Survival 101: Guide To Choosing The Right Survival Knife

Aaron Spuler is a firearms enthusiast and recreational shooter. Follow more or his work at The Weapon Blog

Have you heard of the saying survival of the fittest? Well, it is true! You will only survive, if, you have the goods to back it up. Life can be unpredictable, and, throw challenges at you out of the blue. This is true, especially, if you have a knack to venture out into the unknown! If you have that habit, then you need to have a trusty side kick on your outdoor adventures, because as we said, disasters can strike at anytime.

Your survival knife can be the only sidekick to help you survive the adverse situations and get back home in one piece! Did you know that there are several kinds of survival knives? There are a variety of combinations that you can choose from to create the perfect survival knife.

How do you choose a Good Survival Knife?

The most famous movie character, who made survival knives popular was (drum roll please) — Rambo! Now, you are no Rambo! Is a police unit or gang of international criminals on your tail? The answer is most probably no! You need the help of a knife that will help with survival tasks. So, you need to concentrate on the aspects that create the perfect knife.

1. Blade of the Knife:

The options that you have are between fixed or folding, and straight or serrated. The most common type of blade for survival knives is the fixed blade. The fixed blades are stronger than a pocket knife. The folding knives cannot be used for the tough tasks like opening cans, cutting wood and hammering to name some. A folding knife is good, but not as a survival knife.

Now, coming to the edge of the blade, it completely depends on your preference. The only thing we can say is that, serrated knives are difficult to sharpen. So, you could use a partially serrated knife! In this way, you get the best of both worlds.

  

2. Size of the Knife:

One thing for sure is that never choose a small knife. Always go for the bigger knives. Just one thing, the bigger knives cannot be used for certain precision jobs like deboning fish or prepping meat. So, the best option would be to go for a knife that is 9 to 11 inches long.

3. Tang of the Knife:

There are numerous options here as well, but always go for the full tang knives. A full tang knife means that it is created from a single piece of metal. A full tang knife is more powerful and does not break easily! A knife with a partial tang always has the probability to come loose and the blade falling off the handle!

4.  Point of the Knife:

Never buy a rounded tip knife. You should always go for a knife that has a sharp pointed tip. It serves as a great counter attack knife against man and beast! It can also be efficiently used to create a spear.

 

5. Handle of the knife:

The handle can be made from a variety of materials, like plastic, bone, wood, horn, rubber and leather. Rubber handles are the best as they provide a good grip, even when wet. Bone and horn look good, but these can become slippery easily. Wood and leather also look good, but being natural materials might degrade over time! Make sure that the handle is strong and a good fit in your hand.

6.  Material of the Blade:

You can either go for a carbon steel blade, stainless steel blade or a Damascus steel blade. All of these are equally good. Carbon steel and Damascus steel blades are sharp and easier to sharpen. Stainless steel blades stay sharper for a longer time, but a little difficult to sharpen, compared to the other blade materials.

The other aspects include blade hardness, pommel of the knife and many more! The best thing to do would be to call on the help of experts. Find a reputed knife store, and, talk to them to help you find the perfect survival knife! Once they are done with sharing their tips, you will truly have a knife that can conquer it all.

---

Having been on the Perkin Knives team for several years as a marketing executive, Billy has been part of a great many top-of-the-line projects. Not only has he personally contributed to the service in every way, but he also happens to be one of the most revered members of Perkin Knives.

Source: http://www.weapon-blog.com/2018/06/survival-101-guide-to-choosing-the-right-survival-knife/