What knife would you use in a survival scenario?

M

master_nylo

Joined
Nov 7, 2022
Messages
98
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!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
coolbreezy37 said:
For a fire?
Click to expand...
Fortunately I carry one of these whenever I venture out.

enviro-log-kfc-11-herbs-spices-firelog-225fae4d-0406-4b01-bad2-e3b6c62cc474.png
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jackknife said:
THIS!

Some years ago, Jeff Randall said in an interview that 98% of the knife industry was BS, and more real world survival was being done in developing countries with a machete than any other knife.

Almost 20 years ago, our son John was in Costa Rica for 6 months for his company. We flew down for a visit and John, knowing what nature lovers his mom and dad were, had booked us on a rainforest trip. Hiking by day with our binoculars, and camping each night where the guides had set up the tents and dinner. All the guides carried a small machete in a nice leather sheath with a file to touch up the blade. File sharp, no shaving edges there. They also had a pouch on their belt that had a SAK and a Bic lighter. For the four days and three nights we were in the Costa Rican jungle, those guides did near everything with those small 10 to 12 inch machetes. Bu day, walking the trail the guide in front carried a much longer machete for clear any growth on the well used trail. In the evening, kindling was chopped up with the small machetes, extra tent pegs made, dinner prepared.

The last night in the jungle, they did a pig roast for us. The roast pork was sliced up and served with machetes, that also handled bread slicing, veggie slicing, and anything else that needed cutting.

Came home from that trip and got rid of my large fixed blades and just used a 12 inch Ontario machete and pocket knife.

Only obsessed knife nuts go overboard on buy8ng expensive knives. The rest of the world does very well with Mora's, machetes, bolo's, and panga's. Cheap, effective, and reliable.
Click to expand...
The reason they use a cheap replaceable machete is because many of those regions are extremely poor and that is all they have access to.


The fact they use it doesn't make it the best choice. I'm sure if they had access to "nicer" stuff and the equipment to keep it sharp they would use it.

So just because something is used somewhere successfully doesn't mean it's the best tool for the job. Michael Jordan could beat me at 1v1 wearing flip flops but that doesn't mean that is the best footwear.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Houlahound said:
I honestly don't get this, is there some environment that only has logs available?? Camping for over 5 decades and have never had to split a log to start a fire.
Click to expand...

I doubt this completely, sorry. At some point, the deadwood on the ground dries up, especially in areas where others camp throughout the year. Also, this tells me you've never camped in the rain, since spl...nevermind, if you know, you know. Please stop lying, it's getting embarrassing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Quiet said:
I doubt this completely, sorry. At some point, the deadwood on the ground dries up, especially in areas where others camp throughout the year. Also, this tells me you've never camped in the rain, since spl...nevermind, if you know, you know. Please stop lying, it's getting embarrassing.
Click to expand...

OK if you are in a survival situation at a popular camp ground as per your scenario there might be less resources available.

Cam I suggest you go to a less popular area or a you restricted somehow like need a flush toilet and a MacDonald's or something for your survival.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Houlahound said:
OK if you are in a survival situation at a popular camp ground as per your scenario there might be less resources available.

Cam I suggest you go to a less popular area or a you restricted somehow like need a flush toilet and a MacDonald's or something for your survival.
Click to expand...

I have camped more than you have, in more varieties of weather and terrain than you have, I can guarantee that. The irony in your response is that your idea that you never need to split wood, clearly comes from someone who's never camped out in the actual woods and needed an actual fire. If you're an ultra-light guy who carries a Jet-Stove everywhere, good for you. Eventually, that little cannister is going to run out and you're going to need an actual fire in order to heat your site, light it at night, cook, and/or boil water for potability. That is absolutely at some point going to require you to process wood, in a way that a machete just isn't going to do the job. If you'd camped in actual woods, you'd know this. That you don't know that, tells us all that you've not experienced it, which means your comment about having camped for "over five decades" is complete nonsense unless you think car camping or staying in a cabin your family rented is somehow the same thing.

