Semper's Search for the Perfect Survival Knife Series

Search For The Perfect Survival Knife



The search for the Perfect Knife

What is the perfect knife?

Light weight, indestructible, cuts through solid steel like butter and can pry a bumper off of a 1970 Ford Pickup
Well that does not exist; not until the light saber is invented

So we have to do with what we have.

While the previous list is somewhat impractical, there are some attributes we look for.

1. Strength
2. Light weight
3. Best steel
4. Stays sharp
5. Easily sharpened
6. Ease of use and carry

Those qualifications should be the same for us all; some more important than others to each as an individual, but overall what we look for.

Some decisions we have to establish right off.

Folder or fixed blade?

Don’t think for a minute that the fixed blade automatically wins because it does not. Different countries, jurisdictions and laws require different strategies. So we will examine both on separate videos.

What you won’t see on a video here

Chopping.. We all know how and watching me chop until I am out of breath accomplishes nothing. The characteristics of a knife that makes a good chopper are known and will be examined here in this series.

Batoning.. See above

Something’s you will see

A close examination of the metal, weight, length, strength, shape, ease of care, durability, cut and sharpening design as well as cost which is an important factor.

We will look at some old knives, new ones, strange designs and contemporary designs; all in search of the perfect knife.

More videos to come

Semper

Interesting Semper...

Considering lightweight, durability and being able to be sharpened easily why not a tanto or a kukri then?


EDIT:

Actually both have all 6

1. Strength
2. Light weight
3. Best steel
4. Stays sharp
5. Easily sharpened
6. Ease of use and carry

I have wondered if it was possible to make a knife that had a 'core' of steel and a main body of the blade of titanium. The idea is that the titanium bulk of the blade would be for strength combined with lightness, while the steel core would be to have a superior edge.

reply to post by semperfortis


This is a cool knife it is one solid piece of steel but has a hollow handle, can be fitted onto a stick to make a spear and various survival pieces can be stored in the handle using a rubber cap, wax, and some para cord, and if you wanted to get fancy some leather. I havent seen how well it sharpens yet, but i know its a hard steel, i have been practicing throwing it into a stump from about 10 to 12 feet and the tip itself has held up quite well.



this is a cold steel bushmaster

I love it Semper! Great idea for a thread! I challenge anyone to find a knife that outdoes a good kukri, though. To me, this is all a race for second best.

Ill take my kukri, with my Kershaw Ken Onion Leak in my side pocket over any other combo

reply to post by captaintyinknots


post a pic

reply to post by DocHolidaze


Of my combo? I dont have them with me today (cant carry knives where I am), but I can grab stock picks of each real quick. Give me a minute
Stock photo of my Gil Hibben Kukri:


Stock photo of my Kershaw Ken Onion Leak:


Im honestly thinking of switching to a new kukri. I love the blade, the balance, the style, the edge, pretty much everything about the knife, but the handle is simply cord wrapped, and Ive had to seal it a few times to keep it from moving around.
The speed assist on the Kershaw is amazing. I highly recommend their Ken Onion series, they are fantastic.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


im heading to work, but i hope this thread blows up, i really enjoy knifes. just remember though a folder knife is a broken knife. although I do enjoy folders for there concielabilty and usefulness in certain situations, if i was king i would outlaw all folding knifes

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
reply to post by captaintyinknots

 

im heading to work, but i hope this thread blows up, i really enjoy knifes. just remember though a folder knife is a broken knife. although I do enjoy folders for there concielabilty and usefulness in certain situations, if i was king i would outlaw all folding knifes

Folders have their place, but to me, they are kind of like a pocket pistol. Great because of their concealability and easy to carry, but they cannot replace a big boy.

Awesome thread, I look forward to watching the vids. I've been into knives for a while, have a few nice ones. Each has a story, a memory of an outing with a "cool knife find".

My every day carry knife is an Emerson CQC-7. G10 scales, titanium liners, can't remember the blade steel type, but it holds an edge well, and is quite tough. I have been using this knife daily, for 13 years now. It's a bit rough around the edges these days, but still going strong. It has a tanto blade which I have found to be massively usefull over the years, gasket scraper, light duty pry bar, can opener. Has opened hundreds of children's Christmas toys. It is easy to sharpen due to the straight edges, and the serrations saw quite well through most anything.

