Help me decide: survival knife

Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
31
Hi all! Long time BF member and lurker. :) Always my first place to go for knife advice.

I’m looking to get a new smaller fixed outdoor survival knife, and have narrowed it down to 3 options. But first, my primary qualifications:
1) S35VN (have been itching to try it out)
2) kydex sheath
3) Micarta handle (have never owned so also excited)
4) blade 4”-5”

A lot of popular survival knives don’t hit all the qualifications above, so I’ve narrowed it down to what I think is three knives, in order of what I think I’m leaning towards.

1) Spartan Harsey TT
https://spartanbladesusa.com/shop-all/fixed-blade-knives/spartan-harsey-tt/
(4.5 inch, not crazy about spear point)

2) Attleboro “The Attleboro”
http://www.attleboroknives.com/The-Attleboro-Knife--Straight-Stone-Wash_p_17.html
(4.5 inch, point still a bit too aggressive)

3) Chris Reeve “Green Beret 5.5”
https://chrisreeve.com/collections/fixed-blades-1/products/green-beret
(5.5” inch blade makes it longer than I’d like, but it’s Chris Reeve!)

Any thoughts would be appreciated! Open to other makers but the first two seem like great small companies. Thanks so much.
 
Welcome my friend. Although there might be some folks in this sub-forum who could help you out...you would be much better served in the general knife forum. This is for traditionals only.
Having said that, you can't go wrong with one of Mr. Harsey's designs.
 
I'm going to have to second what waverave waverave said (particularly regarding the Harsey designs). I would be happy to offer my advice, but this isn't the forum for this particular question. But maybe the mods can move this to General and then I can feel free to elaborate.
 
Alright, now that this is out of traditionals, I can share pictures of modern survival knives with a clear conscience. Out of the three you have selected, I would probably opt for the Green Beret personally. Though (full disclosure) I plan to buy a Spartan TT and have no current plans to buy a Green Beret myself.

I am a big Harsey fan, see the photo below:
View media item 2578
But while I am a big Harsey fan, my funds are not unlimited and so I have to be selective about what I buy. I personally prefer some of the adjustments Bill has made to blade shapes he designs over the last decade or so, and really like the handle designs on the the Spartan Harsey Hunter, Difensa, Model II, and Model 1. I like the blade on the TT a lot, but the handle design is a little more of a dagger style which for me doesn't provide the same kind for leverage for woodworking and such. That is why I would cheat over toward the Green Beret out of the options you have listed. I don't like the Green Beret blade as much (it is more of a combat knife that can do other things design in my opinion), and the handle is more of a combat knife style guard, but that handle is also a comfortable workhorse.

I know you are also limiting your choices by blade size, but I have also been sold on the all-around benefits of a larger blade than I would pick for a pure hunting knife by my experiences with the Harsey Difensa. Of course, I am also a big guy with XL hands, and that affects my tastes greatly. Your mileage may vary. But when i review knives on my blog, the Difensa is the one I compare all the other survival knives to.

Getting afield from your specific options though, I have to pitch the Carothers Performance Knives HDFK. There is going to be a sale this Friday which offers a very good chance to snag one without the mad rush that has plagued the pursuit of CPK knives (Carothers has made a bunch of HDFKs lately, so the sales lately have lasted for whole minutes rather than the typical 3 seconds). Out of the knives I have tested, I don't think there is any other knife that matches the HDFK for absolute bombproof survival knife duty. It is bigger than you want, and in D3V, not S35VN, but they are amazing knives, and this Friday is probably the best and last chance to land one direct from the manufacturer for a while. Here is my HDFK review if you want more info.

Top to bottom: CPK LC, Spartan Harsey Model 1, CPK HDFK, and Spartan Harsey Difensa
View media item 1892
Another great option that is a little afield of your options (but is honestly close to unobtanium right this moment), is the forthcoming CPK Field Knife 2 (FK2). I am still working on landing one myself, but it should meet all of your design requirements except for being D3V, rather than S35VN.
 
I don't like the fact that the Attleboro knife and the CRK Green Beret are listed at 55-57Rc which is really low hardness for S35VN.
I guess it's in order to improve toughness but if you want this there are much better options.
 
I cannot thank everyone enough! A ton of great info... and I’ve been reading as much as I can to educate myself on different steels, blade shapes, and techniques to do my best in buying a knife that will suit my needs.

Thanks to the mods too, for moving this! :)
 
Alright, now that this is out of traditionals, I can share pictures of modern survival knives with a clear conscience. Out of the three you have selected, I would probably opt for the Green Beret personally. Though (full disclosure) I plan to buy a Spartan TT and have no current plans to buy a Green Beret myself.

