It’s quite possible this design makes obsolete the traditional rescue knife. Purpose built for emergency cutting of heavy cloth, webbing, leather, tactical nylon, and pretty much everything that will fit in the hook, the Model 5 of the Benchmade Rescue cutters is amazingly portable at just 2.2 ounces. And it small, taking up little room on your belt or LBE. Made of 440C steel, it is razor sharp and as Benchmade’s videos show, it’s quite capable of shearing apart all those materials with ease …

Sometimes a smaller survival/combat fixed blade is all that will fit into your kit. This CSK II knife weighs out at very light 12.6 oz total weight while still providing a 6″ 1095 steel blade that can perform survival tasks (with some limitations). This blackened 3/16″ thick blade should slice well and helps keep the blade light. But it probably won’t be the best heavy duty wood splitter… it lacks the width and blade length. The lighter weight blade is fast and light in hand and would be …

This blade totally chipped out during light duty use in the woods. The video is an excerpt from my “Wilderness Lean-To” series. As explained in that series some live saplings were needed in that remote area for construction. Limb stripping them prepared them for use in the shelter. Watch what happens with the CSK II…

The little Benchmade Nimravus Cub II (LIte) is impressive. The entire loadout weight on this diminutive blade is just 5.4 oz. The blade itself is only 3.5 ounces! Nevertheless the BM Nim Cub II gives us a perfectly sized 3.5 inch 154CM stainless blade that holds much utility and maybe a little tactical capability as well. The sharp jimping, deep fingerguard, and perfect balance help to solidly lock the Nim Cub in hand. The sheath is a homerun: super light, nylon so as not to absorb water …