Victorinix "Spartan", which costs about $25 at REI. It is on a very short lanyard with a Fenix E01 light, and rides comfortably in my pants pocket at all times. That knife and light gets more everyday use than all my other knives, multitools, and lights combined. Mostly because it is always with me.
The best knife steel is the blade you actually have with you when need it.
The Climber is always with me. The toothpick and tweezers are long gone, but the small blade is always sharp enough to shave with, and the corkscrew has never failed me.
LM Squirt S2 attached to a Fenix05. 3 oz, $40, and so long as you keep the blade shaving sharp, adequate for most urban tasks.
Among the heavy use "survival" knives: For inland and arid survival: I'd look first at the ability to field sharpen it, then at toughness, then at edge retention, and finally at corrosion resistance (SK-5). For coastal, wet, and marine survival, I'd look first at corrosions resistance, then at the ability to field sharpen it, then at toughness, and last at edge retention(VG-1). No knife will be able to retain it's edge under extended hard use, so make sure you can touch it up anywhere, any time, with a pocket stone or rod.
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