Spyderco Survival knife?

[AndrewM]

I have been extremely happy with the Spyderco brand, and was wondering if there have been any previous models that would be a great survival knife? I have checked the current catalogue and googled previous models but cannot find anything to suit my needs. The closest I have found is either the Temperance or the Bushcraft knife. I already have a Spyderco mule which is far to small, and the Rocksalt which wasn't designed as a survival knife.

I would like something is a good steel, and similar in blade length and thickness/strength to the Fallkniven A1 Pro. It is a long, thick blade in decent steel. I would feel more comfortable buying a Spyderco though, as I have experienced Spyderco quality. Plus there have been a couple of negative reviews on the Fallkniven handles and knives, like Survival Lilly if anyone of you have seen her videos on youtube. https://youtu.be/QBWf1P7QDzA

The video above is for the non-pro version that uses VG10 vs the pro's laminated Cobalt steel.

Basically, I am trying to find an (almost) indestructible Spyderco fixed blade knife that wouldn't have this issues Lilly experienced in her video.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[MacLaren]

The Temp 2 is a wonderful allround knife imo.

[Doc Dan]

I have never hacked through a log or batoned with my knives and I have spent a lot of time in remote places. For that, a small, light hatchet is simply better and there are some that weigh about what a good fixed blade does. So, I would choose an Aqua Salt, the Serrata, or the Junction, or some similar knife with about 4" to 4.5" of blade. Most of the old time outdoorsmen recommended this exact set up and I still believe it is correct.

[Hardbawl]

A knife is not a screw driver, pry bar or hatchet. Doc Dan is so right. For survival you need proper tools. supplement your knife with a light hatchet a Leatherman, and some para cord. Proper tools carry their own weight. Hardbawl

[Lumpy620]

So, I would choose an Aqua Salt, the Serrata, or the Junction

+1 on the Serrata. Though I have no experience with the Junction, and limited with the Aqua Salt, for me the Serrata does everything I need on short or long treks. Had her with me this morning, actually :D

[vivi]

Aqua Salt.

Lightweight, tough as nails, 100% rust proof, great cutting perfomance, can be sharpened on anything.

Gets overlooked because its marketed for marine use but IMO its the best survival knife on the market. I used to carry thicker, heavier, carbon steel fixed blades, but I sold them off in favor of the Aqua Salt.

It is robust enough to baton and chop with for years and not show any signs of use, but won't weigh you down like an A1 or similar thick, full tang knives will. The Aqua Salt weighs about 1/3 what the A1 does. Dunno about you but when I'm in the outdoors I do a lot more hiking and climbing than I do chopping and cutting.

Pair it with a hatchet or small axe and you have all your bases covered for anything short of building a cabin

[vintage knife]

I love the "Street Beat" At 3.2 oz and VG-10 blade, you can't beat it. The knife is well balanced in the hand and the deep choil allows you to do whatever tasks you would like to do. It's just a great all around knife at a little over 7 inches. I've cleaned fish, small game, made feather sticks etc.
This knife does it all. It cracks me up when I see people trying to use a knife to split wood. Like other's have said, just bring along a small axe or hatchet. I always bring the necessary tools for the job. It will make your life and outdoor experience more enjoyable.

[qazy]

I am with the knife is not an axe crowd. Get a camp/bushcraft type of a knife and a good axe or hatchet.

I just don't see a plausible scenario where survival knife will be needed.
If one is on day relaxing hike I doubght you will take a masseive blade with you.
If one is going outdoor for a night or camping or a week long expedition - equip properly. That includes knive(s), axe and a saw etc...

[dogrunner]

You folks lead sheltered lives :) I mean thinking you are always going to have all your tools with you when you might unexpectedly need them. I'm an old boy scout (be prepared, right) and if I'm going camping I will have an axe or whatever I think I need (assuming wood fires are even allowed) along with multiple knives, cuz we are all knife knuts here.
But I also do a lot of backcountry field work where I'm carrying my gear, and I don't carry anything that adds unnecessary weight to the pack. Water is heavy enough :) So no axe, not even my little GB wildlife hatchet, which really does not weigh much. Definitely NO friggin' big chopper blades (I have a bunch and enjoy them, but usually not that useful for most cutting chores). I DO carry a medium-sized fixed blade (4-5") because that IS a really handy size for many chores, weighs very little, is not prone to failure if you feel like you do need to do strenuous things with it (baton :eek: )and it IS capable of getting to the dry wood that hides inside of most down wood (baton or otherwise split it), if only you can get to it :) To me, that is a survival application.
I guess the REAL question is definitions. Survival knife is just a label. What actual applications come to mind, that you might actually need to use it for? That you might not want to use a folder for. Splitting smallish wood, ice chipping/anchor, ?
Spyderco makes several that fit this category.

[bearfacedkiller]

Falkniven knives are performance knives using premium steels at high (for production knives) hardness with decent grinds. This is to give them better edge holding properties and better cutting performance. That recipe is not the right one for building a sharpened pry bar. Simple carbon steels run at moderate hardness with thicker grinds will be tougher than higher alloy steels run at higher hardness with more acute grinds.

