Prepper Handbook Blog: Best Survival Knife

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Best Survival Knife

If you could only have one tool for hunting, fishing, camping or wilderness survival, what would it be? Lets talk about the characteristics of the best knife:

TBT-010

Be durable, hold a good edge and does not break or bend under the most severe use. This means is should be made in the USA.
Able to chop, saw and cut rough, large and small fine things.
Usable for hammering, digging, prying and starting fire.
Easily skin, break bone, and process an animal for smoking.
Have a solid, comfortable, full tang hand grip, and ideally a hole for a leather strap.
Has a hardy scabbard, that holds the knife safely and securely, yet has it accessible.
It should be a good defensive tool and be able to be strapped to a pole to make a Spear.

Here are some top candidates that my research revealed:

Tom Brown Tracker
Buck Knives - top rated knife
Tops B.O.B. Brothers of Bushcraft Survival Knife - top rated knife
Case Large Buffalo Horn Hunter Knife
Case X-Small Leather Hunter Knife - good for people with smaller hands
Gerber Strong Arm Serrated Fixed Blade Knife
KA1218-BRK USMC Fighter Serrated
Ka-Bar BKR7-BRK Combat Utility
Ka-Bar Bk16 Becker Short Drop Pt

The Tom Brown Tracker TBT-010 is this Authors personal favorite fixed blade survival knife, having owned more than two dozen different knives. Without a hatchet, axe or machete, this the best Wilderness Multi-Tool that you can chop or saw wood with. Here is a video that shows its many uses starting at 5:00. If you also have a chopping tool, a lighter knife like the Buck or Case is better.

But what about the Every Day Carry (EDC) rule? This is the idea that you can only count on the tools, that you have on you each and every day. This usually means a folding knife and compromising some of the heavier uses for a knife.

My top folding knife options are:

Case Amber Bone Hunter Trapper Pocket Knife
Buck 278BKG Fld Alpha Hunter
Kershaw Blur, Olive/Black
TOPS Knives MIL SPIE 3.5 Folding Knife

All top quality knives; the Case is the most versatile; The buck is hardy and better for skinning game while the Kershaw is the best defensive knife. TOPS has a lot of good knives and the SPIE is sharp and holds an edge very well. In the end, there is no knife that is the best for every use. The answer is to go camping and try different knives to see which one you like best.

More information:
Wilderness Today - Excellent detailed knife information
Knife Den

For additional information see the following links:

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