hey everyone David C Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter and
today we're taking a look at some of the best survival knives that you can buy
across a range of different price points let's check them out
so when we talk about survival knives
the question that always comes up is do you go with a
fixed blade or a folder now for me I would always recommend a solid fixed
blade but I do understand that for some of you out there that's not going to be
an option whether that's because of local or campground regulations or just
your personal comfort level with that in mind I will have a couple of folders
that I'll show you just know that if you ever are in a true survival situation I
definitely want the reliability of a fixed blade on my belt they're simpler
to operate in a stressful situation and they've got no moving parts so the risk
of failure is a lot smaller but the most important thing is to have a knife any
kind of knife so the easier it is to carry the more likely you'll actually
have it on you when you need it that ethos is gonna guide my fixed blade
recommendations as well ease of carry is definitely important so I'm gonna be
showing you things with blades in the 4 to 7 inch range now the things I lay out
here of course are not gospel because what I think of as a survival knife
could be very different from your opinions but I think these are a good
set of guidelines to build from so I'm gonna start on the budget side of things
with Cold Steel and their new SRK-C which of course stands for survival
rescue knife compact and this knife has most of what I want to see in a survival
knife all available for under $50 right now it's a good overall size with a
5-inch blade coming in at about an eighth of an inch thick this is a good
compromise between being easy to control and large enough to do some bigger jobs
and as far as the thickness goes that 8th inch size is about as thin as I'd
want to get because you definitely want to go for something with solid build
quality if you want even more lengths this blade does come in in a six inch
version with their original full size SRK in the interest of sturdiness i'd go
with a full tang construction on your knife and this knife has that completely
in developed with Kray-Ex which is essentially a rubber material gives you
a lot of traction and in cold environments it keeps your hands off the
cold steel get it and it also has a prominent finger guard right here at the
front this is designed to help keep your hand
from sliding forward onto the edge of the knife because honestly the last
thing you want if you're already fighting fatigue or frostbite or when
you're running on adrenaline is to lose the use of one of your fingers now the
blade itself is a fairly simple shape and that's pretty important because you
want your survival knife to be a knife first and a survival knife second needs
to be actually useful for normal camp or utility stuff or else you're not going
to want to carry it which really defeats the purpose for the types of blade
shapes I think you should stick to a simple drop point or the straight clip
point profile like this SRK are best they're versatile for most tasks they
allow you to use it for skinning and provide a sharp point for piercing
without being too thin or weak I'd probably stay away from clip point
blades with a real aggressive scoop but a straight clip like this is just fine
now the steel on this blade is SK5 carbon steel and of course that raises
the debate of whether you go with carbon or stainless for your survival knife now
a carbon steel blade will typically provide more toughness and strength
especially on the budget end of the spectrum but it will of course require a
little bit more care in your upkeep the SRK does come with a powder coating on
the blade to help keep rust at bay though and although you can get the SRK
with upgraded blade steel with the SK5 versions of this knife priced from 40 to
45 bucks at this point in time it's definitely the knife to beat if you're
building a survival kit on a budget now the next knife I'm gonna show you breaks
some of my personal rules but I feel like I need to talk about it for those
out there who really want something like this the least you can do is buy a good
one I'm talking about the hollow handled survival knife or the stereotypical
Rambo knife that a lot of people think of when they hear the term survival
knife and if you're gonna get one I'd go with the Schrade SCHF1 and the reason
is strength now most knives of this style feature a
blade and handle that are somehow welded or attached together but this Schrade is
milled out from a single piece of steel 1070 carbon steel with a seven and a
half inch blade which eliminates that weak point there right at the base this
was a build style that was definitely brought to prominence by Chris Reeve
knives but they don't make their version anymore so at least we still have the
more budget Schrade option now that you can still get priced at just under 70
bucks right now with the strength provided by this type
of construction and the same is true for well-built knives with a full tang also
