Which knife would you choose...

I would go with a thin 4 inch blade of O1 or S30V steel. Not a Scandi grind, but a full grind. Brian Andrews makes a great one like that, with a killer handle. I have another by Ray Laconico that fits my requirments as well.
Here is Ray's knife. It is so close to perfect that it almost made me quit buying knifes. Almost.
 
Not sure i get the question, but the knife is just as it comes, no mods. This is the old ESEE/DPX collab, but DPX recently reintroduced it as Rowen HEST.
 
Probably this one:

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Whittling is a great way to pass the time.
 
My first choice would be my JK Cutlass. I'll never feel underknifed with this one.
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Did a week in the Amazon, the Scrapper 5 was my goto knife. Only thing I will do differently next time is take the Scrapper 5 infi. Had a little rust on the blade edge that bothered me. Didn't affect the knife any, but bothered my anal retentive self!!

Doc
 
BK-16. Or BK-9.

It would be much nicer to put up a shelter with the BK-9, but since the BK-16 is almost always with me, it would most likely be the knife I'd have at the time.
 
I would take my BRKT Teddy Proto or Siegle Merc. It's a toss up as the teddy has a 6" all purpose blade and the Merc is a 10" beast. I just wanted to point one thing out, old fashions steels would work best in this situation. I read something earlier about 3V and the other super steels. What do you do when it does finally dull?? These old fashioned steels will strop for months and rolls will push out. Hell you could even sharpen them on some sandstone if you needed to. Try that with 3V. Not likely.
 
I would go with my mora carbon companion.. it's been my go to bushcraft knife for a few years now.. I can get it razor sharp on simple stones.. can maintain the edge on my belt. I know its limitations, and I know what I can do with it.. so I'll go with what I know..
 
why no kukri? it's a knife. I own one. I use one camping/backpacking........it IS my go-to woods tool for what I do........it's what I'd take if I had to go, and that's my choice. You might not like it, but to pick another tool that I don't have experience with just to satisfy your thread recommendation is not honest.

Mine is just a 10" Condor HD kukri, so it works well for packs......maybe that's your concern......or you don't like them....but you asked what I would take...there you go.

I can make shelter, chop fire wood, make feather sticks, baton, and such with that knife. It's not ideal for finer work, but it works well enough that it's probably the most well rounded woods blade that I have.
 
If choppers are out of the running I'm going with a Vic OHT. Does a little cutting, a little sawing, and opens my beer (for when I get back to civilization). Wear and use it daily.
 
If I found myself stranded Id have on me what I carry regularly I guess .
Izula II is always in my pocket .

Problem is tho I rarely have only one knife ... be hard to fit the criteria for stranding :)
 
I would probably be the only one to say this. It would be the knife that I have on me at the moment, which 95% of the time is a tanto. I carry a tanto because of my profession as a carpenter and woodworker. It fits the bill for that profession; scraping, prying, chisel, tip is great for utility (I cut cove base, transitions, cutting out caulking, etc). I have experimented with the tanto also in the bush and am comfortable using it for survival purposes. My whole life is centered around self-reliance. Thus, I have found what suited me for EDC and learned how to use it in all circumstances if I need to. Find what fits you and learn to use it all around. That said, when I hunt, I prefer a drop point. But, in a survival situation, we most likely will not have the luxury or the time of choosing which knife to use.
 
My first inclination is to say my Breeden SERE or my Koyote LBK- always my go to knives for woods roaming and I trust them to do whatever I need. I can say that as I always have my SAK in my pocket and think of these as additional knives. But I would not give up my SAK to have one and lose the versatility.

Hmmm one knife only..... I cheat. My SAK and one of my 27" boys axes ;)

Bill
 
My BK-10, hands down.
I've made several knives that would have given the 10 a run for the top spot, but they went to customers.
2nd choice is my own 110% Mountain Knife.
 
If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere (heavily forested), and could only have one of your knives (no machetes, swords, kukri's etc) which would you choose and why. It has to be a knife you own, not one you fantasize about etc.

I'm never really in the middle of "nowhere". I'm usually somewhere and when I'm deep in the woods, that somewhere is owned and managed by somebody and that somebody sets the rules of how the land can be used.

Most of the time I'm deep in the woods far from roads, I'm in USFS lands, often designated Wilderness Areas. Typically I access these places on hiking trails, either by backpacking/climbing or by ski touring. This means two things..
1) I'm carrying a pack that contains my "10 essentials" kit.
2) I'm neither the first person nor the last to visit this remote place.

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I'm over 50 now and am going to harp on this second point just a bit. I've had the fortune to hike in what I consider to be among the most beautiful hiking spots in the US, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, for over 30 years now. That's 3 decades. Enough time to see changes that weren't visible to me when I was young.

Impact from hikers sucks. That's the short version of this. I've seen areas closed for recovery and have watched them sort of recover, sort of not recover. I've seen too many spots denuded of dead fall and have found too many poorly made and abandoned fire rings. IMO, if people want to survive a weekend outing in the remote parts of New England, the priorities are (not in order):
1) Carry a tarp, good clothing and a stove and know how to use them.
2) Know enough 1st aid to stabilize fractures and stop bleeding wounds.
3) Know how to *read* a map and *see* trails well.
4) Respect weather and be smart enough to retreat early.
5) File hiking plans with a trusted loved one and stick to it to initiate rescue if truly needed (and just as importantly, to avoid needless rescues). For me, this means a 24 hour buffer in case I get pinned down for some reason.

If people do this, being "stranded" either means an incapacitating injury needing rescue or an extra night in the woods.
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In this context, a knife is a part of a larger backcountry kit.

I carry an Opinel, usually a #9, sometimes a #8. I also carry a Leatherman PS4 Squirt for bandage prep and minor repairs. Closely related, I carry good splinter tweezers, a heavy needle and a heavy curved upholstery needle (for gear repair).

(I carry a Micra for EDC and the PS4 for hiking)


edc-pair by Pinnah, on Flickr

In the deepest of winter and if I'm going to a place where I know that fires are permitted, possible and non-damaging, I'll carry a Silky folding saw and perhaps, for kicks and grins, my Schrade H-15.

The Schrade is just a lot of fun. But it's extra weight and not needed to survive really.


H 15 drop point 2 by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
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