Best survival knife for under $200???

I got my two Kabar Bowies in, the short and the long if that's the way you want to call them. I'm sure they're probably good knives but I don't have anything to cut with them. Unless the house blow's up or something I don't have any intention of buying any more knives unless they invent one that will go into the kitchen and make me a skillet of cornbread or a pan of biscuits, then I might reconsider..

RC-4 and my Leatherman xti

Interesting. I had my ideal camping knife - closest thing to 'survival' I've ever needed. It was my Dad's old WWII KaBar. I had to try to find a better suited one - below is a comparison, with a new KaBar for comparison. They are, top down: KaBar, Gerber LMFII, RAT Cutlery RC-5, and Buck 650 Nighthawk.



I've become 'enlightened' over the years - and I have a collection of Bark River, Marbles, etc 'bushcraft' knives as a result. That first KaBar worked well - I never knew it wasn't the 'best' - it was 'what I had'. The RAT RC-5 came a week ago - super knife. I look forward to 'trying' it. The LMF is 'interesting' - and a gift from my son from an earlier pappy's day. The Nighthawk has promise, too. The KaBar worked.

We seem to collect 'stuff'... more so as we get older...

Stainz

Guess I'm in the use what ya have camp.

EDC a Benchmade 520 and Vic Farmer with a good amount of cord attached to the lanyard loop.

That combo will cover most any situation and are on my person at all times--cept for sleepin and showerin.

I'vd got a Buck Night Hawk put up here somewhere. Look's just like the one you have pictured here. Real good knife. Balanced pretty good to. I think one time years ago I cleaned 2 squirrels with it. Night Hawk has been around for a long time. I'vd had mine for several years...

Go with a trio of some sort.

Here's mine,,, Fallkniven S1, Tramontina Sugar Cane Machete, Case XX Trapper in cv.

Just pick out a fixed, chopper and a folder, and there's nothing that can hold you back.

Having extensive Knowlege of what actually works in a survival Scenario, I highly recomend both the Ka-bar and the Buck special.

I once had a buck Special save my life in El Dorado National forest Near Jackson CA.

As others mentioned, it is the one with you when you need it. I have all kinds of big blades, ranging from inexpensive (Cold Steel Bushman) to extremely expensive (rare old Busse's, for example)...yet what typically ends up with me is usually a $20 KaBar Dozier folder, KaBar Mule, or Victorinox with a locking blade and saw (depending on the gear I'm carrying at the time).

They're all lightweight enough to be along for the ride, so if anything ever happens, odds are one of them would be with me. No one plans on having a true survival situation (well, ok, some do for practice I guess), so the knowledge of what needs doing, and how to do it with the tools on hand is key.

I once had a buck Special save my life in El Dorado National forest Near Jackson CA.

So Snake---are ya gonna tell us the story?

I like a usmc k bar but thats me and i know that not everyone will agree

jhco..I agree..

lots of thought provoking answers, good to see.
to toss a little more into the fray my 'BOB' has a Glock field knife (once sharpened these things will hold an edge) and a Swiss Army (Victorinox) the 'officers model' a bit larger than the regular. who knows a feller may happen upon a bottle of red a-hollerin' 'drink me'.
but I can see where some say the Leatherman is indespensable - I have the Gerber.

well under 200 for both.

currently, I only have two fixed blade (non-kitchen) knifes: A CS Kukhri which should more accurately be called a machete, and my USMC Kabar. I think the Kabar is up to most tasks, and mine has been put through the wringer over the years (to include my adventures in Desert Storm and Somalia), but to be honest, I have never been totally in love with it. I rarely carried it on my person when I was in the military because it was too big, and for simple daily tasks I just found the small Spyderco folder I carried at the time to be superior.

I still feel that way, and since my original leather sheath rotted away, my ol' Kabar has been relegated to emergency bedside stabber and backscratcher. I have been considering what knife to buy for a long time for my general purpose "survival" and hunting knife, and the more I look, the less convinced I am that there is one overall best solution, or even a best solution for a particular scenario. For me personally, I like the idea and execution of the RAT cutlery knives. Steel aside, there are two reasons for this: First, I like the drop point over a clip point. Second, I like the simplicity of the design. I mean, there just isn't a whole lot that makes up a RC-4 or whatever. I don't think they are exorbitantly priced, and something along the lines of an RC3 or an RC4 makes good sense to me size-wise.

