What is the current benchmark for a large fixed blade survival knife?  Rugged hatchet?  Kick ass machete?

Morakniv Companion, Battle Horse Knives/Canteen Shop Woodcrafter, Fiddleback Forge Hiking Buddy
GB Outdoor Axe, Wetterlings Forst Axe, GB Small forest Axe
Ontario Machette

Gerber Lmf for the knife, fiskars hatchet and woodsmans pal are my go to's.

The Husqvarna hatchet is made by Hults Bruk in Sweden.

I like my hatchets to have a 18" to 20" handle. My camp axes are 20" to 26". Head weights of 1.25# to 2#.

What kind of budget are you looking at ?

Lets just say im not spending $300 on the knife.

This would be much better than an average hatchet.

Hults Bruk Aneby

Should be just as capable as the Small Forest Axe but at a much lower price.


This is a lower priced axe in the same quality range.

Hults Bruk Salen

Ok these are beautiful.  Their splitting axe will be finding its way into my garage this fall.

I have the HB Akka and it is honestly the nicest axe I've ever seen or felt. I like that it has a longer handle than the GB Small Forest Axe.  Cuts beautifully and razor sharp out of the box.

For a while they were made by Wetterlings IIRC.

The Husqvarna is the best bang for your buck.

Either would be top notch. I would love to find an older Husqvarna if they were Wetterlings.

My FIL, a hobbyist knifemaker, made me this knife-axe.  I use it hunting and camping, and it is an amazing tool.  It chops beautifully, makes kindling, moves coals around the fire, will split an elk breastbone and pelvis, and cuts veggies and meat around the campfire with ease.  I've used it to hack up deadfall lodgepole pine in one minute, then dice up potatoes for the dutch oven the next minute.  It is my do-everything outdoor tool.  I just got home from camping; these pics are of it still covered in ash from the campfire while using it to spoon hot coals on to the top of the dutch oven.



It is 1#15.8oz, 24.25" long with the blade being 9".  It has been Cerakoted.  

Very cool. How thick is the blade?

3/8"   I'm 'tarded some times.  3/16"

3/8? How much does it weigh?

SEE BELOW, I'm 'tarded





 

Edited above.  3/16"  I dont know why I typed 3/8.  It weighs 1#, 15.8oz
 

Mora, Puukko,or  ESSEE 5"-7", or a 5"-7" blade with a full tang carbon steel knife of your choice
not fond of hatchets, prefer a small axe - check out the Condor Greenland pattern axe for an economical option
18" Ontario machete, or Condor has some good machetes (thanks for the tip on the mini Duku Parang btw), some say Tramontina also; basically look for Brazilian or El Salvador machetes  
www.machetespecialists.com    
Look at the Ray Mears and Dave Canterbury sites also for ideas  
I've gotten several Condor items and have been well pleased; I consider their stuff a good bang for the buck   http://www.condortk.com/    

double tap

The Condor Greenland Pattern is one of my favorite axes. I thought it might be too big for him since he asked about hatchets. The Condor is far more capable than a hatchet.

I found a Gransfors Bruks small forest axe for myself and got the Condor for my son.
Both good choices.

Define your needs for a "large survival knife".  I would offer that for training and certain type of recreation, a large blade is easier to consider, but "survival" often involves extreme circumstances and often when you least expect it.

With that said, I'll start with hatchets/axes first.  From a quality-budget perspective, Condor offers some excellent choices in the $50-60 range. I'll caveat that I like handles from 17-22" for actually packing.  On the higher-end, I really like my Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe.  Wetterlings use to be a great deal, but prices have shot up over the past few years.

Machetes can be had quite cheap, but very functional, or semi-custom such as Fiddleback's offerings.  If I'm packing a smaller fixed blade like a Mora or similar size, I like the performance of the basic Ontario (or Tramontina) 12" machete; they are some of the best values.  There is a ton of info on various "machetes" as they can cover a wide spectrum (I'm including parangs, goloks, etc.).  My favorite is a semi-custom by the old, now defunct Blind Horse Knives.  I think the blade is a round 15" with an excellent convex grind and great sheath system.

If you're adding a knife to the mix above, I would stay with a blade around 4" to cover all the smaller and in-between tasks.  Additionally, these sized knives are much easier to keep on your person pretty much all the time or at least very close by; a much better attribute as a "survival knife".  On the low-budget end, there are several excellent Mora offerings.  I actually carry a custom from Ed Martin Knives (both the BT and Firecat).  Excellent offerings in-between are ESEE 4, Fallkniven F1, TOPS, Becker and a other quality makers.