I am a big Harsey fan, see the photo below:
View media item 2578
But while I am a big Harsey fan, my funds are not unlimited and so I have to be selective about what I buy. I personally prefer some of the adjustments Bill has made to blade shapes he designs over the last decade or so, and really like the handle designs on the the Spartan Harsey Hunter, Difensa, Model II, and Model 1. I like the blade on the TT a lot, but the handle design is a little more of a dagger style which for me doesn't provide the same kind for leverage for woodworking and such. That is why I would cheat over toward the Green Beret out of the options you have listed. I don't like the Green Beret blade as much (it is more of a combat knife that can do other things design in my opinion), and the handle is more of a combat knife style guard, but that handle is also a comfortable workhorse.

I know you are also limiting your choices by blade size, but I have also been sold on the all-around benefits of a larger blade than I would pick for a pure hunting knife by my experiences with the Harsey Difensa. Of course, I am also a big guy with XL hands, and that affects my tastes greatly. Your mileage may vary. But when i review knives on my blog, the Difensa is the one I compare all the other survival knives to.

Getting afield from your specific options though, I have to pitch the Carothers Performance Knives HDFK. There is going to be a sale this Friday which offers a very good chance to snag one without the mad rush that has plagued the pursuit of CPK knives (Carothers has made a bunch of HDFKs lately, so the sales lately have lasted for whole minutes rather than the typical 3 seconds). Out of the knives I have tested, I don't think there is any other knife that matches the HDFK for absolute bombproof survival knife duty. It is bigger than you want, and in D3V, not S35VN, but they are amazing knives, and this Friday is probably the best and last chance to land one direct from the manufacturer for a while. Here is my HDFK review if you want more info.

Top to bottom: CPK LC, Spartan Harsey Model 1, CPK HDFK, and Spartan Harsey Difensa
View media item 1892
Another great option that is a little afield of your options (but is honestly close to unobtanium right this moment), is the forthcoming CPK Field Knife 2 (FK2). I am still working on landing one myself, but it should meet all of your design requirements except for being D3V, rather than S35VN.

This has to be one of the best forum responses I’ve ever seen (on a thread started by a guy who hasn’t posted in 12 years LOL).

Wow... a lot to digest but you helped me a lot here. I agree that some of the knives I linked are more tactical, which is not high on my list of uses.

Haven’t heard of CPK knives – checking them out and consider me impressed!

Unlike you, I’m a smaller fella with smaller hands, so a smaller knife (and handle) would be much better for me.

Thanks again for this response. I love BladeForums!
 
Consider a custom. I have a custom 4” field knife in s35vn/micarta that I love, for not much more than a production.

Also, how about a fiddleback forge production duke? It’s s35vn, micarta handles, very well made. You’ll need to get an aftermarket kydex, though.

Who made your custom, if you don’t mind sharing more details?

Fiddleback Forge seems solid. Thanks for that!
 
Alright, now that this is out of traditionals, I can share pictures of modern survival knives with a clear conscience. Out of the three you have selected, I would probably opt for the Green Beret personally.
Had a CRK GB 5.5". Found it to be more of a sharpened pry bar vs. a field knife.
 
Who made your custom, if you don’t mind sharing more details?

44456036020_666968c633_o.jpg


TK Steingass Silver Lake Hunter. That’s his pic.
 
Hi all! Long time BF member and lurker. :) Always my first place to go for knife advice.

I’m looking to get a new smaller fixed outdoor survival knife, and have narrowed it down to 3 options. But first, my primary qualifications:
1) S35VN (have been itching to try it out)
2) kydex sheath
3) Micarta handle (have never owned so also excited)
4) blade 4”-5”

A lot of popular survival knives don’t hit all the qualifications above, so I’ve narrowed it down to what I think is three knives, in order of what I think I’m leaning towards.

I'm not entirely sure what you want this knife for. If we knew I think we could help better.

What is an "outdoor survival knife"? Do you want a knife for outdoor recreation like hunting, fishing, camping, etc? Do you want a knife for long term outdoor living? Do you want a knife for "survival," i.e. getting back to civilization as quickly as possible after screwing up horrible outdoors? Do you want some "technological/natural/zombie catastrophe" kind of knife?

And by the way...a steel you are "itching to try out" is not one to rely on for survival.
 
Who made your custom, if you don’t mind sharing more details?

Fiddleback Forge seems solid. Thanks for that!
I was just coming to suggest you look at production Fiddlebacks, but Dangerously Dangerously beat me to it! The Kephart is a touch bit shorter than your specs, but it can also serve as a fixed EDC and is a very, very useful blade with absolutely incredible ergonomics. Andy Roy is a goddamn wizard when it comes to knife handles. I own a Hiking Buddy and I would swear that handle is an inch longer than it actually is.
 
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