Waiting on the LTWright BushcrafterHC I pre ordered.

I have no use for a knife over 6”.

Me three!   Very useful design comes with a decent sheath. Had it about a year now and continue to be impressed from using it.

It makes your Shirley Temple taste funny, tho

This thing is surprisingly well made.   You might lose it but you won't break it.

I like my Terava Jaakaripuukko 140 from Varusteleka. The blade is 5.5" long made from carbon steel, and it has a very comfortable rubber handle. Their sheath is well made, too. This is what it looked like after gutting a doe last year.

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It cleaned right up with some hot water.

I don't like epoxy coatings on blades. They add drag to cuts and the bumpy coatings retain dirt and gore.

I pair this with a Victorinox Pioneer of one flavor or another.

They seem to come and go. Their new marlinspike on their Skipper knife is more like an awl. Their older discontinued Midshipman model might be closer to what you have.

Anything you can do with a small knife, you can do with a big knife.  

Make sure you have a big knife.  

That's the only useful info I have.

Morakniv Companion carbon steel. They run about $15 - $18. Buy half a dozen and you have a lifetime supply.

Except you REALLY need to replace the grip scales.

The least bit of moisture and its slicks as snot.

So you're thinking Arby's too, huh?

I have one of these in one of my cars as a bugout blade.

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https://www.coldsteel.com/bowie-machete/

Love my Tops BOB. Great knife  https://www.bladehq.com/item--TOPS-Knives-BOB-Fieldcraft-Knife--67236

I went Gerber Strongarm since it is there for rare occasions and it has yet to get a negative review from what I see. $65 for a tacticool-survivalist-camp knife.

The Gerber Strongarm is nice for a belt knife. It has a nice sheath that can be configured several different ways. The Gerber LMF is larger but equally nice. Both are fairly cheap, less than $100.

I have some cool knives but these little fuckers are handy and get the most work. I probably have a dozen stashed in different parts of the house, garage, truck, wherever. Sharp as hell, thin, and easy to open. Cheap too.

I carry a Seal Pup.  Stays sharp and has done everything from gut fish to cut Elk.  Makes kindling, can hammer a nail, or pry one out.  And the sheath is totally useful, has a 550 cord cuter indent.

When I hunt it is on my off side, Pack shoulder strap.  And stays sharp.

ESEE Laserstrike
ESEE 4
Mora Garberg

There are others but these are my favorite.

ESEE 3 or 4

I use my ka bar, but I’d be ok with my gerber lmf ii infantry.

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Came to post this.

I use a KABAR USMC knife, a Case XX trapper and a leathman supertool. that covers everything I have ever needed while camping

@DocGlockster

The Marlin spike awl you like is still available, notably on the Alox Pioneer (lower right). On all others, there is a combination awl/reamer in several varieties.

The most useful thing I've found is to substitute the corkscrew for a Phillips screwdriver.

How does that work?  Mine has the corkscrew.  I've used it as.....a corkscrew.

Ive used the shit out of my Buck Selkirk.  Great knife.  Also has a fero rod with it.

Which isn't all that accurate.   Gutting, skinning and processing wild game is alot more likely a scenario for a survival knife than fighting is.  In that case a huge knife like some of swords posted here are more of a detriment than a help.

What is it?  It looks cool.

Cold Steel SRK. Perfect do-anything blade, very tough and affordable. Not as sexy as some "survival" or "combat" knives, but it's great for the stuff you really use a knife for.

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I really agree with this.    I have a few of the normal "companion" carbon bladed ones and a couple of the thicker ones and I just can't believe how sharp I can get them, how well they hold an edge, and how much I can get done with them.

And how much I don't care if I lose one.  :)

Patrick

It is just a more and more common substitute for the less and less common corkscrew.

My wife used the corkscrew in her Victorinox Champion a lot... for opening wine bottles when she was doing business travel 3-4 days each week.

I'd rather use the built-in bottle opener on a bottle of beer (not the screw-top beer that GD drinks).

The last time I used my Tinker's Phillips driver was to remove and replace the cover of the front master cylinder on my FXD Super Glide.

Plus, cabinet screws get loose all the time.

I have one too.. great knife.  It is my camp knife.  The only reason I want the compadre is it is made in USA.. Selkirk is one of the few knives Buck has made in china.

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Yep, 90% of the people would be far better off with a quality skinning knife vs a fighting knife or a survival knife..Some fuck tard comes at me with a knife I am going to show him why I carry firearms...Thats why I said I earlier if I had to leave with just one, its gonna be one of my skinners...

If I'm in survival mode, I'm not filleting fish, I'm cooking them whole, so I waste nothing.

I keep a full size Tinker in my day bag, but the mini Tinkers are great for pocket carry. I carry either a Cadet or Pioneer everyday (with an Alox Bantam in my wallet); if I'm out of bed longer than hitting the head in the middle of the night I have one of those on me. I rarely carry anything else, anywhere.

Another vote for the Glock field knife. It's better built than it has any right to be for under $40, and it's made in Austria, not China.

My cub/boy scouts have ruined so many knifes but my morakniv garberg is still going strong.

This. You can dig with it, chop with it, pound tent stakes in with it, and completely butcher a deer with one.

The Cold Steel Finn Bear is an unreasonably good knife for 13 bucks. Buy one and put them in every backpack, duffel bag, vehicle, and room in your house.

