Carry at least two survival knives

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Carry at least two survival knives

by Jeff
(US)

I carry at least two survival knives. My favorite is the Becker bk2. I defy anyone to try to break this knife. It is 1/4 thick with a 5-1/4" blade. Knives over six inches are, for the mostpart, worthless. You need to keep the point as close to the hand as possible for safety and control.

Many complain is that it is heavy. But the weight gives the knife momentum to properly cut and baton. Additionally the bk2's shallow drop point further enhance its toughness. I've seen folks with Kabar and bowie pattern knives break the point off just by dropping them on a rock.

Also bear in mind, you don't need to spend a ton of money on some special knife that you are gonna get upset if you scratch it. I paid $60 bucks for my Becker, and each scratch and mark is a badge of pride.

My second knife is the ubiquitous Swiss army tinker 2. It complements the Becker with its small fine cutting blades and those invaluable scissors. By the way, the can opener on the Victorynox brand is the best I've ever used.

Multitools are nice and have come along way but they are way more bulky and much heavier than the Swiss army and thus far I have never had occasion to need pliers out in the wilderness.

Even though I have a multitool it usually rides in the car as a just "in case mechanic tool".

Over the course of my outdoor life, I did buy a Mora type knife (sportsman guide was offering two for 29.00) which is an excellent and cost effective knife, I am pretty sure that it is not full tang. My wife loves it and probably has cut more stuff with it than I have with my Becker.

If one should need one survival tool, I'd have to say one of the best is a German 60's vintage personal entrenching tool(shovel). Don't buy any modern versions with complex handles. Always get a good solid straight handle sharpen the edges, and you have got a decent light axe. You can effectively dig, hammer, cut and pry with it. It is heavy - yes. Is it practical - yes. Can it save your life - you bet.

Comments for
Carry at least two survival knives

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Mar 24, 2010
Rating

deffinatly important
by: Anonymous

Always a good idea to bring a spare, I usualy bring my Grohman Canadian belt knife and a swiss army "farmer" knife which is a standard issue with the addition of a saw. I once used the swiss army knife to feild dress a deer and even though that is not its intended use it did a pretty good job so I know if something happened to either one while I was in the bush I'd still be covered.

Mar 05, 2010
Rating

Thumbs up on your site
by: Jeremy

While living in Costa Rica for a few years I carried a cheap salvadorian made machette in the car. It came in handy a few times to open coconuts for milk and then splitting for the flesh. It also does wonders when cutting small trees and bushes. Costa Ricans use it as their main tool in the fields and usually carry a small file along to sharpen it.

I live in Belgium now so no more machette, but if I get into a survival situation, I would love to have one of those again.

I had a Mulay Mirage, Spanish made. I've had it sinse I was a kid and it's lasted me over the years. Sinse I was very happy with it I got it a little brother not too long ago, also a Mulay. Very nice little edge keeping razor.

I've had a few other knifes like Boker and while in the US I had a ka-bar, but I gave it to a friend when I moved, it didn't tip to the Mulay in my book.

To put it another way, the Mulay is a knife I would hand down to my kid when he's ready.

Feb 08, 2010
Rating

survival tool /knife
by: jac

btw here's my choice for perfect survival tool
granted you still will want at least a small pocket knife to take care of the light cutting
but I cant tell you howmany times I ve shown up at either a wilderness class camping trip with this and by the end of the trip everyone in the group wants one- i only recomend this specific type it has been used abused and never failed
leave it to the germans to take a simple shovel and way way over engineer it!
http://www.keepshooting.com/militarysurplus/collectibles/folding-shovel-military-entrenching-car.htm

Feb 08, 2010
Rating

Two is the right number
by: George Sudarkoff

I carry a couple of knives too: SOG Seal Pup Elite with straight edge (http://george.sudarkoff.com/2008/10/27/sog-seal-pup-elite-review/) and Leatherman Wave.

Feb 07, 2010
Rating

Follow-up
by: Dustin Tarditi

I have a Gerber LMF II Survival. It's a decent knife - I was going back and forth between that and the SOG Seal Pup Elite.

The LMF II has a lot of neat features, but a great substitute for much of the functionality may be found in the Ontario Air Force survival knife. The pommel on the LMF II is quite pointed, and may be difficult to pound stakes without destroying them, but could probably do a number on a coconut shell. The pommel on the AF survival is about the size and dimension of a typical claw hammer face.

