Seven of the Best Survival Knives in the Market 2020 (so far...)

“Fernando… is this a good survival knife?” is a question I get a LOT, usually by someone showing a knife that is rather mediocre if not downright bad for a survival role. The problem is that with so many offers, it’s easy to get lost and end up with a tool that will not perform well.

Knives have been around since the beginning of time, and there’s been countless blade shapes and designs, but a survival knife, at least the way I conceive one, needs to be more than just an edged cutting tool. A steak knife, a razor blade, even a butter knife can cut, but a survival knife is something else. It’s a tool that cuts, chops, carves, digs, pokes, pries, scraps and hammers. It’s a tool that fills in not only as a knife, but as a shovel, crowbar, axe and hammer, plus working as a deadly weapon if needed. To me, that’s a survival knife, and not just any knife will do. It needs to be of a certain size and length. It needs to be as a tough as they come, yet sharp. Not too big that it won’t be with you when you need it, not to small that it fails in some critical role. In spite of the huge number of blades in the market, few of them fulfil this role well enough so as to be survival knives I would recommend.

Of those commercially available, these are the ones I feel most comfortable recommending:

Glock Knife

Glock, OEM Field Knife, 6.5" Fixed Blade, 1095 steel
This is my go-to advice for anyone looking for a solid survival knife. Few people know that Austria’s service bayonet preceded Gaston Glock´s famous pistol but it did indeed, the Glock of the knife world. Tough as they come, yet light weight, minimalistic yet tremendously practical. You can fight with this thing, you can baton, you can put a mean edge if its not all it should be right out of the box (it usually is, but Ive come across some that could use a bit of touching up). Thanks to its great design and light handle, it even chops better than you´d expect. 1095 steel, 55RC, perfect for a utility blade. These are made in Austria and maybe the best value in the list.
Eickhorn FK2000

Fk2000, 7 inch blade, black finish 55Si7 spring steel
Think of this one as the Glock knife’s fancier, German brother, with somewhat of an Heckler & Koch attitude. It’s made in German in the fabled city of Solingen, as tough and finely crafted as any bayonet I’ve ever seen and it’s reflected in the price. Great blade and sheath (works as a wire cutter) and very comfortable handle.
Becker BK7

BK7 Knife 7" Blade, 1095 Cro-Van  HRC 56-58
The BK7 is a knife Ethan Becker didn’t care for much. They asked him to make fighting/utility knife, basically his version of a Kabar and the BK7 was his answer to that. No problem, even if he doesn’t care much for it, it’s still a great blade, tougher than a Kabar for sure and just a fgreat medium sized survival knife, with the thin tip being its only minor weakness. That and the textured finish I don’t care for much.
Cold Steel SRK

Cold Steel SRK, 6 inch blade, sk-5 Steel

The Cold Steel SRK has been around for a long time and slowly gained a reputation as a no-nonsense survival/rescue knife that is just as home in the bug out bag as it is in a navy SEALs kit, which by the way are currently issuing it.
Mora Bushcraft Black

Morakniv Bushcraft Knife, 4.3 inch carbon steel
The Bushcraft black is the smallest and lightest survival knife I would go for. Many believe it to be ideal, and it is in fact a typical Mora on steroids: Ticker stock and bigger tang with an outstanding tacky grip and smooth black finish. Given its size and weight, it wont do much chopping and even for battoning the lengh limits is quite a bit, but it carves and cuts beautifully and is solid enough to pry with. Just a great pukko style knife.
ESEE Junglas

ESEE Junglas  Blade Length: 10.375", 1095 Carbon Steel
On the other end of the spectrum you have the Junglas, not so much a machete as it is a big full tang knife. This blade will chop, and cut and pry or even dig if needed. The size and weight is there, but this is without a doubt a large, solid survival knife and I’d gladly grab it if this will be my only tool for long term survival in a wooded area.
Cold Steel Bowie Machete

