trunk of my car is a 16 inch Tramontina machete. I always have a multi-tool and another "loaner" folder in my briefcase. These are the knives I will always have with me in the city.

If I head out of the city to either go to the wilderness or vist our rural porperty 1.5 hours away I will throw my survival pack in the trunk. In addition to the above mentioned blades I will have a Becker BK-7 and my Livesay NRGS neck knife. I will also have a folding pruning saw.

I have never felt the need to carry a fixed blade in the city. I once did use the 16 inch machete though. I drove past two old women trying desperately to cut off a large downed limb that was blocking the entrance to their restaurant. I backed up, whacked up and became the hero. No free lunch, it was way too early for that.

Know where you're going and carry the things appropriate to your travels. Mac

Edited to add: Oh yeah... and a Mora! Mora knives are so light and practical that you can afford (in terms of weight, bulk, and price) to throw your favorite in the pack. For 90% of the common cutting tasks it is the knife I reach for.
 
A survival knife is the knife you have on you all the time. Unless, you carefully plan your disasters. :D So, I tend to agree with The Last Federate.

My survival knife will very likely be a SAK and Spyderco Paramilitay. This is what I carry daily. If I had a choice, would be one of my Chris Reeve or Busse fixed blades.
 
Victorinox made German army issue OH Trekker. Actually, I'd prefer to have a good fixed blade with me as well, but this little knife has done an amazing job for me in the field.

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Urban survival means to me some sort of natural/manmade disaster. I carry a folder every day and I don't feel like I would need anything bigger. Chances are I'm not going to make a fire or a debri hut in the middle of downtown when I can just walk into a building. But, let's say I do. It boggles the mind to think of how many cutting tools there are in a modern city. How many buildings have kitchens/lunchrooms? This isn't even considering how much glass is in a city. I bet if you need a sharp blade all you'd have to do is walk 5 yards in any direction and break some glass.;)
In the stix I carry a fixed blade and sometimes an axe.
 
I always out side of my home have either a 110 folder or a CRKT M-16 on me, so this would most likey be my "survival knife."

Each of my vehicles has a VSK with a 110 folder in my wife's and a BK7 in my truck. Barring TEOTWAWKI, my EDC should be sufficient for most situations. But I'd really like to have access to my vehicle in an urban survival situation and get at that BK7...

This shows us how important EDC is for general preparedness... hopefully, none of your workplaces ban pocket knives...that would really suck.
 
A Survival Knife is the one you have with you should you find yourself in one of thsoe situations.

What will you be carrying?
 
You make a good point about the knife you're most likely to have with you. For me, it would most likely be a Vic Spirit or old style Wave multitool. Maybe a Spyderco Native in addition. This is generally my edc combination, and what I would have at hand if a survival situation somehow occurred while I was going about my daily business.

However, I imagine the most likely sort of "survival" scenario for myself would be a problem that arises when I'm hiking or something. When I go deliberately into the woods, even just for a stroll behind my house, I have a fixed blade and something to start fires with. The knife then would be a Becker BK10 or Grohmann #1
 
During the winter I do a lot of deliveries in rural areas, for this reason I always have my Gene Ingram SLK and a small ferro rod in my coat.
 
I understand the point, but as others have said, there is a level of increased risk when you go camping/hiking/hunting/traveling, etc. In those circumstances, you can hedge the odds somewhat by taking 'better' knives with you.

But the question really is: "what do you carry routinely, no matter what." I carry a BenchMade Skirmish (full size) in the right pocket, a Spyderco Delica in the left pocket, a SAK "Signature" on the keyring, and a Leatherman PST II on the belt. I figure I have enough to get to a "real" knife, should I need one. Of course, the Surefire and .45 I carry should help get me there, too!

.
 
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