Originally Posted by
RangerXanatos
In reality, a survival knife becomes any knife you have with you when your life suddenly becomes endangered to immediate harm, natural or manmade.
But what if you are planning on purchasing a knife specifically for survival scenarios? A purchased survival knife should be full tang, made of quality steel, able to take and hold an edge, stout, strong enough to take abuse and not fail under stress. This may include batoning, chopping, prying, and digging. This means that the survival knife will likely be medium to large in size, thick, heavy, and a jack of all trades, master of none. When I go out, I usually do not carry a knife like this. It is longer than I’m used to, thicker than I want, heavier than I would carry, and doesn’t performs specific tasks as well. So if I wouldn’t use it in settings I normally find myself in, what good is it? None!
Sow how about instead of “survival knives,” we look at “woods knives?” A woods knife would be a knife that you take along while spending small amounts of time out in the woods, say for hiking, hunting, or short camping trips. This type of knife should be a fixed blade, sharp, made of quality steel, able to take and hold an edge, and strong enough to not fail during normal use. These will normally be small to medium in size, and thinner and lighter than a survival knife. These knives may not baton, chop, pry, or dig as well as a survival knife, but they are much more likely to be carried by the average person. And as stated in the beginning of this post, a survival knife becomes the knife you have WITH you. Not the one you have back at home.
So instead of spending a large sum of money looking for the “best” survival knife that doesn’t nor ever will exist, find a woods knife that fits your needs and USE it! Find its strengths and weaknesses, how much stress it can tolerate without failing, how to take care of it in the settings you normally find yourself in, and how to use it for maximum performance. These skills are what you should focus on in case you do actually find yourself in a survival scenario.
Am I saying that you should not buy that tank of a knife that weighs two pounds? No. If you like that kind of knife, then go for it. But a knife you are familiar with its abilities, know how to use, and most importantly, will regularly carry with you, will be a much safer bet than a survival knife that you do not.
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