Lilly batonned that Falkniven through a sand covered coconut using a rock. That, in my opinion, is a very poor test of a knife. She admitted to testing it to it's limits through abuse and then said it was junk because it couldn't handle it. The Dutchbushcraftknives guys made a rebuttal video and pretty openly disagreed with her. They test knives hard and enjoy batonning knives but also value cutting ability and edge retention. They did not have any durability issues in their test. Falkniven's biggest drawback is price.

This brings up the decision between a super tough knife and a knife that has high performance cutting characteristics.

On one hand you have the offerings from Esee, Kabar/Becker, Ontario and others. On the other you have knives like the Falkniven and most Spydercos. Most of us here prefer the better cutters over the bomb proof tools. I have a lot of both and do baton and abuse knives. However I generally prefer knives that cut well. I do also enjoy flogging large Bowies made from 1095.

Spyderco focuses on cutting performance in general so you are not apt to find many Spydies that would get Lilly's seal of approval. None of them are built to be batonned with rocks through hard sand covered coconuts.

The Temperance2, Bradley Bowie, Aqua Salt, Schempp Rock/Rock Salt (which I think is a "survival" knife), Serratta, and Bushcraft are all good woods knives. None are made for the express purpose of torture testing. They will all survive being used as a knife.

[Skidoosh]

Get an endeavor.

[qazy]

So no axe, not even my little GB wildlife hatchet, which really does not weigh much. Definitely NO friggin' big chopper blades (I have a bunch and enjoy them, but usually not that useful for most cutting chores). I DO carry a medium-sized fixed blade (4-5") because that IS a really handy size for many chores, weighs very little,

Precisely, a big "survival" blade is a nonsense from utilitarian point of view. They might look cool but for most day to day cutting tasks they are silly.

[vivi]

You folks lead sheltered lives :) I mean thinking you are always going to have all your tools with you when you might unexpectedly need them. I'm an old boy scout (be prepared, right) and if I'm going camping I will have an axe or whatever I think I need (assuming wood fires are even allowed) along with multiple knives, cuz we are all knife knuts here.

I've camped, hiked, climbed and biked from the northern tip of the USA to the TX/Mexico border, and there has never been a time I needed to chop or baton anything to make a fire. Including in the middle of unexpected downpours. I've never understand why so much emphasis is placed on "can it baton?" but either way, the aqua salt can :p

I ride a road bike across the country twice a year, camping out each night. I bring a Pacific Salt Same thing when I camp. Might cut some rope, make some feather sticks or cut up some sausage and onions for dinner, other than that I don't find much that needs cutting when I'm out.

[dogrunner]

...However I generally prefer knives that cut well....
The Temperance2, Bradley Bowie, Aqua Salt, Schempp Rock/Rock Salt (which I think is a "survival" knife), Serratta, and Bushcraft are all good woods knives. None are made for the express purpose of torture testing. They will all survive being used as a knife.

This is a good list. Spyderco makes fine outdoor tools that are (1) easy to carry and no reason to leave behind, (2) first rate cutting tools, and (3) useful under just about any imaginable circumstance.

One other thing I would add - I have a great appreciation for fully enclosed tangs (no exposed meta), cuz my hands get cold easy and sometimes the mittens need to come off, particularly when working with the sled dogs or dealing with tugs or snaps. I don't have a Temp 2 but the jump master 2 looks interesting and the Aqua Salt (SE) is a good recommendation too (light weight even). I have two Bushcrafts and they are great, but cold and a little slippery when wet. The grippy lightweight Aqua Salt looks even better in that light!

[The Mastiff]

There are some good comments in this thread.

You folks lead sheltered lives :) I mean thinking you are always going to have all your tools with you when you might unexpectedly need them. I'm an old boy scout (be prepared, right) and if I'm going camping I will have an axe or whatever I think I need (assuming wood fires are even allowed) along with multiple knives

:)

I even carry pioneer tools in my cars trunk around Raleigh. Never know! :D They take up room I'm not using anyways and they have to be somewhere.Why not the car? :o I started that many years ago up north when we carried stuff around to get us out of the snow and back on the road. Or move a down tree blocking the road. In the army we had to have the stuff with the vehicles or there was trouble. Some habits die hard I suppose.

So, though no one can tell me I can't have a 10 inch .250inch thick 5160 knife I'm not going to argue much about it's usefulness in "survival". At least the OP isn't asking for a 11 inch hollow handle tanto knife made of powder stainless.

Joe

[carrot]

I think I would agree with Vivi with the Aqua Salt recommendation. It doesn't look like much if you've been looking at big tough knives like ESEE, Becker, Busse, and Fallkniven, but neither does a Mora or an Izula and both of those are more than enough knife in experienced hands.