Cold Steel bowie machete 12 inch, 1055 carbon steel
Now this is a real machete right here, cheap, thin and fast, yet plenty of steel to go around. Big knives are usualy expensive but not this one. Fantastic value and you can put a mean edge on it. Light weight too and a good chopper.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Eickhorn FK2000... Made in Germany

The Eickhorn FK2000 Field knife is made in Solingen, Germany. Eickhorn manufactures knives and bayonets for the German Army. The FK2000 Field Knife is a 55Si7 steel, 7 inch blade, VERY similar to the Kabar blade geometry, but with a much stronger handle and tang. Think of it as if a Glock Knife and a Kabar Fighting Utility Knife had a German baby.

The knife works as a wire cutter along with the sheath.

Next to a Mora Clipper.

In a nutshell its a nice, very nice, combat utility knife, made in Germany.  I wouldnt say fancy, maybe classy is the right word, yet at the same time besides the cool factor its an excellent knife on its own right.

FerFAL
Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Which is the BEST Survival Knife?

Longer video about knives. The short version is that in today’s world most of us just don’t carry a fixed blade on daily basis. A pocket knife is simply more realistic and in that category a multitool such as the Leatherman Wave or the fancier Charge is likely the best overall tool a typical person can carry all day.

Having said that, if you have a fixed blade, which one is the best? Not an easy question to answer but I take a shot at it in the video.

My conclusion is that while small scandi grind knives are great and larger machetes are fantastic tools, likely something in between is the right answer. Even then, larger blades, when realistically capable of carrying, can do more and are just better for most taks.

FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

What makes a BAD Knife?

Mora vs Glock: Which one is the Best Survival Knife?

Mora Bushcraft Black: The Premium Version of the Mora Companion

6 Things to Look for in a Survival Knife

With so many options available, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of choices when looking for a good survival knife. Every company out there swears by their own product and the commonly used marketing tricks don’t help in making an objective, practical decision.

So what do you want to take into consideration when buying a survival knife?

1) Design. Is the shape of the tool adequate for the purpose it is intended for? The blade geometry, how long, thin and narrow blade is, how thick is the stock used, the bevels, it all should make sense in relation to the intended use of the knife. Is it a carving tool, a piercing weapon, a utilitarian sharp prybar?  In my experience this is the hardest thing to achieve: An overall sound design with a blade geometry that is well suited for its intended purpose. The more broad that intended purpose is, and that’s often the case with survival knives, the harder it is to nail it with a blade shape that will perform well for most potential applications.

2) Quality. A Knife may be of sound design but if the materials used are of poor quality or if the execution is mediocre it won’t be of much use.  People new to knives often obsess over what steel the blade is made of. In reality, with modern steel this is for the most part an academic discussion and for most practical uses, even the more affordable steels, both stainless and carbon steels, will perform adequately as long as they are properly heat treated. Having said that, the difference between steels does exist and in some cases the extra toughness, edge retention and ease of sharpening is worth the higher price of premium steels for some people.

3) Handle. The knife may be well designed, well-crafted out of the finest materials but if the handle just doesn’t “fit” you then it will perform poorly in your hands. The handle is an extremely personal part of the knife. Some handles just work well for most people’s hands. The swell in the handle of a Glock knife, the typical machete handle, these are time proven designs. But still, either because your hand is too big, or too small, or it just so happens to close around a handle a bit different, it just may not fit you as well. In general you want comfortable, grippy yet durable materials and you don’t want any aggressive patterns that chaff the skin or cause hot spots.

ESEE Knives 4P Fixed Blade Knife w/Handle and Molded Polymer Sheath

 

4)Sheath. A knife without a sheath cant be carried around safely, can barely be used at all without having a safe method of carrying. There’s no need for anything fancy but the sheath must be functional. Hold the blade safely in place, be easy to access, remove and return the knife. Just like with gun holsters, hard polymer sheaths are a solid choice, especially if they have different attachment points to adjust the way you carry it.

