Recommendation? Christmas help with a Survival knife

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Tommy Taylor

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Dec 5, 2019
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I'm wanting to get someone a nice survival knife for Christmas but only want to spend around $100 USD what are some of yalls best recommendations? Would like something full tang
 
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Just to let you know there is a TOPS Fieldcraft BOB for sale in the individual fixed blade section for 85.00. Check it out. +1 also in the ESEE line, not hard to find and they come up in the exchange too. I bought a RAT 3 and got the longer handle extension, feels like a different knife.
 
Becker BK2 or BK16.

The '2 will stand in for a small hatchet, if you just want to carry a one size fits all knife. The '16 could be paired with a saw or hatchet, and should do most of your woodland cutting chores.

if you're talking about "urban survival", well, I'll assume you aren't for now: that's a whole other discussion and set of requirements.
 
Welcome to the forums.

Cold Steel SRK. There is a SK-5 blade steel version at $55 or San Mai VG-10 for $99.99 .

Terava Jaakaripuukko. I'd get the 140mm blade length + leather sheath for $68 including shipping to the US.

I'm not a big Gerber fan but the Strongarm is a great knife for the $. I have one and they can be found for $55 now.
 
The fallkniven F1 will retail for about 100 last time I checked. The Mora companions is one of the best knives for the money in my opinion. Mora has other slightly more expensive options as well. Good luck!
 
FYI. In the real world of survival, 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Most survival situations are best served with 2 knives. Obviously the first reason is to have a spare in case one is lost or destroyed. Secondly, large knives are best used for shelter building and fire prep (chopping wood, etc.). Small knives are better suited for camp chores;i.e. food prep, feather sticks, kindling prep, etc.

However, you said "a" survival knife. In that case, a single large knife would be best. "You can do small things with a big knife". "You can't do big things with a small knife.

I'd recommend the ESEE Junglas (a little over $100.00 but the best warranty in the world) or a Kabar Becker BK9. You can get an Ontario RTAK II (same size as the Junglas) but I'd look for a model with the 5160 steel as there were a few issues with the 1095 versions heat treat and they were prone to breaking when batoning hardwoods.

Mt $.02
 
I see alot of responses recommending smallish knives for survival. Mora's, Gerber Strong Arm, Cold Steel SRK, Fallkniven F1.
If the person getting the knife is truly in a survival situation, or even training for real world wilderness survival, I'd like to see them chop wood for a fire or poles for a shelter using the aforementioned blades.

BK2 is very short but stout and the 16 is also on the smallish side for heavy work.

If you have a $100.00 budget and a one knife only criteria, then get the biggest, toughest knife you can. 345.jpg 669.jpg
 
After looking at the recent Mora thread, you might want to save some money and buy a couple of those. Spend the rest on other survival gear.
 
I'm looking at the Ontario Blackbird SK-5 myself, and now a Fallkniven F1 to use as a camp knife. They get rave reviews, and are only about $130. I'll probably wind up getting both now that I've looked.
 
Tommy Taylor said:
I'm wanting to get someone a nice survival knife for Christmas but only want to spend around $100 USD what are some of yalls best recommendations? Would like something full tang
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I'm not trying to be argumentative against the other posters in the thread but I would like to know what type of "survival" we're talking about? If this person is say, in the Rockies, for more than a week, they will need a substantially large knife for 'survival'.
I couldn't imagine trying to build shelter and create enough firewood with these small knives that are being suggested. I think what most of these members are suggesting are excellent "bushcraft" knives.
Some of the spruce and aspen I cut for shelter and firewood would have taken me hours and hours to process with a Mora, SK-5, or Fallkniven F1. Not to mention the large amount of energy and calories I would have spent using those small tools for such large tasks.
If we're talking real survival in the wilderness in harsh environments, get the biggest, toughest knife you can afford. If it's weekend warrior stuff, then all of the knives mentioned above will probably work fine.
 
