Ive found several of the Air Force survival knives and have used one very roughly and still going strong. think it was made by Camillus. For light jobs the Mora knives are pretty decent and razor sharp.
Beckers aren't bad, but if you could find a used Swamp Rat of some kind that would be awesome.
Scrap Yards are great knives, but you can't hammer anything with the butt since they have resiprene handles. Then again, they're tough as hell knives so you could use the spine as a hammer
IMO this isn't even a contender. there is so much better out there for the money and much better warranties. I would highly recommend the scrap yard 711 or esee 5 or 6. or even some of the beckers.
What do you want out of a "survival" knife? Do you want it out of carbon steel to help make a spark? Are you going to use it to split wood? If you were taking it overseas the knife may need to be a weapon and could qualify for a survival knife. What are you looking for?
I have what I call a survival knife and its setup for an extended outdoors use knife. To be completely honest though I haven't beaten on that knife enough to really test it yet.
I will share what I have. Others might not agree but I think they are good choices.
If you only have $100 to spend and want a good knife for batoning or chopping I recommend a Black Jack Grunt - Blackjack Grunt BJ-GRUNT - New Graham Knives
THere are many places you can get these from reasonable cheap. About $20 - 25 is a normal price for these knives. Even with batoning through a cinder block the edge doesn't roll. But not very useful as a prybar.
Looks like I am still in the stone age with knives, I have had a Ka Bar for a good 15 years, large knife anyways. It's got me through a lot, not saying there aren't better options out there but it's still working for me.
the older kbars are much better than the new tawain and china junk. they are decent knives but there is just better out there as a survival knife imo. zero tolerance, esee, kershaw, customs, busse, swamp rat, scrap yard, tops, ect ect ect.
blind horse makes a solid knife and most models can be had under 100, their bigger ones under 150.
Himalayan Imports Khukris are amazing for the money, mostly under $150 brand new with sheath, khukri small blade (apple cutter/letter opener) and blade straightener steel.
If you are wanting a functional survival blade for around this geographic location I would recommend looking at a BHK PSK, ESEE 5/6, Scrapyard SOD or 711, Swamp rat ratweiler camp tramp or ratmandu, Busse NMSFNO Sarsquatch DSF, or a 15-17" HI khukri under 20 oz. model would be at your descretion but the WWII, AK, Bonecutter, Tamang, or BAS are some awesome designs just to start looking at.
Agreed - the BK2 is good for under $100, but I got the ESEE 5. But, you can also get the ESEE 4 which is a good all around knife for around $100, I think. Talk to Knife Lady.
If any of the other ESEE knives are as good as my edc Izula, that would be my choice. I cut down an inch and a half sappling at my mothers house in one cut. That was nice :-)
Don't limit yourself on a good knife, if you do...you will probably wind up buying the cheaper and more expensive choices.
No doubt that quality has went down the toilet with Gerber, but they still make some decent stuff like the Trident, Mark II, Applegate folder, Hinderer collab, etc ......