Top 10 Best Survival Knives
I know there are a million posts just like this, but I wanted to throw my hat into the mix. Knives are so personal and every single person’s preference will be different. There are some survival knives that are extremely popular that I simply hate and have no idea why they’re so popular. But again, it’s all personal preference. If it works for you, great!
Plus, nobody ever said that you had to stick with one knife for the rest of your life. Go through a few knives and see which one(s) you like best for your outdoor needs. The knife industry is booming so there’s no shortage of knife options out there.
I like to have a ‘one knife to rule them all’ when it comes to my bug out bag and general survival needs, but some people like variety and will have 2-3 knives for outdoor purposes. I tend to look for a knife that can be a workhorse and take a beating.
I’m also not discriminating because of any price point. Everyone’s budgets are different, find the knife that fits your particular budget.
Also, you won’t be seeing any folding knives on this list. If we’re talking about outdoor/survival use, I truly believe a fixed blade is the way to go.
In saying all that…
Here are my top 10 best survival knives:
TOPS Fire Strike
I love anything by TOPS. They have stellar knives. The TOPS Fire Strike is full tang, made of 1095 high carbon steel. Blade length is 7 1/4″ with an overall length of 13 1/4″. It’s a beast. The blade is thick all the way through the handle and it can certainly take a beating.
Morakniv Bushcraft
In general, any Mora knife is going to be a workhorse and are extremely reliable and well made. The Morakniv Bushcraft makes for a great survival knife because of the fire striker, as well as a knife sharpener on the outside. Made with carbon steel, the blade length is 4.3″ with overall length being 9.1″. This truly is a jack-of-all-trades kind of knife.
Ka-Bar US Army
Obviously Ka-Bar has to be on this list. The Ka-Bar US Army is a classic There are a few different versions of this knife, such as the US Marine and the USA Fighting. But in general, you can’t go wrong with a Ka-Bar.
Cold Steel Kukri
A Kukri is a great survival/outdoor knife option as it’s quite versatile. The Cold Steel Kukri in particular is a pleasure to use. This is certainly a multipurpose knife made of 1055 carbon steel. Coming in with a 13″ blade length. Cold Steel makes quality knives.
Wander Tactical Apology
All the knives from Wander Tactical are simply amazing. The Wander Tactical Apology is truly a thing of beauty and strength. Many of their knives are limited edition so if this particular knife is no longer available, you’ll be happy with anything they have.
Scorpion 6 Stavanger Combat Axe
An axe can totally be a survival blade. The Stavanger Combat Axe by Scorpion 6 may not be available as all of their knives are not only custom made but also hand made. However, it’s a great example of the quality of their blades. Check ’em out.
Southern Grind Jackal
Southern Grind makes quality knives. The Southern Grind Jackal is truly a multipurpose knife. It’s made of 8670M high carbon steel with a full tang and flat grind. Blade length is 4.75″ with total length being 9.25″.
Ontario Rat-7
Ontario makes some stellar knives. This knife in particular is a fantastic fixed blade option. It’s fairly simple, but certainly a knife that handle many different tasks. The Ontario Rat-7 is has a 7″ blade with an overall length of 12″.
Winkler Woodsman
The Winkler Woodsman is made of 8oCrV2 steel with a blade length of 4 1/4″ and overall length of 8 3/4″. It’s a beautiful knife made for the outdoors.
Gerber Myth Fixed Blade Pro
The Gerber Myth Fixed Blade Pro is a good option If we’re talking about survival purposes. Having a knife with a hook on it would certainly come in handy for hunting purposes. Though it’s specific to hunting because of the hook, this could certainly work for general purposes as well. The handle is really what makes this knife great, because it’s excellent grip, even when “wet”.
When it comes to picking a knife for any reason, we have to look at our budget, what the knife is primarily going to be used for, what type of steel quality we’re looking for, the type of handle and so on. Put a whole bunch knives on your wishlist then start narrowing them down based on reviews, further research, etc.
I would love to hear your thoughts about your favorite fixed blade/outdoor/survival knife.
You may also like
Comments
Leave a reply
Howdy! My name is Morgan I’ve been prepping for over 10 years and teach others to be prepared for emergencies and disasters. Learn more!
My official thoughts on this: all of these look like quality knives ( I haven’t had much experience with all of these companies, but if Rogue signs off on them I would stock them), but for my money as far as blades go, and I’ve had to use them in the field I’ll just leave it at that, there’s 3 principles I ten do stick by:
1. It’s a hunk of metal sharpened for precision work. Meaning two things: one is you don’t need do get a payment plan to get a good knife. If you have that kind of cash and have literally everything else you could possibly need and want and that’s your thing sure go for it: most I think I’ve paid recently for a blade was $25. For a 24″ machete. The second is that, as versatile a knife is especially in a survival situation (well get to versatility), they’re precision tools and weapons. Unlike a staff or even a machete, you’re not bashing in skulls and cutting down tree branches with these, and if you are then you have bigger problems that call for bigger solutions.
2. Versatility. For everything I own I want it to be capable of doing more than one thing. Knives are the clear example here, but I see a lack of 3 things I personally tend to go for. The first is a style of blade called tanto, which is a Japanese style specifically for thrusting power and is resistant against the tip breaking off; just a tougher design in my book. The second is I see not one serrated blade up there. Now do I have straight regular tip blades? I sure do: looking at the one on my nightstand right now, and there’s another razor sharp one in my bathroom. The benefit of a serrated blade (that doesn’t mean you’re walking around with a bread knife: most serrated blades have a straight edge too for the best of both worlds) is that it can cut through things a straight blade would otherwise have trouble with such as leather jackets back in the old timey gangster days, and shaving even finer tinder for starting fires among other things.
3. Concealment. I’ll sum this up with my own EDC blades, which I have with me on my person in Seattle, a city that banned concealed blades on paper at least. Left hand? S&W Border Guard, S/N SWBG4TS. Got it for myself, my instructor and a couple of classmates for Christmas 10 years ago, and have a custom thumb lug on mine. I call it Smashy. Right hand? S&W Bullseye, S/N CK112, an upgrade from the first blade I had. My throwaway blade I use to cut everyday things so I don’t have to break out the combat blades (you don’t have to sharpen blades you don’t use, just saiyan)? S&W ExtremeOps, S/N CK404. I’m sure they’d have trouble going toe to toe against an army of samurai or Aussies, but 2 things that make them distinctive against this lost? 1. They’re foldable. Meaning you don’t need a sheath or scabbard to carry them, just a belt loop or pocket and a bit more practise to deploy them. As an aside, most people that are firearm owners also tend to lean on the concealed carry side of things, so you’d think they’d also maybe conceal a blade or two; perhaps that’s just my training speaking. The other thing aside from the ExtremeOps one which has a skeleton handle? Though the blade and spring material is decent steel and has held up pretty well over the years, the handles are aluminium. The reason that’s important is because of the following: I’ve been through many concerts where a lot of other metal things I carry got picked up by detectors, and patted down by security staff and law enforcement. If you guess my carry blades went undetected, you win a prize! Personal theory? Since metal detectors search for ferrous metals, meaning iron and steel, the aluminum handles sheath the blades from detection, and even the bigger blade is small enough (though it has a 4″ blade and is 9″ overall) that it’s hard to find unless you’re looking for it.
That’s just my 3 cents, and speaking of which: cost of all 3 of these? Less than $50, and even the Border Guard (which apparently impressed an actual border guard) which was listed as $75 I’ve never seen over $20. Hopefully this helps someone out in their everyday blade carry!
Wait, DID SOMEONE SAY KNIVES-… wait, where’s the fold ’ems!? My people are left out yet again….