What knife would you use in a survival scenario?

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master_nylo

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If you were in a 72 hr+ off grid survival scenario what one knife would you trust to fill the role of a survival knife? To make kindling, to prepare food, make a spear, make a shelter or to battle a zombie (just kidding with that last part). I personally would trust the TOPS silent hero. Looking forward to hearing your feedback!
 
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master_nylo said:
If you were in a 72 hr+ off grid survival scenario what one knife would you trust to fill the role of a survival knife? To make kindling, to prepare food, make a spear, make a shelter or to battle a zombie (just kidding with that last part). I personally would trust the TOPS silent hero. Looking forward to hearing your feedback!
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Probably whatever slipjoint(s) I have on me.
As for "making kindling" when out camping, to be honest, I always found enough twigs and dried leaves for kindling, and a old dry stick for whittlin' a feather stick, when necessary at the camp site. Usually right where I wanted to pitch my tent. 🤨
"Making a spear" ... are you talking a pointed stick spear, or lash the knife to a stick as the spear blade?
For the latter, something like my Cold Steel "Bushman" (not the bowie version) or some other hollow handle knife would be "ideal". Of course the chances of having it on me are less than slim to none. I haven't seen it (or my GI Tanto, and the three CS Kukri machete I have is seven years or so. It's in another state, anyway.) The only fixed blades I have access to right now are a Mora N°1, a Cold Steel FINN BEAR, , and Toferner neck knife. The Toferner wouldn't be much use as a spear point; the blade is under 2 inches. Even if I had one or both of the other fixed blades with me, I doubt I would tie one onto a stick to make a spear, anyway. Carve/whittle a suitable stick to a point, and fire temper the point, will make a spear plenty good enough for fishing the shallows. I wouldn' use a spear for game. A snare or other trap might be more efficient than hunting with a spear, and don't need me there to get the critter, allowing me to do something else that is productive. A slipjoint pocket knife can whittle/carve a trap and snare trigger.

I can (and do) do food prep with any knife I have on me.

I believe the stockman or Barlow along with a Scout Knife or SAK is quite capable of doing everything I need to do "in an unexpected survival situation, including making a shelter, provided the materials for a shelter are available.
 
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Waxed/Vaseline cotton balls are also useful as accelerator while having other use like temporal water proofing, cleaning tools (especially carbon blades), lubricating.

A simple lighter is generally good enough imo, jet lighter is overkill. Even when out of gas, the spark from the simple lighter is sometimes enough to start a fire.

With experience, many things can be used for survival. Without experience and more brute force things, bigger and stronger tools are more fool proof.
 
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When I was a Boy Scout, we made fire starters by tying a simple overhand knot in cotton cord and soaking the cut off knots in wax. One unsoaked end was frizzed out to catch the match.

Another fire starter was made from fiber board egg crates and saw dust. Hardwood saw dust was put into each egg crate hollow and that soaked in melted wax. Easch depression would be broken off to make one fire starter.
 
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Years ago, a widow from our church gave me an H&R single barrel shotgun; quite old and showed years of cssual use as a utilitarian tool. Of course, I looked it over pretty closely. Something rattled. So I disassembled it into Butt stock, Barrel and fore end. The forearm had a deep hollow below the barrel channel, with a yellowed twist of waxed paper in it. Turned out to hold three strike anywhere matches.

Seems relevant.

Makes a case for one of the Schrade hollow handled one piece knives. Do they still make them?
 
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Re: The "Best" survivaql knife . . .

And here is what I was trying to say in recommending reading "Deep Survival" over recomending some magic knife.

 
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VorpelSword said:
Re: The "Best" survivaql knife . . .

And here is what I was trying to say in recommending reading "Deep Survival" over recomending some magic knife.

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That was too brief. I stay between condition orange and red - I call it, burnt orange. And it's not fear, it's being prepared. Plus, I don't like surprises. If sh!t goes down I want to be right on top of it.

Edit: Sorry, I guess that I lied. There are two surprises that I like; one involves a woman, and two is a shipping notice from Carothers Performance Knives. :)
 
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If I had the time to grab something, it'd be one of any number of midsize to larger sized fixed blades I own, probably one of my Carothers knives. If I'm thrown into the situation, I'll still be good to go, since I'll have at minimum a large folder and a smaller knife or SAK. Grab the lighter from my daybag, coat and rain jacket layer I keep in my car, I'm all set.
 
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Cold Steel Wild West Bowie. Has been beatin to hell and back, heavy patina and and a little rust hear and there. I will use the rattling guard to fear of any attackers🤣

All jokes aside, this thing IS the apocalypse and the old west on steroids in one piece, so it should be fine for a short trip of civilization.
 
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