My 7 does not have the "wave" function, Though my Commander does, to address this I cut my own wave into the thumb rest on the 7, and it works very well, in fact I like it better than a true wave since it is less aggressive.
The wave is basicly a hook on the pivot end of the blade that catches the corner of your pocket when you pull out your knife, snaping the blade out for instant use. Faster than a switch blade, safer, and legal.

Enough about my "little buddy" lol.

Stock photo of a CQC-7

I also own and carry always a Kershaw Leek.
It's my goto knife.

But when in a camping or survival situation, my Ka-Bar is top holder.
Next in line would be my Gerber LMC PFII.
Then again, I'd choose my throwing tomahawk over most knives.
It's a hand-forged Fort Turner camp 'hawk and it's beasty.


Great topic that I'm looking forward to.

I'd recommend adding COST as a factor too (if you can), not only because some knives are out of reach for some, but like anything else, you want to get the best value for your dollar, whether getting something cheap or expensive. Nobody wants to spend $400 for a knife that is only marginally better than a $200 one, for example. I don't mind spending good money on a good knife, but I also don't want to get fleeced either.

I admit my own knowledge on criteria is fairly limited, so looking forward to watching these.

Remember that nature can supply a lot. A knife can be made from rocks and they really work well, I have a bunch of old Indian rock knives I found. A flake of almost any kind can be used for an arrow head or spear head also. Everyone should watch a few videos on this technology just in case. Rocks are everywhere and a rock knife doesn't have to be perfect or made out of a certain material to work. It just has to work.

I have some good knives myself, they work fine. When I need them sharpened I can sharpen them on a rock if I want Don't need a fancy knife sharpener but it does make it more convenient.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


I just bought a Kukri yesterday for a good blade to have in a SHTF scenario...man, it's really quite a knife! I love the thing already.

I've always believed that those who can make their own knives in the wilderness have a distinct advantage. You don't need these fancy blades for a survival situation as any sharp object will do just fine.

Learning how to find and sculpt these is far more critical than learning what to buy at your local knife shop. What if you lose it or it is destroyed, I could have a replacement in an hour or so probably.

Something as easy as this:

reply to post by Hopechest


It's all well and good, but I've been camping enough to REALLY appreciate having a decent knife with me. Seems I always come up for yet another use for it, and having a handle is a simple, but precious thing.

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by Hopechest

 

It's all well and good, but I've been camping enough to REALLY appreciate having a decent knife with me. Seems I always come up for yet another use for it, and having a handle is a simple, but precious thing.

Absolutely, I always have a knife, though not a fancy one, on me when I'm out camping also.

I only meant that many people seem to forget that you can easily lose your knife so its always good to know how to find something that cuts.

It actually takes some skill to know how to shape a rock into something that can cut decently so I would recommend that everyone interested in survival pick up this skill as quickly as they can.

Originally posted by Gazrok
I'd recommend adding COST as a factor too (if you can), not only because some knives are out of reach for some, but like anything else, you want to get the best value for your dollar, whether getting something cheap or expensive. Nobody wants to spend $400 for a knife that is only marginally better than a $200 one, for example. I don't mind spending good money on a good knife, but I also don't want to get fleeced either.

I admit my own knowledge on criteria is fairly limited, so looking forward to watching these.

Great point. Cost was a very important factor in decided on my combo.

I got the Gil Hibben for $45.
I got the Kershaw for $40.

So, for far less than a single designer knife, I got two VERY functional blades.

Some really good replies so far and I am getting some good "fodder" for the next video..

Thank you all for that

Some notes on what I have read

1. Yes it is very helpful to know how to "Flint, stone and glass Knap" or to make rock or bone knives.. However NOT the topic of this series

2. In 54 years of living in the backwoods West Virginia Mountains, Marine Survival Schools all over the world, SWAT Schools and just practicing survival I have NEVER lost a knife. I do not expect to any time soon.

3. While many knives that people would call a "Good" knife now sport the serrated partial blade. I can guarantee that no knife with a serrated main blade would ever make top 10 in best survival knives. It is FAR too limiting on fine carving work which is essential in making traps, snares an other implements of survival. If that is your thing and you are comfortable with it, I say go for it but don't expect any serious survivalist to recommend one.

4. In my humble opinion a useful survival knife needs to have removable scales. So a knife that is all one piece of metal, while it sounds good, is really not in the running.

I hope to have the next video done in a week folks and the following week we will take a trip to a metal foundry

Stay tuned

Thank you all

Semper

reply to post by semperfortis


Thanks for all you put into this Semper.