If I knew I was walking into a survival situation I would carry a heavy knife such as a heavy camp knife or Kukri. But, a survival knife is the knife I am carrying when an emergency happens. I always carry a neck knife such as a Becker Necker and a multi tool. When I am hiking I usually carry a 5" to 6" carbon steel full tang knife as well.

I have a feeling that when I land up in a survival situation it will be the
Neck knife and multi tool that will carry me through.

David Enoch

We haven't had a knife discussion around here for awhile. Fun! They're so addictive to collect.

I have the Kabar Becker BK-2, 7 and 9. They are so heavy I keep one in my car and the others in a box. Good value if you want a heavy chunk of black steel. It's the last knife I'd hike with. But I'd feel like Crocodile Dundee whipping out one of those bad boys in certain situations.

The knife in my dayhike pack will always be a Mora - because they are light, sharp and plenty capable in the unlikely event a dayhike should turn into an overnighter. Mora's are an incredible value. You can get some of them on Amazon and just about all of them at Ragweed Forge. I'm loving the relative heft of the new "heavy duty" Moras.

http://ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html


I have several Bark Rivers - highly regarded and gorgeous knives. They are my "garage queens" -- I don't use them. I admire them.

http://www.dlttrading.com/


If I could keep only one of my knives, it would be Doug Ritter's MK3. It strikes the sweet spot of being substantial without being heavy. I love the balance of it and the grip. If I could, I'd trade all my Bark Rivers back for a full refund and plow the proceeds into buying a bunch of the MK3s. I want to always have this knife:

Doug Ritter's MK3

http://www.knifeworks.com/dougritterrskmk3fixedbladeutilitysurvivalknife.aspx

I used to break Kbars like they were made of plastic, and have chipped the blades many times. I personally expect a lot from a knife, especially if my life is depending on it, and I tend to use them as much as tools as as for cutting. I tend toward a thicker knife made out of high carbon tool steel. There is a great deal of personal preference in how you use a knife, and you should find the one that works for how you will use it, and what you expect it to do. There are many that are great for a simple cutting edge, and the Kbar may be one of those. It does not have a full tang and tends to break at the tip and the hilt if used for prying. They bend easily as well.

My longest lasting knife is the Gerber BMF that I bought back in 1985. I also really liked the old Cold Steel Tanto, though it was not a good field blade shape. Durable knife though.

I now have a Daniel Winkler belt knife that I love, and another good one from TCT knives, made by a friend. Like I said, I am rough on knives and need one that I can abuse without fear of breaking. These meet my expectations, but are probably overkill for most people.

Holy cow Montanero.
Get some help ... next time you kill and skin a woolly mammoth. I can loan you a welding torch and a crowbar - if that will help :-)

Pete2

That knife is overbuilt, and that's a flaw. It is too heavy and too massive. Sure, it's durable because it's got a big, thick blade. But my hand gets tired fast, especially since the balance isn't so great. This seems like an unfavorable trade-off.

There really is no answer to this question. It's like asking, who's the best girl to marry? Yeah, sure we can talk about the subject from a distance, naming a few famous women who seem awesome in theory. But when the rubber meets the road, few or none would really want to MARRY the famous people mentioned. My point is that at some point, each person needs to get out there on their own and figure out what significant other, I mean knife, is best for them.

Put another way, I can guarantee my most important knife features are quite different than many other people's. I know this from watching nuttinfancy YouTube videos and reading the comments. I bought a few of the popular knives from his videos. I'm not using any of them as we speak. I really tried to like the knives too.

The best survival/ hunting knife shoulnt really exist. Honestly the best "hunting" knife would probably be a small single blade folder, like an old timer or peanut. Super sharp. When cleaning game or fish you want a small controllable blade you can work easily just under the flesh. Its the extension of a finger tip.

The best survival knife is mythical and ever searching. But lots of sightings.

Welcome aboard!

Choosing a knife is always based on what you think you will need to do with it in what scenario.

But as far as the "survival" part of your question goes, I like the "Light My Fire Swedish Fire Knife" as it combines what is essentially a Mora knife with a removable fire steel in the handle, thus covering 2 key elements in almost any survival scenario--knife and fire. There was a thread about it here some time ago, and I bought one. They are reasonably priced, and I may get another one to stash in the car. Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Light-Fire-FireKni...edish+fireknife

No association etc., just pleased with what I think is a good idea and a good product.

I have bark river fox river.Work very well:

the "best"? if there was such a thing, everyone would already own it.

there are some really excellent ones, lots of good ones, but far too many poor ones.

in the end it comes down to what fits your needs, your price-range, feels good in your hand, and what knife you enjoy using.

rule #1: buy the best quality you can afford. cry once.

there is no one answer. hell, after buying edged tools for over 50 years, there doesn't appear to be even a couple of handfuls of knives that all-together meet my every need.

for survival alone i usually carry more than one, which might include a tiny SAK classic in my watch-pocket, a SAK Champ & a leatherman in my pack, a locking single-blade folder clipped to my front pocket, maybe even a 5" fixed blade on my belt and a large fixed blade camp knife tied to my pack. seems like overkill even to me, until i leave one behind and regret it.