I have a few knives in my various kits and EDCs,

Cold Steel Voyager Clip point 4 inch blade
Cold Steel Voyager Tanto point 4 inch blade
Cold Steel Voyager XL Tanto 5 inch blade
Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter 4 inch blade

My beloved AG Russell Sting 1 A , cast, single pice of billet steel 3 1/2 in blade

And an AK 47 bayonet for hacking. The ones I would probably be happiest with and have complete faith in are the XL Voyager Tanto cos its got a lock like the bank of england, and the Ultimate Hunter because its got the same lock plus a 1/4 inch thick blade.

Best hunting/survival knife?

its gotta be the one you make yourself out of scrap metal (vehicle leaf-suspension springs come to mind) and grind to an edged blade with your own hands

I have a Buck 110. Its a 3.75 inch clip point folding knife that locks. I love this knife, especially for hunting. Its not the best hunting knife in the world or the best of any specific category but it is a very versitile knife. I would say it is the best all around knife i have ever owned. It shouldnt burn a hole in your pocket either.

ummm.... butter knife? you can use it to slice cheese, spread jam.. thats all i could ever need in a knife

Absolutely no doubt. Developed for SF in Vietnam, tested in combat, and feels like no other. SOG Recon. Tough, functional, and very good balance.

I'm a big fan of the Gerber LMF knife series.
Nice price point and they hold a sharp edge.
Different edge options. I have hacked down some small saplings with one just for fun and to make a nice walking stick.

My favourite knives are my trusty swiss army knife which I always have with me and for heavier duty work I have an AK47 bayonet which was brought back from Afganistan and is really quite versatile. It's tough as old boots, takes a good edge, combines with the solid sheath to make good heavy duty wirecutters and also is very easy to attach to a stick to extend the length or make a spear. I would recommend one to anybody (except an enemy . )

Simple answer, KA-BAR. Although I may be biased.

P.S. The KA-BAR will be useless unless it has USMC on the sheathe

My first choice would a a old buck knife, round were i live they are easy to come by in mom and pop shops. I always have a SOG icestorm 2000 on me for self defense and a Huskey fold out razor knife for everything else. Both are great on the plus side the huskey i all stainless steel and the SOG sharpens easily and holds and edge for a while. Other ones id recomend are a commando stileto blade, not sure who makes them and a Knuckle knife, Not the best for falling a tree but a great weapon for CQB.

For trees id rather take a good machtte or a pocket chainsaw and axe. Serrated edges are good but id be worried about dulling and breaking. Best advice i can give you, if the price is cheap the blade is too. you get what you pay for.

[edit on 14-11-2008 by Psyclon9]

A knife is a personal item, like a toothbrush. It must be small enough to carry with you at all times, yet large enough to be functional. You can kill game, cut wood for fire, skin and clean the game, use the knife as a cooking implement, and then eat with it. After dinner you can use the knife to help you build a shelter. During the night, if attacked by man or beast it can help you defend yourself. There are knives that will perform all these tasks and yet are not the best for some functions. If If anyone knows of one knife that is the "BEST" at all of these functions please advise me so that I might purchase it immediately.

Capn Moe

I rotate my EDC knives from CS Voyager Tantos, CS Ultimate hunter, My beloeved AG Russell Sting, and I have just ordered a Blade Tech Wegner pro hunter lite to go with my B Tech mouse lite as a combo EDC.

The best knife is the one you have to hand when you need it.

I do a lot of skinning so I prefer a full tang 4" drop point, I like good carbon steel, but they need more attention, because they do rust. I also carry a small folder in my pocket...In my pack I carry a Bushman..The big survival knives look cool, but are pretty useless...For cutting saplings, small trees and firewood, I carry a small hand ax made by Gransfors Bruks from Sweden, once again good carbon steel...There's so many good knives out there..Look at the posts, everything from cheapo's from wallmart to custom made Randalls [which are good knives] ..It's better to any knife than no knife at all...

I'm feeling smug, I just won a Blade Tech Hunter lite for £20 on e bay, it will go nice in my EDC rosta of Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, Cold steel Voyager, Cold Steel Gunsite, AG Russell Sting etc