what you want in a survival knife.

A folding saw and any full tang knife between 3 1/2" and 4" blade

I don't want a chopper or axe when I can saw.
A saw can do a vast amount of versitile work and covers shelter building to woodcraft
Where the knife will do the fine cutting

And if I have to baton, I can slice the sides of a 'log' that I have sawn.
Or saw a wedge and a kerf for splitting
 
In all my many years of hanging around the woods, in going to questionable places, and in just plain messing around, I have never once been in a postion where I needed to 'survive'. That said though, I have always felt that the most likely situation for survival would be when camping out in the boonies. For that, I am always packing more than just a knife.
Currently, a 15 inch Sven saw, a 12 inch handle Wetterlings ax, a 6 inch bladed custom in A2 by Tim Olt, and my constant companion SAK Trekker, are my insurance against disaster. They all perform their tasks well, and I have total confidence in them.
 
For me, a field knife ("survival"?) has got to be one that won't fail - which also means I have to know how to use it in ways that will minimize the knives subjection to "over-the-top" forces beyond what it's capable of (basically, know my knife's limitations and know *how* to use it well).

So, knowing that if I'm really in a "survival" situation, I'll have less than optimal thinking I need my gear engineered to be able to take the extra stress that may put on it.

My field knife (read "survival" knife) has a 6" blade and is made from 1/4" (oh no!?!? 1/4"? Did he say 1/4"? Awwww, the poor dude must be a complete n00b to use 1/4".... Right? :rolleyes:) 01 tool-steel with a fairly wide blade @ 2 1/8". It has a full-tang construction with Micarta handles and a shaving-sharp convex edge. It's a Breeden Custom and just plain cuts/batons/pry's stuff with aplomb.

However, I also carry a Mora knife as well as a folding saw, Leatherman Wave and my SAK "Huntsman". I don't just carry/use 1 tool. When I'm backpacking I'll leave the Mora behind, but never my field knife.
 
what i want from my survival knife .. i guess , the single biggest must have is
must have it with me
its got to be carry-able enough , and useable enough for every day things that itll be on my person when the unexpected happens .
i vary in what i carry , from the ones i make myselfs , from repurposed all hard high speed steel power hacksaw blades .. thru to my old okapi , an opinel 10 , a svord peasant , and an izula II
its been my experience that when things get tight .. i value my knife more since its going to be dam hard to replace it for a time at least .
ease of sharpening is important , familiarity with the knife is important , like anything that one is thinking of depending on in stressful times , its good to know from experience and practice what can be done easy and what is going to be a PITA

just my $0.02 :)
 
Good Tarp. Water filtration, and a sturdy fixed blade.

I normally have a fixed blade, and several folders. Opinel is one I like for weight and slicing ability.

I like a few Busse's for camping. B11 is light for a big knife. Easy to carry. Busse SarQ with a nice polished convex edge. Strong, but not too thick, full tang.


I need to get a nice folding saw.
 
When woods bumming I carry a 10” trail knife and a 4” task knife. I have for decades. I keep the same combo in my vehicle kit.

For a survival knife, my EDC is a Victorinox Farmer. Compact, pocket friendly, love that saw.
 
When in the woods I can more than make due with one of 3 options. My F1, BHK Bushcrafter, or my BK16.... now that said, I do usually carry a bahco Laplander as well for further wood processing.

If weight isn't a concern and I'm heading out to have a little fun then I might be inclined to bring a larger knife for batoning and a sven21 saw for big chores (great for clearing downed trees while kayaking lazy wooded streams).

At the end of the day though, I feel more than confident having just one of my 3 above choices. Compact, sturdy, and comfortable :cool:
 
I typically will have a SAK in my pocket just about any time. I like big blades, but seldom use them. So, I have been carrying two knives lately if I am in the woods; Blackjack 125 and a large SAK. I use the SAK more. Chances are if I got caught out in the woods for a night or two, I'd have these knives with me. May start to carry a larger GEC folder... it is on the way (Pioneer #23) and it would replace the SAK. But I find the twizzers to be really useful on that SAK. Changing is difficult when you get comfortable with what you already have and have used for years.

Bought a Fallkniven F1 for this purpose prior to the Blackjack and have yet to carry that one. It is really a pretty knife. I feel that it is plenty of knife for most any survival situation.

If I know before I hit the woods that I am going to be cutting big stuff, I carry the Condor Pack Golok and a folder such as my SAK. If I intend to play, I might take along a fixed blade too. A Becker BK-1 might be a good choice for light chopping and general use blade. But it is such a tank that I seldom carry the beast.
 
SCRAPYARD Deregulator for self defence and wilderness survival. With its 1/4 thickness and 7 inch blade, it's big and heavy enough to chop and baton wood and small enough to cut meat, bread, etc. I also carry a Spyderco Tenacous or ZT0550. My alternative to the Deregulator is the SCRAP
YARD SYKCO 911...and incredible blade and like all members of the family, thick and heavy!
 