Ontario Black Bird SK-5 Knife w/ Sheath it's a nice blade that has a blocky handle that is surprisingly comfortable even when your hands fatigue

it's really light weight but designed so you can still shank an evil oppressor


Condor Tool & Knife, Primitive Bush Knife, 8in Blade  Matt Grahams knife is really handy for being as light as it is and its cheap

Have you received the knife yet? I have the UCAP which I like, but is a little small. Everything from RMJ is razor sharp, or at least I can get it that way easily. Been debating the combat Africa, spartan defensa, or a medford.

A couple of years ago, I skinned 2 deer with a morakniv, and when I got through and washed all the blood and hair off it, it was still sharp.  I've had it about 5 years and I think I've sharpened it once.

Yes I have received the knife.  I also have a Spartan Difensa that will be delivered tomorrow.

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Sharpfinger and a Leatherman. No question. The two are lighter and take up less volume than some big ass knife that I'll never use to split firewood, because in the woods, there's a shit ton of wood.

Did you shrink it in the wash or is that just the aspect?

For my money Becker tweener, or an ESEE 4-6.  Most knife use is more practical than pokey; but those are all plenty pokey and much more practical.

For field utility, esse 6 and mora for fine tasks has been my go to.



I got excited when someone posted the new buck here and I ordered one.
I grew up at a time when buck was “the” knife to have.
It was a bit slippery, so I dremelled some jimps into the top and bottom, which worked. I know they are not all straight, but I don’t care. It made a world of difference. I also put a hair popping edge on it .
I don’t know what they were thinking with the exposed get caught on everything side of the Velcro on the outside of the sheath, but I covered that as well.

It hasn’t seen any field use yet, so I can’t comment on that.

Lots of good recommendations in this thread already. My idea of a general do-all camping/survival/combat knife calls for around a 5-6ish inch blade, versatile sheath, and on the lighter side. In that general category, you have a lot of nice options. All of these (sans maybe the Fallknivens) are pretty high value in their range and come with nice if not best in class sheaths. Pick your poison.

Smaller under 5"
Gerber Strongarm $65-75ish, USA made, 420hc steel, great sheath for the money
Mora Garberg $80ish, made in Sweden, slim design, slim sheath, very lightweight
Terava Jaakaripuukko small, $60ish, made in Finland
ESEE 4, $110ish, made in USA, big aftermarket support and best warranty

Mid Sized 5"+
Buck GCK (Ground Combat) $100ish, made in USA, 5160 carbon, one of my top contenders for best general purpose
TOPS Mohawk Hunter $120ish USA made 1095 steel
TKC Architect 5.5 Buddy $150-200ish depending on how you spec the knife in their custom knife builder, made in USA
Terava Jaakaripuukko large $60ish made in Finland,
Cold Steel SRK, $45-140 depending on steel choice, made in Taiwan
SOG Pillar, stainless S35vn, $190ish, made in USA
Fallkniven S1, stainless VG10 convex edged, $170ish, made in Japan

Larger 6"+
ESEE 6 $120ish, 1095 steel, made in USA, best warranty out of all knives on this list, lots of aftermarket sheaths and scales
TKC Architect 6.5, 1095 steel, USA made, $150-200 depending on how you spec the knife in their custom knife builder, shares scales and sheaths with ESEE 6
WorkTuff Gear Wilderness Warrior, Japanese SK85 tool steel, $120ish, made in Taiwan
WorkTuff Gear Elbrus, Japanese SK85 tool steel, $130ish, made in Taiwan
Fallkniven A1, stainless VG10 convex edged, $180ish, made in Japan

My personal top picks on the smaller side:

I think the Buck GCK really flew under the radar when it came out last year and definitely deserves a good look as a general purpose lighter weight utility knife. It's about $100 (I got mine on sale for $80ish if you wanna wait for a sale), comes with one of the nicest stock sheaths on the market (up there with ESEE sheaths), and has Buck's great heat treat on 5160 carbon steel. The blades are offered in spear point or tanto, about 5 inch cutting edge, a reinforced tip, and are factory cerakoted. My only real gripe with them is they completely lack any jimping on the spine of the blade, which is a bit of a miss for self defense, but it has a decent guard and the handle scales are grippy.

Also check out the TOPS Mohawk Hunter, which is a very similar design to the GCK but with jimping, more traditional drop/clip blade and saber grind, and bit more expensive. The sheath is lower profile but doesn't have as versatile mounting options and isn't really ambi (although you could probably take a dremel to it and make it ambi).

The Tereva Jaakariipuukko is another excellent option and maybe the best priced as mentioned earlier. I'd look into the longer bladed version. I have both along with the Skrama and love them all. They fit and finish are definitely not up to the same level as any of the others posted here, but they do have a cool rough charm to them. The Skrama is another great recommendation from Terava if your idea of a general utility blade is on the larger chopper side. They all come with excellent leather sheaths and you can pick if you want left or right side carry. The sheath mounting options are limited but they are extremely well made for the price.

The Cold Steel SRK is good in the $45 range for the hollow ground SK5 version. The hollow grind is definitely not going to be as strong as most knives on this list but it's cheap and comes with a better sheath than the $170ish Fallknivens

Of all these knives, the Moras, Fallknivens, and Teravas all lean more toward bushcraft than tactical. Most of the others lack sharpened spines and maybe have blade coatings. I tossed in the Fallknivens as good recommendations if you really want care free stainless steel or prefer convex grinds. Their sheaths aren't the greatest though and their prices have kinda gone up there.

On a side note, you could pair a Mora Companion or Kansbol as a backup with just about any of these knives.

I dunno what this is or who made it, but it's tickling my no-no zone.