Selecting the Perfect Survival Knife

[analog_kidd]

How to Choose the Perfect Survival Knife: 6 Features to Look For | The Art of Manliness

Nice article on what to look for when selecting a survival knife.

[Guest MilSpec]

I would look at the Orntario RAT series dont pay the extra for the EESE same knives and I currently vhave 2 one the KaBar 2nd generation with Kydex on battlebelt and a SOG seal team eliete on my vest molle style dont get conned on You Tube by dumbass people chopping 2X4 treated lumber and ginving thier input I might have said a cold steel trailmaster or recon scout but dontbuyin san mai III brittle and you will never be able to get an edge on it sk5 carbon in those two only but good luck finding them check out The Blade Shop itsin knoxville and a mail order place but I think you can make an appointment I think the sell class III firearms Good luck

[Major Kong]

I would look at the Orntario RAT series dont pay the extra for the EESE same knives and I currently vhave 2 one the KaBar 2nd generation with Kydex on battlebelt and a SOG seal team eliete on my vest molle style dont get conned on You Tube by dumbass people chopping 2X4 treated lumber and ginving thier input I might have said a cold steel trailmaster or recon scout but dontbuyin san mai III brittle and you will never be able to get an edge on it sk5 carbon in those two only but good luck finding them check out The Blade Shop itsin knoxville and a mail order place but I think you can make an appointment I think the sell class III firearms Good luck

Holy run-on sentence Batman...

[Guest Scramasax]

Good short article. Basic and over built is best for a do anything compromise tool. You should also look at the environment that you will be in. I have proven to myself that I can get by with one blade. The best way to ackle this task is with a set. I always have a SAK in my pocket as well as a sturdier one hander. In the bush I have those plus a machete of one sort or another. I have been through several hundred blades in the search for the perfect knife/machete/saw/ax. Fortunatly haven't found my holy grail yet but have come close enough to do:). This is part of the fun for a collectoer/acumulator and user. It's alearning experience and a lot of fun.

Cheers,

ts

[Guest Broomhead]

I would look at the Orntario RAT series dont pay the extra for the EESE same knives and I currently vhave 2 one the KaBar 2nd generation with Kydex on battlebelt and a SOG seal team eliete on my vest molle style dont get conned on You Tube by dumbass people chopping 2X4 treated lumber and ginving thier input I might have said a cold steel trailmaster or recon scout but dontbuyin san mai III brittle and you will never be able to get an edge on it sk5 carbon in those two only but good luck finding them check out The Blade Shop itsin knoxville and a mail order place but I think you can make an appointment I think the sell class III firearms Good luck

Punctuation is our friend.

Amazon.com: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (9781592400874): Lynne Truss: Books

[JAB]

Interesting article but it brings to mind an article I read in a knife-related publication way back in my youth (sometime in the early '80s - when the Rambo movies had made 'survival knives' all the rage.) That older article presented a very different point of view.

In that article, the author made a good argument for the idea that a long, fixed blade knife would not be at hand if one were to find oneself in a true, sudden and unexpected 'survival' situation. The idea was that they are impractical - and possibly illegal - to carry in most situations. After all, the excrement is just as likely (maybe more likely) to strike the rotating air moving device while a person is at his or her desk at work or in some other situation where a medium or large fixed blade knife would be out of place. Even carrying such a knife in one's vehicle could result in potential legal trouble for us in Tennessee even for those of us who have a permit to carry a firearm on our person (makes absolutely no sense, to me) unless we can prove that we are currently engaged in some activity such as camping, hunting, etc.

Therefore, the jist of that old article was that one is much better off choosing their everyday carry pocket knife with an eye toward its potential use as a 'survival knife' rather than counting on the idea that they will have a 'survival knife' at hand when needed. IIRC, a quality Swiss Army style knife was mentioned as a good option. The article was written before the The Leatherman and other, similar pocket tools became ubiquitous but I would think they would fit the criteria, as well.

Of course if one is knowingly going into the woods, going fishing, camping or even just kind of hanging out in a rural area a fixed blade belt knife makes sense. Such a knife would also certainly outperform most any pocket knife for tasks such as the 'batoning' the above-linked article mentions. That said, for folks whose lives don't allow them to spend the majority of their time on their own property, in the woods, etc. or folks who spend more time on sidewalks than on wooded footpaths, a folding pocket knife is a lot more likely to be available when needed.

On a more personal note, I never got that Buckmaster knife I used to want. The cost (around $100 at the time, iirc) was prohibitive. I just looked on ebay and the ones on there were priced at $250 or so. I also read/heard in more than one place that the steel was a bit brittle and the points of the blades were apt to break off. Like the author of the article in the OP, however, I did have a 'Rambo' knife - a cheap, flea market knock-off made in Pakistan. I was enamored with the 'survival' kit stored in the hollow handle and ended up painting the blade black (we're talking black paint and a brush - not even spray paint - hey, I was just a stupid kid.) I even managed to get a fairly good edge on it. I think I still have the thing in a box, somewhere - and it still has that hideous, half-botched paint job.

Edited January 11, 2012 by JAB