@Cousin Bongo , understand a little more clearly what you were meaning.
 
You could fill a library with how to survive, build shelters, bunkers, gun towers, emp safe cars, carry tools, spend your life earnings building an arsenal of survival tools, gear, food, etc, etc...

IMHO, survival situations always seem to arise when your survival gear, tools, cache, etc etc is NOT on/with you...therefore, I believe survival is knowing 'how' to survive, using what 'is' around you, and being clever and ingenuitive.

As for survival knife,,,well, if you think the chances of having to survive is highly related to being out hunting, then I'd say a sturdy knife for chopping and cutting, splitting is good. Blade long enough to use in defence against game or use as tip of a spear,..there are any number of candidates, the falkniven s1 pro is probably up there despite its too thin grip, ugly rubber handle and case...could you buy the blade as a blank and build a nice wood scaled handle and a handsome sheath in leather, then reduce the width from 6mm to 4.5, and you'd have a winner..

Edit and ps.. I use an old puma folding knife..never wished I had more with me nor ever needed it
 
Edit and ps.. I use an old puma folding knife..never wished I had more with me nor ever needed it

My sentiments as well...
If you know you are going to be into a potential challenging situation,[hiking/camping/hunting] you prepare for that--also blade-wise....
For 99% of the 'normal' situations [that may or may not turn ugly-- 'survival'] your trusted pocket knife will be your 'survival' knife.
Learn all the skills how to effectively use that everyday EDC knife, as the chances are very high that it will be the [only] one you have with/on you most of the time.
[Know its weaknesses,strength,capabilities, what you can do with it etc apart from peeling an orange or cutting your nails etc.]
As you so rightly said---your skills are more important than your survival tool, but if you do have a survival tool [pocket knife,leatherman, SAK etc] with you everyday, practice and use it till you really don't need much more if you don't have a choice.
fiocci, you seems to live a very 'interesting' life....

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As a fan of the smaller fixed blade and collector of a couple--the hype around the Mora Eldris in 'survival/bushcraft' media caught my attention. After getting hold of one and using it during a recent camp/hunt,my opinion is that I am NOT impressed with its too short 2' blade at all.......
In my humble opinion a low profile, quality 3 " lockblade folder will be a better "survival" knife in any situation that I will be in, than this 2" shorty, though in an emergency it will probably [have to] do... ,
As always knives are horses for courses and it may fit the bill for you.!
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(Just wish it had a 3" blade !)
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If survival knife means walking away from the world and living off the land for an indefinite period of time, then clearly a chipped stone tool has the longest track record of success. I have no intention of doing that.

On a modern day African hunt, the most important use of a survival knife is to open a beer and cut a bit of biltong. So a Swiss army knife is probably best as it also covers the dreaded "my table staff has properly paired the wine with my wildebeest filet, but will they ever learn to bring a corkscrew" scenario.

As far as an actual survival scenario as it pertains to African hunting, the situation I prepare for is the frankly unlikely event where I somehow manage to get separated from my PH and trackers, in which case first I will blow my whistle so they can find me since it would take a real feat of idiocy for me to get separated from the person I am following long enough to be out of earshot. Should that fail, I need to get from where I am to where I can get help (or to a place with cellular reception) or I need to stay in place until help comes to get me. So minimum odds of a minimally risky situation unless I hurt myself by trying to do something stupid. I have no desire to carry a lot of weight or bulk, so a simple folder will suffice. A way to make a fire, a space blanket and a bit of cord to help make a shelter, a whistle, water sufficient for the terrain and/or a way to sanitize water, and a compass is all I want and almost assuredly more than I need.
 
What is a survival knife? A survival knife is a knife with the name Rambo, Tactical or Survival attached to it by the manufacturer... contrived GoPro stunts notwithstanding.
 
Wave toolbox- blade and saw used in the making of a still unfinished catapult , the file and saw used for smoothing and sizing the Impala horn for top of a walking stick mounting and file and blade used in the scraping and smoothing in-and outside of the leg bone for ferro rod. Pliers used in tightening / pulling of the wet animal cordage for ferro rod.
This compact EDC tool cover most of my needs on my hunting/camping trips.
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Here is my survival knife, its in my front left pocket 7 day a week. A Swiss Trecker with a Exotech nano striker XL ferro rod

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Another option/opinion...? :)

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:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::D;)
 
Not long ago I got one of these. (Didn't need another knife but wanted one! )4mm thick high carbon steel.
Scandinavian grind. Razor sharp. I reckon this makes a pretty handy all-rounder for anything I might need it for.

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You could fill a library with how to survive, build shelters, bunkers, gun towers, emp safe cars, carry tools, spend your life earnings building an arsenal of survival tools, gear, food, etc, etc...

IMHO, survival situations always seem to arise when your survival gear, tools, cache, etc etc is NOT on/with you...therefore, I believe survival is knowing 'how' to survive, using what 'is' around you, and being clever and ingenuitive.

As for survival knife,,,well, if you think the chances of having to survive is highly related to being out hunting, then I'd say a sturdy knife for chopping and cutting, splitting is good. Blade long enough to use in defence against game or use as tip of a spear,..there are any number of candidates, the falkniven s1 pro is probably up there despite its too thin grip, ugly rubber handle and case...could you buy the blade as a blank and build a nice wood scaled handle and a handsome sheath in leather, then reduce the width from 6mm to 4.5, and you'd have a winner..

