First off, I want to get one thing out of the way; there is no such thing as the “best survival knife.”
It doesn’t exist.
However, there’s quite possibly a “best survival knife for you.”
That difference may seem slight, but it’s of utmost importance.
Why? Because no two survivalists are alike.
We all have different goals and unique survival skills that make some survival knives better for you than others.
However, there are many great survival knives and some poor ones as well.
So the goal of this survival knife guide is to provide you the best information so you can make an informed decision on which survival knife to purchase.
Here’s exactly what we’ll cover in this guide:
- Top 6 Survival Knife Features
- Detailed Survival Knife Reviews
- Deep Dive Behind Survival Knife Designs
- Survival Knife Wrap Up
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Top Survival Knife Features
Before deep diving into all the available options for survival knives (such as blade design, blade edge, blade length, blade grinds, grips, etc.). Let’s highlight the top survival knife features to choose the perfect survival knife.
These are the key survival knife features you’ll want in any survival knife you choose.
1 – Size Matters
Too big and you’ll give up the ability to do detailed carving work like carving detailed snare sets or precision cutting.
Too small and you’ll be compromising important survival skills like chopping, splitting, and batoning.
You need a knife small enough for precision yet large enough to be rugged for tougher tasks.
So you’re looking roughly in the 9 to 11-inch overall knife length.
2 – Fixed Blade Only
A fix blade survival knife is exactly what it sounds like. The blade of the knife is in a fixed position. It does not switch, flip, or fold down.
The fewer moving parts mean a more durable knife for the long haul.
A tough, quality constructed fixed blade knife can handle some serious abuse. For example, one of the most abusing survival techniques for knives is batoning.
Batoning with a knife is a brutal test.
I tried batoning with a high-quality folding knife once, and it destroyed the springs and clips within 5 minutes.
Since you need your knife to last while being able to perform the most rugged survival skills, shop in the “fixed blade survival knife” category.
Don’t get me wrong, folder knives are awesome, and I carry a Kershaw Onion folder every day.
Kershaw Onion
But they are not advisable for serious survival.
A fixed blade knife is what you want for survival. It’s a blade you can stake your life on.
Folder blades have a weakness that fixed blades do not. They have pivot joint to make them foldable, and when you abuse a folding knife, the joint will eventually break.
3 – Full Tang Only
The tang of a blade is the metal section that is wrapped in the handle of the knife.
A true full tang knife profile fills the entire handle with exposed metal around the edges, while a partial tang knife is where the metal is smaller and inside the handle.
Full tang knives are designed to withstand a lot more abuse than a partial tang knife. If you beat on a partial tang knife, it will eventually come loose and develop play in the handle.
If the handle breaks off, it’s very difficult and dangerous to use a partial tang knife – while a full tang knife can be wrapped with some 550 paracord and still work nearly as well.
There are also rat tail tangs and hidden tangs, and these are even less durable than a partial tang.
So ideally you want full tang for survival. But some partial tangs are decent for survival purposes as well.
The bottom line is the more metal in the handle the better- yes, these knives cost a little more, but it’s worth it.
4 – Sharp Spear Point Tips (or drop tip)
Many survival knife designers want to stand out from the crowd and design funky looking knife blades with insane shapes.
They might look badass, or cool, but they won’t function as well for you in survival situations.
Spearpoint or drop points are best for penetration in self-defense, it also allows you to perform fine point work.
Unless you’re looking for a blade for your next Halloween custom – stick with the simple yet effective blade shapes of either a spear point or a drop point, and you won’t regret it.
5 – Single Edged Blade
Single-edged blades have only one side of the blade sharpened and used for cutting, slicing, etc. – while double-edged blades are sharp on both sides.
And in survival, the side that’s flat is as important as the side that’s sharp.
First, it helps with detailed control. You’re able to slide your thumb safely up onto the flat edge, while this control technique is not possible if the edge was sharp.
Second, when batoning to split wood, a double edge blade works against you. You end up beating down on a sharp blade and losing your striking power.
