Survival Knives. What is the best survival knife available on the market for our wilderness survival techniques?
I ask this question quite often myself as I apply a variety of different knives to the survival tasks at hand. Finding one knife that can do it all is a daunting task to say the least. There is a huge number of survival knife choices available to the consumer. So many, that research can be a bit overwhelming.
I have used a singularly heavy, stainless steel (approximately 17 ounce) single fixed blade, with the tang running completely through the handle (this is a must for fixed blade knives.) for 8 years. With a lanyard hole at the end of the handle. (which can be handy) The knife is some what fancy.
The design is a commercial high end version of the Vietnam War Era’s 5th Special Forces Groups known as the Study and Observation Group. Made by SOG knife. The overall length of my older version is from tip to handle – 11 1/8″ The blade length itself is 6 “, the width has been modified from sharpening over the years, but it is around 1 1/8″ at the middle of the blade. The blade is quite thick where it meets the handle, a solid one quarter inch and tappers to a very sharp point to a thickness 1/16 at the top of the blade at the point, or about 1/32 at the cutting edge of the blade point.
This knife was a gift to me and I believe quite expensive at the time. The handle is a rubber type material (Kraton) for a better grip, which I have had to re-glue and rivet because of wear, and it has a brass knife guard for forefinger and thumb, which all in all works quite well from the accident of slipping and cuttings ones fingers. I have to watch the sharp point of this knife, for I have cut myself on occasion by not being aware of where the point happens to be in relationship to my other hand.
First I’ll talk about the positive benefits of this type of knife having used it in a variety of situations over many years.
I love the weight of this knife. I use this knife as one would use a small hatchet. The heavy weight and the overall thickness of this blade really makes a difference when I am splitting or chopping. If I need to take a lot of wood off fast, this is a great tool. If I want to pry with this knife, it allows me to get away with quite a bit of pressure without breaking because of the thickness and strength of the stainless steel. (the exception: I have broke the very tip of this knife from the action of prying).
Another technique I use with this knife for is splitting wood for making spindle blanks for the bow drill. I take a wooden mallet (usually a heavy piece of wood, throwing stick, or whatever I can find) to pound on top of the blade to control my splitting. It works very well, and as long as I’m careful to not get to carried away and keep away from large knots, this technique works wonderfully with this blade.
I have skinned many animals large and small with this blade and I have found that it is not the best type of blade for this, but I have found that the more familiar you become with your knife these types of tasks are easily accomplished with careful application. Another important benefit of this knife is that it is made from stainless steel. So it is quite easily maintained without having to worry about rust problems as you do with carbon steel.
The newer models of SOGS are painted with a black Tiain coating, mine is a bright stainless steel c0lor. The knife balance’s well in my hand and the handle, though somewhat sticky at times from the feel of the Krayton handle, is easy on the hands not a blister maker like so many knife handles.
Alright, here are the negatives of this knife.
For fine, detailed carving, as in making notches for my fire-board, this knife is quite frustrating. The reason for this is the way this knife is designed. The back of the blade is quite thick and the relief or the taper maintains a strong thickness down to the cutting edge of the knife (which is why it works well as a hatchet) which makes it much to thick for fine carving applications. The blade is simply to thick for quick cutting a notch for your fire-board.
A great blade for this fine work, is the blade you find with a Swiss Army Knife. This very thin blade, when sharp, cuts through softwoods easily and quickly. So now this brings up another question…thick bladed or thin bladed survival knives? I’ll get into this in a bit.
Now let us consider the weight of this blade. This is a very heavy knife to carry with you when your backpacking, adding a lot of extra weight that you could easily replace with extra food, a camera, binoculars, or a medicinal quart of spirits. So I would not for your general backpacking trip recommend this weight of knife to take along under most circumstances.
Another point to consider in regards to this knife and other hard stainless steel knives, is that they take a while to sharpen by hand. And quite frankly I’m not that impressed with its ability to hold an edge with heavy use. I use a coarse and fine stone sharpening system with a guide that holds the angle consistently while I sharpen the knife. And it includes a steel for the final touch up to get the razor sharp edge we all desire. (The sharpening system I use is made by the Razor’s Edge Co.)
