The Fallkniven A1 Survival Knife is a top quality survival knife. The blade is made of high quality VG-10 steel and is laminated to help protect the blade somewhat. It has a full tang and This knife was razor sharp right out of the box and is easy to maintain its edge. The blade has a convex grind so it takes a little practice sharpening if you aren’t used to sharpening a convex grind. The blade length is 6.33 inches which just feels great for all sorts of jobs. The overall length is 11 inches. The blade is 1/4 inch thick so it’s very solid and can take whatever you throw at it. The A1 weighs in at just over 1 lb and it feels great in your hands. It is Well balanced and very durable. I was seriously blown away by how tough this survival knife was. I have the F1 and it’s a great knife so I wasn’t worried about Fallkniven quality, but I didn’t expect it to be so tough and heavy duty for its size. You can easily cut through 4 inch branches

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The handle is Kraton and provides an awesome grip no matter what the conditions are and that includes wet conditions. To me that is hugely important because I don’t use my survival knives only when the weather is nice. Being able to hold a strong grip in all weather conditions makes you safer and more effective when using a survival knife. This version of the A1 comes with a Zytel sheath but there is a version that comes with a leather sheath. Personally I prefer the Zytel sheath because it drains water where a leather sheath will retain water and I love the low profile of the Zytel sheaths. I’ll leave the leather sheaths for the old timers. Whenever I have a choice I choose the hardened plastic sheaths like the Zytel sheaths hands down.

My first Fallkniven survival knife was the F1 and I was so impressed I had to get the A1 as well and I am super happy with it. This is definitely one of the best mid-size survival knives I own. It is on the expensive side but it is worth every penny. If you are unsure if this survival knife is right for you or not, check out any of the YouTube videos on the Fallkniven A1 and you won’t be unsure any longer. It basically has everything I want in a survival knife. A nice thick, strong steel, a rubberized grip that provides a strong grip in all weather conditions, including rain and a low profile, moisture draining, low profile hardened plastic sheath and no serrations taking up space on the sharp edge of the blade. This is one of the few survival knives that deserves more than 5 stars.

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Features of the Fallkniven A1 Survival Knife:

Blade length: 6 1/3 inches
Overall length: 11 inches
Steel: Laminated VG-10 Steel
Handle material: Kraton
Sheath: Zytel
Weight: 16.10 ounces

The Ontario RTAK-II Serrated Survival Knife is one big knife with an overall length of 17 inches. The blade is made of 1095 High Carbon Steel with a flat blade angle and is 10.5 inches long. One thing that surprised me was how the blade is only 0.2 inches thick. For such a big, heavy knife I expected it to be thicker. This version has a serrated section on the sharp edge of the blade. Normally I prefer the serrations on the top edge of a survival knive’s blade because I hate losing some of the sharp edge to serrations but its not a big section and with a 10.5 inch blade it’s not as noticeable as it would be on a 6 inch blade. Because of the weight and large size, this survival knife is really great when you need to baton wood. Of course because of its weight and size, you won’t be able to carry it on your side. It’s very durable and takes abuse well. It’s a bit tougher to get a really sharp edge on the blade but once you have a nice sharp edge, it will hold its edge very well.

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The handle is made of Micarta and is very durable. It provides a really good grip even during heavy use. The balance in this knife is good but the almost 7 inch handle was a bit big for my average sized hands. It is built well and I like this knife but I prefer to carry a medium sized survival knife at my side and bring a machete or camping axe with me for the times I want to cut wood. The sheath it comes with is MOLLE compatible and made of nylon. It has some decent mounting options and it does the job well. If I was carrying it on my person I would prefer some sort of hardened plastic sheath, but this sheath is fine for this knife.

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Overall the RTAK-II Survival Knife is a big, heavy-duty survival knife with a very large blade that can be sharpened to a nice edge that will hold well under all kinds of abuse. If you want a big, strong and sharp survival knife then you should consider the RTAK-II by Ontario. It will definitely make you feel like a beast when you wield it, although your forearms might feel weak after a day of using it.