5)Finish. Often overlooked, not all finishes perform the same. The current typical textured paint finish commonly used in tactical knives is a rather poor choice. Not only does it wear off easily, leaving the steel naked unless it has a phosphate finish of some kind underneath, these finishes also attract dirt and grime, making it harder to keep clean. The textured finish also increases traction when cutting through materials, which you definitely don’t want. You want the surface of the cutting tool to be smooth like glass with minimal friction. A mirror polished surface would be ideal, even if some treatment had to be added on carbon steel to avoid rusting. This is something to consider but not a deal breaker since finshes do wear, become smoother with use even if they originally were textured, and with a bit of oil rust shouldn’t be a problem.

6)Price. Although you often pay for what you get, in the knife world you sometimes have knives that are hyped beyond their logical price point just as you have some wonderful bargains, a ton of knife for very little money. This means you save money for other preps or it allows you to buy multiple blades for all your kits and bags or for backups and spares.
FerFAL
Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

My best knives.... (and the knives I actually use)

I recently posted a pic of some of my knives.

A couple facones I don’t use, a big old knife I did use for some time.  A Glock knife, the one I broke the tip and fixed. There’s a few Busse knives and some I have used quite a bit and keep as my serious survival knife when going on trips. But they don’t really get used/abused around the house and a good friend of mine pointed out that those knives didn’t look used.
He’s right! The ones I use far more are these.
These are some of the ones I pick to beat around the house, cut wood for the fireplace or any other DIY I need a knife for.

The machete I cut the tip out of a Tramontina and made the handle. The small knife with a wooden grip I forged myself.

-FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

My EDC (Every Day Carry) Setup: Pocket and EDC Bag

People, I finally set up the Modern Survivalist Amazon Store. Most of the stuff shown in the video (and often mentioned in posts) is available there. Just click on the EDC menu and you'll see the gear or compatible alternatives for the stuff that has been discontinued.

-FerFAL

Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” . Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

63 year old man stabs 220 pound mountain lion to death while falling off a cliff.

“I wasn’t scared” said Vicente Navarrete, from Rio Negro, Argentina. “It was him or me”.

After stabbing the puma with his knife a few times to save his dog Pico, Vicente improvised a spear and went after the big cat, chased it to a cave. He stabbed the wild animal and hit it with his iron boleadoras (bolas). The animal went down but as VIcente got closer it jumped back up and attacked him. As he kept fighting the animal they both fell off a cliff. Vicente was severely wounded, bleeding in several places and his wrist was broken where the mountain lion bit him.

When the puma final bled out, he asked the animal “are you dead yet?”. Then proceeded to apply a tourniquet using his boleadoras. About 10 hours later he was finally found and rescued.

This is the picture the rescue crew took of Vicente, holding his knife. That's a big, well used knife people! No 3" wood carving neck knife? Obviously he knows nothing about bushcrafting and real survival. Some youtube expert needs to explain to this man that you dont need a big Rambo knife for real survival tasks such as making feather sticks and carving fancy bowls and spoons. 


And the dead puma.


That’s one tough 63 year old folks. Vicente said he usually carries a gun but this time he went to check things out without it.
It’s always the day you leave your tools behind that you end up needing them.

FerFAL
Check out my new Book “Street Survival Skills” available in Amazon!

DIY - $30 Glock Knife / Survival Kit Hack

Muela Knives: Do Spanish Knives Suck?

If I could Only have one knife for the End of the World...

Talk about a nightmare...

Only one? You've got to be kidding. Still, fair enough question.
What if? What if you have to leave, on foot, not knowing where you are going and what will happen to you next. Not knowing if that knife will be used to defend yourself, build a shelter, fire, cut a hole through a wall/car/boat to escape, prepare food, carve wood, gut game, eat your dinner. And what if that's the only knife you'll have for the rest of your life?
A bit of a less painfull thought, lets make it three.