My conclusion and observation on my SOG and the perfect Survival Knife.
Though I would not recommend this type of heavy knife for most general backpacking conditions, I would definitely want this type of knife if I was stranded without my modern gear and had to depend on nature to provide my shelter, water, fire, and food. This SOG blade is tough! And it takes all the abuse I can give it.
As for thin relief (hollow ground) blade Survival Knives, I would recommend these types of blades as well because the thinness of the blade offers the ability to accomplish finer wood work easier. Having used a heavy blade for so many years I believe that I have come to be partial to the weight while looking suspiciously at blades that are to light for their size.
Beginner’s Survival knife.
The students who take my First Circle Camp begin their introduction to survival knife use. For beginners I recommend a fixed blade that is about 4″ to 6″ in length, 4″ is optimum. Making sure the tang runs the full length of the handle for strength and long term durability. The handle should fit comfortably in the hand and balance well. Were not looking for a Machete or a Bowie here, a good strong, comfortable working knife is what were after. The comfort of the knife is the most important factor to consider for the beginner I believe, because after an hour of steady carving, (uncomfortable handles and folding knives) can make your hand quite sore. One does not need to spend a lot of money for this type of knife. Down the road when you have some carving time behind you, you will have a better idea of the type of knife that fits you best, as well as the type of work you use it for the most.
Knife Manufacturers.
All of the major knife manufacturers make good reasonably priced knives for our type of application. So I would recommend visiting several knife stores in your area and try them on. Listen to what the dealers say, but stay away from hollow handle knives that have a survival kit stashed in the handle with a compass at the end of the handle. Sorry, these are weak knives and cheesy as well.
SOG Knives. Great Knives! An expensive investment.
KA-BAR knives have a long history of use. Their tough knives, though a bit light for my taste, (important for military application) and the handles are quite uncomfortable and take a while getting use to. They do sharpen easily which is a positive and their generally inexpensive. But for heavy utility use, digging foxholes and the like, like I said, they are tough!
Buck Knives make a lot of good knives as well and offer a variety of price ranges. Most are good solid knives, though the cutting edge usually is quite dull and needs quite a bit of relief grinding to get a professional edge.
Ontario is a knife company to check out. I purchased their Spec-Plus Bolo recently to get the feel of a large blade machete type knife. I use this knife mainly for chopping brush here on the coast of Oregon. I have to watch the rust problem with this knife because of the carbon steel.
TOP Knives. This company makes a variety of Tactical knives that are in the high dollar range. TOP’s makes the Tom Brown Tracker Knife, which if you have never seen one check it out on their website. Its a multi-application knife. Very beefy and well made. I have tried the earlier version made by Beck a number of years ago, its quite heavy and expensive, but its a work of art. Tom also developed a companion knife to go along with the large Tracker knife.
These are just a few of the companies that offer Survival Knives the list is more then I’m willing to write today. I do not necessarily recommend these companies, I am including them because I have used their products and they offer a good variety of knives.
The perfect Survival Knife.
I’ll leave this to others to determine. (though I’m working on my own version of a perfect Survival knife.) I love and do recommend the Swiss Army Knives as well for a secondary knife system, they have lots of cool tools to pick from and are a well built multi-tool light weight system.
I would enjoy hearing about recommendations on Survival knives or any sharpening systems you have good luck with.
Mark Wienert Jr.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Check out the string on Bears Grylls knife, Bears Grylls shoes, canteen, survival knives and other cool outdoor gear. http://www.lifesongadventures.com/man-vs-wild-survival-and-adventure-with-bear-grylls/
the knife invented by Tom Brown Jr. Its called the tracker and it is manufactured by TOPs knives, go to http://www.topsknives.com or google keyword serch “tracker knife”. This thing is a machine, it can do everything you need to do. Mr. Brown is an amazing person as well please check out his website at trackerschool.com
Thanks for your comment Crash.
The Tracker knife is a great knife. The design has been modified somewhat from Becks original, but still holds true I think to Brown’s overall idea. Crash, tell us more about the Tracker knife, a little more specific on your experience with it would be helpful…what you use it for, the weight, how it works for cutting fire board notches, how does it sharpen, all that great stuff.