Features of the Ontario RTAK-II Knife:

• Overall Length:17 in
• Blade Length:10.5 in
• Weight:1 lb 6.5 oz
• Blade Material:1095 Carbon Steel
• Hardness:54-56 HRC
• Finish:Powder Coat
• Handle Material:Micarta Handle
• Sheath Type:MOLLE Compatible Sheath

The Ontario Rat 3 Plain Blade Survival Knife is one of the smaller knives in this class at 7.8 inches in overall length and a blade length of 3.75 inches. The Rat 3 Survival Knife weighs only 5.3 ounces and is a good size for carrying on your side. The blade is made of 1095 High Carbon Steel and holds its edge for a long time but does take a little extra effort when sharpening. It wasn’t as sharp as I like it right out of the box but once I sharpened it to my liking, it has really kept its edge well. The blade has a black powder coating which seems to be holding up for now but I can see it starting to wear at the blade edge, which is to be expected. This particular version of the Rat 3 survival knife has a small section of serrations on the top of the blade which is where I prefer serrations to be if a knife has them. That is a personal preference but I hate to lose precious blade edge to serrations, especially on smaller blades like this one. Make sure you get the correct Rat 3 before ordering. There are different versions offered with and without serrations.

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The sheath that came with my knife is a kydex sheath and I love it. It can be mounted sideways or upright and comes with a TekLok adapter which makes it easy to attach or detach the sheath from your belt. Some people have stated that they did not get the kydex sheath when they got their Rat 3 knife. Instead they have said the sheath that they received is made of durable plastic but had no complaints about it. I would check the exact listing before ordering if you prefer the kydex sheaths like I do.

The handle is a nice green color and made of Micarta. The handle provides a nice strong grip. I personally prefer rubberized grips because I like the grip they provide even in wet conditions, but this grip feels nice. The balance of this knife is great and it definitely can handle some decent jobs for a smaller blade. You can even baton wood with decent results which might not seem possible due to the size and weight of this knife. I enjoy this knife so much I am going to get myself the Ontario Rat 5 Survival Knife. This is a great survival knife with a great blade that holds its edge well and can take the stress of everyday use. It’s a great everyday carry knife to have in your collection.

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Ontario Rat 3 Plain Blade Knife Features:

The Fallkniven F1 Survival Knife is standard issue for the Swedish Air Force and it’s pretty easy to see why once you have one in your hands. The F1 Survival Knife is on the smaller side at only 8.33 inches in total length with a blade length of 3.8 inches. The smaller size makes it great to carry around on your person in lighter situations like hiking or camping. I love most of my survival knives but I consider this one more of an every day carry survival knife. The blade is made from VG-10 steel and is laminated to help make it resistant to corrosion. The blade is very sharp (I mean beyond razor sharp) and has really good edge retention and is not difficult to sharpen.  There are no serrations on this survival knife and I personally prefer it that way, although I wouldn’t complain if they had a small section of serrations on the top side of the blade. Whenever you read survival knife reviews about the Fallkniven F1 Survival Knife, you will see no less than 4.5 stars. The reason most people feel like this is the best survival knife is because this knife does a lot and it looks good doing it. Seriously though, the F1 just feels right in your hands. It is well balanced and can perform almost every job you need it to. It can baton wood but due to its smaller size it isn’t well suited for batoning thicker wood for bigger projects unless you absolutely had no choice. But that’s what a survival hatchet is for.

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Some places list the sheath as a Zytel sheath, this is not correct. The sheath is a kydex sheath and personally I love kydex sheaths the best. They don’t retain moisture, they are thin and they always hold the knife with the perfect amount of resistance. Make sure that you don’t get the leather sheath, this survival knife deserves the kydex sheath. The kydex sheath comes with the F1 Survival Knife when you order it on Amazon.com. One complaint about this survival knife is that it only comes with a 2 year warranty. I am not sure what that is all about. This is a high quality knife that can stand up to heavy use so they wouldn’t be stretching out their necks to provide a lifetime guarantee. The Fallkniven F1 has become the survival knife on my side to replace all my other survival knives, hands down one of the best survival knives out there for this price range. One thing to note is that the F1 has a convex grind so you cannot sharpen this knife blade with your flat whetstone.

