Prepper Essentials: The Survival Knife

If the American pioneers who settled this nation needed survival knives, you can be very certain that EVERY PREPPER also needs to have a quality camping/survival knife in their “bug-out bag”. 

By “bug-out bag,” I am referring to a quality, top-of-the-line outdoor expedition backpack. You may have to live out of your backpack for  very long time under a martial law type scenario. Somehow, a WALMART cheap day pack is simply not going to take good care of you long term when it all comes down.

I recommend going to a quality outdoor shop near you, especially ones like GANDER MOUNTAIN or CABELA’S, DICK’S SPORTING GOODS  or REI that stock quality outdoor supplies. Brands such as OSPREY or GREGORY MOUNTAIN or NORTH FACE will work very well for the prepper’s basic needs. 

I know, because I have owned a quality backpack in all three brands. I have lived out of a backpack 6 months in Germany, several months in Israel, and of course while traveling all across America for years now. Having the right backpack to carry and live out of is essential to comfort and survival on the road.

But now, back to the subject of KNIVES.

Having lived in an Eskimo village in the Arctic circle for a year, I understand that importance of having a quality outdoor camping/survival knife. My CASE four interchangeable blades knife (made in the USA) proved essential in Alaska.

People were continually bringing me moose, caribou, arctic hare and countless Alaskan salmon to  process by hand for the freezer. My CASE (brand) four blade knife proved invaluable when it came to processing by hand all this meat.

Sometimes I needed a blade for sawing. Skinning and processing wild game often requires different knife blades for various surfaces, etc.

This version of the CASE knife is nice because it weighs less than four separate knives, yet provides four different cutting blades. Excellent long term survival knife for backpacking and bug-out bags. I personally own two CASE 4-blade knives, and may even invest in a third. You will always need extras and they are great for barter and the back market in the future, because EVERYONE NEEDS SURVIVAL KNIVES just to make it in an emergency,especially a long term emergency.

I also have a quality BUCK FOLDING KNIFE (made in USA) with single blade, just to fall back upon. They are sturdy quality products that will last for a long time and hold their blade well.

There are all kinds of knife sharpeners available for the prepper and camper. The simplest and most convenient is this version below, available at most outdoor shops like REI. You simply draw your knife blade through each slot. One side is for coarse, the other is for fine sharpening. Very simple! And this kind is very inexpensive as well.

Some may prefer the older oil and sharpening stone method. I have both kinds of knife sharpeners on hand.

For more serious and intensive skinning and processing of wild game on a regular basis, there are special cutlery knife kits that greatly aid in skinning wild game and processing it.