We appreciate it.
When I go into the wilderness I use a Benchmade Nimravus Cub.
http://www.benchmade.com/products/product_detail.aspx?model=145
It’s not too big, but big enough to take care of small branch cutting, stick sharpening, and animal slicing. It came with a sheath… which Benchmade replaced for me when the original broke (and they sent me the update too!) and Benchmade has a life-time sharpening warranty. $5.00 for their shipping cost and Robert’s your father’s brother…. a new blade!
Dear Admin,
I was reading this post and realized that you did not mention the specific knife that you used. After about 5 minutes of research (I already had the SOG web page pulled up from the Bear Grylls page) I came to conclude that you were talking about the SOG Gov-Tac, or something similar. Thanks a bundle for the information!
my mistake. I read some of your other threads (bear grylls) and realized you were using a SOG bowie.
I had the opportunity for a week to use the Tracker (deisgned by Tom Brown Jr. and made by Topps Kinves). The knive is rather big, heavy but very well made. It can be used for a number of different uses in the wild, general camping and for self defense. I’ve field tested, carried and used over seventy different knives over the past 25 years. For the past 15 years I have taught military and “special” civilian contractors combat knive fighting. As a hunter I have also used a number of knives for different types of field use. As a fighting knife the Tracker would not be my first choice but it could be a very deadly fighting knife if you know how to use it. If I had to carry only one knife with me that would be used for almost everything such as shelter making, game skinning, tool making and self defense, the Tracker would be the one. Even though it worked for me during the week, I don’t like “plastic” knife sheaths and I don’t like nylon. The Tracker’s “plactic” sheath does not hold the knife very secure for extreme conditions such as rapid movement or tactical moving and deployment. “Plastic” and nylon make to much noise. I’m old shcool when it comes to knive sheaths. I perfer leather. They do wear out and require a lot of care but they have alwasy worked for me in a number of different environments. I just had a special leather sheath make for me by a local leather smith. It’s made of heavy leather, double stitched and has two securing straps and three different tie down positions. Having and keeping a good knife is like keeping a good handgun. Why spend a lot of money to put your expensive tool into a cheap holder? The Tracker is a little on the hight end as far as price but I feel it it worth every dollar. After all what is your life worth? The Tracker takes a little work and skill to sharpen but it does take a good edge. Don’t try and sharpen this knife if you don’t know to do it correctly. In the wild or in combat a man is only as good as his skills and his equipment/tools. Other than the “plastic” sheath I woulld rate the Tracker a 9 out of 10 and I have never rated a knife at a 10 so far. Bob M.
Thanks Bob for your in depth look at the Tracker knife.
(All I heard from Bob the whole week at camp was how much he loved this knife. And several other comments regarding – when are we going to eat some real meat instead of these frigging grasshoppers!.)
Jeez, whatya exspect at survival camp!!!
I think we would all be interested in how to go about sharpening a Tracker knife. It does look a bit daunting to the uninitiated as you have a least three diferent type blade angles to contemplate.
Thanks again Bob, much appreciated.
Would the SOG Pentagon be a good knife to use in Extreme situations?
From the SOG website -
“Originally designed as back-up for law enforcement and military personnel, the Pentagon series is now popular with outdoor knife enthusiasts as well.
The Pentagon offers the instant choice between a serrated or beveled edge for cutting options.
Twin thumb notches enable accurate blade orientation and downward control.
The aggressively checkered, flared handles provide confident gripping as well as sensational feel and balance.”
Todd, the Pentagon definitely a specialized knife that was designed for police or military applications. Probably a fine knife, but not the kind of knife I would choose myself for wilderness survival applications, such as carving. Its a sleek and beautiful dagger.
Http://www.sogknives.com
If anyone has used the Pentagon would enjoy hearing your feelings.
I use the Chris Reeve Sabenza and it’s a great knife to take in the wilderness to cut down small trees and trim branches. It’s a great knife to have in the wilderness.