These are the three I'd go for. Busse Bushwacker Battle Mistress. Dog Soldier 8 and Leatherman Wave (Black oxide) although my Charge tti is a slightly better option.
Forced to chose just one? Dog Soldier 8. Big enough, small enough. The goldielocks size for a do it all knife with the right blade steel, geometry, finish and the right grip shape and material.
More of a tight budget proposition?

Cold Steel Bowie machete $24.40, Glock Survival knife $28.79 and Leatherman Sidekick $55.95. For little over a hundred bucks you have a setup to deal with everything knife related.
Forced to chose one? You cant go wrong with the Glock knife. Like the pistol, Its a beast of a knife yet light and well priced.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Glock makes the “Perfect” knife: 12 Reasons Why

Ha! Glock Perfection, yeah right.

Sure, nothing is perfect, but let me know of any other auto pistol that combines durability, reliability, simplicity of use, accuracy, ammo capacity, parts availability, ease of repair, availability of accessories and the list goes own. Simply no other gun scores so well in so many of them and that’s why the Glock 17 is as popular as it is.

Something similar happens with the Glock knife.
It’s a cheap, ugly, light little thing, but when you look at what its supposed to be used for and how well it scores in all categories its easy to point out the Glock knife may just be the Glock of the knife world.


1) Cutting ability. A knife that doesn’t cut isnt much of a knife, is it? Well, we all know that sometimes knives come with a poor edge, in some cases rather expensive knives are delivered with an edge so poor it will barely half cut, half tear through paper across most of the edge. I know for a fact that the Glock knife was at times delivered poorly sharpened. Current ones though they are either sharp or shaving sharp, in either case well within what you would expect in a utility/survival knife.

2)Fit and Finish. The knife is on the low budget side of things no doubt, but its well made, correct bevels, quality plastic injection, steel finish and overall a high quality product manufactured in Austria. For such a low cost knife, you get a lot of bang per buck.

3)Toughness. A knife is supposed to be a cutting tool but a survival/utility knife is meant to be more. If needed, it must also be a hammer, a pry bar, scrapper, axe, shovel or whatever else you need it to be. No, it wont do any of those things “well”, but when you have no other choice it should hold up to that kind of abuse. The Glock knife does that.

4)Blade geometry. Not much innovation here. It’s a typical fighting knife bayonet shaped blade, but the narrow blade, with the strong tip will not just stab well and perform as a fighting knife, it also performs as a general utility tool. As long as its sharp it will cut anything that needs cutting and the thick, 6,5” blade will hold its own when battoning wood.

Glock Perfection OEM Fixed Straight Blade Field Knife $32.95
 
5)Steel quality. 1095 carbon steel is good stuff. Some of the better utility knives use it and for good reason. It will rust so there’s that, but it also holds an edge well and sharpens easily.

6)Heat treatment. The Glock knife is hardened to 55HRC. While many high end knives are expected to be 60HRC or harder, the truth is that the benefits of such hardness aren’t worth the loss of toughness and these knives will break when abused. On the other hand the Glock knife can be abused, bent, used as a chisel and for smashing concrete blocks and just take the beating that would destroy supposedly better 60 HRC knives.

7)Blade Finish. The smooth electrophoretic black coating protects the blade and reduces reflection.

8)Balance. The blade has a partial, narrow tang. Usually this is a rather bad, fragile tang compared to a full tang fixed knife but not in this case, not with a good bit of Glock plastic around said tang. The attachment is in fact so strong, the blade will break way before you manage to break that polymer handle. Thanks to the short narrow tang, the knife is perfectly balanced in the cross guard. With a lower grip, it allows for acceptable chopping given the blade size and weight. The knife was also designed as a throwing knife and it does very nicely as such.

9)Handle. The Polymer handle is not only as tough as they come, its also has a classic, proven shape design. It is comfortable for most hands and allows for good retention.

10)Sheath. One of the strongest points the Glock knife had going for it. Entirely made out of polymer, fully ambidextrous, the sheath is classic Glock minimalistic design. It has a belt loop that first large belts and the sheath itself can get tucked in molle, either a vest or backpack.The retention lever keeps it in place and makes it almost impossible to get the knife out by another person by accident/surprise.