Third, it’s much easier to use fire steel with a flat edge. A flat 90-degree grind is perfect for getting sparks from fire steel.
6 – Butt of Handle Flat
Look for a survival knife where you can use the butt of the handle as a makeshift light-duty hammer. So you want the butt of the handle to be flat and not round.
This allows you to drive in tent stakes into the ground, or use your knife like a punch – where you drive the knife by hitting the bottom of it with a chunk of wood.
Detailed Survival Knife Reviews
Now that we have a general sense of what to look for in a good survival knife, let’s go through some detailed reviews of the top survival knives.
These detailed review videos will help you further understand what makes a good survival knife and you’ll also get a sense of the best survival uses for each of these knives.
1 – ESEE 4
2 – ESEE 5
3 – ESEE Desert Tan Izula II
Check Today’s ESEE Desert Tan Izula II Price
4 – Morakniv Kansbol
Check Today’s Morakniv Kansbol Price
5 – Morakniv Garberg
Check Today’s Morakniv Garberg Price
6 – Schrade SCHF9 Extreme
Check Today’s Schrade SCHF9 Extreme Price
7 – Schrade SCHF52M Frontier
Check Today’s Schrade SCHF52M Frontier Price
8 – Ka-Bar Becker BK2
Check Today’s Ka-Bar Becker BK2 Price
9 – Gerber LMF II Infantry
Check Today’s LMF II Infantry Price
10 – Fallkniven A1
Check Today’s Fallkniven A1 Price
11 – FallKniven FN78 F1
Check Today’s Fallkniven FN78 F1 Price
12 – Ontario Black Bird SK-5
Check Today’s Ontario Black Bird SK-5 Price
As A Way To Introduce You To Skilled Survival, We're Giving Away Our Ultimate Survival Gear Checklist. Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy Of It.
Deep Dive Behind Survival Knife Designs
In the next section I want to deep dive into all the specific details behind different survival knife designs, the steel differences, the coatings, grinds, tangs, etc. and the pros and cons of each.
Specifically, we will be covering the following topics in detail:
- Blade Design
- Fixed vs. Folding
- Blade Length
- Blade Steel
- Blade Grind
- Tang Construction
- Blade Coatings
- Grips
Blade Design: Choosing The Right Blade
Deciding on the blade design shape is one of the most important factors when choosing your survival knife.
For example, in a survival situation, you’ll likely use every bit of the blade from the belly to the tip for all sorts of tasks.
So you need to have a basic understanding of all the blade shape options.
There are four main options when it comes to blade design (spear, tonto, clip or drop point).
As we covered earlier, for survival we recommend you go with a spear or drop for most survival knives.
Because these blade designs put the tip of the blade close to the centerline of the blade which provides great control. It also lowers the weight at the tip of the blade helping to move the balance point of the knife closer to the hilt. This helps give the user greater tip control as well.
However, it’s always good to understand the applications for the other blade designs as well. You might already have your “go-to” survival knife, and you’re in the market for a specialty blade.
Here’s an excellent video overview of these main blade design options.
Fixed Blade Or Folding? Which Is Best For Survival?
Fixed blade knives are what you want for wildness survival situations.
However, fixed blade knives are more cumbersome to carry. You can’t carry a large fixed blade knife around unnoticed.
So for everyday carry needs, you should look into a folding knife. They are ideal for every day carry situation, when you’re not trying to build survival shelters, or start fires in the wild.
But for a true survival knife, you need something extremely durable that will not break under intense use and abuse.
Yes, a good folding knife should be in your pocket, but it also should never be your primary survival knife for extreme situations.
Blade Length: From Short To Long
The length of a knife’s blade determines how useful it is for certain tasks. Choppers are your larger machete-like blades while precision bushcraft work is best with smaller carver blades.
For survival you want a bit of both, so the best survival blades tend to be in the medium size range.
Survival Blade Steel: What’s It Make Of?
High carbon steel (i.e., 1095, 5160, 01 or A2) vs. stainless steels (i.e., 420HC, 440C, AUS-8 or AUS-10) – as you can tell there are a lot of blade steel options.
