Hands down, Ratmandu. Now, when my DMDC arrives, that'll probably change

But for the moment-- RMD with OKUDEN sheath wins. I has shown itself to be unstoppable in the field, and I know there are half a dozen ways I could conceal it in an urban environ

Cool suggestions though. Just a thought though... for those of you who mentioned knives like the S6, basic 7, and other large knives... how would you conceal those? I've carried my hissatsu concealed before in a mercHarness type rig, is that what you all would do? Dundee rig?

pics would be swell

As you can see, I've carried my DFLE in public. I just stuck it in my (very deep) pocket. I don't have to conceal though. That's what I like about Indiana, any size blade, open or concealed.

You guys act like its so hard to conceal the larger blades, but compare it to a 1911. They are concealed daily by the 10's of thousands. I have no problems concealing a Glock 35 9 months out of the year. If its only 1 blade and I have to have it already, I'm going with my hell razor. I could always thin out the edge at the base for slicing work and leave the rest the way it is for chopping/slashing/thrusting.

And who says you really have to conceal it? As long as I had ammo, me and the blade wouldn't be getting anywhere near anybody anyway unless it was to help them, which implies I've already decided they aren't a threat. The thread indicates SHTF so its about survival, not everyday business as usual.

IWB (inside waist band) carry will conceal most of your pistol/knife/mags etc inside your pants with a shirt or jacket concealing the grip area. It's not the most comfortable way to carry something, but it isn't that bad either. I just measured it and my Glock 35 goes 6" below the top of my belt with a slide thickness of about 1.27" - 5 times as thick as a blade. Dark colors and large patterns will "print" the least.

My fantasy blade for this would be an INFI camp tramp or skelly-tang FSH with cord-wrap or Res-C overmold.

I think I asked back awhile if Res-C is electroshock proof. We decided that it was still rather unsafe as there was still contact with the lanyard hole. I also believe that we never came to a final conclusion if Res-C was able to provide enough resistance to prevent electroshock.

If you put a survival knife in this perspective than only the LMFII would be the best choice. I wouldn't try with any other knife, other than an LMFII. I also don't see the point of cutting a live wire unless you're trying to evade someone. Something.... follow : "If it can bleed, we can kill it." (well I guess that works for someone, too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> )

However, for a wilderness survival knife which is what is most common associated with survival any Busse Kin with a 6 - 10 inch blade length.

AK-47 would work for a hypothetical apocalypse involving the masses turning into blood-thirsty zombies. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I think the ruck or AK would both be great. Like RainWalker said, if you need something small you can make it from local materials.

the length gives them great chopping power, and the narrow width keeps them as light as or lighter than an FBM with a much greater stand-off length and thrusting geometry

AK-47 ultimate blade.

The added length gives good chopping ability and range.
Depending on how you sharpen it, one could have two different levels of sharpness.
Good for crowd control.
Bigger sheath allows more stuff to be attached to it.

I wasn't advocating cutting live wires as a hobby in my earlier post, but accidents happen! When I managed it (oops!) I was using a British Army Golok machete with an insulating tape and bicycle inner-tube handle wrap so I was just surprised not zapped.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif" alt="" />

Initial thoughts were towards blades of at least 6inches length such as the Scrapper 6 for duties both urban and bush; but many a mention of the knife also needing to be an EDC got me thinking that a smaller, easier carried/concealed blade, especially around town, would make life easier in regard not been targeted as a potential threat by any concerned citizens or for law enforcement officers.

Since neither the time nor place for the knife's deployment is a known factor, continual carry is critical and as such it seems that a smaller blade length would be the way to go with it always being close to hand.

Current choices by rank of blade length are Busse's Game Warden and Cultellus, plus the Off & Heavy Duty series. The Scrap Yard Street Scrapper 4 & Busse Meaner Street are next, and final choices would be Swamp Rat's Howling Rat & Howling Fat at 4.5inches.

The best survival knife is the one you are carrying at the time of need, rather than the best designed survival knife left somewhere else because its difficult to tote around.

+ 1.
But it's difficult to say.

The best? The very best?!? You are killing me here asking me to pick ONE but I'll do it.

Up until last week I can easily say that it was my Camp Tramp in Tan Res-C with a custom DC finish. But then I received my ASH1 LE in the mail... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> The ASH1 LE feels perfect in my hand and has tremendous balance. Also, INFI is tougher than nails and corrosion resistant. Ask me again in a week, but I think if I had to pick just one, the Tramp has been bumped to #2 with the Ratweiler and S6 close behind.

If I have the luxury of adding to my main knife here's my current picks:
Pocket - Strider SNG, tough and easy to have with you all the time
Necker - Rat Warden, a great backup slicer
Big'un - Dogfather LE, for heavy splitting/batoning

Give me that setup and I'm more than happy.

I kept it to knives I already own.
It would be my original DM, second choice would be my YGCG, although they may reverse once I get a sheath for the YGCG