11)Weight. A bit over 7 ounces, the knife is one of the lightest knives around, especially for a tough, 6,5 inch blade. Ideal for soldiers, contractors, but also for survival and bugout kits as well as camping, backpacking or as a general use knife around the house, car or tool box.

12)Price. For an extremely well designed and manufactured knife made in Austria, the price is very low. Around 30 bucks or so, its worth getting spares.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

EDC Review Roundup for 2018-2019

Victorinox Classic: #1 Selling Pocket & Folding Knife in Amazon

Why is it?
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the Victorinox Classic is as popular as it is, #1 Best Selling folding knife in Amazon. After all, we’ve all see it numerous times, everyone seems to have one in their keys, their desk, purse or somewhere around the house.
When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The tiny blade in the Classic is more often than not all you need to open boxes, cut some tape, envelopes, cord and so on. For daily, mundane tasks, 9 out of 10 that tiny knife is all you need. Then there’s the scissors which many love. They can be used for trimming nails, cutting paper articles, string, labels and the list goes on. The file/small flat screwdriver combo is also great for general poking, scrapping and prying tasks. There’s of course the toothpick and tweezers as well. 

Pen and LED light options

Another tool I find terribly useful in my keychain is to have a pen, and the Victorinox Signature does just that, adding a pen to the Classic.

The Signature Lite also adds an LED light which makes for an ideal, all in one keychain mini tool.

A better mini keychain tool?

The Minichamp is the biggest model of the Victorinox small format family. While still compact, it is the heaviest of the bunch and not as minimalistic as the beloved Classic. I guess that for some people, the Minichamp, even though small, is still a bittoo big.

That’s where in my opinion the Rambler and Manager models come into play. These are just a bit of a step up from the Classic, but including the Phillips screw driver and bottle opener. This is maybe the most useful too in the Minichamp, right after the actual blade. The Manager model includes a pen and tweezer while the Rambler has the classic tweezer and toothpick combo.

Whatever it is you like best, there’s a mini Victorinox out there that will fit your needs perfectly.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

So what’s a good folding knife?

So for my 19th birthday that is coming up real soon, I'm very likely to be getting a new pocket knife to replace my old worn out one, I would prefer it to be a folding knife. Knife length isn't a problem due to the laws of my state. So what do you recommend for a folder?
-Joe
.
Hello Joe,
You’ve got a ton of options and it comes down to how much money you want to spend. These are all solid knives you can trust. A bit more money gets you nicer steel, materials and finish but any of these will last you a lifetime if you take care of them.
Under $50 range
Ontario Rat-1 $28.48

Kershaw-Emerson, CQC-10K $36.15

$50-$100 range
Cold Steel Voyager Vaquero Plain Edge Knife $61.26

Spyderco Endura4 $67.06

Benchmade - Griptilian 551 $102.00

+$100 range
Zero Tolerance Hinderer 0566 Carbon Fiber Folder $168.00

Lion Steel Knives SR2ARS $151.99


Oh, and Happy Birthday!
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

5 Best Small Knives for Survival & Self-defense?

Hi Fernando!
I found your website a couple of days ago, but I already like it very
much. I also signed up on your youtube channel, but I have a question
I hope you will be able to answer. I live in Hungary, where the legal
size of a knife is if the blade and the cutting edge is maximum 8 cm
long unless you can prove it you need longer knife, like fishing,
hunting, hiking. I am looking for a fixed blade knife for EDC,
defence, and survival.
Thank you for help!
-Attila

.
Hello Attila.
You have some good options even with an 8cm blade limit.
These are the knives that by far I recommend the most:

CRKT Minimalist $25.44
Neck knives are surprisingly handy and this is one of the best options. The grip allows for good control and retention. This is a knife that is well suited for everyday utility tasks and you could use it for defense as well.

