For me, the design of a kitchen knives is a great staring point simply because they evolved with a form following function. In my opinion most of the big
hopeful monsters are simply a product of a competitive marketplace, with a maker/manufacturer needing some gimmick to differentiate
his product from the rest.
Boo Unnecessary thickness, trademark features of makers that are retained even though they have no bearing, or even an adverse bearing on the performance. One can almost imagine the maker wondering, how do I squeeze in my X hole on this knife. That sucks. Then there's the stealth bomber grinds, the looks like an uber-weapon, and the rest of whatever that tacti-cool sh1te is all about. I believe the one big survival knife thing taps into an eager market riddled with imagery of the lone heroic survivor and
his trusty do it all knife. You know the ones. Townies love the romance of them. It could be a zombie slayer, protect from bear attack, bring down a gazelle steaks, provide shelter from radiation, gnaw through wood faster than a herd of beavers on amphetamines, and has the brute majesty to enable one to sacrifice a trapped limb on the way to delivering a box of Milk Tray. And of course
operators in the know, whose units have a significant government contract with that vendor, will know how to silently sharpen a pencil with it to attach a note to the aforementioned box of Milk Tray whilst simultaneously and cunningly utilizing this seasons vogue drain paint colour to avoid reflections attracting the enemy. Fantastic. A true warriors edge. It can make water and protect from cholera.
In the real world, and certainly with the information age thing going on, I think most of us have wised up. The planet has gone all small, and it's hard enough avoiding people when you want to, so the evoked imagery of man vs a huge expanse of nature wilts somewhat. Urban legends of what soldiers actually carry and use often fail as information flows. Mountain man isn't out there at the next wrong turn tooled exclusively with some monster bowie and surviving in style, and the chances are he never has been. The Milky Bar Kid might have only one great looking huge knife but neither he nor Mick Dundee ever found it having excellence in its singleness of purpose. It typifies the jack of all trades that mastered nothing.
I'm fairly confident the reason why the great big thick pry-bar type knives are so under represented on this section on the site is that so many members seem to live in the real world rather than just in their heads. Kit gets tried and tested in real use by members that actually use them, rather than just looking for an excuse to use them ooh, I peeled an apple, ooh I cut paper, ooh, I went into the garden and made a pointy stick, ooh look, I'm a dickhead, I tried cut a rock". There's all sorts here from casual campers, through servicemen, to hunters. Hardly any of these actual users seems to prefer the jack of all trades. In fact, the whole Nessmuk trinity often espoused seems geared to task excellence, even if there is some overlap.
On that, I believe the starting point of a kitchen knife design is eminently sensible. It is a tool that 'll do what most users seem to do most often, without looking for things to do. One can modify that design for other tasks, as a natural evolution. Here I'm thinking of all sorts from WWII Kamfmesser / Nahkampfmesser types to the
gorgeousness that is Trace Rinaldi's Tactical Kitchen Knife .Kitchen knives are shaped the way they are as a product of numerous performance refinements that work. As such they are like the brilliance of a sheepdog. It's a fine starting point, and in many cases a great endpoint too. I consider Gossman's and many BRKTs, and even some aspects of the ASH, as not may deviations away from kitchen knives, and look at the acclaim they get. Solid design.
[I have not mentioned the materials many kitchen knives are made from because there were not relevant to my comments on size / design].
) and a Buck 110. My Dad bought me a Army surplus GI folding knife. I saved and bought a hatchet from Ace Hardware. All I needed, and nothing I don't right. 
