Best Survival knife

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lbrf2020wimb

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Hi guys. I am looking for a reliable survival knife, and I have narrowed my search down to two choices. Either the Fallkniven A1X or the bark river bravo crusader. Which one would you guys choose and why? Also, how would the toughness compare between the two? Thanks!
 
Looking at your question from a very broad point of view: Both of those knives are very long and heavy, so this will become a factor in how useful they are, and how often they are carried.

Other info that is needed to help you decide: What environment are you going to be in (desert, jungle, far north boreal forest)
What are your expected uses: Firewood processing, shelter building, trap making etc.

From my point of view, they are both bigger than they need to be for more delicate tasks, making those tasks more difficult, while not being big enough to replace an ax, hatchet or machete in many environments. This is where your location is going to important. Are you planning on carrying this knife with a companion tool? What duration of situation are you considering to be likely? This is going to come down to a personal experience equation. If your personal experience has shown you that a heavy bowie type knife is ideal for your environment and uses, what knives brought you to that decision, and what were their faults?

To answer your final question, the toughness will be comparable. The Bark River has a much thicker though harder blade, where the laminated blade of the Falkniven is going to provide for a bit more flex before breaking. You could certainly break both if you tried hard enough, I suspect the Bark would wear you out a lot more in that process, but a 7mm thick blade is going to also mean every task takes a bit more effort.

Having a bit more background is going to help others provide more feedback. There are a lot of folks here who are in that "big knife is best" frame of reference, and they will be able to share their experiences with more context if they know how you got to your point of view.
 
thank you for your long and in depth reply. Why would the Fallkniven have more flex, considering both knives are 60hrc and both are 7mm thick? The knives would be used as the main blade for general camp/heavy chores, and would be used in the northeast and Pacific Northwest, mostly.
 
The Bark River will be a bit tougher and have a bit better edge retention, but will be more prone to rust (it is fairly stain-resistant though). The Fallkniven will have very good stain resistance, except on the edge, and will be easier to field sharpen.
 
The best survival knife is usually the one you have on you. A buddy of mine survived a rafting wreck on the upper Skerna River in northern BC in late October with only a SAK to cut firewood. A F1, Benchmade puukko or something like those would be my choice- small enough to pack, big enough to work.
 
lbrf2020wimb said:
thank you for your long and in depth reply. Why would the Fallkniven have more flex, considering both knives are 60hrc and both are 7mm thick? The knives would be used as the main blade for general camp/heavy chores, and would be used in the northeast and Pacific Northwest, mostly.
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If you're talking about a Crusader in 3V steel, that would be tougher (more resistant to chipping and breaking) than the A1x in Lam COS. But in those geometries, either would be more than tough enough. I believe the 60 Rc for the Fallkniven is for the core, not the full blade, which is softer and tougher. So it's difficult to make comparisons on just the stated Rc.

But I wouldn't consider these knives comparable, in that the A1x has a 6.3 inch blade and the Crusader has an 8.5 inch blade.

I live in the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. If it were me, I'd want two survival blades: One larger for processing wood, building shelter and whacking through heavy brush like salmonberry; the second one smaller for regular camp chores. Your EDC could be the second.

For the larger, I'd go for a longer, thinner blade, like the 10 inch Carothers Light Chopper in Delta 3V. Or maybe a Busse Bushwhacker Battle Mistress.

But honestly, you would be better off actually trying different knife types in a mock survival situation. See what works and what doesn't. You'll quickly find you know exactly what knife you want.
 
Well, if you're talking about a good knife suitable for general outdoorsy type activities, my favourite fixed-blade is the Spyderco Phil Wilson South Fork in S90V. Nice all-rounder and decent fish knife, too. I also like my little ESEE Izula 2 for camp chores.

Now, if you want a big bush knife (>6" blade), I'd say you're better off with a machete. If you want to chop wood, grab a hatchet or axe. If you want something sturdy and light to chuck into a kit of some kind, a Mora is a good choice.

But if you want a Fallkniven A1X or a Bark River Crusader, I'd say pick the one you like best. Either would be well-made and do the job, IMO. I'd probably go with the smaller, lighter Fallkniven.

Good luck, OP!
 
The "best" "survival knife" is the one(s) you have with you when a "survival" situation arises.
Obviously, this event usually takes place when not planned on or expected.

Therefore, whatever your EDC is, may well be the "best" "survival knife" ... presuming you didn't leave home without it.
 
I often hear people say the "best survival knife is the knife you have with you", but I am a firm believer in the "right tool for the right job" and I can never bring myself fully agree with that cliche.

If I happen to be carrying a Spyderco Ladybug as my EDC and found myself stranded outdoor for a cold winter night, for sure the Ladybug is "the knife I have with me" but how would that be my "best survival knife"? It sure is better than nothing, just definitely not my best survival knife. (No offense to Ladybug, I like it as a cute knife but just not optimal for outdoor survival)

Of course, there will always be people with mad survival skill and probably could survive anything even butt naked, kudos to that but I surely am not one of them and YMMV.
 