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Fallkniven F1 Survival Knife Features:

The Ka-Bar D2 Extreme Survival Knife is a great Survival Knife overall. Although I have a few minor complaints about this model, it is a very tough Survival Knife with a great balance to it. Let me start with the great things about this knife. First of all it is almost 12 inches in length with a nice 7 inch blade. The blade is a clip point blade and is made of D2 steel and is very durable. This survival knife can take quite a beating and still hold it’s edge very well. This knife only weighs .78 pounds, so it is very comfortable to carry but may not feel heavy enough when batoning wood. A heavier knife can use gravity to its advantage when chopping wood. As I mentioned, this knife is tough, so don’t be fooled by it’s light weight. The blade is very sharp and holds its edge for a long time but because the D2 steel is durable it is harder to sharpen. It can really take some time to get this blade sharp but most people who use a blade made from D2 steel agree that the higher quality material is worth the time and effort.

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The handle on the Ka-Bar D2 Extreme Survival Knife is made of Kraton G and is very comfortable to grip even for extended periods of time (due partly to its lighter weight as well). Kraton G provides a nice strong grip even under semi-wet conditions. If you are a heavy user of your survival knife then the Kraton G handle won’t let you down. The only grips I like better than the Kraton G ones are the Zytel handles on SOG survival knives. That is just my personal preference. The black coating on the blade will eventually wear off after heavy use. I know that is expected but I hate that it eventually happens and how the knife looks with silver streaks on the blade once it happens. The balance of this knife is perfect. The balance point is .5 inches from the hilt and just feels right in your hand. Another thing I don’t like about this survival knife is having the serrations on the blade side. The serrations themselves are great and rip through anything in its path but I hate losing surface area of the blade to serrations. I generally like either no serrations or to have them on the top side of the blade so that the full length of the blade is easier to sharpen. It’s just a pain in the ass to sharpen a blade that is half serrated. This knife comes with a Powdered Metal Butt Cap with 1095 Carbon Guard but I wouldn’t use it to hammer anything too hard unless I absolutely had no other choice.

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Ka-Bar D2 Extreme Fighting Knife Specifications:

- Weight: 0.78 lbs.
- Fixed Blade
- Blade length 7″,
- Overall length 11 7/8″
- Shape: Clip-Point Blade
- Handle Material: Kraton G
-Steel: D2 is one of the toughest steels for Knife blades
- Butt Cap /Guard: Powdered Metal/1095 Carbon
- Made in USA

The CRKT M16-14SFG Special Forces Folding Knife is made of some thick AUS-8 Steel and comes razor-sharp right out of the box. The blade has VEFF serrations and nothing says “I mean business” better than some mean serrations like the ones on this folding knife. The blade length is almost 4 inches long so it’s a good size for a lot of different jobs. It has a Tanto style blade and is balanced very well. This is one of the toughest folding knives I have ever had to pleasure of holding. It is just plain strong and it holds it’s edge for a long time, which means less time spent sharpening. There is a titanium nitride coating on the blade which contributes to the knife’s durability. It is a bit big to carry in your pocket but it will fit. Whether or not it would bother you to carry it in your pocket is a personal preference. I’m not big on wearing sheaths for pocket knives but this is pretty big for a pocket knife so you may find the need. As for me, I prefer to keep this knife in my truck.

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The dual flippers function as the hilt to help prevent your hands from slipping on to the blade, of course that would mostly happen if you were stabbing. Hopefully you won’t be doing much stabbing, but if you do, this knife puts your safety first. They also work as an Emerson-style pocket opener, which is not an easy task due to the large size. The G-10 handle is comfortable to hold and provides a decent grip. This knife has CRKT’s patented auto Lawks system which works great. The locking mechanism is impressive on this knife. The blade stays locked even under great pressure which is a good thing when you want to keep your fingers. The one downside to this knife is that the VEFF serrations will chip under heavy stress which is largely due to the amount of space between the teeth in the VEFF serrations. I haven’t had a problem with chipping but I have read more than one review say that chipping has occurred so keep this in mind. One handed opening is very smooth with the CRKT M16-14SFG. This is a big, tough folding knife and CRKT makes very high quality knives. If you don’t mind such a big folding knife and want something durable and mean, then this is the knife for you.

