When you begin searching for the right knife, you may be overwhelmed with the choices, and wonder how to decide. First, ask yourself what you expect the knife to do. Is it for hunting or do you want one in your emergency survival kit. One quality knife can perform both tasks, and the same knife can be for personal protection if that is also a concern. However, so-called combat knifes, or fighting knives are not suited for skinning game and chopping wood in a survival situation.
There is not any good reason to purchase a working knife that is not what is a called a full tang knife unless it is for display only. Full tang means the knife is one solid piece of steel from the tip of the knife through the entire handle. Hollow handled knives can be used to store survival items but essentially that is all they are good for because the handle can easily be broken off.
Leather wrapped and wooden handles look great but they absorb moisture and wear quickly in extreme conditions. Look for hard rubber handles or molded polymer. Avoid blades sharpened on both sides because these knives have a weak tip and are hard to use for cutting or chopping. Additionally you can cut yourself if your thumb slips while applying pressure to cut through material.
Quality knives typically offer two types of metals, high carbon steel and stainless steel. High carbon steel is harder than stainless but does not have the rust and corrosion resistance nature of stainless steel. Once sharpened carbon steel will hold its edge better, which is important for skinning game. However, they do rust if not protected so water and in particular saltwater will quickly corrode the blade.
Stainless being a softer metal will dull faster but the metal can be sharpened easily even in the field. The standard choices for stainless steel are 440 stainless which is slightly harder that 420, but both hold up well in any situation. High carbon steel knives are chosen when skinning animals because the knife will not lose its sharp edge easily.
Knives used in the field have to be tough because you cannot have multiples of knives for various jobs so one knife has to do it all. You may have to pry open a can one day and chop small pieces of wood the next and the knife must not suffer from the tasks. A knife that is not full tang will not be up to the job and the handle will break off leaving you in a possibly dire situation.
The backside will be hammered on with wood blocks or even other metal to drive the blade through material. Keep the length between six and nine inches for handling all tasks to include detail work such as trimming small pieces of wood or even cutting up food. Wooden, bone and hollowed handled knifes will not hold up under this type of work.
Do not overlook the significance of the handle as discussed earlier hard rubber or polymer is recommended because they will grip when wet and chemicals or animal fat will not affect the handle, though it may make it harder to grip effectively. Saw blades and serrated edges may be ideal for some jobs but you will not necessarily need either of these features in a field knife and serrations on the back of the blade may make it harder to use a flint stick or Ferro rod. Additionally, once dulled the serrations do require specials tools and skills to sharpen.
There is not any good reason to purchase a working knife that is not what is a called a full tang knife unless it is for display only. Full tang means the knife is one solid piece of steel from the tip of the knife through the entire handle. Hollow handled knives can be used to store survival items but essentially that is all they are good for because the handle can easily be broken off.
Leather wrapped and wooden handles look great but they absorb moisture and wear quickly in extreme conditions. Look for hard rubber handles or molded polymer. Avoid blades sharpened on both sides because these knives have a weak tip and are hard to use for cutting or chopping. Additionally you can cut yourself if your thumb slips while applying pressure to cut through material.
Quality knives typically offer two types of metals, high carbon steel and stainless steel. High carbon steel is harder than stainless but does not have the rust and corrosion resistance nature of stainless steel. Once sharpened carbon steel will hold its edge better, which is important for skinning game. However, they do rust if not protected so water and in particular saltwater will quickly corrode the blade.
Stainless being a softer metal will dull faster but the metal can be sharpened easily even in the field. The standard choices for stainless steel are 440 stainless which is slightly harder that 420, but both hold up well in any situation. High carbon steel knives are chosen when skinning animals because the knife will not lose its sharp edge easily.
Knives used in the field have to be tough because you cannot have multiples of knives for various jobs so one knife has to do it all. You may have to pry open a can one day and chop small pieces of wood the next and the knife must not suffer from the tasks. A knife that is not full tang will not be up to the job and the handle will break off leaving you in a possibly dire situation.
The backside will be hammered on with wood blocks or even other metal to drive the blade through material. Keep the length between six and nine inches for handling all tasks to include detail work such as trimming small pieces of wood or even cutting up food. Wooden, bone and hollowed handled knifes will not hold up under this type of work.
Do not overlook the significance of the handle as discussed earlier hard rubber or polymer is recommended because they will grip when wet and chemicals or animal fat will not affect the handle, though it may make it harder to grip effectively. Saw blades and serrated edges may be ideal for some jobs but you will not necessarily need either of these features in a field knife and serrations on the back of the blade may make it harder to use a flint stick or Ferro rod. Additionally, once dulled the serrations do require specials tools and skills to sharpen.
About the Author:
It is important to have a good knife in your bug-out bag for disaters. To gain more knowledge more about disaster preparation skills visit The Smart Preppers Website.
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