I carry two fixed blades. One is a bk-11 that is the do everything blade. I use it for food prep and other camp chores. I have a bk-2 that is for wood processing and digging. There is always a 3"-4" folding blade in my pocket but the brands differ daily.
 
What I want... GSO 4.1 and Fallkniven F1 are two of my favorites. 3-4" fixed blade, full tang, stainless steel (CPM 154,vg-10, m390...), spine sharp enough to use with a firesteel and exposed butt end for hammering are my major qualifications.

Have a BHK Bush Pig on way. Does not hit all of these qualities, but have a good feeling on it.
 
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Greetings,

I don't think there is really one truly perfect knife, for survival, or any other task unless it is very, very specific (like paring or something). I also don't think most folks outside perhaps the the active duty, deployed military purchase a knife with true 'survival' in mind.

Specifically, what do you mean by 'survival,' ie type of survival and where? For 99% of people, they normally purchase a knife with a general intent, be it self defense, utility, kitchen, camping, etc. Not 'survival.' Put another way, most don't buy a knife with the idea they're gonna go 15 miles up the trail, alone, where they have no cell coverage, break an ankle, right before dark and in the rain when its 40 deg. outside. To me that's a plausible kind of 'uh oh, the brown stinky stuff hit the wind generator' type scenario.

So you tell me, in that scenario, what would you rather have? A compact convenient little folder or a something with a little more capability? Truth be told, if you're smart, know what your doing and with a bit of luck (ie there's a great natural shelter nearby), you might be able to get out of that scenario if you do proper things regardless of the knife, but your chances might go up a good bit if you have more capable tool(s) at your disposal.

Whenever I hit the trail for more than anything other than a short stroll down by the river, I take along my go-to hard-use field blade...the Busse NMSFNO in a SpecOps sheath with a small folder, fire steel, and other gizmo or two in the pouch. I've also gone to keeping a very compact/lightweight (ie cheap) space blanket held down by the velco flap at the top of the pouch. The blanket is hardly my first choice if I got stuck in the woods, but its part of the knife kit (at least at the moment), ready to go, and always with me. On a cold wet rainy night, it would probably be worth a 1000x its weight in gold.

I figure short of being severely injured (unconscious, completely immobilized, etc), I could make it through a night or two decently with those tools in all except perhaps the very worst weather.

So I guess that's my answer: Busse NMSFNO-- 8 x .25 inch blade, ~13 or so inches over all, full tang, extended pommel, convex edge, protective coating. Paired with with a small folder.

But if I was going to be truly 'surviving' outside of normal inhabited areas, along with the NMSFNO, I'd probably want a saw and perhaps a hatchet/axe, depending on what else I'm doing and where I'm at.

BOSS
 
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Survival situation/emergency situation/inconvenienced situation/general bumming/hiking...knife. I have plenty of knives to choose from based on time of year, activity and location. But since we do not choose when an emergency might come up it comes down to what do I carry if I intend to be a decent walk from a road.

Folding saw, German Army SAK and a 4-6" fixed blade. Overkill yes but I like my knives and I take stops to rest, enjoy the outdoors and mess around with skills practice.

If I had orders to pack for an extended time and did not know where I would be- only outdoors. I would grab one of the below as I have good time in with them and trust them. Secure grips, durable construction, hold an edge well and the blade style is very usable for me.
Modified Breeden Sere and Koyote LBK(top knife bottom photo):



Bill
 
Generally speaking I think about 5” is ideal. I'm happy enough with an inch or so either way. Go much bigger and for size and weight I'm in machete territory. A decent SAK already owns anything much smaller. Stay in the 5” ish area and it can be a true handy all round tool that never leaves you. I put a priority on that...................................The difficulty with these threads is always going to be the “prior-knowledge” thing, and what arena that “survival” is going to take place in. Open it up too wide and we could all find ourselves walking round like Wallys with crash helmets on and great cutlass size objects strapped to our belts. Go too narrow and you end up with disposable stuff like the builder's sheath that's been through umpteen Moras. It could be a rescue knife or rigging cutter, or something for wrecking that won't cut properly but will stab a hole through brick or be hammered through a bit of metal. The latter reminding me of a lot of the cheap low hardness carbon things the military tend to use, and how people tend to use them. Realistically, you can't keep hedging your bets with too wide a scope, and if the scope is too narrow you had prior warning so it isn't really a survival anything its just a tool that goes with the task, no different from the team medic maybe needing scissors.................................That just brings me back to utility patterns. And yes I will sacrifice a degree of cutting power for toughness. Something super hard and thin that cuts great sounds wonderful. There are plenty of Japanese factory knives in high end steel that'll do that great. In fact, at that, bang for your buck wise those Japanese kitchen knives are going to embarrass pretty much everything else. I doubt whether they'd put up with much general purpose knife activity though. Hell, three of the knives in that recent contest here got completely wiped out because they erred a little to much to the cutting performance aspect when slicing was mentioned in the contest parameters. They weren't intended to be kitchen knives more field knives, but pushing the envelope too far on one aspect was a catastrophe in waiting.................................Obviously not so bad because you still have a knife that you can refine, but loading up too heavily on strength at the cost of cutting power is an abomination to me too. One of the reasons I object to Scandis is exactly this. True, you can get around the problem by making the Scandi from very thin stock so it cuts through stuff a bit better but still. And most of us have probably seen that pic which compares a Busse edge with that of a cold chisel. I'm sure that makes it very strong but it would be an acceptable cutting tool for me....................................It's because of all this and more that any practical enthusiasm I have had for survival knives has really waned. I replaced it with a new model which peculiarly enough was drawn from TV. There's a show on here in which they take a bunch of gap-year type young folks and stick them on a pair of islands with minimal stuff. They compete for weeks at stuff we don't care about here. The point is they have minimal gear; sleeping bag, mess tins, a few odds and sods and a food chest that going to be tight. They can augment that with wild foods, usually pigs, chickens, fish, coconuts and tubers. And they make their own shelter. They get given a couple of machetes and a blim bag with a bit of charcloth. I got to thinking that although you could run other scenarios like desert or tundra too this would make for a good fun test of a utility knife as a survival knife. You want it to be handy for everything, always with you whether you were doing sex, or swimming, or knackered dragging logs or digging holes. It's all well and good to kick the stuffing out the very sorry guy that borrowed your knife and lost it, but better still is keeping your powder dry and never losing touch with it no matter what. I wondered what I'd pick for that. And barring a brief wondering about Spyderco H1 blades it just came back to the utility patterns I'm already familiar with. I'd probably devise some new sheath system but the knives didn't change.
 
