Its tough to pick one blade to be everything for survival. Survival requires many tasks and you really have to think it out, not to mention carry it around if your are out in the woods for an extended period of time. One thing to remember though is that a large blade can do small blade tasks (abeit not as easily) but a small blade cannot do large blade tasks. you won't be chopping up logs for a supply of firewood with your 3" blade. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
That being said, I have to think of the major tasks I will encounter and those include chopping wood for fires, building shelter, widdling and carving, cleaning game, defense and bush craft/clearing brush, etc. There are some others, but I feel these are the major ones. Some might include scraping and digging and hammering as well. One knife for all of these isn't an easy choice but it is possible I believe to get one that would do most of it well. I would also consider comfort, weight, size, ease of carry and other non-task related things.
So, my best go at a design for a one-knife-fits-all-tasks survival knife would be as follows:
9 inch blade - big enough to chop and clear brush but a little less weighty than a 10-12 inch blade.
Blade thickness would be 3/16" - Slightly lighter than 1/4" and still beefy enough to hammer and chop. Also makes clearing and other tasks easier than a thicker blade would.
Full flat grind most likely...I really like and prefer full convex but its harder to maintain in the field and slicing and certain other tasks are just easier with a v grind. I suppose a full convex blade with a V bevel edge would work great so I may choose that one.
Full tang handle for strength with exposed pommel. Micarta handles for durability and strength and I would contour them and size them for comfort. I would carry a rubber tape wrapping for the handles for times when I need extra protection/shock absorption. Lanyard holes are a must. handle must be grippy but not so much that it eats up your hands during hard use.
Steel - This is a tough one...Infi would be my choice of the Busse steels (or all steels for that matter), but if we had to choose a readily available steel then I would go with D2. With good HT D2 is strong and also easy to maintain. 5160 would also be a good one due to its strength. The stainless steels like S30V and others are just too hard to put an edge on with a stone so I would not choose them.
I would include a choil and thumb ramp with jigging, for comfort and control (personal preference).
Blade shape would be very much like the NMSFNO or similar - drop point with handle only slightly tilted down for control and good handling when chopping.
I have made about 6 knives now and typing this up has me interested...I may make a batch of these that I am describing to see how they go. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Only issue is I don't think I have any D2 - only S30V and O1.
Thanks for the post!