We haven’t discussed the Swedish made “Frost Moria Knives” as yet. We offer these knives at camp for our students and they lend themselves very well to the carving we do.
Mors Kochanski who teaches survival in the north woods of Canada talks about these knives in his book, “Bushcraft”. I highly recommend his book along with the knives -
http://www.grannysstore.com/Wilderness_Survival/Mors_Kochanski_Bushcraft.htm
I recommend this site to purchase Mora and Frost knives -
http://www.ragweedforge.com/SwedishKnifeCatalog.html
Kochanski uses a two knife system which makes sound sense; actually this system consists of a small camp knife and a hand ax, or camp ax. Which is really the best system to have with you in the bush.
Here is an article discussing the Swedish knives -
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/mora.html
My experience with these blades have been very positive. The only problem I have had is with the carbon blade rusting here on the Oregon coast, my fault for not checking the blade to make sure it was oiled for our wet environment we live in.
Call me old-fashioned, but I have a very strong preference for Ka-Bar. I’m currently using a full size black with the serrated edge and it has taken more than one knife’s share of punishment. It can skin and fillet if it has to, but I reccomend it for it’s hacking/digging ability and as an all purpose camp tool, and it’s the easiest knife to sharpen that I’ve come across.
It is quite light for it’s size, but I count it as an advantage when having to do strenuous work for extended periods of time. I have tried the SOG Bowie and no doubt it’s a great knife, but I still think the Ka-Bar has the edge, pun intended.
Dear Mr. Wienert and Posters,
Thanks for the excellent information. From the description of Mr. Wienert’s SOG, this is exactly the knife that I have been using for 10 or so years. I agree on all counts: it’s great for chopping and poor for fine work. If chopping (shelter building etc) is the main task, I could not recommend anything else. However, if this were my main knife, I would want a smaller knife or multitool for the fine stuff.
More recently, while looking for a daily carry to do my “dirty work” (everything from camping to stripping old trim off a house), I bought a Fallkniven F1, which has a laminated blade, approximately 3.8 inches long. I must say that I am very impressed with this knife. While it will never chop like the big SOG, it does EVERYTHING else well. This may very well be the perfect choice for beginners (such as First Circle Camp students) and folks who are not building complicated shelters. It is a simple knife with a VERY strong blade and no gimmicks. Having been so impressed with this knife, and looking for the “best compromise knife” for myself and my two boys who are scouts, I just purchased the blade only of the Fallkniven S1. Fallkiven sells blades for 4 or 5 of their knives. The S1 blade is 5.125 inches (for a total length of about 10 inches), and is also a quite strong design. We will experiment with making handles and probably end up with micarta, but I have just wrapped a very usable paracord handle. This brings me to another point. You can overpay for knives with paracord handles. If you desire a paracord handle, consider a Fallkniven blade. They are not dirt cheap, but they are far less expensive than some of the knives that come with paracord handles. The handle regions have the same profile as the knives on which they are based,(larger than some full tangs) giving the possibilty for the knifemaker to wrap or construct a good-sized handle, which I prefer. Having been “around the block” a few times, I am betting that the 5.125 Fallkniven will end up being my favorite – long enough to chop with reasonable efficiency, short enough to skin small critters, and not too much weight for this old fart to carry.
In addition to not wanting to carry too much weight, old farts don’t like to spend too much time sharpening. As long as you don’t have big knicks in the blade, there is a small portable Lansky sharpener with two sets of “V-rods” that works like a champ. It looks a little flimsy, so we’ll see how long it lasts, but it puts on a decent edge pretty quick. You use the tungsten carbide rods first, and the ceramic rods to finish….not bad at all.
Thanks again for all the useful info.
Good luck.
Mr. Majors,
thanks for the great post! We appreciate all the information you have included. Will definitely check out the 5.125 Fallkniven.
Very cool to know that old farts like you and I have SOG Bowie’s stashed away, just in case.
has anybody tried the gerber lmf. it looks to be a good knife but i would like to here from someone who has used it.
Here is a review of SOG’s Seal Pup Elite from George who took our Edge camp this last May.
Thanks George!