Kbar TDI $36.36
This is one of the best defensive use knives within your blade length limitations. It is surprisingly devastating in spite of the short blade length. It allows great blade retention and the angle of the blade allows you to stab with basic punching strikes. This isn’t as practical as a utility knife although it could be used of course for cutting, but it is clearly intended for a defensive role.

 Spyderco Delica 4 $84.47
The Delica 4 has a 7.3cm (2.87")  blade, well within your maximum allowed blade length.
I know you said fixed blade but in my experience people eventually get tired of fixed blades and start leaving them behind. A small folder in your pocket when you need it is infinitely better than the fixed blade knife you left home.
The Spyderco Delica4 is very well made, uses quality VG10 steel, its surprisingly tough for its size and often chosen by experts that want or need a minimalist folding knife. The pocket clip can go in four positions, tip up or down, left or right pocket. For a small EDC folder, this is as good as it gets. If you want an assisted opening afordable folder, consider the Kershaw Cryo.
Don’t forget to get some basic knife fighting training. If you already bought my first book "The Modern Survival Manual" check the chapter on knives where I explain how to use one for self-defense. Knowing how and where to strike turns a knife into a devastating weapon in close quarters, especially at contact range.
Best of luck!
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Sword vs Knife fight Video

Here’s something you don’t see every day: Two guys fighting, one armed with a knife, the other one with a sword.
WARNING: Very Graphic content
Common sense would dictate that the man with the much larger blade, fighting out in the open with room to move around, would have a clear advantage. We don’t see the complete incident but we see the knife wielder cleverly closing the distance to negate the reach advantage of the sword and use his knife. We also hear what appears to be a parry so the knife wielder is probably skilled in its use too.
But the video also shows how important mindset is. We talk about mindset often and we understand its importance, but here you see it live. The swordsman was unsure about using his weapon after they get up. The man armed with the knife didn’t have such reservations and was far more committed to the fight.
Something else that comes to mind, the importance of an hemostatic agent such as Celox in an EDC bag. A knife wound, gun shot wound, terror attack or accident on the street, any of these can leave you bleeding to death and the tool to stop that from happening can save your life.
Take care folks.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Schrade SCHF38 Frontier Knife: Great value knife for $30

The Schrade SCHF38 is a solid, full tang knife.
It has a sabre grind, quarter inch thick blade which lends itself nicely for tougher use such as batoning and chopping.
I believe that a survival knife should fall in that category of “sharpened prybar”, capable of cutting, chopping, prying, hammering, digging, or axing its way through anything on its way and this knife does that.

The blade is 5.8” long, but given the mass it has it’s a good chopper for its size.  On the other hand, with a fat blade like this you don’t have the finer edge you’d find on a thinner blade, so while it does cut it’s no carving knife. A bit of work reprofiling the bevel can certainly improve its performance though.
The blade is 1095 carbon steel and my sample was correctly heat treated without any visible chips or dents after batoning and chopping.

The tip of this knife is VERY strong.
The knife comes with basic but functional nylon sheath, a diamond sharpener and a rather nice quality ferro rod. Given the price, its surprising the amount of stuff you get for your money besides a sturdy blade made of quality carbon steel such as 1095, found in Becker and ESEE knives costing two or three times more.

Schrade SCHF38 Frontier $30.97

The only con I can think of is the handle. Trying to please the horde of youtube commandos Schrade went nuts with jimping on this thing, using it both on the front and back of this knife’s handle. Jimping is… I don’t want to offend so lets leave it there.  If they had left it as is without the stupid jimping this knife would have been a 10/10 in the budget knife category.

The good news is that scales are easily removable and making your own scales capable of covering the jimping isnt that hard. I already ordered a couple micarta scales which I’ll be using on mine. I’ll post pics once its done. As it is, it’s still very much usable as a survival or emergency blade but I’d rather do without the jimping for extended use sessions without gloves.
I just checked and the SCHF 38 Frontier is currently selling for $30.97. That’s a steal and wouldn’t hesitate to order a couple to beat around or to include in survival kits.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”