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CRKT M16-14SFG Special Forces Features:

• Veff serration
• AUS-8 steel blade
• Tanto blade
• Auto Lawks
• Dual flippers

The CRKT 2020 AG Russell Sting Survival Knife is an exceptional survival knife. It is made entirely of high-grade 1050 Carbon Steel. It is super easy to sharpen and it holds its edge well. The blade really holds up to abuse and though I don’t suggest you abuse it because you would void your warranty if you did, this survival knife can take what you dish out. This knife is solid and you will be surprised by how heavy it feels. Not to say that this is a heavy knife but it felt heavier than I expected. The blade is 3.2 inches long with an overall length of 6.85 inches for the knife itself. The size puts in on the small side of survival knives and even though it’s marketed as a survival knife, you could easily sport this knife as a boot knife.

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The handle is very comfortable and gives you a firm grip. There are grooves and indentations over the handle to make it ergonomic and help provide a better grip. I prefer rubberized grips but I have to admit this is the best grip I have felt on a non-rubberized survival knife handle. The sheath is a custom Cordura Zytel sheath and it small. By custom, I mean, you can tell this sheath was made specifically for this particular survival knife. It fits like a glove. It has two Velcro straps which allow you to strap the sheath to your belt, to your ankle, or even your arm. It is very comfortable wherever you mount it. I am a little concerned that over time the Velcro straps will lose their ability to hold well but it’s too new for me to say that now. There is a beautiful powder coating over this knife which can be scratched. Maybe the real problem is that this knife is so tough, that you find yourself pushing the limits of how hard you use it and scratches are to be expected when you use a knife as hard as I have used this one. CRKT claims that the blade is indestructible and I have to say after using this knife, I don’t doubt them. This is such a great knife and it’s pretty easy to see why CRKT is considered such an excellent brand after owning this survival knife. Have I mentioned that this knife is basically perfect?

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CRKT 2020 AG Russell Sting Knife Features:

• Fixed blade
• 1050 HRC 54-55 carbon steel
• Non reflective powder coated blade
• Cordura Zytel sheath

The Ka-Bar Black Tanto Survival Knife is made of 1095CR-V  High Carbon Steel which means this knife sharpens well. It has a full tang which makes this survival knife very durable and solid. It has a Tanto style blade which is great for piercing. The blade is 8 inches long and the overall length of this survival knife is 12 7/8 inches long. So there is a whole lot of blade for any job you can throw at it. The blade is partially serrated. I usually prefer my serrations on the top edge of a survival knife because I hate giving up half of my cutting edge for serrations that could easily be put on the top edge. However, the serrations on this knife are only a small useful portion (partly because the blade is 8 inches long) of the bottom edge of the blade. The serrations are actually really great at cutting with saw-like teeth. Tanto style blades are really great for combat functions and I don’t usually buy Tanto blades but this one had some great reviews for its other capabilities so I bought it and I am very happy with it. The epoxy coating on the blade reduces reflection and helps protect it from corrosion. The Ka-Bar Black Tanto Knife has a good balance to it which by looking at the blade to handle ratio doesn’t seem like it would, but it is very well-balanced and feels comfortable to use for long periods of time.

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The Kraton-G  handle is very comfortable to hold. Kraton-G grips are textured and rubberized so they provide a very secure grip under all conditions. I love rubberized grips the best. If you actually use your survival knife then you will find yourself working in wet conditions at times. This is where a rubberized grip wins out every time. The pommel is flat and simple and seems very durable which makes it useful for striking with the bottom of the pommel. The handle comes with a lanyard hole so you can throw some paracord through there.

The Kydex sheath that this survival knife comes with is one of the best in the business. Kydex sheaths are tough, hard plastic which grip the knife tightly. They don’t retain moisture like leather or nylon. They have a ton of mounting options and not just a belt loop hole like some sheaths do. The Kydex sheath has a locking mechanism for holding your survival knife in place. I try to get a Kydex sheath for every survival knife if it fits. I love them. This is definitely the best Tanto style blade I own.

