The 5 Best Knives for WAR! Be Prepared!

US Iraq combat vet here. So, most of us carried 1 or 2 knives on mission or patrol. 1: a good folder. Small, light, and used for good utility. We didn't need to carve wood, but we needed to cut things open like mre boxes or cut cord, etc. 2: When on a sweaty mission, we may also carry a good fixed blade. This would be carried with a tactical purpose like self-defense or more survival type tasks in mind. The fixed blade wasn't an overly large, heavy knife. It was as compact and light as could possibly be while still being able to perform the required tasks. Such as the benchmade nimravus 140bk with a sheath, and we would wrap the handle with paracord. There are several that would work just as good, but this one specifically was more of a fad. But it handled the task.

The one piece of advice for you guys, don't bring a knife to a Oreshnik fight

If it has to be one... Price is no object. Your first options were impressive, but...Neither had a blackened blade. The Long Knife while understandable but, the 20 years of GWOT, the US guys generally gave weight and length objections to that Trailmaster length profile. I had thought of another long knife for my vest like the BMF that I have, but good luck drawing that even inverted on an Armor vest.

One thing not often thought of in each of your #1 Choice Knives was the shock absorption of their rubber handles. I have really gravitated towards that as I was introduced to Batoning and the SYKCO knives. Giving knives as gifts, I focus on that, as I want the user to be able to hold on to the knife in adverse use. BMF, CS Recon Scout, CS SRK, Kershaw Camp10, SYKCO pretty much covers this.

GWOT vets seemed to be happy with the 5-6" BL profile like the A1Pro and TRC that you both chose. Meanwhile, I know that I am bucking that length limitation with the SYKCO Regulator (bought in at $295 and is Unobtanium) in 52100 Ball Bearing Steel (crazy gorgeous drop point recurve from Resident Evil) or a Hogue EX-F01 7" in A2 Tool steel (which is now unobtanium), well, because of Green Handles and a Green Sheath and blackened blade. There is a 5.5" in all Green including the blade held in Reserve despite there being no rubber handles and only Green G10 Scales.

In considering the CS Recon Scout in CPM3V there was no Blackening so the SYKCO won, and if I went with the Blackened Blade, for the second vest why not just try out the Hogue A2 Steel 7" monster over an SRK (not being particularly interested in the offerings of Gerber)? So emotions and camo are still driving such decisions.

Multi Tool was an easy choice selecting the Gerber Micro Tool as it is not very big and heavy to be carried when the likelihood of needing it is remote. Being around when these Multi Tools first hit the market, all I learned is that they fell apart over time in Crew Chief Hands. I see them as disposable, and another source of weight, not that I have kept up with that Market at all.

As for the small Knife, fixed seemed to not really be a reasonable choice, so I would go directly to the Backup as a Folder CS AD10. But you guys keep going to Bushcraft. Just remembered in the fixed #2 on the War Belt rig was a Gen2 SOG Pentagon 5" Dagger (which is now unobtanium) in a custom Ukrainian Kydex sheath that I MARPAT Camo'd. That is still on the person when the Vest is off.

Your definition is in the scope of the Prime Minister's Statement is Societal Collapse/WoRoL. In such a case survival is just setting up house/Camp and needing the Chopper/Cleaver, Paring, Slicer, and Batoning knives. Anything else is a luxury.

Expecting the same here, rather than giving people a Hatchet, I have given away 3x Kershaw Camp10's as Chopper/Hackers after seeing a Chopper Challenge where it beat a custom knife 6x more expensive. 1095 steel should hold together and it is a huge Kukri. But that is not War i.e. combat, but survival, an important multi function is covered by the 10" Kukri Blade Design/Profile. Pair that with an A1Pro/TRC/SRK/EX-F01 5.5"/Buck 620 (I might consider the Gerber LMFII) in that vein, you have a quick draw defender and a large Gurkha Charge knife. All soft enough to strop in resharpening.

I have separate bugout bags here and there, and some of the collection made it to 2 of them. They are each a Black and MultiCam Gerber Rex Applegate OTS Automatics (both of which are now unobtanium). They are small, handy, and fast and not used in EDC, which if used in Self Defense might be arguably used against me by a Grand Jury. For those small messenger bags, that Design makes sense.

I have the Gerber Mark II 70's era, the Modern Mark II (cir. 2002 not impressed), Tac 2, and Walther P99 Daggers, but I do not really see them as Multi Capable for the Size and Weight position.
KaBar Gen2 D2 fell to the wayside, not sure why. Probably emotion driven decision like the SYKCO Resident Evil Regulator bought used and had already been driven through a log. So, that seems like a rational decision based upon a proven quantity.