SOG SEAL Pup Elite Review
http://sogknives.com/store/E37.html
SEAL Pup Elite has a very cool-looking 4.85″-long full tang blade with a spine rasp and an injection-molded glass handle with deep comfortable finger grooves that make the handle sit very comfortably in your hand. This knife is available with both partially serrated and straight blades – I personally prefer the straight edge. Its weight and blade thickness feel just right and overall the knife feels very solid.
Initially I bought the knife with the Kydex sheath because it is quite compact, lightweight and has a neat little feature – a grove that reveals a section of the blade which allows you to cut rope without taking the knife out of its sheath. But after trying different ways to carry the knife (including designing and sewing my own custom thigh attachment system) I realized that the nylon sheath was just better suited for my situation. First of all, it has an additional compartment which I ended up using to store my Leatherman Charge multitool. But more importantly, it has a MOLLE attachment on the back, which opens up carrying possibilities galore. Also, I was able to attach a small loop of webbing to the side of the sheath for the firesteel.
I used the knife quite extensively at a week-long survival camp and I must say I am very happy with its performance. The blade is equally good for chopping down small trees, making a throwing stick, carving a pair of chopsticks or a replica of the knife itself. About the only issue that I had with this knife was the spine rasp – I would prefer if the knife did not have it as it hurts a little when I press against it with my thumbs while carving. But it’s a personal preference and I wouldn’t hold it against this knife.
All in all, I am very happy with my SOG and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a dependable fixed-blade knife. Would I recommend it as a survival knife? Well, it’s a highly debated question. Some say the blade should be around 4 inches long. Others rightfully note that there’s nothing a small blade can do that a big blade cannot. Yet others seek knives with hollow handles to put a small stash of goodies inside (my opinion of those knives is not very favorable). But in the end, it all comes down to personal preference – choose the blade you’ll be comfortable carrying with you at all times. For me, this is SOG SEAL Pup Elite!
P.S. Chopping down a tree with my SOG:
http://flickr.com/photos/sudarkoff/2523471368/in/set-72157605253767832/
Sincerely,
George
Regarding Serrated knives and partial serrated knives.
I copied this comment from our Man vs Wild thread. Its written by DaveS, thanks DaveS. Here’s the link to that thread – http://www.lifesongadventures.com/newsletter/?p=44
Regarding Knives:
I do not use a serated edge blade ever ouside of my home.
While they are useful, the serations are designed to protect the cutting edge (the part above the seration). This concept was developed for use in kitchens where using ceramic and other hard surface cutting boards dulled the tradional straight edge knife quickly. Great for the kitchen but not for outdoor expeditions or survival.
I tend to go with what is tried and true.
I have only two knives I use on any outing.
1) U.S.M.C KA-BAR Fighting/Utility Knife
I don’t think you could ever go wrong with this knife by your side.
Blades are Hi-carbon USSI 1095 steel hardened and tempered to resist breaking under severe pressure and to accept and retain a super sharp edge, but also an edge that can be restored with reasonable ease even in the field.
This knife is still a favorite personal knife among many marines today.
Pic:: http://www.armynavyshop.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/3259.jpg
2) USN Mk3 Mod 0 Combat knife:
One of the standard flight knives of US Navy SEALs, combat divers and other special forces.
Pic:: http://www.specwargear.com/images/knife-Mk3-2.jpg
It has a straight edge w/ a serrated saw on the back edge of blade.
Also has a hole at base for attaching a lanyard.
It is a bit on the heavy side, but I happily sacrifice its weight for its balance and dependancy. (it is a solid knife)
And both of these knives I picked up for under $50 each at Army/Navy/Military Surplus stores in pretty good condition (aside from needing some sharpening).
I have a couple that I keep for display and nostalgic reasons, but the others I use, as it is what they were made for.
Hope this info is helpful to some.
The main reason I posted DaveS comment above here on this thread is to help you folks who are seriously looking for a good survival knife and are considering one with a serrated edge.
I’m not necessarily promoting K-bar knives, but like he says, serrated edged knives should be left at home in the kitchen not brought out into the field. I have students who bring serrated knives to camp and it does not take long for the complaints to begin. Serrated knives to not carve! Simple as that!