Buck and Benchmade make some hunting knives that I really like as well that I think would work just fine in a survival scenario. In the near future, I will very likely buy a knife (or two, or three) from one or more of these companies.

My survival knife is really two knives. I am limited to a sub four inch knife by law, the only exemptions are for hunting and fishing. Camping or hiking don't count by the wording of the law.

My fixed for the woods is a simple carbon steel 3 7/8" blade knife. It is about the size of a RC-3,and only cost a tiny bit more.

Paired with a Vic Hiker SAK ,about $25, my survival combo will handle any chore I need them to. And still fall under the thread's original post of being under $200.


My pair of Hikers, a JK and Victorinox.

Supertool

Steve noted:

So he gave me a Leatherman Super Tool.
I understand this one is no longer made, and I forget which model took its place in the Leatherman line.

Click to expand...

Original Supertool:


I have one of those.

In the course of my recent knife shopping, I had a chance to look closely at the newer Leatherman Core . . .

Leatherman Core:


. . . and I would say that the Core is pretty darn close.

There are clear improvements, but the family resemblance is very much parent-child.

I carry the Wave because the main blades open one-handed without having to open the pliers.

I might just go ahead and get a Core, too, just for the heck of it.

I'm rather fond of my Wenger Tradesman.

A Mora would make a good companion.

Ash

Man I bought a straight blade Ozark Moutain knife from Wally World two summers ago; holds an edge, sharpens easy, nice wood handle, 8 dollar bills, I wish I bought a couple; goes fish'n camp'n and hunt'n as good as any knife.

ozark trail my bad heres a pic of one i found online fixed blade i suppose i also mis-spoke

I would be most likely to have my everyday carry knife & tool with me in an emergent survival situation; that would be a SOG pow-r-plier & either a Gerber or CRKT folder.

The mandatory survival kit we put together for daughter's Bow & Firearms "Hunters Basic" courses has a Mora knife and a tiny Fiskars hatchet. That kit now rides in the back of my car, and an identical kit is in hers. Even though it wasn't a survival situation, both the little mora knife and the hatchet were very handy dressing out a few feral pigs in Texas a while back.

Maybe that's funny in a way, because I have all these Cold Steel, CRKT, Spyderco, and Buck folders, and a bunch of fixed blade knive and machetes to pick from.

Gerber LMF, or for a couple of hundred more Chris Reeve Skinner (Ubejane). I will be carrying the Skinner on my belt and the Gerber
in my backpack this fall when I go hunting in the mountains of Idaho.

on my belt right now is the Leatherman Skeletool.Very minimalist.

Being a Florida boy who camps from time to time, I'll tell you what I bring with me.

I've nearly always carried the standard KaBar utility knife with me. It splits wood, deer, or anything else I needed to do. I've carried one with me ever since I bought my first one when I was in the military and no matter how hard I use it, it has never failed to do what I ask of it.



I bought and started taking with me the heavier Machete blade knife and have found it a little better(but heavier) blade to carry for the general chores of wood gathering and whatever other heavy use I might come to need.



What I carry in my pocket EVERY day no matter what is a Swiss Champ. It has tools for nearly any job I might come across from day to day. From working on medical equipment at work, fixing my sons toys at home or cutting his drinking straw at a restaurant if it's too long. To writing a check if I don't have a regular pen on me.



These have served me well and when used as they should will continue to serve me until I give them to my child(He's 5 now) or his children. I do also carry from time to time a Spiderco that I bought at Wal-Mart that will cut anything I put to it. I will carry it to compliment my SAK in the event I need to do a little prying and/or heavy cutting.


I used to carry either an Uncle Henry or Old Timer 3 blade but they stay in the drawer more often than not nowadays. Since the company went west, I want to keep my originals safe.

Take the information for what it's worth to you. I've never been a huge fan of the multi-hundred dollar knife. I'd be too afraid I'd break it to use it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a good Randall but only because he's a Florida Boy too and he does make a nice blade but that's about it. Other than that, I just look for a good quality blade that I know I can put a good edge on and work with reliably. Quality and Price are not always proportionate. There are some good things out there that don't cost and arm and a leg.

For under $200 the names I would be starting with for a great all around field knife are: RAT Cutlery, Fallkniven, Bark River.

I've got a Kabar, a Buckmaster, etc, but you know what I took with me on a training mission to Africa last month? My Gerber Mk II. $76 from Amazon.