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Ka-Bar Black Tanto Knife Specifications:

• Includes knife and sheath
• Weighs 0.72 lbs.
• The blade is 8″ long with an edge angle of 20 degrees; overall length 12 7/8″
• 1095 Carbon Steel
• Butt Cap/Guard: Powdered Metal/1095 Carbon; Hollow-Ground; Tanto Shape; Kraton G Handle; Stamp: USA

The Gerber Trident Survival Knife has to be the best survival knife put out by Gerber and it even ranks above a lot of other knives. I have to admit that I didn’t expect this survival knife to be so nice. It’s not a knock against Gerber because I own a lot of Gerber knives, It’s just that this knife is above the standard Survival Knife. Of course the cost of this survival knife reflects that awesome factor. The blade is made of high quality 154CM Stainless Steel. It can be sharpened to razor-sharp and it holds its edge very well. The blade is 6.13 inches long with a double serrated edge. So the cutting edge has serrations about half of the length and the top edge of the knife has saw-like serrations that will rip through anything. The overall length is 11.13 inches long and the weight and balance of this survival knife feel awesome. It feels light for its size. A lot of times the bigger knives can feel heavy and cumbersome to use. Not this survival knife. The blade is on the thicker side so this knife not only uses a high quality steel, it has plenty of it. I put this survival knife through some rigorous cutting to test the sharpness and edge retention and it definitely gets a 9 out of 10 in both categories.

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The handle is also awesome. It is made of something called Hytrel and this particular handle is molded with two different versions of Hytrel. The inner core is rock solid and the outer core is textured and softer for the ultimate grip. You can keep a strong grip on this survival knife in a hurricane. As an added bonus the Hytrel handle is resistant to chemicals and UV light. I wish Gerber would make all of their handles like this. The Butt of the knife can be used as a hammer and it seemed to show no signs of wear after using it as a hammer, but I didn’t test hammering for very long. The one thing I do not like about this knife and its the only thing, is the hilt guards. I do not like how big the hilt guards are. I actually cut mine down to something more comfortable. Of course I don’t suggest that you do that. The hilt guards are there for your safety.

This quickly became my favorite survival knife, although I do generally like to carry something a little smaller. If you have read any of my articles, then you know that I don’t like to call any one survival knife the best survival knife, because “the best” depends on the users needs, so I believe that no one survival knife can be called the best. But let me say that as people get this survival knife, more and more of them will likely be calling this the best survival knife. Hands down, this survival knife is awesome.

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The Smith & Wesson SWMP5LS Linerlock Knife is a solid piece of work and you have to admit, it looks pretty wicked. The blade is made of 4034 Stainless Steel and is pretty tough. I have been rough with the blade and no nicks in it yet. The SWMP5LS has a spring assisted opening mechanism, so you simply push down on the lever and it flicks right open, or you can use the thumb stud for easy one-handed opening of the blade. This model also comes in a Tanto blade version. The blade comes razor sharp out of the box and is pretty easy to sharpen, just make sure you don’t ruin the serrations by trying to sharpen them the same as the sharp edge of the blade. My only gripe with this knife is that they don’t offer a version without serrations or with them on the top edge of the blade. I prefer not to have serrations on the sharp edge of the blade. The blade length is 3.5 inches and the overall length is 8.5 inches so it has a long handle which actually feels quite nice in your hand. It’s also kind of heavy at 7.2 ounces. A lot of the weight feels like it’s in the handle, which I suppose makes the glass breaking stud on the end of the knife more effective.

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The handle is made of aluminum and has a rubber overlay which makes for a comfortable yet strong grip. They definitely spent some time designing the handle to make sure it felt very comfortable to use. I wish they made the blade a little bit longer, nothing drastic, another half-inch would be nice though. Although I have a few complaints about this knife, you can’t deny how natural it feels in your hand. This folding knife is very well designed, high quality and durable. It amazes me when a manufacturer can provide such a great knife at prices like this (Amazon has it for 50% off and you won’t find a better deal than that). I guess outsourcing manufacturing to other countries has its benefits. The spring assisted opening system makes this the fastest opening knife I have ever used, fastest legal knife that is. Faster than the SOG Flash or Twitch even.

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Smith & Wesson SWMP5LS Features:

• 3.5″ blade, 5.0″ handle
• 4034 Stainless Steel
• Spring assisted opening
• integrated glass breaker
• 7.2 ounces