The Best Survival Knives of 2024

How We Tested The Best Survival Knives

There’s no one particular way to get into a survival situation without actually being in a situation where your survival is at stake. Aside from Nick LeFort almost taking his thumb off with the Benchmade Anonimus, there was no blood shed during the testing of these knives – nor the threat of it. So, we just beat the hell out of these blades to see how they would hold up in a situation where we really needed to depend on them.

For this year, we relied solely on tester and knifemaker Nick LeFort to work with these knives and get a sense of their worth. Bringing together years of product knowledge as well as a keen sense of what kind of situations we’re going to get into, he worked with our editors to find the right knives that would meet GearJunkie’s standards for such high accolades. In that process, everything from blade shape to blade steel to handle materials and sheaths was considered.

In reality, every knife out there could be used in a survival situation, so the daunting task here was to find what knives were designed for that task. Where in backpacking and bushcraft, knives may need to be used as a line of defense, in a survival situation they ARE that line of defense. To say this process for this particular category got very nit-picky would be an understatement.

But, in the end, we think we nailed it.

So what did we do?

The one thing that really stuck out in picking the top survival knives was the blade steel. When we think of survival, we think of living, moving, and sleeping in undesirable settings. This may include having to build shelters and traps for catching food. These situations may include bad weather, mud, and gunk. So, you’ll notice that all of the knives on this list either have materials that have great corrosion resistance or they’ve been treated so that worrying about corrosion altogether is eliminated. You’ll also note that all of these tools are easy to resharpen or maintain.

We often state that testing the true merit of a knife isn’t by sitting in a garage or workshop slicing cardboard and rope. It’s about really using the knives and tools in the environments how they’d be used in real-life scenarios. This was paramount in picking these knives because there’s no way to replicate the variables that you face in the outdoor world while sitting in a lawn chair listening to Led Zeppelin in your temperature-controlled abode.

All of the knives on this list were used, abused, and relied on. During the testing of the Benchmade Anonimus and TOPS Tom Brown Tracker, there was snow on the ground, but it was warm, muddy, and raining. The Woodman’s Pal was used to bushwack through an overgrown, half-frozen swamp. The ESEE Izula II really was carried and used by LeFort for over a decade. In fact, he almost got the boot from a bouncer in Brooklyn for wearing it in a brewery once. That’s kind of a survival situation – the dude was really big.

Anyway, here at GearJunkie, we decided long ago that if we’re going to recommend something to you, we need to be as authentic as we can. The best way to do that was to rely on them, which we very much did.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Survival Knife

Blade Shape

The shape of the blade plays a critical role in every knife’s purpose, but for survival knives you need a blade that can stab. If it can’t stab, then it needs to be able to slash. These are two critical maneuver’s in self defense. But equally important are the abilities to slice and chop as well as process meat and other materials you need to rely on when you’re in a survival situation.

That said, Drop Point and Clip Point style blades are usually preferred due to their ability to adapt to different tasks. But ergonomics also plays a heavy role in the overall success of a knife in a survival situation. So make sure to choose a knife that you feel comfortable maneuvering through uncomfortable situations.

Knife Steel

The amount of knife blade steel and handle materials out there is pretty impressive. But, where the handle materials seem to have stabilized, there’s new steel coming out every year. As you can see from the above selection of eight knives, there are seven different knife steels. Our recommendation is to consider each steel on a case-by-case basis. But they should still meet or exceed the following requirements:

Corrosion Resistance

The last thing you want is your knife turning orange on you out in the field. Especially if you’re planning on using it to prepare food. All of the steel mentioned in this guide either has exceptional corrosion resistance or has been coated to eliminate the occurrence of rust.

Abrasion Resistance

Some people consider this property to be more form than function. But in all reality, if your blade can easily get scrapped up that can lead to chipping, which then could lead to blade failure. 

Edge Retention/Ease of Resharpening

No matter what knife you carry, the worst knife you could carry is a dull one. That being said, you want to look for knife steels that either excel in edge retention or can be easily resharpened. 

Handle Material

When it comes down to handle material it’s all about grip. Ergonomics play a part in this as well, as you could have great handle material in a weird shape that will cause fatigue. In the end, you won’t want to use the knife and you’ll have wasted your money. These are some of the more preferred materials on the market today:

G10 & Micarta

G10 and Micarta are both extremely strong materials. Both excel in grip whether your hands are wet or dry which is why those two materials are so popular with EDC, Survival, Tactical, and Bushcraft-style knives. 

Nylon & Plastic

Nylon and Plastic also make for great handle materials because they’re durable and lightweight, but they’re also generally textured. It’s this texturing and styling that increases the grip on a knife with these materials. Note: Nylon and Plastic handle scales can be called a litany of names. Some of the more popular names are: FRN/Zytel (Fiber Reinforced Nylon), GRN (Glass Reinforced Nylon), GFN (Glass Filled Nylon) and Grivory (Injection Molded).

Rubber

In some knife worlds, rubber is the sign of a cheap knife. However, in bushcraft rubberized handles can be a great benefit to you due to their durability as well as their unsurpassed grip.

Wood

Wood is a fantastic handle material as long as it has been stabilized so it won’t crack. It offers a good amount of grip which generally increases when the wood gets wet. It also looks very nice.

Leather

Leather is the original OG when it comes to handle materials. Aside from wood, it was one of the earliest used materials for handle scales; and it has stood the test of time. Usually stacked in rings, Leather breaks in rather quickly to provide a very good grip.

Ease of use

Ergonomics

A good knife will feel right in your hand. From the shape of the handle scales to the Overall thickness, and even texturing, ergonomics can be the difference between you being confident with your knife or leaving it in your drawer at home. When you consider a knife, put it in your hand and give it a good squeeze. Then, push down hard on a hard surface. If everything feels right, that’s your next knife.

Sheath

A good bushcraft knife is only as good as its ease of carry. In considering your next bushcraft knife, consider a sheath made from leather or kydex. Leather will cost you more, but can last you for years. Kydex, which is widely used by the military, is durable and generally offers not only multiple carry options but room for you to expand it to carry a Ferro rod.

Lock Mechanism

Without fail, you will find yourself in a position where you need to rely on the lock on your knife more than you expected. 

Some of the more common lock types are liner/frame locks that use a bar that indexes into the back of the blade. There are also button-style locks that use a steel barrel to keep the blade engaged. However, the most popular lock type is the crossbar lock which also uses a steel bar to hold the knife in place.

In my time and experience, I have never seen a crossbar-style lock mechanism fail without some outside force creating a major disruption in how the knife functions. Like a truck running it over.

Freaquently Asked Questions