What is a survival knife?

I just called my dad and asked him what a survivl knife is. After editing the expletives the conclusion was the one you have attached to your person when the situation goes to hell. Our cars have glock e-tools and large fixed blades in the trunk next to the first aid kits. I carry a couple of folders and a fixed blade(RAT-3) on my person always. I had never put much thought in survival knives until I was at my local knife store last week and a younger guy (18-19) came in wanting to buy one. The lady behind the counter suggested an Ontario RAT-5 and he laughed at her and told her it wasnt a survival knife because it didnt have saw teeth on the back. I happened to be in uniform and he asked me I told him I usually carry a RAT-7 D2 or a benchmade nimravus in in D2 if deployed and he proceeded to tell me I didnt know what I was doing. He ended up buying a Dark ops because it had saw teeth on the back. I still think my rat 7 would out perform his dark ops in survival tasks.
 
First let me say that, as frugal as I am, the long skinny butcher knife shown on the "butcher block" table in that good photo above looks EXACTLY like the one I was using when I was just a kid in my early teens. I tried to chop a very small scrub oak (about 1.5 inches in diameter) and promply WRINKLED THE EDGE. It was too soft and thin for chopping, as I learned at that time! Slicing yes, chopping no! Live and learn, die and forget it all, as Mr. Moxley often remarked. (He also said "DO SOMETHING, even if it's wrong!)

As has been said many times, a "survival knife" is the one in your pocket or on your belt when the SHTF, your world is quickly turning to stinky, fresh fertilizer, and you need to bail of there immediately if not sooner! The moral to that story is to never leave home without at least one good knife you know you can depend on in your pocket or otherwise on your person. Cost of said knife need not be a serious factor, though. Personally, I strongly favor a Victorinox SAK of the Farmer, Pioneer, or Soldier variety, though preferably one with a saw blade along with the the other SAK basics (BASICS!) and the stronger aluminum handle scales. But I'm never without at least 2 or 3 folders on my anytime I have pants on, and a SAK is ALWAYS one of them!

But the answer to the question, "What is a survival knife?" is determined by what you need to survive, where you are in a jam, and how long you might be there before help can find you or you can find help. If you can walk away after your plane goes down in Central or South America you better pray you have a decent machete with you, even if the blade is only 12 inches long. (Hey, gringo, habla machete? Si, muy bueno!) On the other hand, if you found yourself in the Canadian woods and hoping to find your way out to a road, then that Falkniven mentioned earlier, or another simple belt knife with a blade about 4 to 5 inches long would be more appropriate probably.

Obviously, the more complete your tool kit is, the better you can adapt to the situation you have to deal with and the better your chances of surviving your problem long enough to get back to where the cold beer stays. With enough skill and cunning, you might get along just fine with some kind of standard pocketknife. But if you could add some kind of big knife (machete, Bowie, kukri, etc.) you would be much better off. Now if you could add a small belt knife to those two you would be even better off. And if you could add a tomahawk, hatchet, or light axe you would be better off still. Now add your favorite pliers-knife multi-tool and you would have a very complete tool kit. It's just a matter of what you are willing to carry or keep very near you at all times. Most of us find a compromise toward the simple end of the scale under normal conditions. Your additional equipment can stay in your bug out bag usually.
 
jlfletcher83 said:
I had never put much thought in survival knives until I was at my local knife store last week and a younger guy (18-19) came in wanting to buy one. The lady behind the counter suggested an Ontario RAT-5 and he laughed at her and told her it wasnt a survival knife because it didnt have saw teeth on the back. I happened to be in uniform and he asked me I told him I usually carry a RAT-7 D2 or a benchmade nimravus in in D2 if deployed and he proceeded to tell me I didnt know what I was doing. He ended up buying a Dark ops because it had saw teeth on the back. I still think my rat 7 would out perform his dark ops in survival tasks.
Click to expand...

I am oh so glad I wasn't there. I would have likely doubled over laughing so hard I would have embarrassed myself. That gave me a good chuckle, thanks for sharing.
 
Fonly said:
Sounds like he should have bought a Rambo knife :D:D
Click to expand...

Nahhh, he failed the Darwin test before he got in the woods.

Anybody knows a survival knife needs to have a saw back, a compass pommel, and lots of stuff in the handle. $9.95 to $12.95 is about the right price :jerkit:
 
As soon as I get my Howling Rat LM (tomorrow I hope:D ,) this is what I'll carry;
My person at work and in the city-Pocket knife.
Car trunk-Leatherman Wave and Swamp Rat M6
My person on day hikes-Leatherman Wave or Gerber Saw, Pocket knife, and Howler.
Long hikes/camping-Leatherman Wave, Spydie Delica, Howler, and Gerber Hatchet.
I don't believe that there is such a thing as a "survival knife." If I had to pick one blade...it would be a knife in 7+. From what I OWN...it would be a toss up between a RAZOR sharp hatchet and my M6.
 