I can't split wood with a neck knife the same way I can an axe, but if you give me a baton, any little knife kept sharp can still process wood just fine. Instead of a saw, you can notch limbs until it comes apart. Instead of splitting a log with one fell swoop, I'll carefully look for weak points and baton my blade through, or perhaps baton a wedge carved of wood.

Now, if I know I'm gonna have a big day processing wood and building fires, you bet I'll bring an axe and maybe a saw. But do I ever feel like I have to have one? No, I know that I can often get by just fine with some trickery and a little sharp blade. Bushcraft practitioners know they can do just about anything with a sharp 4" blade.

I once brought nothing but a little neck knife on a camping trip; a friend brought a chopper. With my knife experience my 2.5" necker did far more wood processing and kitchen duties than the big chopper with a sawback spine. We had a big roaring fire and a delicious pot of chili. My buddy now carries a smaller knife but brings better skills. :)

If we're talking fire making, shelter building, and maybe if you're lucky, game processing, most survival experts will agree, a 4-5" blade with the right techniques will have you covered. With H1's extreme toughness and rustproof qualities, you'd be hard pressed to find a better survival knife in Spyderco's lineup than an Aqua Salt. Dare I say, perhaps no better in anybody else's lineup either.

[Doc Dan]

I have camped for a month at a time, many, many times from above the arctic circle (even in winter!) to Florida, and points between. I have hiked the Appalachians. I even have some experience in Asia. What did I carry most of the time? A Buck 103 that was modified. It had 425M steel and was a really tough little monster. I built shelters (I rarely take a tent, but I have one), made fires, dug trenches, opened cans of food (back in the day we did not have these packet meals), processed game, cut meat, cut wood, and everything I needed with such a knife. I never needed a bigger one. I found out early on that a bigger knife was simply in the way. I have also used a Cold Steel Master Hunter and a couple of other knives all of a similar size and thickness. The Buck was easier to carry. I also always carried one of those ring/finger saws. I would make a handle in the field and could fell a good sized tree if needed. Between these two, and a stockman in my pocket, I had everything I needed.

I have been in camp with people with great big survival knives, choppers, and etc. They always worked harder than needed. I could do most things with my Izula, but a 4" to 4.5" blade is about optimal. I do not camp or hike through any more. I am getting too old and the woods are too crowded. It used to be that you could go and not see another person the entire month. Nowadays you go and you are stepping on people around every turn. Another thing I have now is a small hatchet. It is about as long overall as a knife, and it weighs about the same. I think it weighs about 16 oz with a sheath. It carries well and it is a good chopper. It can be used as an Ulu knife if I need to.

I think it would be great if Spyderco made a small camp/survival hatchet that weighed about 16 oz max.

[JD Spydo]

The Temp 2 is a wonderful allround knife imo.

A big High Five!! to you my friend Now my fav is the predecessor which was the TEMPERANCE 1 model which is still one of my all time favorite fixed blades. The TEMP 1 is one of the very few fixed blades for outdoor use that Spyderco made in plain edge and Spyderedge both. Both edge types on that model are just out right excellent for outdoor use. I desperately want to see a Sprint Run of those two icon Spyderco fixed blades in newer/better blade steel.

The term "Survival Knife" has in the past 10 to 12 years or so become a "catch-all" phrase for about any type of knife you can imagine. Now all of the survival type magazines I read on a regular basis all concur that fixed blades are far more advantageous for rough use. Now I personally don't agree with that 100% because I don't think these people are taking into account how well built that Spyderco, Benchmade, Boker, Zero Tolerance and several other reputable knife companies I could list.

It probably is true for your average, hardware store folder but most premium folders I've used for very brutal jobs have all held up ( mainly Spyderco units). Also you want a knife that has a blade steel that's able to work with ferro rods and other types of materials you can use to create sparks and start fires with. Some stainless alloys won't do it from what I've been told. So it would probably be wise to have one non-stainless, fixed blade in your survival gear. The Spyderco Bushcraft with 0-1 blade steel would be an excellent choice.

[Brock O Lee]

I think I would agree with Vivi with the Aqua Salt recommendation.

When you guys say Aqua Salt I assume you mean the PE version?

[tonijedi]

Also you want a knife that has a blade steel that's able to work with ferro rods and other types of materials you can use to create sparks and start fires with. Some stainless alloys won't do it from what I've been told. So it would probably be wise to have one non-stainless, fixed blade in your survival gear. The Spyderco Bushcraft with 0-1 blade steel would be an excellent choice.

This is a confusion or misconception that pops up once in a while. You can throw sparks from a fire steel with any material that is hard and sharp enough to remove the particles from the rod into the air. Glass will work, for example.
Another thing is making sparks from the blade itself. For that you need a carbon steel and although it works it can be difficult to make it happen. Please notice you are actually removing the steel from the blade (usually the back of the blade). As the iron particles are removed from the blade they will oxidize very fast and make a similar (but much smaller) reaction as in the fire steel. The fire steel has many pyrophoric metals while the carbon steel blade just has iron itself.