Best Budget Survival Knife 2022 – [Cheap & Inexpensive]

1. Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Knife [31-001901]

The Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Knife was as the name suggests, a product that Bear Grylls partnered up with Gerber for. The knife is meant to have several key features that Bear Grylls suggests the average survivalist should have while in survival situations such as a built-in fire starter rod, a lanyard with an emergency whistle, even built-in openings for the knife to be tied around a rod and used as a makeshift spear.

The knife features a full tang and is built using a premium 9CR19MoV stainless steel designed specifically for the task of durability. The blade length is a good 4.8 inches, attached to a sturdy handle with a heavy enough pommel for hammering. This knife really is your all in one tool, complete with a priority of survival pocket guide by Bear Grylls himself, it’s something we’d recommend to any new survivalist especially when you consider how you get exactly what you pay for with this.

2. KA1214-BRK

The BRK fighting knife has long been used in the US army, which only stands as a testament to how splendidly built the knife is. A black utility knife constructed out of 1095 Cro-Van, the tool is great for survival conditions and in particular: self-defense. The 7-inch blade is incredibly easy to sharpen despite being partially serrated, and the Kraton G handle is a comfortable fit for any hand.

The pommel on the bottom is heavy enough to bash with, and the finger grooves around the handle of the knife offer you a firm enough grip to ensure it doesn’t slip out while you do so!  All in all, this knife is great as any type, an EDC/ Survival/ military and durable enough to last you for a long time.

3. KA-BAR Kukri

The KA-BAR Kukri is a heavy-duty machete constructed using a high carbon steel blade. The blade itself is a monstrous 11 and a half inches and is perfect for chopping and batoning, the full tang adds to how durable this knife is. The edge retention is great which is especially advantageous because the slight curve would make it difficult to sharpen it too much otherwise. And the cheap price on this thing is easily the best part about it, it’s a great knife that can last you for years if you take good care of it.

The ergonomic non-slip Kragon G handle is incredibly resistant to weather changes, water and stays comfortable in your grip for a long time.  It also comes with a leather/Cordura combination sheath and 2 retention straps that keep it very secure and offer an alternate carrying position.

4. CRKT Halfachance

The Halfachance Parang is a best budget fixed blade survival knife that was designed by the award-winning custom knifemaker Kem Onion of Kaneohe. He designed it to be tough and durable, with a thick carbon steel blade that has a strong black powder coating on it and a total blade length of 14 inches.

The ergonomic handle is specifically designed to minimize hand fatigue which is important and batoning or chopping through the wood all day with this bat, and comes with multiple lanyard holes for a variety of grip options if you want to shake things up a little. The blade even comes with a reinforced nylon sheath that has a great Velcro belt loop system that offers 2 different hanging positions. However, due to manufacturing issues and perhaps the long length of the blade itself, it has been reported to not be as durable as initially intended, with users complaining of it snapping right off after prolonged usage due to possible hairline cracks in the steel before being coated.

5. Schrade SCHF28

For a knife called “little Ricky”, this thing is hilariously larger than you’d expect, with the dimensions being a 7.9-inch blade length and an overall length of 14.1. The blade is crafted using the ever-reliable 8Cr13MoV titanium coat with a high carbon stainless steel and a black texture thermoplastic elastomer handle, it is almost ox-like in strength and can really take a hit. The full tang design only reinforces how durable this knife is. The knife is task flexible, offering a great range in the activities you could use it for including batoning, splitting, slicing, and self-defense.

This is one of the top inexpensive survival knives of 2022. The convenient thermoplastic belt sheath is great for carrying, and with the non-slip handle that comes with finger grooves and a finger choil, you’re sure to be confident in how secure your knife feels.

6. Schrade SCHF3N

The fully tanged Schrade knife comes with a blade length of 6.4 inches and a relatively lighter 1 pound weight which makes it great as a multi-purpose knife. The length is ideal for a whole range of tasks that you could use it for and provides enough balance in the handle for comfortable usage over prolonged time periods. The blade is constructed using the Schrade favorite- an 8Cr13MoV high carbon stainless steel with a grey micarta handle, the alloy offers great rust resistance and the thick spin lends it impressive durability.

