Knife/Survival Knife Info.

[Sarge47]

First Aid sounds hard. Would you recommend for me to bring a first aid kit into the woods or read a book and look for some fancy healing leaves or something like that.

I need to know 1st where abouts do you live, 2nd get into a program like the Boy Scouts or go to a chapter of the Red Cross and get some training. You need to know what to do BEFORE you get equipment as this will give you an idea of which equipment you will need and which you won't.

[Rick]

Lupo - First aid is something you can benefit from your entire life no matter where you are. Check with your local hospital or Red Cross chapter and see if they offer a combined first aid, CPR, AED class. I just went out to my local hospital's home page and they offer:

Adult, Infant and Child CPR and AED Training for $45.00

Not only will you have some good sound general knowledge of first aid to take to the field with you but you'll also have that same knowledge should one of your parents or a sibling have an accident, choke, have a heart attack, break a bone, etc. And yes, you should have a good first aid kit with you at all times.

[MCBushbaby]

I stopped about halfway down this long list of responses since my last post so I apologize in advance if you buried the hatchet.

Without a long-winded thesis:
1) The responsibility of how a child interacts with a knife, firearm, etc. lies, and always shall, with the parent. Even if Johnny Johnson, age 7, asks what should he consider to buy if he's getting into surviving, we as survival experts, NOT PARENTS, should do all we can to point him in the right direction. We should only consider his location, size (includes age I guess) and activities when recommending the proper knife. Let the parents worry about him purchasing and using the knife, it's at their discretion after all.

2) Lupo, don't get a giant KaBar. I have a Cold Steel SRK with a 6" blade and at times I'd rather opt for a 4 or 5". I can't imagine how a 7" would work for anything but batoning and Croc Dundee-style encounters. Remember, survival is not just who has the biggest knife. You need to do everything from carving a makeshift bowl to gutting a squirrel to cutting saplings. I did a review of the Bushman (with a similarly long and massive blade) and I couldn't find a use for it other than to cut and hack. It won't serve you very well in the bush in the long term.

3) Don't get serrated edges. There is no point. Not only are they next to impossible to sharpen (and impossible to while in the bush), they don't provide any reasonable effect other than looks. Again, Croc Dundee encounters.

[MCBushbaby]

On a side note, Mors Kochanski (the most significant boreal forest survival expert in N America) says to only use a knife who's blade is only as long as your palm is wide. Likewise for the handle. He says it offers better control and a multitude of uses as compared with something smaller or larger. He also recommends no top or side guard on the knife, which allows you to move your hand up on the blade for more delicate work without having to navigate the guard. Bottom is still important as it prevents slips onto the edge.

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

a good survival knife is one that you like made out of quality materials and able to do a multitude of tasks. As for age restriction that is obviously your parents decision , I have a 24 yr old boy a 14 year old boy and a 7 year old girl all of whom are accomplished rifle shooters and all but my daughter are very profficient with knife use . My daughter became a crack shot with a 22 at the ripe old age of 5 both boys have had their own knives and multitools since they were like 12 age is no way to gauge responsability it's a mere guideline my choice in survival knives : I own several , my favorites are the sog seal pup and the srk v carbon however I probably have about 30 different knives I like

[Sarge47]

On a side note, Mors Kochanski (the most significant boreal forest survival expert in N America) says to only use a knife who's blade is only as long as your palm is wide. Likewise for the handle. He says it offers better control and a multitude of uses as compared with something smaller or larger. He also recommends no top or side guard on the knife, which allows you to move your hand up on the blade for more delicate work without having to navigate the guard. Bottom is still important as it prevents slips onto the edge.

Both posts were great advice, and yes, we buried the hatchet! I like Mors Kochanski and Cody Lundin seems to promote him as well. If you go to Cody's Web-site and click on the "store" icon you can see 2 different styles of Swedish Mora knives for $20 each. You can get up to two knives with an additional $5 shipping & handling. I like the one with the "rubberized" handle and will probably add it to my collection later.

[Sarge47]

Rick that is great! You certainly are a man of many resources! I really like that "Flame Orange" one. It would be a lot harder to lose than the others!

[Rick]

I actually did a post then deleted it. So I've put it back. Here's a link to Swedish knives that are pretty inexpensive. I think these are the same on Cody's page.

http://www.swedishknives.com/760craft.htm#The%20Clipper

[Tony uk]

I thought Sarge was talking to thin air there :P

Thanks Rick Yo Da Man

[Nativedude]

Here is a link to Frost knives. The Mora S1 is an excellent survival/outdoors knife. I have a couple of them and I really like them.

http://www.swedishknives.com/760craf...20Mora%20Knife

[Nativedude]

Oh, Native Dude. Have I got a game for you. It's a series of knife drops and throws ending in the loser having to dig a piece of wood out of the ground like a pig. There are all sorts of variations and scoring but here's a link to a pretty good explanation.

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/games...mumbly_peg.htm

Our games were never this elaborate. They never went as long as the article describes. But we started out the same way and had several of the same ways of dropping a knife.

We played this quite a bit as a kid. I came up with a dirty face on more than one occasion. When we played, the winner would ask, "Do you want me to drive it in with two hits with my eyes open or three with 'em closed?" I always took the closed method and hoped to high heaven he missed every time.

Sounds like fun. . .uhhhhhh. . .yeah!!??

[Rick]

Well! If the little kid in you was alive and well a little face digging would be just the thing!

[Borelli]

Today i learned that the only knife if any that shold be taken to a beach is a fixed blade...never take a folder



i look forward to this one being a good thread for all of us.

[canid]

when i was about 4-5 l learned the hard way that a liner-lock folder can not [safely] be used to hold the bottom corner of an out-building door open in order to reach my hand inside. do not ask how this came up, i was four or five. all i can say is that what seemed like a good idea at the time left me with a scar most of the way around one of my fingers.

i wonder if my parents should have sued the manufacturer for not properly warning that the lock was not designed to actualy lock the blade open safely..?

[MCBushbaby]

What not to do with knifes....

stab a baby?

[Rick]

Mitch - Come here. (puts arm around shoulder and speaks in soft voice). Technically, that's correct but really, and I can't emphasis this enough. Really whacked out.

What not do do with knives...

Place them in your pocket before closing them. (It's a superstition or something about bad luck).

[canid]

while it can be tempting, it should be common knowledge not to walk with a sheath knife in hand when it could just as well be resheathed and withdrawn as needed. simple safe practice that can avoid a lot of accidents some people think would never happen. i see too much of that.

[tipacanoe]

Another thing not to do, is carry a fixed blade in the sheath, inside your open jacket while ice fishing. It's a long way down to the bottom of a 70' deep lake. The knife still there and it's a nice one.

[canid]

ouch. Long Lake, Mi has one of my leatherman's

[FVR]

While stripping deer leg sinew, put the knife down.

Unless you like an "ice pick" oh I mean "a knife in the forehead."

Close call.