In laymen’s terms, high carbon tool steels tend to be tougher than stainless steels, meaning they are harder to break, but they are more susceptible to corrosion.
They also are easier to sharpen than stainless, but won’t keep an edge as well either.
If you want to understand the difference in blade steels you have to think like a knife maker. The following video deep dives into all the various steel options.
Worth watching if you want to get a great introduction of blade steel choices.
Blade Grinds: What’s The Difference?
There are several blade grind options for any knife design. Each grind has its pros and cons depending on how you want your tactical knife to perform.
However, for survival knives, two specific blade grinds stand above the rest, the saber and flat grinds.
The saber grind has a short primary bevel from the cutting edge to the back of the blade. This creates a thicker edge that’s harder to sharpen to a very fine point but will hold it’s edge better when chopping and splitting.
The flat grind is a compromise between the saber grind and a hollow grind.
A hollow grind concaves inward from the blade edge to the cutting point, which makes the cutting edge extremely sharp but also prone to chipping and damage under intense use.
So a flat grind has a bevel that goes from the cutting edge all the way to the back of the blade. This allows for a much finer edge than the saber grind but is not as fragile as the hollow grind.
If this all sounds a bit confusing, watch the below videos for an excellent introduction to the basic knife grinds.
Tang Construction: Full Or Partial?
We only recommend you invest in a full tang survival knife. We talked about it previously so I won’t go over this again.
However, there may be some future knife enthusiasts who want an introduction into partial tangs (rat tail tang, narrow tangs, hidden tangs).
This following video gives a nice introduction to this interesting knife topic.
Blade Coating Options
The science of blade coatings is detailed and complex. However, it’s interesting chemistry.
This video provides you a detailed overview of 6 different blade coatings put through an extensive series of tests. Make sure to watch to the end to find out which blade coating holds up the best.
Handle Material: Understanding Grips
The grip of a survival knife is critical to its performance. You need a grip that’s tough and won’t break under intense forces. Yet it feels comfortable in your hands.
You also want a grip that won’t absorb moisture which can lead to handling rot.
A few of the most popular knife handle materials are Wood, Micarta, G-10, Zytel, Krayton or Hypalon.
The following video goes into a nice introduction to some of these handle materials.
Grip Techniques
Finally, I wanted to share a bit of information on grip techniques. I think it’s as important (maybe more) to invest time into learning how to use your new survival knife.
A survival knife is just a piece of survival gear, and it’s only useful in the right set of hands.
So watch the following video to get an introduction on how to use your survival knife once you decide on which one to buy.
Survival Knife Wrap Up
Survival knives come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and designs.
You must decide for yourself which survival knife is best suited for your needs. The good news is you should invest in multiple survival knives. You should have a survival knife for your bug out bag, one for your survival pack, one for your medical first aid kit and one for your get home bag as well.
I don’t know anyone who’s serious about survival who ones just one knife. We own lots of survival knives we’ve accumulated over the years. With each knife serving a specific purpose.
For example, there a video by a survival expert who shares with us his collection of survival knives.
Remember: Prepare, Adapt, and Overcome,
“Just In Case” Jack
P.s. Do you know where the closest nuclear bunker is from your home?
There are a lot of natural nuclear shelters in the US that are absolutely free. And one of them is near your home.
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Click on the image above to find out where you need to take shelter.
Dean J. Kilburn says
In choosing for a survival knife to be used then we always need to consider the purpose why we need it. Choose wise to gain best.
Just In Case Jack says
Indeed. Selecting your best survival knife all starts with how you plan to use it and for what purpose.
Steve says
It also depends on what other gear you’ll have on you. If you’re carrying a hatchet, you don’t need a big 8 inch blade bowie, you can use something smaller. If you don’t have a hatchet you’re probably best off with a big blade.
Just In Case Jack says
Indeed, everyone’s gear choices and configuration will be unique.
James says
How does the Gerber 31-001063 Bear Grylls Utimate Survival compare to the Gerber LMF II infantry?
Just In Case Jack says
Depends on how to intend to use the knife and your budget.