The convenience of the ballistic sheath makes it easily accessible and great as an EDC knife. The added security of the finger choil and grooves along with jimping also make it incredibly secure to manage. Though certain avid survivalists have complained about the knife splitting or in some cases even entirely snapping off with little resistance, these are mostly manufacturing defects that the company responds quickly to and offers great customer service. And for the great price, it’s still definitely worth it.

7. Ontario 499

The Ontario Air Force Survival Knife is an issues survival knife that has been in use by both USAF and US Army flight crews since way back in 195 and is still used by the military. The fully tanged, 5 inches 1095 Carbon steel blade is perfect for durability and comes with a tough handle of leather rings along a leather sheath with a built-in enclosed pocket that has a sharpening stone. The bolt base on it is heavy enough for hammering and breaking in glass and it comes with a saw-toothed top specifically so you can saw through something as tough as aircraft skin and acrylic windows. Mention this model to just about anyone and they will tell you what a great companion it has been to them, it’s gotten plenty of historic nods from the military.

It’s a great budget-friendly and dependable EDC knife that you can use for just about anything, with its parkerized blade and serrated top edge. There’s a reason it’s been used by the military for over 60 years now, it’s good enough to handle anything that comes your way with ease.

8. Gerber Bear Grylls [31-000751]

The younger brother of the Ultimate Pro knife we talked about earlier, the Ultimate knife is an earlier version for anyone who wants a variant with serrations on it. It comes with a Ferrocerium rod that’s locked into the sheath, and a striker notch that’s built into the back of the knife blade itself, among plenty of other impressive features like a half-serrated blade towards the handle that’s ideal for cutting rope and a textured rubber grip that’s meant to completely non slip. The knife sadly isn’t fully tanged, but it’s around 3/4^ths the way there, this is something Gerber worked on for the Pro edition after plenty of feedback.

The stainless steel pommel at the base is definitely sturdy enough for hammering, and the military-grade nylon sheath is easy to draw from which is crucial for any good EDC. The high-quality high carbon stainless steel drop point blade is 4.75-inches long which makes it great for any survival activity you may want to use it for. All in all, it’s a great and budget-friendly knife, the Ultimate Pro is one that comes with far more features and fixes to this ones issues but at an increased price point, so if not having a full tang doesn’t bother you too much this is a great cheaper option that functions almost as well.

9. BlizeTec Survival Knife

The BlizeTec Knife is the ultimate survival knife. With a solid Stainless Steel build. This foldable knife is great for EDC. Despite the general issues of folding knives and being less durable than fixed blade ones, this one definitely holds its own. Blizetec is one of the best folding survival knives one can have.

This multi-purpose knife could be used for just about everything from hunting, camping and hiking and even as an EDC for any emergency situation you might come across, it’s conveniently small and portable (It only weighs 5.46 oz and measures 5 inches when closed!) because of this and doesn’t violate any survival knife carrying laws anywhere. It comes with a belt clip or nylon pouch.

10. Schrade SCHF9

Schrade SCHF9 manages to be a 12.1 inch long fixed blade survival knife that fits well into Schrades’ dependable and high-quality collection of knives. With a 6.4 inch long blade crafted using 1095 High Carbon Steel, the knife is sharp, great at edge retention and durable enough to keep hacking away at whatever you want it to. The ring textured thermoplastic elastomer handle gives you a good sturdy and comfortable grip allowing you to use it for a decent amount of time without any discomfort. The thumb jimping, finger choil, and front quillon just add to how secure the entire design is, with a ballistic belt sheath that comes with a removable storage pouch that makes convenient to carry around. The pouch is large enough to store multiple smaller tools like a mini torch and fire starters, which makes it incredibly useful.

And like all Schrade knives, it is also a low-budget knife. It comes with a lanyard hole and the blade is fully tanged which makes the pommel heavy enough to pound things down with, the thick spine of the blade also lends it additional strength.

11. Black multi-tool pocket utility knife

The Black multi-tool pocket knife is essentially the love child of a survival knife and the old fashioned Swiss Army knife. The knife features 14 unique tools to meet your every need, including a nail file, screwdriver, scissors, saw, fish scaler, etc. The 2.5-inch blade (made of 440 Stainless steel) isn’t much for survival enthusiasts, but the entire set is hard to deny as immensely useful. The blade is very sharp and also incredibly easy to sharpen, it can be used for any smaller tasks such as slicing and dicing, prepping food or cleaning out your catch, anything that could require a decent bit of precision.