For a larger blade, I would skip the 7-8" blades as they are just as difficult to carry as a 9-10" blade, but don't offer enough weight for chopping; however the larger blades can be handled for much smaller knife tasks.  

ROCK6

For a budget
Knife: Mora--top quality slicer for $10-30
Hatchet: Fiskars--cuts well, weight is in the head
Machete: Condor or Cold Steel (based on other's reviews)

I'm a big fan of Bark River's offerings for knives, Bravo 1.5 or Bravo 2 if you want a larger knife, Gunny for a little smaller. They make a bunch of knives, find something that fits your fancy.

In addition to the swedes mentioned above,Council tool just came out with some new axes, their current line is solid. Haven't heard anything about the new stuff but they look the part.

I have no experience with machetes save for the crappy one I had as a teen.

cvtrpr that thing is kind of neat!

OP know that the Mora knives have rattail tangs in them, so they are basically a light duty knife.  So they aren't meant for batoning or abusing.  Great GP knives though; I prefer the 4"-4.5" versions.
There was a thread or site where one guy drilled two holes through the handle and tang; then pressed pins all the way through.  Sanded the red paint off the handles, used a coarser sandpaper to give it some grip, then used linseed oil (iirc) to seal it.

Another option for the hatchet is a folding saw; maybe something like the Silky Gomboy or Bahco Laplander.  Lot of people recommend a saw over a hatchet/axe for safety reasons and for situations where you don't want to make a lot of noise.

Yeah.....The Moras are super fragile.....

Husqvarna hatchet, Mora knife, Tramontina machete.

All 3 for under $100.  Might even be able to get a Bahco Laplander too for about a C note.

Where is that "like" button again?

I have a Tramontina machete that I am far from impressed with. The end of the blade arrived literally unground. Not just not sharp, but looked like it'd been pulled out of the grinder too soon- two perfect 90* edges and a full thickness tip.
The blade also arrived with a visible warp, and is too thin/whippy for anything more than grass or shrubs. But that works since I bought it and use it for light yard work where I might be hitting rocks/pavers/bricks.
I bought it for that because I was tired of touching up the blade on my Ontario that I've beat the shit out of over the last 10 years or so.
I remember being reluctant to pay almost as much for the sheath as the machete (at the time $15 sheath for a $20 machete), but both have held up like champs.
I've used the Ontario to hack off everything from kindling on camping trips to 4"+ dia. branches after storms like we had a couple weeks back. Frankly if something is too big for me to process with my machete I'll be using a chainsaw or finding something smaller.
I can't give much input on the knife or axe, but my vote is definitely to shell out the extra $5 for the Ontario machete.

mora or kabar
plumb riggers hatchet
ontario 18" machete

becker bk7 / mora

gransfors bruk SFA

granddads old ww2 machete.


youll probably have to find a different machete because im not giving up mine

Falkniven F1

Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Axe

You don't really need a machete.

Missouri - skip the machete those hanging vines will spring right back into your face.
Pruning sheers, Mora knife, and a Buck Saw.

I did invest a Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe - currently locked up in my gunsafe.
Need a good sharpener and more practice with it.    

Collins Legitimus vintage USA machete, vintage USA hatchet (BSA etc.)

I respectfully disagree  Outside of the seasonal temperate biomes (also influenced by elevation) and boreal type forests, the machete is by far the more versatile tool over the axe.  Outside of serious woods processing, the machete is much more efficient in a variety of other tasks.  The 12" machete has always been the ubiquitous survival tool I've seen across the globe.

ROCK6

I took down dozens of vines up to 2" with one or two whacks with my 10.5" Mini Duku. No issues with them trying to hurt me. It would be my one tool option if there was any way that fantasy situation could occur. A machete is a very useful tool all around.

The tip of the blade is supposed to be like that.  You cut with the main portion of the blade, not the tip.

Bullshit. The entire blade should be usable.
I don't care if that isn't what should be doing most of the work. The tip should still have an edge.

There are lots of machetes made like that on purpose.

I agree with you, however machetes often have their specific sweet spots and often times, it's not the tip.  From a survival tool perspective, the tip should be sharpened as you can use it up close for certain cutting tasks just as much as the section of blade closest to the handle which is also often not sharpened.  Most think of the standard machete as just a chopping tool with a short sweet spot, but the full blade offers much more versatility.

ROCK6

And here it is all fixed up around a century later - ~$20 IIRC plus five hours of my time. If I had to pick one or the other (Wetterlings) it would be the one on the left (Anchor Plumb) with no hesitation. Similar weight, excellent steel, and a better shape for mixed woods.

I might add, I think the very straight edge is over played in the boutique axes. The radius cuts deeper and has better manors in all types of wood. Hults Bruk seems to get that.