Edit and ps.. I use an old puma folding knife..never wished I had more with me nor ever needed it
Never seen a Puma folding knife. Can you post a photo?
 
The Puma Classic Military Series Knives are all handmade by skilled craftsmen in Germany for unmatched quality since 1962.

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Otzi's survival knife
Otzi was found with his knife still clutched firmly in his right hand after 3000+ years, and together with a deep cut wound indicating he probably fought his assassin to the last.
If the small blade were not still preserved by the freezing ice in the wooden handle, it could alone easily have been mistaken for an bit oversized arrow blade [not spear blade]
dagger_and_scabbard_found_with_hi.jpg


Many beautiful reenactment blades are now coming on the market from knife companies to gifted custom knife makers.
I intend to get myself a custom Otzi blade/tool too.

[maybe something like this?]

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You can go some way with these 'survival; tools....
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Very worthwhile topic, and interesting that it is still going. I have a number knives which I use depending upon where I am going, hunting, or doing. Around the ranch it is a lock-blade folder - currently a Boker. In Africa, I actually think of my knife as a "survival" weapon, but with rather specific requirements. I should add I spent a career in the Army which informed my personal preferences. In Africa, I have had to follow-up leopards three times. One was mine, stone dead fortunately, and the other two, neighboring clients. It became readily apparent to me on the first one (mine) that enough readily accessible blade to peel off an angry cat would be a useful bit of last ditch insurance. Also while in Africa, I have twice been accosted by local drunks while "watching the car" while the PH picked up provisions (once in the Caprivi and once in Omaruru). One of those situations was on the edge of escalation. In that case, a deliberate move of my hand to my belt knife ended the confrontation. I should add, a knife is a poor excuse for a handgun, but where the later is not an option, it can be very welcome and effective company indeed. I should also add, I have had a good bit of training in their use. Any other use of a blade in Africa would be very much secondary - clients don't gut, cape or chop celery.

I have carried a Randall in a cross-draw sheath for a long time, but like most Randalls it is too much knife in some places and too little in others. Recently, I entered into a collaboration with our own von Gruff to create what he calls the JT Ranger http://www.vongruffknives.com/438245812 It is everything that I have personally wanted in an African blade for a long time - optimized for it's two primary roles and yet will still cut a rope or chop celery if required.
 
Very worthwhile topic, and interesting that it is still going. I have a number knives which I use depending upon where I am going, hunting, or doing. Around the ranch it is a lock-blade folder - currently a Boker. In Africa, I actually think of my knife as a "survival" weapon, but with rather specific requirements. I should add I spent a career in the Army which informed my personal preferences. In Africa, I have had to follow-up leopards three times. One was mine, stone dead fortunately, and the other two, neighboring clients. It became readily apparent to me on the first one (mine) that enough readily accessible blade to peel off an angry cat would be a useful bit of last ditch insurance. Also while in Africa, I have twice been accosted by local drunks while "watching the car" while the PH picked up provisions (once in the Caprivi and once in Omaruru). One of those situations was on the edge of escalation. In that case, a deliberate move of my hand to my belt knife ended the confrontation. I should add, a knife is a poor excuse for a handgun, but where the later is not an option, it can be very welcome and effective company indeed. I should also add, I have had a good bit of training in their use. Any other use of a blade in Africa would be very much secondary - clients don't gut, cape or chop celery.

I have carried a Randall in a cross-draw sheath for a long time, but like most Randalls it is too much knife in some places and too little in others. Recently, I entered into a collaboration with our own von Gruff to create what he calls the JT Ranger http://www.vongruffknives.com/438245812 It is everything that I have personally wanted in an African blade for a long time - optimized for it's two primary roles and yet will still cut a rope or chop celery if required.


Liked the photo of the JT Ranger on the website. The name is also very appropriate.(y)
 
When I was a boy in the 1980's, a "survival knife" was a term of art that meant a really big, fixed blade knife with a sawtooth edge on the back and a hollow handle containing matches, a compass, and other assorted items. It was essentially someone's idea of a survival kit packaged around a very large knife. The craze was started by the knife used by Sylvester Stallone's character in Rambo II. These were fantasy material as the knives were too big to be of much use in "survival" situation. The Buck Buckmaster was one of the better made options.

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There seems to be a resurgence of interest in that concept at the moment, although the knives I see advertised as such seem somewhat more practical. Whenever I go in the woods I always have some kind of knife on me and often more than one. Usually a Spyderco Delica or a Buck 110 or both. I also carry a lighter, toilet paper, at least one and usually two flashlights, a compass, and often a GPS receiver if I am in an unfamilar area. I'll mark my truck as a waypoint and then turn the thing off just in case. I'll also carry water suitable to the weather and how long I expect to be out. I recently bought a LifeStraw, and I think that is going to start coming with me on outdoor excursions, even day trips.

I liked Redleg's comments above about knives in Africa. I am going to Eastern Cape in June for my first trip. Here are some of the candidates to accompany me. I think I will likely take the Benchmade Bushcrafter (middle) and some version of the Buck 110, even if not the one pictured. I have a custom, cross draw sheath on the way for the Benchmade. The Kalinga is cool, but unless I end up doing a lot of skinning, it may not be the most practical.

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