I think your grandfather did it absolutely right: 1 fix blade knife around 4" blade, and one axe.
This is exactly what I would do as well. It's what I too started out with, and its what still is working very well for me.

So: Not just choose between blade or axe, bring both!!
 
"I just called my dad and asked him what a survival knife is. After editing the expletives the conclusion was the one you have attached to your person when the situation goes to hell. " JLFletcher83

Absolutely.

I routinely carry two knives in this manner, my BK-7 and my NRGS Neck knife. The Becker is also my PSK and it is set up to provide for such things as fire, water, signals, navigation, minor meds, and shelter. I know that if that was all I had I would be in a shelter wrapped in a space blanket, in front of a fire, with five liters of treated water hanging in a bag next to me, a whistle, mirror, LED light, and a compass to sort out where I am. I carry this knife/PSK because I know that with my current level of skills that is how I would want to resolve the problem if I was stripped of all other gear.

In actual use when in the bush my Machete and Mora see the majority of the work but I feel that in my area neither of them, alone, would do as well as the Becker. But I also feel that the Becker, alone, is awkward to use as either a machete or small fixed blade. So, for ME, a survival knife is one that will remain attached to my body 24/7, do a wide variety of tasks (awkward as it may be) and also carry a load of stuff that cover my basic needs. Mac
 
Gossman Knives said:
Cobalt, I handled one of those Hudson Bay knives and they are nice. I made a version of a Hudson Bay knife a few months ago with O1 steel. They make a great camp knife.
Scott
Click to expand...

Scott, Do you have a picture of the version you made? I have never seen that knife before and really like the design of it.


Survival Knife

Would have to be the Manix or SAK Trekker I carry like they were religous adornments and I was a missionary. When I venture into the wood though, my 7" Siegle Bowie and Kershaw Echo ride shotgun.
 
On my last canoe/backpack/wilderness trip in Sweden I used a Swamp Rat Ratweiler and a Spyderco Military for firemaking, shelterbuilding and food-preparing. I found them a perfect combo..

:D :thumbup:
 
probably a blade forum is the wrong place to bring this up...and you'll find very few people who appreciate knives as much as me...so don't get me wrong....but a survival knife can be any knife in the hands of "survivalist" the knife is merely the tool it is the mindset and resourcfulness of the wielder that is the key contibuting factor....I could give a rat 7or a howling rat or a bussee to some one who is untrained or has the wrong mindset and watch over weeks as they turn into a skeleton with a 500 dollar knife...or I could give a random knife from my kitchen drawer, or tool box to the right person and watch as they make it work....this is not to say that some knives aren't MUCH more suited to a given situation than others...just merely that the user not the tool is what turns any knife into a survial knife....jmoymv
 
RescueRiley said:
probably a blade forum is the wrong place to bring this up...and you'll find very few people who appreciate knives as much as me...so don't get me wrong....but a survival knife can be any knife in the hands of "survivalist" the knife is merely the tool it is the mindset and resourcfulness of the wielder that is the key contibuting factor....I could give a rat 7or a howling rat or a bussee to some one who is untrained or has the wrong mindset and watch over weeks as they turn into a skeleton with a 500 dollar knife...or I could give a random knife from my kitchen drawer, or tool box to the right person and watch as they make it work....this is not to say that some knives aren't MUCH more suited to a given situation than others...just merely that the user not the tool is what turns any knife into a survial knife....jmoymv
Click to expand...

Well said!:thumbup:
 
Isn't it amazing that we think we need a 500 dollar super mega cutter 6000 made of top secret steel scavenged from alien spacecraft to do exactly the same thing our ancestors did with a broken chip of rock. Chris
 
"made of top secret steel scavagened from alien spacecraft"

Ah, but which alien spacecraft are we talkin' here? Mac
 
Personally, I have always found Romulan to be slightly better than Klingon but so slight that only a true expert could tell the difference.;)
 
jlfletcher83 said:
he laughed at her and told her it wasnt a survival knife because it didnt have saw teeth on the back. .
Click to expand...

Well, there is a place for a serraded edge on many blades.
Im not sure I have ever needed to saw things while camping in the woods.
But cutting many things is way faster with a good serraded edge.

Im not sure what started the idea that a good survival knife has to have saw teeth but I have come to see that this is the way most people believe.

They expect a survival blade to have something extra in design to it.
 
I think it all started with First blood....I remember being a kid and referring to any hollow handled saw back knife as a "rambo knife".....However I have seen bear Gryllis use a saw back knife in a couple of episodes...and I'm sure that might be contributing to the new interest
 
runningboar said:
Personally, I have always found Romulan to be slightly better than Klingon but so slight that only a true expert could tell the difference.;)
Click to expand...

We all know that the Breen posses superior metals!

RescueRiley is right though, but honestly he is not in the minority on this particular forum where Mora's and Becker's outrank Busse and others by a considerable margin. It's just like that shotgun thread, it never matters what you have, it matters when you have it and how you use it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top