What serrated knives are good for besides in the kitchen, would be if you are in the medical, public services, and military professions. Serrated knives can be handy for cutting seat belts, or thick heavy nylon material. Handy for cutting people out of crashed vehicles or downed aircraft.
Serrated knives may look tough for the outdoors, but they just don’t cut it from where I stand.
I’d like to reiterate Mark’s comment about serrated blades. They’re fine for the kitchen and good for certain tasks such as EMT Fire/Rescue but they are absolutely NOT suited for the outdoors.
Serrated blades are also VERY difficult to sharpen, and a skilled hand and special tools are required (a rounded steel/file or a triangular ceramic). A normal edged knife can be sharpened by a simple whetstone, ceramic sticks, or even a river rock or the leather of your belt.
Also beware of the 50/50 blades that are half straight edged and half serrated. These still have ALL of the problems of a fully serrated blade, and leave you with only half the blade usable for field chores. The only time a 50/50 blade is fully usable is when it is used for stabbing, such as when the knife is lashed to a pole for use as a spear.
I’d rather spend $30 on an average decent straight edge blade than hundreds on the latest Hollywood or XYZ magazine newly released “tactical” serrated wonder chopper.
1) Gerber Trident for the day-to-day wilderness work knife: good steel, four different blade surfaces; full tang, good handle, head-knocker (for when you’d rather not stab them); carves, drills, pokes, etc; very nice sheath with pocket big enough for diamond stone AND multi-tool!
2) KA-BAR Cutlass Machete: chop chop chop chop chop. Too big and heavy for an everyday knife, but if you’ve got a lot of wood or bamboo cutting (or digging) to do, it’ll get it done in a fraction of the time it’ll take with even the best of 6″ blade knives. And the recurve blade, once you learn the physics of it, adds an exponential to your chopping power. Really.
3) A good Swiss Army or multi-tool, with lots of little oddball pokers and screwdrivers and pliers and scissors. Some things—like drilling tiny holes (quickly) just can’t be done with a “survival” knife…..and it fits easily into the Gerber’s sheath pouch. Way cool.
I’ve got a Randall Adventure knife, too, for BIG chopping chores, which, alas, I almost never carry, unless I KNOW for sure that I’ll be chopping enough wood to build, say, a wilderness cabin or if I have to cut down, say, a giant redwood. Seriously, though, I keep it in the jeep, usually, but if I’m planning on building a lean-to out of heavy timber, or some such laborious chore, I’ll take it along—hidden inside my pack….it looks pretty damn silly and/or threatening, depending on how much of a momma’s boy the slackjawed guy eyeballing it is.
A word about handles: don’t expect ANY knife to fit YOUR hand…unless you just happen to be the guy whose hand metrics were used to design the knife in the first place. That said, a bit of judicious whittling will, with patience and sticktoitiveness, net you a knife that is literally made for your hand. First, though, use the knife for a few weeks, doing all the various chores it’ll be called upon to perform. You’ll begin to feel where it’s too fat, where your ring finger would like to wrap a bit further, where your thumb might like a bit of swell, etc. Then go at it VERY slowly, methodically removing one film-thin layer at a time, then using the knife until you’re sure of the next mod. My handles are all a continually evolving, just like my hands.
oh yeah, by the way, I forgot to mention the best part of the Gerber/Ka-Bar/Swiss Army plan. With a bit internet shopping and E-baying you can pick up all three of these knives for less than the price of one TOPS knife. Granted, the TOPS is one bad-a$$ knife, but for those of us whose $400 has to cover MUCH more than just our cutting/chopping needs (i.e. packs, sleeping bags, stoves, etc.), these knives do the job just fine….for about five or six lifetimes….for a fraction of the cost.
Happy chopping!
Lappy
The one hollow handle knife that may be an exception to your rule is the Cold Steel Bushman. Also, if society fell apart (i.e., no resupply) I think that might be the best knife to have as the handle will (almost) never break.
After lurking for about a month i finally purchased the SOG seal pup elite combo edge. i can’t wait for it to get here
Great Travis!