One of the things I'm least fond of with my LMF II is the sheath - it's a very tight friction lock and the cordura/ballistic nylon sheath holder is great for MOLLE, but not much else. Since it's such a tight hold, it's nearly impossible to draw 1-handed in a belt/leg mount, and my preferred carry, the back or "scout" carry is quite difficult to configure. This plus no provision for a firesteel or honing stone make it a great combat or air crew evac knife, but the sheath needs a lot of re-work to be good for serious time in the bush without extensive modification or all-out replacement. (I've found some excellent leather workers that could make a new sheath, but the sheath alone would cost at least the same as a new Falkniven A1!)

Anyhow, the take-away from my follow up is really that there is no "perfect" knife - there are a lot of knives out there with a spectrum of utility, but there are always trade-offs.

For survival, ideally, having a primary blade for chopping, batoning, heavy cutting, etc. would be great if coupled with a multitool that has a great cutting blade as well as other useful implements (I have a classic Leatherman Multitool).

If I had to choose, I would prefer a smallish knife - around 4-5", full tang with a very comfortable handle (including a lanyard hole in the handle) and high carbon steel blade for cutting, carving, skinning, etc. plus a camp-size hatchet for chopping and hammering. For $15, it's hard to beat a Mora, too!

X Close Editor

Feb 07, 2010
Rating

Submitted by: Dustin Tarditi

Title

Comment
I have a Gerber LMF II Survival. It's a decent knife - I was going back and forth between that and the SOG Seal Pup Elite. The LMF II has a lot of neat features, but a great substitute for much of the functionality may be found in the Ontario Air Force survival knife. The pommel on the LMF II is quite pointed, and may be difficult to pound stakes without destroying them, but could probably do a number on a coconut shell. The pommel on the AF survival is about the size and dimension of a typical claw hammer face. One of the things I'm least fond of with my LMF II is the sheath - it's a very tight friction lock and the cordura/ballistic nylon sheath holder is great for MOLLE, but not much else. Since it's such a tight hold, it's nearly impossible to draw 1-handed in a belt/leg mount, and my preferred carry, the back or "scout" carry is quite difficult to configure. This plus no provision for a firesteel or honing stone make it a great combat or air crew evac knife, but the sheath needs a lot of re-work to be good for serious time in the bush without extensive modification or all-out replacement. (I've found some excellent leather workers that could make a new sheath, but the sheath alone would cost at least the same as a new Falkniven A1!) Anyhow, the take-away from my follow up is really that there is no "perfect" knife - there are a lot of knives out there with a spectrum of utility, but there are always trade-offs. For survival, ideally, having a primary blade for chopping, batoning, heavy cutting, etc. would be great if coupled with a multitool that has a great cutting blade as well as other useful implements (I have a classic Leatherman Multitool). If I had to choose, I would prefer a smallish knife - around 4-5", full tang with a very comfortable handle (including a lanyard hole in the handle) and high carbon steel blade for cutting, carving, skinning, etc. plus a camp-size hatchet for chopping and hammering. For $15, it's hard to beat a Mora, too!

Cancel Delete Delete & Ban

throbber Updating Comments page...

Feb 07, 2010
Rating

dustin knife tests
by: nailer20

yes I've watched these guys torture test knives
as well I am not sure they tested the bk2 which is thicker than the bk7 and bk9 and presumably tougher. Honestly the tests prefomed by those guys are a bit overdramatic. really has anyone really had to hack through a steel pipe or smash a cinder block with a knife-if you did it would be the absolute last ditch thing you would need to do and at that point you wouldnt really care about preserving the knife I am thinking trapped in a collapsed building as one scenario
two shortcommings of the bk2 that come to mind
1. very slippery smooth handles-I had a guy bead blast mine and they are much better also becker does offer linen micarta repalcement handles but I think they are too much
2. I wish Becker would rethink the pommel having small protrusion of the blade shank or some metal cap on the handle end of the knife would be usefull for light hammering jobs-cracking walnuts breaking bones etc I really like the pommel on gerber lmf II

Feb 07, 2010
Rating

Knife Test
by: Dustin Tarditi

http://www.knifetests.com/

Granted, this guy performs DESTRUCTION tests - but rates them based on how they perform and how durable they are given a set of test circumstances. This is not done in a lab, but the tests are more or less apples-to-apples.

The Becker BK9 only got 2 swords (3 is decent, 4 is excellent, 5 is outstanding)

http://www.knifetests.com/page5.html

Not the same knife, but somewhat similar in design and metallurgy.

This post isn't to knock on your knife choice, but if you defy someone to break it, someone will take up the challenge.

Feb 07, 2010
Rating

Common sense
by: Shaykh Idris

Good to see a common sense comment about knives: & the Trenching Tool: my father had one, no idea what became of it. Thanks.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Favorite survival knife

footer for wilderness survival page

Carry at least two survival knives

Comments for Carry at least two survival knives

Comments for
Carry at least two survival knives