you've got the durability you're gonna need for heavier tasks like batoning
the knife in order to split wood for an emergency fire this is not something
that most of you are gonna want to do every day but in a survival situation if
this is the only tool you've got left you want it to be able to stand up to
this kind of abuse for that same reason I would avoid knives with a sawed back
on the spine which thankfully this knife doesn't have now they do look cool but
often they're only of limited utility and they often get in the way of batoning
as well now some of these knives will have a compass here on the unscrewable
butt cap this one doesn't instead it's got a nice solid piece here which
unscrews it comes equipped with a screwdriver set with a few different
bits but you can easily pull this out if you want to make room for things like
fire starters or a fishing kit etc but keep in mind if you are storing things
like that in there if you lose your knife you lose those items too now the
handle itself because it's this round shape it is a little more prone to
twisting while you're working but to mitigate that they've knurled the
surface to give it more traction they've also beveled out two sections
here as you come towards the base of the blade which creates a good spot for
pinching up and doing a pinch grip or other detail work and as for those
personal rules I mentioned I'm usually not a big fan of a guard on the back
side of the blade and this blade also has a hollow grind and for a survival
knife I prefer the strength of a flat grind or a convex grind I'm also not a
fan of partial serrations myself either as they're typically placed right where
you'd want to be carving wood with a nice straight edge but at least this
type is a little bit more gentle in the way their ground in it should be easier
to resharpen when it comes time to do now your mileage may vary of course and
you may have different preferences for what you're looking for but when it
comes to a hollow handled survival knife the SCHF1 is my recommendation for a
production version all right so what about a budget stainless steel option
coming in at about 70 bucks right now I really like the Gerber StrongArm
made in the USA and featuring 420HC steel with a smooth ceramic coating now
this is not a premium steel to be sure but this knife has proven to be very
tough and hard use at 3/16 of an inch thick we've got a 4.8 inch long drop
point blade with a mid height flat grind which leaves plenty of steel at the full
width for stress we've also got a full tang design but
like the SRK it does have a rubberized handle it's good in a bunch of different
grips too thanks to its symmetrical profile it's got a nice swell to fill
the hand and even a nice spot for a pinch grip thanks to this rigid nylon
pad here that actually interlocks with the MOLLE compatible sheath the guard is
also there and it's a little bit on the subtler side but still effective and
even though you do get that rear guard it is subtle enough to not get in the
way too much now the strong arm has another thing from the quote unquote
survival knife bag of tricks a protruding pommel that comes to a point
there at the back this is great for striking or as I like to say thumping on
things in a survival situation whether you're pounding open nuts or flattening
vegetation for cordage perhaps or even for banging on with another stick if you
need to drive the blade into something being pointed like this it brings all of
your force down onto one point of contact magnifying your strength now for
a more premium stainless option I'd direct you to the brand Fallkniven
they make a high quality product in Japan and everything from their classic
F1 pilot survival knife with a four inch blade up to their A1 with a blade
over six inches would be a great choice for a survival but for the one I've got
here I'm gonna split the difference and show you there S1 with a roughly
five-inch blade since all these knives are all built in the same style now
starting at about $165 for the base model of the S1 that comes with a VG-10 blade
which is a phenomenal knife and a good value but I've actually got the S1 Pro
here and that comes with a bunch of upgrades admittedly at a cost this one's
about $290 right now it does come with some extras of those such as Fallkniven's
excellent DC4 sharpener and a waterproof case to keep things
interesting we've got a full tang and this is
another knife with an over molded rubber handle we also get a protruding tang at
the end flap this time for all your thumping and the pro version features a
metal finger guard the blade itself is a drop-point profile and it features a
convex grind now this has a cross-section something like an apple
seed and it's probably the strongest grind for your survival knife and it's
very useful too now it can survive some heavy use like light chopping but
because of the geometry of the convex profile you can even get another use out
of it you can use the shoulder of the grind itself to very precisely angle
the edge in what you're cutting for some very
