As someone who owns 300+ knives I thought this would be a much much harder choice. But when i looked on my collection, only two stood out as even being real contenders. The thought of a prolonged survival situation and not some crazy video-game shooter scenario really left only one clear choice:
This is the Strider RW3, from their now-cancelled Rogue Warrior line. These were knives done as a collaboration between Strider Knives and "Demo" Dick Marcinko, who should need no introduction. (should he, a wikipedia search yields his impressive resume). The designs reflect Striders commitment to producing bomb-proof, hard-core tools for the modern warfighter accompanied by Marcinko's extensive experience in the special forces and many years in combat.
This particular piece is the one that most reflects Marcinko's input, and is best suited for serious survival. I had the pleasure of discussing it's somewhat unorthidox design with Commander Marcinko on two occasions before i finally picked one up and his words on the blade swayed me from skeptic to (almost horrified) believer. While our talks covered things such as what's truly essential in a combat and wilderness blade and what sections need stength, and in what dimensions, the part that may be most telling is this Quote from the commander on the blade that bears his name: "It's thin enough to slice like a machete in the bush, heavy enough you can use it as a hammer. I carried something not unlike this in Vietnam I'd had crudely made by a local. Big enough you can get a head clean off, or you can use the back to break the vertebrae, if you need to"
Cold words, but it speaks to the blades PURE efficiency as a tool for actual use, by someone who ACTUALLY used one.
The blade is a 9.5" long piece of 3/16" thick S30V, just over 2" wide at it's broadest. I sell, collect and use knives of all kinds and have for many years, and I almost exclusively use S30V. It was produced as a stainless alternative to Crucible's cutting-edge CPM3V. The CPM (Crucible Powdered Metallurgy) process uses an atomized spray of all the elements in the steel to yield much finer and controlled composition and grain, and better distributed carbides, which are important in a steel with a vanadium content this high. Instead of looking like a jumble of fibers under a microscope, CPM steels look like sand on a beach. It's THAT much finer. aside from allowing Chromium to distribute in a way that resists corrosion more efficiently, the CPM process allows harder, stronger, more wear resistant steels to polish much finer. In my experiences CPM steels also sharpen much more easily using hand stones than anything else that's comparible in edge retention.
The handles are canvas Micarta, another favorite material. Micarta is a phenolic resin that is incredibly strong, provides sure grip, and can be contoured and worked much like wood. This gives handles that are as user-friendly in SHAPE as many injection molded handles of weaker plastics while being as solid and durable as anything else on the market. G10 is technically stronger, and less absorbent, but is also slicker, and requires more machining to provide the grip that Micarta naturally does. Micarta also, by nature of it's higher porousness, expands slightly when wet; not enough that any warpage occurs, but such that it's surface area increases minutely due to the opening of those pores. Unlike any other material I've encountered, when wet, Micarta actually seems to be MORE grippy! The large "RW-3" milled into the handle of this knife looks cool and give the surface some texture and corners to provide even surer grip.
The sheath is a Kydex lined nylon affair, made by CSM gear, which gives good retention even what the jump-ready thumb snap isn't secured, and is nearly indestructible as well as water proof.
As part of "Grab this one knife" kit I have attached an SOE gear drop extender to keep the handle from gouging my side, and an SOE Magazine pouch loaded with a Ultimate Survival Blastmatch and Wetfire fire tinder in an Alok-Sak waterproof bag, a pair of Wells Lamont Goatskin driving gloves (the gloves of Indiana Jones), a SOG B61 Multitool, and a Photon Light. I intentionally loaded this pouch light so i can put forage and anything else i may have time to stuff into my pockets into it.
I was pleasantly amused to see a knife of almost identical design used in the 4th Rambo movie shortly after I picked this up, and considering the writer, David Morrell's connections with the knife industry, i think i can confidently say this is a design that not only do I personally find perfect for this task, but Dick Marcinko, David Morrel, and Rambo himself also find is just the blade to have "when you can only have one"!
Thanks
Andy
(PS: After the Rogue Warrior line was discontinued, I was again tickled pink to see this model re-packaged as a limited edition package with "Zombie Slayer" markings. Obviously the Strider crew thinks this is a pretty ideal TEOTWAWKI blade too!)