For what you were focused on, 5 knives is a broad sweep to cover a lot of function, and no one of any of these knives were an apparent wrong choice for a domestic scene.

If these were to be knives you carry,
- a Multi Tool will be better when small (weight),
- a Combat at 5-6" is reasonable draw length and weight,
- a belt backup 3-5" Dagger or strong folder is reasonable, and;
- a heavy work Pack attached Machete/Kukri type seems reasonable for making Camp

God be with anyone in a wartorn country. We have it so good in the USA

I find a C4 shaped charge is the best at cutting most things.

Can NATO survive without the United States? We know that Ukraine can't. 😊
All love from Texas

Not a soldier? STFU about war knives.

Id have a Cold Steel Safemaker push dagger and a multi tool for sure.

The other knives would be based on terrain- urban, mountain, desert... etc.
And Id rather have 4 knives and a sharpener than 5 knives and no sharpener.

i cant find the TRC Mille Cuori in stock anywhere

Your BRK is thicker because it has liners.

New world order wants war

Guys! It's 2025 and DBK are still with us! There is hope for us yet.

Applegate fairbain for me

I thing the Bastinelli Binome would also be a good contender. Maybe you guys can test it once, it's a very nice knife (groeten uit NL😊)

As an active operative of the criminal police in the Czech Republic with 15 years of daily experience in the "urban jungle", my current choices are:

1.) CS SRK CPM 3V
+
2.) Leatherman Charge+ TTI

(+ Glock, 2x extra magazine, poncho, water, flashlight, ifak, s.e.r.e. kit, protein bar, jerky, chewing gum with caffeine)

I hope there won't be a war in the EU, however, I would supplement the current EDC with an AR15 + 7 magazines and choose a Recon Scout in CPM 3V instead of the SRK.

Good day friends. 💪🏻🇨🇿

extrema ratio

I can’t afford those knives.
I guess I’ll have to sit the war out.
Good luck, guys! 😂

I’d take the Cold Steel SRK in 3V for my one knife option

My choice is the Gurkha kukri plus made by cold steel. A thick solid blade what can be used for survival and combat. Combined with the recon hawk, recon tanto and the SRK. Good enough for me.

Greetings from Ukraine, guys. Thank you for the quality content. Regarding knives for the military/war, I think you should learn from the experience of our soldiers. There are a lot of subtitled videos on the web in which fighters with real experience of modern warfare share their advice. As of now, I am a civilian, but I help the armed forces to the best of my ability, and I am also interested in knife issues. In our realities, soldiers use two types of knives - folding and fixed, but all of them must meet three parameters: affordable price, reliability and functionality.

i think a saw should be part of your emergency kit also

Nothing over 5" blade. 4" preferable. Even a 4" blade will be 9-9.5" long with handle. It's a real PITA to fit a long fixed blade knife on your kit in a way that is easily accessible and unobtrusive.

The UN should be disbanded. They’re all warmongers! NATO too.

Action bag is just perfect 😂

I'd take a look at the glock knives if you're on a budget. It might not be the best cutting tool but its extremely durable and easy to sharpen.

My four: leatherman tti, lionsteel m5 in cpm3v, bahco swedish bayonet and gransfors woodsman axe. That should cover most situations.

No katana?!

If you guys know how to fix an srk cold steel loose handle plz lmk

Multi tool, entrenching tool,small axe.

What about Peltonen M95 ranger puukko,mille cuore is great knife but it's 5 times more money than Peltonen.

Personally, I wouldn't use a clean blade or one with a polished or mirror finish. I would use something more sober so that it doesn't generate reflections or something similar. The Glock knife seems like a good option to me.

American M7 Bayonette, you need a combat knife, a t-guard always, and reliable. Not fancy expensive crap never tested in combat.

would always prefer a Multitool and/or Swiss army knive with locking blade, why? because we're at war so i'd try to stay low profile, need something to open cans, fix screws, etc and i should look innocent once i'm stopped by the MPs... cutting/stabbing/slicing would not be that higly required. So I't go with my Leatherman Surge (and some long hacksaw-blades) a Vic with Scissors, blade, pincer, maybe saw as well, a solid fixed knive like the F1, and a true machete like like e.g. the Fiskars X3A... and the 5th spare place I'd go with either a super consealable knive like razorblade taped to my body, or a "fun" knive like a custom made Tracker Knive

I have a position where I work a lot in the woods detached from supplielines and vehicles.
I use a gerber strongarm. And a small neck knife for food.
Everything from a F1 to a A1 is a good size. (I also have a multitool)
If it's a pure wilderness survival exercise, i sometimes use the trail master for fun.