Need a modestly priced "Survival knife"? Without knowing much of anything, I would say BK-7, BK-9, ESEE-6 for knives. For me, when I go to the woods, these kinds of knives get left at home unless I'm car camping. On the survival knife thing, I would lean toward something in the 5-6" blade length as the knives are much easier to carry and you're more likely to have it with you. Take a folding saw for cutting big stuff. Also, knives in this size are not small. I have been carrying smaller fixed blades on day hikes of late. One never knows when the unexpected happens however even on day long hikes.
 
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If you spend more than a week anywhere without a proper hatchet, saw, or machete you are underprepared. I wouldn't want to build a shelter with a Mora, but I could. If you can carry a 7" beast of a knife on your side, you can carry a small hatchet and a knife 5" or less and be better prepared for a wider variety of situations. My day trip knife is a Victorinox Huntsman and I never feel under knifed. Oversized "survival" blades are cool but highly impractical for anything but chopping. They are just too long, and too thick. Take a small hatchet. I feel like a "one tool option" is a seperate topic and the only good arguement I've ever seen for one is Andy Tran talking about his camera equipment being too heavy and bulky for him to want to carry a hatchet and a knife. Your mileage may vary.
 
Cold Steel SRK, it's available in few varieties of steel. So it will have something within your price range.
 
Fisher1573 said:
If you spend more than a week anywhere without a proper hatchet, saw, or machete you are underprepared. I wouldn't want to build a shelter with a Mora, but I could. If you can carry a 7" beast of a knife on your side, you can carry a small hatchet and a knife 5" or less and be better prepared for a wider variety of situations. My day trip knife is a Victorinox Huntsman and I never feel under knifed. Oversized "survival" blades are cool but highly impractical for anything but chopping. They are just too long, and too thick. Take a small hatchet. I feel like a "one tool option" is a seperate topic and the only good arguement I've ever seen for one is Andy Tran talking about his camera equipment being too heavy and bulky for him to want to carry a hatchet and a knife. Your mileage may vary.
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The "One Tool Option" has never been my MO. I will always have a folder with me and it's usually a SAK. Which SAK depends on how long a hike is and if I choose to carry any other cutting tools with me (saw, hatchet, and so forth). The little saw blade on the 111mm Trekker is quite useful for modest cutting (stakes, walking stick, small limbs, and so forth), but a larger folding saw will certainly do the work easier. You just have to carry it. I would really have to consider hard to choose a bigger than 6" bladed knife in the woods in almost any general situation. If I chop and know I'm going to chop, my choice is often a machete to have along. Everything depends and you can't be prepared for every scenario. It's fun thinking about it however. It is true that if you choose one blade, it should probably be a large one simply because it is more versatile (but not necessarily convenient to use).

I have opted to not carry much stuff at times other than camera equipment (sacrificing some items that many feel are essential) and you have to make decisions about the weight. I pretty much have a camera with me if I'm in the woods. But on a long hike, I may choose a small point and shoot since it would be unlikely to really need anything more substantial. But, if I'm hiking along the crest of the Smoky Mts, I might well go for the heavier DSLR approach simply for versatility. The tripod is always the killer weight item and bulky although I have a small back packing one. I prefer to use a tripod for most any picture that isn't as snap shot.

Added: In August I did some hiking and opted for camera and a fair amount of water. (It was like 100*F.) I forgot to pack a poncho just in case and I got soaked in a longish thunder storm. I could have had a big garbage bag with me, but I didn't. Tis the breaks and my primary task was to protect the DSLR camera from much rain exposure.

A month or so later, it was drizzly all day and I had a lot of photo opportunities. I thought it wasn't raining enough to matter and the camera got wet enough to kill it. That was a very expensive day and the first time I ever lost a camera to rain exposure.
 
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I have never used one but I see guys carry a flexible saw blade that rolls up like a thin cable and fits easily into a pocket. Has rings on each end. If they work they seem way more practical than a saw blade on a SAK.
 
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