Choosing a Survival Knife

[hoosierarcher]

hoosierarcher I'm not quite sure I agree with you on the knife deal. I'd hate to think I'd have to skin a squirrel with a 12 or 14" bowie. But that's just my opinion

To skin a squirrel you only need to make a few cuts; and none of them are to seperate hide from meat. So it wouldn't be too bad with a big knife. by the by I pretty much define big as 7" and up to 12" anything over that is a machete or kukri and those are more than knives.
I personally carry several knives all the time. I'm adding a 3.5" carbon steel Mora military bushcraft knife to my belt this month. I'm gonna put it through its paces to be sure.

[Ole WV Coot]

Did I say I was an expert? Cause if I did I do apologize, I'm no expert and there is always more to learn when it comes to knives, survival, and things of that nature. I just threw in what I knew for sure to be true. Sorry for defending my post, I normally just take what's said and learn for it, but I felt defensive today, hell, I have no idea why.

Forget it. I sometimes get the feeling that I am either dazzled by brilliance or baffled with BS. It's tough to tell who is who unless you know something about the subject and it's practical use so I guess it's time for me to back up.

[TomChemEngineer]

Hi VThompson, Mountaineer native here.
OK, like another guy in this thread, I gotta cast my vote on the KaBar with the leather washer handle, full tang, 1095 high carbon steel blade (that is easy to sharpen and keeps a good tight edge), and the hammer-like butt end for driving tent posts and nails. The leather sheath model is fine, not great, but fine, and if the sheath is not robust enough, it can be wrapped with paracord to make it tougher. I don't like the plastic sheath options for the KaBar, but that is just because I have never used one and I'm kinda old school. Same for the stainless steel KaBar blades. I'm sure they are great for saltwater service, but I just don't care for stainless blades bacause I think they are a little harder to sharpen. The sharpness probably lasts longer on stainless, but like i say, I'm kinda old school and the old KaBars are my personal choice. I've cut wood, opened cans, struck fires, skinned game, used them as table cutlery, etc with them, but I'm sure other blades will do the same things. When I find something that works as I want it to work, I tend to stay with it.

[Rick]

TomCE - Just a word of caution. You might not want to use that knife as a hammer. You can use a rock for that kind of work. Better to break a rock than a new Ka-Bar.

[graffixx808]

i agree my Gerber LMF II is such a sweet blade has not let me down.. i can do anything i need or want to do with it.. it's little brother- the prodigy by gerber is also very nice got both

[graffixx808]

weird it jumped posts by itself.....huh?

[graffixx808]

i agree my Gerber LMF II is such a sweet blade has not let me down.. i can do anything i need or want to do with it.. it's little brother- the prodigy by gerber is also very nice got both

[Oasis de Tucanes]

In the rainforest I carry a 14 inch machete on my hip.
In the dry tropical forest I carry a Fallkniven Odin.
In my pocket there is always a Bucklite.
In my pack is a Gerber Multi tool.

[crashdive123]

In the rainforest I carry a 14 inch machete on my hip.
In the dry tropical forest I carry a Fallkniven Odin.
In my pocket there is always a Bucklite.
In my pack is a Gerber Multi tool.

How about cutting your way on over to the Introduction section http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14 and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

[finallyME]

I know that most people carry more than one knife with them whenever they take to the woods, I know that I do. But, whenever you are choosing a survival knife, what features do you look for in a knife?

I look for full tang carbon steel. Kabar uses 1095 mostly, but their D2 is better I hear. A good high carbon is all that is needed. I would pass on 440 stainless. Let's see, I would also want to be able to sharpen it in the field. I would also want it to be able to split SMALL logs and do some wittlin'. I don't need it to cut down trees or large branches. I need it to carve stuff with. I prefer a drop point, but others work. Pick a tip that won't break easily.

[Permaculturist]

I carry 3 knives everywhere, cause 1 just doesn't do everything I need. The big one, that I beat the crap out of daily, splitting wood etc is this one http://www.nraknives.com/products/pr...px?model=12500 . Love that knife. Super comfortable, takes all the abuse I can throw at it, stays sharp, and carves nice big fat sparks off my fire steel every day, lighting my cook fire on the first or at most, second swipe. The stock sheath sucks, but luckily my buddy makes really good hard plastic sheaths http://nbtnoel.mnsi.net/ . The fire steel and DMT stone is attached to the knife sheath, so I can't lose anything, which is good for me.

The Leatherman Surge.. well, enough said there.

Then I have this one http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=60 clipped to my front pocket because I can't be strapped in Canada, and you just never know when you might need it.

d

[Rick]

That stainless steel knife throws sparks, huh?

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

Stainless doesn't throw sparks at all.

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

To skin a squirrel you only need to make a few cuts; and none of them are to seperate hide from meat. So it wouldn't be too bad with a big knife. by the by I pretty much define big as 7" and up to 12" anything over that is a machete or kukri and those are more than knives.
I personally carry several knives all the time. I'm adding a 3.5" carbon steel Mora military bushcraft knife to my belt this month. I'm gonna put it through its paces to be sure.

To skin a squirrel you make one cut around the torso and cut the nuts out...

[Rick]

You, uh, reckon the girl squirrels know about this?

[Permaculturist]

Stainless doesn't throw sparks at all.

You sure about that? I'd like to know what's lighting my cook fires every day then.

d

[Rick]

So would I. But he's right. Carbon throws sparks.

[crashdive123]

I've gotten some stainless knives to throw sparks. Albeit not great. What that tells me is that the knives I have used to do that have impurities in them. When I've tried that with known, good quality stainless - no sparks.

[lucznik]

Stainless doesn't throw sparks at all.

You sure about that? I'd like to know what's lighting my cook fires every day then.

d

This has been a topic of discussion before and I will reiterate here that I have managed to get sparks from every one of my stainless-steel knives. This would include:
420 stainless - Buck Alpha Hunter - rubber handle w/ guthook, Gerber Profile, etc.
440 stainless - Buck Lite Folder, Ducks Unlimited Folders, and a few other no-name knives that are so marked.
ATS-34 - Buck Alpha Hunter - rosewood scales.
I even get sparks from my various stainless steel Victorinox SAKs though I don't know exactly what type of stainless they use. So too with my Gerber Multi-Tool.

The number and quality of sparks thrown by these knives is similar to that which I can produce from the strikers that came with the firesteels or from other "carbon" blades. The presence of a "sharp" (meaning not rounded) edge somewhere along the back of the blade (or [heaven forbid] the blade edge itself) seems to be the most important consideration.

As a practical matter it should be noted that all steels (Yes, even all stainless steels) have carbon in them. Indeed, by its very definition, steel is an alloy of iron with carbon in it. Other alloys can be added to make the steel perform differently, but that doesn't change the reality that carbon is part of the metal's composition.

[Rick]

Hey, if it works for you, go for it. I've never had any luck making sparks with stainless.