If it was me taking a pick between those two, I'd definitley go with Bark River Bravo Crusader in 3V.
I like the design better and also the steel.

However, if it was me choosing a survival knife, I'd go with SRK in 3V, Recon Scout or Gurkha Kurkri plus...
 
I would pick the one that you believe you'd actually carry in the outdoors. From my experience, the smaller blade would generally get the nod if I only had the two.

Added: If you are unsure about the reality of carrying a large blade, I would suggest that you consider something like the BK-9 or a Condor Moonshiner or Iron bot and use them for a couple trips outdoors to decide if you really want to spend the money for the higher end knife. A good machete would take care of most of the chopping along with a smaller knife for most of the cutting. A folding saw is also quite useful.

My experience is that the only time I would carry a 9" blade is car camping and it would never leave the camp site unless I had a specific use for it. I find that I even resist carrying a 6" blade in all honesty. I ask myself, just what do I do with a knife, and is it worth the effort to carry the larger knife?

I will say that I really like a large knife, but I almost never use one or need one other than a machete type chopper unless I am just playing wood wacking. So, that being the case, I would buy the Bark River just because I think they look better.
 
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If I absolutely had to choose between the two you listed, I'd choose the Fallkniven only because the Bark River (BR) is too big and heavy. I generally like a 5"-6" blade on my camping/hiking/survival knives.

If picking a BR, I'd rather have a BR Bravo 1.25 or 1.5 in 3V.
If picking a Fallkniven, I'd rather have the S1 or A1.

The Cold Steel SRK in 3V is another great option (and cheaper). I'm also a fan of ESEE 5 or 6 and the "fatter" G10 handles.

PS. If you do a lot of food prep outdoors, add a Morakniv Companion in stainless for $17ish. Bonus 2nd knife and they weigh next to nothing. I always carry a Mora for food prep so I don't have to keep my big, fixed blade super clean.
 
I would go with the Bark River simply because I usually prefer their grinds. For a car camping emergency knife (I can't really think of any other scenario that would allow me to get any use out of it) I'm sure it would be perfect...

If I really had to choose one of the two to actually carry outdoors, however, I'd probably choose the lighter of the two. Having what feels like a brick of additional weight hanging off my belt all day would suuuuuuuuuck...
 
bemymonkey said:
I would go with the Bark River simply because I usually prefer their grinds. For a car camping emergency knife (I can't really think of any other scenario that would allow me to get any use out of it) I'm sure it would be perfect...

If I really had to choose one of the two to actually carry outdoors, however, I'd probably choose the lighter of the two. Having what feels like a brick of additional weight hanging off my belt all day would suuuuuuuuuck...
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Pretty much the way I feel. Of course we're talking "survival knife", which means it has to be big. Right? But you have to have the damn thing with you to use it in the off chance you have to do some surviving. That's why I suggested something less expensive so you can determine if you really would use a knife like this. If you have lots of money to spend, by all means buy the Bark River or both. I feel sure they are very well made knives. As mentioned above, the 1.25 or 1.5 versions would probably work just as well and not be as heavy. Hence you are more likely to actually carry it. I have the Bark River Wilderness Explorer model (5.75" blade) and it feels "big" to me. There is little I couldn't do with that knife if I wanted to or had to relative to a long stay in the woods/field.
 
comis said:
I often hear people say the "best survival knife is the knife you have with you", but I am a firm believer in the "right tool for the right job" and I can never bring myself fully agree with that cliche.

If I happen to be carrying a Spyderco Ladybug as my EDC and found myself stranded outdoor for a cold winter night, for sure the Ladybug is "the knife I have with me" but how would that be my "best survival knife"? It sure is better than nothing, just definitely not my best survival knife. (No offense to Ladybug, I like it as a cute knife but just not optimal for outdoor survival)

Of course, there will always be people with mad survival skill and probably could survive anything even butt naked, kudos to that but I surely am not one of them and YMMV.
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When folks around here say "the best survival knife is the knife you have with you", it isn't an argument against using the right tool for the job, or even a statement that all knives are equally capable. It is simply a reminder to use your noodle. It all starts with the idea that the best 'survival' tactic is to avoid the scenario all together. If this plan goes wrong, the issue then becomes how to effectively use available resources to your advantage--and this is where no tool will ever trump knowledge. Hence the old Scout motto "be prepared."

I do see your point, though. :)

Anyhoo, when I hear the term 'survival knife,' I just assume someone is referring to a general purpose fixed-blade for outdoor use.
 
Twindog said:
second one smaller for regular camp chores. Your EDC could be the second.
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Completely agree ! Big chopper paired with small fixed blade .

Cold Steel Master Hunter or even more compact Pendleton Mini Hunter , both available in 3V ,can do great at most chores but I'd want a 10"+ blade for chopping .

Cold Steel Trail Master or Gurkha Kukri work fine as choppers . IMO, don't need a "super steel" unless you prefer .
 
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