Best hunting/survival knife?

Dr.Strangecraft
wooden handled Buck Axe

I hope this is what you seek.

I'd never choose that Buck hand axe as my blade of choise in a survival situation. I have used many axes and hand axes and they can be great in certain situations but their range of tasks is too limited.

Dark knite, Great to hear your family has a solid history with a khukri!! Mine is also a classic older version that pre dates WW2 and still is ready for duty when ever I need it. Do you still have the origional companion knives?

I love the way a kuhkuri handles, but I can't see how it's strictly superior to a hatchet in situations where you're not surrounded by jungle. You can fight just as well with a tomahawk, and there isn't a knife on this planet that can fell a tree as quickly.

Not to mention that a kuhkuri is not well-suited to small, delicate tasks.

They're superior combat knives, but I still don't see why, given your choice, you wouldn't rather have a hatchet and a small, high-quality fixed blade knife.

If you only get to have one tool, I can see the merit in your choice. This isn't a hypoethetical desert island situation though, this is a discussion on how to best prepare for a survival situation.

Just sayin'...

To the poster who linked to ebay: (i meant to quote you, but I guess I hit reply instead)

Same shape all right. I don't have any use for the laser etching, though. But yes, that's the one I like.

The Khukri has got obvious advantages, just by looking at it. Reminds me of a bill hook, a device used in Medieval europe for lopping limbs off trees. It was the peasants' favorite weapon in England and France.

I think the forward bend in the blade must really focus the arm's force inside the curve of the cutting edge. I think it would probably work quite well as an axe for dressing lumber, say putting a point on a stake or tree limb. The blade is thick enough to use as a digging tool, to boot.

If I could only have one tool, I'd probably want that.

But if I could have two, I'd want a game knife and a small axe. The straighter, 90 degreee angle of the axe handle makes it easier to split wood. Axes are also handy for scraping hides. Any kind of curved blade is a nightmare if you are trying to remove the membrane off the inside of a hide. I'd want a short, 3 or 4 inch blade for work like that.

It would all depend on the context of your own situation, and what you wanted to accomplish.

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A khukri comes with two small companion knives that are great for smaller tasks, much like a small buck knife. They are stored in the same sheath so no need to grab a second item. I can fell a tree much faster with a khukri than I can with a good quality hatchet and due to the angle it is much less stressful on the wrist. I have used them for skinning game, foraging, building shelters, chopping firewood, trail clearing, and discouraging improper behavior. I have traveled to many dark corners of this world and have been in serious life threatening survival situations. My khukri has been put to the test in real life emergency conditions and I never found it lacking.

The topic was best hunting/survival knife. Axes are great tools but a bit bulky to carry around and not at all suited for most daily chores other than felling trees or chopping wood. You can mill some lumber quite nicely but thats about it.

Multipliers are great for an urban survival tool if you need to mess with technology such as fix anything mechanical. They are great for camping, opening cans, and superb on the job site. In a wild survival situation they would become more limited. Not that great for hunting. No ability to work with large timber. Not good as a self defence weapon.

Large hunting knives such as a Buck are quite good for most general tasks involved with hunting and camping. Dificult to fell trees with or to mill any timbers. Great for self defence.

[edit on 2-12-2006 by Terapin]

Kukris all the way.

Get caught out with just an axe...well its not so hot in a fight. Get caught with a multi tool..well ditto.

Get caught out with a khukri, and you have a lopper, a chopper, and a fighter all rolled into 15 inches of fury if it is needed.

My choise of blade
M95 Sissipuukko (aka Finnish Ranger knife)
Sissipuukko
www.brisa.fi...

It's durable, good for woodwork, sharpens easily and is about as big as a combat knife is useful. Anything larger is egoboosting

oh yeah! carbon steele is the way to go.
that knife looks expensive...gonna check it out further

um... but it needs to be able to cut lines and rope as well - unless your gonna have a seperate knife for that.

Clean blades are great for mil use, but serrated reverse would be handy for those unplanned moments stuck in ropes that need rapid cutting.

Serrated blades render the knife useless for most traditional uses like carving, cutting and game-handling. And if you know how to keep your blade sharp a clean blade cuts the ropes quickly enough.

Serrations are for Rambo-wannabees... Out here we have used clean and relatively small blades for forrest survival for about the last 500 years, the m95 sissipuukko is about as far you can go from the original desing without making a knife that's useless or suitable for a single duty only (m95 is a bit longer and thicker)

I've never needed a serration in a knife, alltough i carried a serrated pocket knife for years (including a year in FRD Recon)

Well.

we all have our own preferences, and have used what we know and love.

You like a plain blade, I like a plain and serrated blade combination, so, what ever works for the user really isn't it?

www.crkt.com...

mines the 2125 version (shortie) but hell, the new scalloped serrations are awesome.
I also have the crkt 7 folder. Thats a nice handy sized folder for the top pocket.


[edit on 12-12-2006 by D4rk Kn1ght]

[edit on 12-12-2006 by D4rk Kn1ght]

Serrated blades definitely have their uses. Ever try and sharpen on under survival conditions? The type of serrations on the knife above require very specialized equipment to resharpen them properly. That could be a serious disadvantage if you are far away from a work bench. With a standard, un-serrated blade you can when necessary, sharpen them by simply finding the right kind of natural stone.

For me, unless I am sailing, or doing serious rope work, I don't find serrations a requirement in a good survival knife.


[edit on 12-12-2006 by Terapin]

I was wondering if anyone has ever considered a sword for any reason. Not something that I probably would carry, but you never know what others think.

[edit on 12-12-2006 by Terapin]

The closest thing I have to a sword is a short machete.
Dont know how it would handle in a close battle, but it is light weight enough for a bob article.

I would still carry my folding BUCK on my person. I have discovered one limitation on the traditional BUCK, it lacks the ability to flick open by thumb. I know they make newer models but I LOVE this knife.

I posted earlier about italian switchblades, but they are most illegal to carry.

For a single handed open knife, I deeply recommend the folding 7 series from CRKT.

The large knurl on the blade makes it easy to open in a hurry even with a gloved hand, and the blade can either be brought with a half and half, or a plain blade.

As for sharpening a serration, well a round metal work file is wonderful at the job - and as you have already come prepared because of forthought, you have one in your BOB already.. ; )

I try and find the online pic i posted of the folding 7 for you to have a look at what i mean.
Here you go. Mines the 6813 semi serrated version.
www.crkt.com...
Cheers, DK.

[edit on 13-12-2006 by D4rk Kn1ght]

CRKT Ultima has had great reviews, but i haven't tested it yet.

I carry a Böker Magnum series folder around, clean blade and solid. Best thing about it is the price: 15€, so it's cheap enough to put into cahce, if you're building a one... definately not the best around, but great bargain...

How can there be any question that the two knives Jimmy Lile made for First Blood and Rambo are the best survival knives ever made?

They're so hard to find and very expensive, but one day I'm gonna find one and buy it.

Peace

[edit on 13-12-2006 by Dr Love]

I'm the happy owner of a Linton L-90008
The blade and hilt consist of one whole piece of steel with the hilt being wrapped up in cord.

The blade is comparatively strong with 5,5mm (description says 7mm though... dunno, mine is only 5,5mm) and therefore its quite good for chopping.

The point and the edge haven't lost their sharpness despite some heavy abuse and are still good enough for small precision work.

It might not be on par with a kukri but its still a mighty sturdy piece of hardware and I wouldn't want to miss it on my outdoor trips.

Here would by my choice for a survival knife.

www.kabar.com...

I love these knives.

My personal favorite

www.coldsteel.com...