accurate cuts now the steel on this pro version is laminated cos or cobalt steel
which is tougher than VG-10 and it's got more wear resistance as well no matter
which design you choose though these knives are field-proven and very capable
and you really can't go wrong with any of them now as for step up options in the carbon
steel arena there's two brands that should be at the top of your list
ESEE knives and Becker Knife and Tool made by KA-BAR now any of their full size
models are a good choice really but the two I'm gonna focus on today are the ESSE
6 and the Becker BK-7 combat utility we're definitely getting into big knife
territory here and these are about as large as I'd like to recommend because
any bigger and they get to be a bit more cumbersome on your belt
now the Becker starts a little bit cheaper than the ESSE right now coming in
at about $108 I've got one here from my personal collection and as you can see
it's certainly seen a bit of use and it's come through just fine the blade is
about seven and a quarter inches long made from 1095CV carbon steel with a
powder coating it's 3/16 of an inch thick you've got
plenty of length and strength for batoning or light chopping with a high
flat grind to keep it a good slicer at the same time now that CV technically
makes this a different steel from standard 1095 but in your actual usage
it's going to perform virtually the same we've got a flattened protruding tang
with the BK-7 and an excellent grip the handles themselves are synthetic and
they're bolted onto the tang they're technically removable and you've got
space inside for some compact survival goodies but you're better off storing
them in the sheath that comes with this which has a nice pocket on the front of
it the handles have a generous swell and they're contoured for both comfort and
keeping your hand in place if you do want a little more traction though or
you just want to upgrade the feel there's also official micarta scales
which can be purchased in addition to comfort the beak at the back of this
knife even allows for good choking back for a little bit of extra leverage
because it still gives you a nice big grip the BK 7 in my mind really is the
essence of big survival knife personified and it's always going to be
a good and reliable choice now giving the Becker a run for its money is the
ESEE-6 the blades a little bit shorter about six and a half inches but it's
also got a full sized finger choil which lets you choke up behind the
for better control during delicate tasks and the steel follows the same essential
formula 1095 carbon steel with a coating 3/16 of an inch thick with a protruding
tang at the back as well it does deviate a little bit however and
we see a drop-point profile with a full flat grunt it's still plenty strong and
that profile is going to provide excellent slicing performance now long
known for having bolt on flat micarta scales ESEE have recently introduced
versions with contoured micarta and G10 options and there are only a nominal
price upgrade to the base model of the ESSE-6 starts at about $135 and the
contoured model I have here is only nine bucks more it fits the hand extremely
well and the upgrade is well worth it in my mind now really no knife of this size
is ever going to be a chopper per se but the Becker is gonna have a bit of an
advantage there because it's got a little bit of extra length and because
the handles on the ESSE when you choke back on them they're definitely good but
they don't offer as much retention as the Becker both of these knives are
great though they're made in the USA with great customer support behind on
paper the ESEE's warranty may look a little bit better a lifetime
no-questions-asked warranty but KA-BAR's warranty on the Becker's is also very
good I've never heard of them refusing to replace a blade if it has suffered a
failure suffice it to say again you can't go wrong with either of them and
both of these knives are gonna be an investment that should last you a
lifetime now I've talked a bit about my personal
preferences throughout this video because I've actually spent a fair
amount of time thinking about this subject while I stand by recommending any
of these knives there's actually nothing out there that has absolutely everything
I want in my survival knife so I had to design my own this is the Nordsmith
Pilgrim LT my right sized survival knife design which has everything I want in
one compact package I call it the right size survival knife because I want it to
be as easy to carry as possible hence a blade length just under four inches now
that size is about the bare minimum in my book for a primary belt knife it's a
great size to control very easily and don't consider this to be legal advice
but it's also a size that won't raise as many eyebrows in most places steel is
eighth inch thick AEB-L stainless now this type of steel is perfect for this
type of application because you're going to get toughness that
approaches a good carbon steel and it's easy to resharpen when needed along with
the rust resistance and long lasting edge of a good stainless it features a