I'm going to go with a "lost in the woods on a camping trip" scenario.


A machete would probably be the most useful blade you could carry to many situations, but I don't often carry a machete on hikes. Excluding them, I would pick any reasonably well made fixed blade in steel as good as I felt I could sharpen. That includes a Phil Wilson Southfork and an edge pro, or a Cold Steel Recon Tanto and a rock, if that's what you had and felt you could maintain. It really comes down to comfort and what you feel you can use best to do things like make shavings and maybe cut up a rabbit or some such you may be able to catch.

I would personally pick a blade that is now usually marketed as a "bushcraft" style knife. Something with a ~4" blade and a comfortable handle. This could be anything from a Mora to a Custom. I usually pack a diamond pocket stone with me, so I'd opt for a steel that was fairly tough (not a whole lot of need for extreme chip resistance with a 4" blade and a desperate situation) and holds an edge really well for a long time. Something like ELMAX in stainless, or M4 for non-stainless would be my ideal choice, but anything that can cut twigs will do. To me, it wouldn't matter much, because in a true survival situation, I wouldn't really need to use the knife for anything drastic, and it would only see chores like carving traps, making tinder, notching branches and stripping limbs for a lean-to, etc. Thus, I wouldn't trade edge retention for extra toughness, especially since you don't have to give up anything for steels as tough as you'll ever need.

In the end, a knife is low on the list if I were truly tasked to survive something like getting lost in the woods. Even if you have your grail knife in this situation, you're not likely to eat or sleep very well if you don't know what you're doing. Knowledge in orienteering, trap making, hunting, cooking, fire building, and shelter selection/preperation trump most gear you can have, (short of a sat phone, cooler full of food, an ATV filled with gas and a GPS). More realistically, a bic lighter, space blanket, and a little planning would all be more useful to most, those without much knowledge of the woods.

As others have said, you'd have to make due with what you had with you, and you can always keep what you've learned with you.
 
Seems like the ideal size and strength of a survival knife depends largely upon your survival needs at any given time and location. And since it's unlikely that any of us know in advance that we're entering a survival situation, and convenience and carry-ability matter in day-to-day life, it's important to recognize that the minimum required is not necessarily the same as the ideal. I'm always found with a Vic OHT (my minimum). If I had advance warning that I'd be entering a survival scenario, and with limited gear, I'd be more inclined to grab a 6 to 8 inch fixed blade like a Hudson Bay or Fallkniven A1. So many variables that there's no chance of picking one "best" knife type for survival.
 
sicily02 said it best IMO: from camp to kitchen. Like many here Ive gone through a bunch of different knives. Different blade sizes and steels. The one that has worked for me both outside and inside is my JK Camp Slicer. Its O1 steel with a 5 in blade. I think that you the best thing to do, if you can, is just see what works for you. It might a few blades or 100 blades but once you find the right one you will know. I still find myself comparing other knives to my JK and at times try some out just to end up selling them off:)

You can always design something your self and have one of the many talented knife makers on the forums bring it to life!!

I hope this thread keeps on going for a bit cause its pretty cool seeing what works for other people out there.
 

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I EDC a Victorinox OHT, it's the only SAK I've ever worn out.
In a perfect world, I'd like the opt for a non-serrated main blade and add the serrated gutting blade from the Hunter for cutting cordage and the rare times when you need to cut open a pant leg for first aid work.

I team the OHT with a number of fine custom knives (bought on this forum) that I saw value in or had a hand in designing.

Around the yard and at our other property, the BK9 and Condor Lockness Muck see a good amount of use.
 
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