Here are the specs:
Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival
– Full Fine Edge High Carbon Stainless Steel Drop Point Blade – Ideal for edge retention
– Ergonomic Textured Rubber Grip – Maximizes comfort and reduces slippage
– Stainless Steel Pommel – At base of handle for hammering
– Emergency Whistle – Integrated into lanyard cord
– Military grade mildew resistant nylon and hard rubber sheath with an integrated diamond knife sharpener and ferrocerium fire Starter
Gerber LMF II Infantry Knife
– Field tested with American troops, this 10-inch survival knife was engineered in partnership with our country’s bravest
– This MOLLE compatible knife is rugged and versatile, with a partially serrated blade that can also serve as pommel or a spear
– The ballistic nylon sheath includes a built-in blade sharpener and fire retardant coating
– Originally designed to free an aircrew from a downed aircraft, the LMF II is tough enough to cut through the fuselage of an aircraft
– The knife has a purposeful break between the tang and the butt cap, providing insulated protection against stray wires and absorbing any shock from hammering
The actual blade shapes look to be nearly identical however, the Infantry knife has is partially serrated.
From what I can tell, both blades are high carbon stainless steel and both have protective coatings.
The handle shapes are different. However, both look to be texturized rubber.
Finally, one of the most important differences is the price. The Bear Grylls Survival Knife is less than half the cost of the Infantry Knife.
Adam says
There is one caveat with the ESEE 4 and that is the handle. The 4 is a great knife and is also my preferred survival knife, but for constant long term use, it’ll destroy your hands (for many of us). 2 or 3 days is just fine, but even then, my hands were hurting and I do have the micarta scales that bulked up the stock scales. It’s just not bulky enough, nor ergonomic (and I don’t have huge hands). I’d recommend anyone looking to buy the 4 to handle it prior to purchasing if at all possible.
In a SHTF scenario, I’d go with the ESEE 5 for heavier tasks and the ESEE Izula 2 as a neck knife. The Izula 2 is perfect for skinning most game in America and perfect for any game in the SE US for sure.
Charles P says
Man, you really covered this topic well and backed it up with a lot of reference material (much appreciated, by the way). I own a Tops Knives Silent Hero but have been looking to add another medium weight/size knife. I was kicking it back and forth between the Becker BK22 and the ESEE 6P, and after reading/watching your information I settled on the ESEE 6P in Dark Earth. Thanks for providing a great break down of information on this topic and for making it digestible.
LeRoy Wolf says
One knife that should be considered is the Benchmade Bushcrafter. It is a bit harder to sharpen but has great edge retention. It’s also a bit higher in cost but it has many of the desired qualities of a top tier bushcraft knife. The Kydex sheath leaves something to be desired however. It loses it’s retention capability quickly. I endured the extra cost of having a custom sheath made. Professional reviewers tend to give this knife a high rating.
Ray says
I keep hearing,if you could only choose,1, knife,I carry 3-4 daily,if a knifes weight bother you,chop wood. You’ll be strong enough to Cary them,1 around my neck,3 in my pack, 2 in my pocket, depending on where I am, one on my hip, machete on my pack. I am 63 , I love Bowie knives,the mountain men Carried many,and hid that many more, study them
Unknown Soldier says
I thought this article was mistitled. These knives here look like bushcraft knives.
A survival knife is more along of that Rambo carries, and not practical at all, even tho you all own one.
Of your list, I do like the Schrade Frontier best. Too bad you did not include the one I have, which is the
Condor Bushlore <–see bush crafter knife).
Do not like Stainless steel at all. Look at all the military knives made, all high carbon steel. You can sharpen on a rock or concrete block.
Besides the Bushlore, every vehicle to include the Harley, has a Mora Kniv in it. They are NOT survival knives, heck they are not even full tanged. Cody Lundin has been carrying the same on around his neck for over 20 years.
What they are are the most no fuss sharp blade made. The Scadie grind works real good on concrete to keep it nasty sharp. Tho glass make a better hone.
We call these bushcraft neck knives. The best thing about them is you can mod the poggies out of them. Go check out You Tube.