It isn't.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Quiet said:
I have camped more than you have, in more varieties of weather and terrain than you have, I can guarantee that. The irony in your response is that your idea that you never need to split wood, clearly comes from someone who's never camped out in the actual woods and needed an actual fire. If you're an ultra-light guy who carries a Jet-Stove everywhere, good for you. Eventually, that little cannister is going to run out and you're going to need an actual fire in order to heat your site, light it at night, cook, and/or boil water for potability. That is absolutely at some point going to require you to process wood, in a way that a machete just isn't going to do the job. If you'd camped in actual woods, you'd know this. That you don't know that, tells us all that you've not experienced it, which means your comment about having camped for "over five decades" is complete nonsense unless you think car camping or staying in a cabin your family rented is somehow the same thing.

It isn't.
Click to expand...

OK champ.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Spillproof said:
You, sir, are blurring the line between Online Survivalist Fantasies and Verifiable Outdoors Experience.
Tsk tsk.
Click to expand...

Which it's clear that neither of which H Houlahound has. Also, given the nature of the way the question was asked (offgrid, meaning "in the woods" generally), of course we're discussing actual woods use tools. An urban survival scenerio would an entirely different thing. A machete is going to be a liability in much of the hardwood forest areas in the country, since you aren't processing wood with that. Well, I suppose you could process smaller pieces, but why would you hamstring yourself bringing an inferior tool if you had a choice in this hypothetical scenerio?

It probably shouldn't surprise you that many of us have spent a lot of time in the outdoors and have experiences to back our statements here. Hell, I live in Florida, and I could leave my house right now, and walk across the way into a stand of oak trees. I'm not processing wood from an oak stand with a machete.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Quiet said:
Which it's clear that neither of which H Houlahound has. Also, given the nature of the way the question was asked (offgrid, meaning "in the woods" generally), of course we're discussing actual woods use tools. An urban survival scenerio would an entirely different thing. A machete is going to be a liability in much of the hardwood forest areas in the country, since you aren't processing wood with that. Well, I suppose you could process smaller pieces, but why would you hamstring yourself bringing an inferior tool if you had a choice in this hypothetical scenerio?

It probably shouldn't surprise you that many of us have spent a lot of time in the outdoors and have experiences to back our statements here. Hell, I live in Florida, and I could leave my house right now, and walk across the way into a stand of oak trees. I'm not processing wood from an oak stand with a mamachete.
Click to expand...
I'm a wildlife biologist with 32 years of field-work (often extended solo remote camping) under my belt. I also built my off-the-grid mountain (4k elev.) home entirely by myself while living in a canvas tent with a wood stove (which I also built).

You're a cyberwarrior.
I actually live this life.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Am I allowed to bring my custom Jesse Jarosz machete in AEB-L?

283335076_3090850804498673_8793437896819593826_n.jpg

P.S. I don't know the first thing about survival, bushcrafting, etc. I just love knives, and love chopping things in the hills behind my house like a wildman. When I'm done I go inside and sleep on a nice soft bed!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Spillproof said:
I'm a wildlife biologist with 32 years of field-work (often extended solo remote camping) under my belt. I also built my off-the-grid mountain (4k elev.) home entirely by myself while living in a canvas tent with a wood stove (which I also built).

You're a cyberwarrior.
I actually live this life.
Click to expand...

I am anything but a "cyber warrior". Tell me, did you do all those things with a machete?

:)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Spillproof said:
I never mentioned machetes.
You've lost track of who you're arguing with.

I bet you're great with a compass though.
Click to expand...

Actually, no. I'm making a point for someone else to read. It's ok if you missed it there. By the way, your super offgrid cabin gets GREAT service, very commendable. :D

Anyway, sorry, let me ask you a different question: in all those 32 years of, you know "living that life", I presume that the only tool you ever carried and used was a machete, correct?

And I'm decent at land navigation and compass work, why do you mention it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top