versatile drop point blade with a flat grind good for everything from wood
carving to hunting to food prep and a micarta handle I prefer this over a
synthetic material because sometimes I can find those to be a little too grippy
for my tastes and I've designed this with a slim enough handle for easy carry
and a shape that fits a lot of hand sizes very well it's got an effective
finger guard that's small enough to not interfere with most grips and in lieu of
a protruding tang the pommel comes to an apex this kind of splits the difference
a little bit now when you're thumping you're still gonna come into contact
with steel first allowing you to concentrate your force to one point but
it's gonna be more comfortable when you need to do anything like drilling when
your hand is placed over the pommel coming in at about 245 this option is a
bit more premium because it's handmade right here in the USA I actually partner
with LT Wright knives to handle the production for me so if you're familiar
with the quality of his products you know exactly what you're getting with a
Nordsmith knife alright so what about folding knives now as I mentioned you're
gonna be giving up some strength but you do gain a lot of convenience so I've got
two here that are gonna make a good option if you just had to have a fold
we're gonna start again with Cold Steel and their AD-10 which is backed up
with their Triad lock which is one of the strongest on the market and this
knife comes in at just over 190 bucks this is actually just one of the great
choices from Cold Steel their Ultimate Hunter folder and SR1 folder also
deserve a look but the AD-10 is probably the most cohesive design of the
three the blade is three and a half inches long now obviously you're not
gonna get the same kind of length you would get with a fixed blade but it's
made from S35VN steel with a broad drop point blade
it offers decent toughness and a whole lot of edge retention the handles are
G10 and they're contoured very nicely and that goes a long way to closing the
comfort gap with a fixed blade most folders are more prone to hot spots but
this one does do a very good job of keeping them at a minimum especially if
you run the knife without the pocket clip the AD-10 even has a
protruding metal pommel at the back which is part of the back spacer and a
nice finger guard small finger choil too for choking on so this knife still
a lot of the must-haves for a good survival knife one more lock type
that'll make a good backbone for a survival folder is Benchmade's AXIS
lock my favorite one that they make that fits the survival knife purpose in my
mind is the 560 Freek now base models come with S30V steel and
synthetic handles and they start at less than 125 bucks which while not a
bargain-basement thing are certainly attainable but my favorite version of
this knife is the Super Freek it's not its official name it's been lovingly
dubbed that by the Benchmade fans because we've gotten a number of great
upgrades it features a CPM-M4 blade and again we get a versatile drop point with
a high flat grind the steel offers really good edge retention and even
better toughness for rough handling the steel is even tough enough for big
chopping fixed blades so while it may seem like overkill on a folder this size
I bet you're not gonna think that if you're stuck out in the wilderness and
need to rely on it isn't stainless though which is why we get a black
coating to help keep the rust away the handles feature a modest finger guard
and they're large enough for a full solid grip but you don't get any
protruding pommel in this case the materials are black and gray G10 which
are milled for a nice comfortable grip and for visual interest you get some
integrated red liners and red barrel spacers holding the sides together
thanks to that open back style of construction this knife is going to be
easier to keep clean to especially useful when the going gets tough at the
heart of this knife though the backbone is that great AXIS lock now just like
the Triad lock on the Cold Steel the key reason that this is going to be great in
a survival situation is that these are ambidextrous you may not think that's a
big deal because you might be a right-handed or left-handed you think
you'll only use that hand but in an emergency situation if for some reason
you're unable to use your primary hand you'll still be able to operate both of
these knives with your offhand when you need to so that's it for our list of the
best survival knives you can get right now in 2020 be sure to let us know in
the comments what your favorite survival knife is if it's one of these or if
you've got something else that you rely on or maybe there's some other features
or guidelines that you look for in your survival knife in the meantime if you
want to get your hands on any of these great knives you can click the links in
the description and head over to KnifeCenter.com make sure you sign up for our
knife rewards program because you might as well earn some
free money towards your next knife if you're gonna buy a knife anyway I'm
David C Anderson from the KnifeCenter signing off see you next time