If I'm in fullwil

Since 2008 I carry Hultafors GK1 on my PC, leatherman Charge titanium on belt, small hachet in backpack with Fiskars saw. I tied ot different ones but those still remains my go to blades. Skrama is on shoppinglist tho.

Normal humans would find themselves well served by a Mora Bushcrafter or Garberg. Neither one are made of super steels, but both have very well proven track records. Best of all both can be purchased by normal people without breaking the bank and will give a lifetime of solid hard use.

I’ll go out on a limb and say the stainless version is preferable to the carbon steel Moras because most people aren’t interested in the maintenance to keep up with the carbon knives. I have the stainless steel Garberg and I’m very happy with it.

Great video guys! I would say:
Chopper
Carver
Multi tool
Fighting
Do everything carry everywhere

cold steel leatherneck and multitool the rest is gun and ammo

All choices seem good, you could also easily replace them. It doesn't have to be a heavy brick of a blade, and trust me weight will be a factor, especially if we're talking War, Combat, defense against man or beast, etc.. the faster you can get your knife out and stab & slice the better, the Cold Steel SRK in CPM3V would be one of my picks for sure, the Demko Armiger 4 would be good for smaller chores or a backup blade. A good Machete would be very useful too. The CS Recon Scout in CPM3V would be a great choice for all around everything in a Survival or Combat scenario. You could go on all day, several good choices imo.

Happy to be here 🎉

In the news yesterday they actually had a bodycam video of a Ukrainian guy getting killed with a knife by a Russian soldier, after they first had a gun fight. Surprised they actually showed it and the two guys actually said goodbye to each other afterwards as the Ukrainian was left to die from his knife wound. Then apparently the Ukrainian pulled his grenade pin but that didn't finish him off so he apparently asked the Russian to do so. Yesterday in the UK Daily Mail. You even saw the Russian's knife. Pretty shocking.

is there any chance you could make a video of the putting together of you're 3 day survival kit ?

The Cold Steel Spetsnaz shovel would be useful.

THE ONE factor that a dagger has in its favor is that it doesn't matter how you grip it, the edge will always be able to cut. This becomes most critical in extreme close quarters combat when you are most likely to need the blade in an ice pick grip. Whether in a forward edge slash or a stab down into the clavicle and drag the blade out through the ribs, a dagger eliminates your single edge alignment issues, no matter which hand is used.
Otherwise, daggers pretty much suck for field tasks - so don't think of them that way. I heard a US Marine Recon veteran refer to his Benchmade SOC-P dagger as his "Joy Stick!"
Plunge it into the jugular notch (Hollow of the throat at the top of the sternum) and yank it any way you want your enemy to go as the blade macerates the inside of the throat & neck.
Daggers are for combat - not field craft and bushcrafting.
They are for deadly close work.
That's it.
Great show as always.
Corpsman, OUT!

If you can have access to 5 you can have access 10, what kind of hypothetical choice are you making? I say that with respect, not just being a hard ass. How about a BRK Bravo 1.25 and a multi-tool call it a day? Any choice is a compromise.

I think Mark Rutte will have a hard time after January 20. Possibly gets replaced and unemployed. I think Mark Rutte is just another NATO mistake just like funding Ukraine. Of course it's a good thing to have a 72 hour supply in the house but I have plenty of kitchen knives and a toolbox. I was a Dutch Army officer and all we got issued was an SAK. It was technically even illegal to carry other knives in the military unless issued. I do remember all stuff we had to carry was heavy af. But I'll go along with the scenario that I had to go to war again and had to pick 5. It will still be my old SAK (sentimental value and last resort), Leatherman Rebar, Fallkniven R2 Scout, APO1 or small machete. That's 4. As a number 5 I would choose my very lightweight, concealable, not detected by metal detectors, small sharp ceramic blade plastic handle knife to cut the zip ties when captured. But a fun video.

The best combo ive seen where weight matters with multi uses. Is the skrama 240, the silky bigboy, SAK Ranger(small saw and a 4" stainless steel locking blade). You still want a fixed small to mid fixed blade. And i landed on the Falkniven S1 for the 6" convex blade. Because it being stainless and laminated steel. But still thinking about dropping it and going for a cheap mora for the weight saving.

Do not fight for NATO

Im taking an esee junglas,spartan george v14 dagger victorinox workchamp and maybe squeeze in a fallkniven idun

Its gonna sound funny but Morakniv would be nice to have