Posts Tagged ‘Survival Knives’
Survival Tools
Surviving in the outdoors will not be possible without a weapon. Arming oneself with defense tools is critical whenever you step out into the unknown. You would never know what you may come across with. You may also be faced with various situations where no one else but yourself can help. Every outdoor enthusiast would never leave their home without a knife in their pockets.
The late Colonel Rex Applegate designed a knife specifically to provide a weapon which may be used in the outdoors. The Applegate Fairbairn knife is a combat blade designed by the country’s well-known individuals when it comes to close-quarters combat. This blade is designed with expertise and function. Due to its durability and stability, it makes for one useful and dependable knife for whatever purpose you may make use of it. Everybody would want to invest in this type of blade if their life depended on it.
Ultimate Blade
Any kind of knife in decent working condition could actually be considered as a survival knife. There is a specific style of knife that has become synonymous with the term survival knife. This is usually a black survival knife that combines the hunting blade of a Bowie knife with a hollow handle that is designed to hold a number of emergency items. Some knife experts consider the hollow-handled survival knife to be more of a novelty than a useful tool, but there are still many who prefer this type of knife when camping.
A typical survival knife will usually feature a smooth blade for spearing wild game or for preparing food, along with a serrated edge for sawing tree limbs. A survival knife may also feature a hooked blade for opening cans or slicing rope. The handle of a survival knife is often designed to be knurled to provide a stronger grip. The tip of the handle will often contain a floating compass as part of the emergency survival kit. The rest of the emergency supplies are kept inside the hollow handle itself.
Fixed Blade
Technically speaking, any knife in decent working condition can be considered as a survival knife. There is a specific style of knife that has become synonymous with the term survival knife. This style combines the hunting blade of a Bowie knife with a hollow handle designed to hold some emergency items. This style of survival knife enjoyed a surge in popularity after the release of Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo” film series. Some people even refer to this type of knife as a Rambo knife.
A survival knife usually has a smooth blade for spearing wild game or for preparing food. It also has a serrated edge for sawing tree limbs. A survival knife might also have a hooked blade for opening cans and for slicing rope. The handle of a survival knife is often knurled to provide a stronger grip. The tip of the handle usually contains a floating compass as part of the emergency kit. The rest of the emergency supplies are kept inside the handle itself.
Stay Alive with your Survival Knife
Here are three ways to use your survival knife to stay alive in the wild. 
Cut small trees: If you can double a sapling over using one hand (limber it up by bending it back and forth several times), you can slice the trunk in half using downward pressure with an angle cut. The sapling must be green and the pressure should be evenly maintained throughout the cut, although with larger trees it may be necessary to rock the blade. Support the sapling as the trunk weakens. It will be impossible to finish the cut if the wood splinters.
Create cord: Cord is a primary survival tool, essential for fashioning bowstrings, lashing gear, and strengthening braces for shelter. The hide of almost any animal can be rendered into strips using a circular cutting technique. Drive the knifepoint into a flat wood surface, then pull the hide into the blade in a circular pattern to make a long strip. A guide peg driven into the wood maintains an even cut.
Make a fire starter: If you can’t find dry kindling for building a fire, you can use your knife to make some in the form of a fuzz stick. Rest the end of a stout stick on the ground, then shave downward to lift curls of dry wood. At the end of each stroke, pry outward with the blade to spread the feathers. The end result will burn readily.
Survivormans Knife
The Buck 119 Special that Survivorman, Bear Grylls, uses is the most popular fixed blade Buck knife. It features a six inch clip point 420HC stainless steel blade that is hollow ground. It is 10.5 inches long and weighs in at 7.5 ounces (213 grams).
The handle on the Buck 119 Special knife is phenolic with an aluminum finger guard and butt. The standard black leather sheath is perhaps more traditional than the more modern kydex that some find superior.
Most people who buy the Buck 119 Special knife are very pleased with its performance and durability. Because this is a stainless steel knife it is less likely to pit when used in wet environments than the high carbon steel blades, a definite plus in many survival settings.
If you are looking for an overall good fixed blade survival knife that has been tested by thousands of outdoorsmen over the years, you may want to consider Survivorman’s knife, the Buck 119 Special.
Survival Knives to Avoid
To the inexperienced, survival knives often conjure up images of the huge Rambo type knives as glorified in Hollywood movies. Though they look like potent weapons that can take on the world, these oversized knives are a far cry from the best of knives used by survival experts. The big knives suffer from being as difficult to control as they are overly heavy and bulky. Many needs of the survivor require finer detail work that are difficult to accomplished with this kind of blade.
Avoid double edged knives. These knives are used mostly for thrusting. Because their tips are relatively weak they are prone to breaking. In addition, the second edge is an unneeded edge that can lead to injury.
Many survival knives are sold that have hollow handles, the idea being you can store survival essentials like matches and compass inside the water tight handle. Hollow handled survival knives have one problem -they are prone to being weaker than the solid handle variety. There are exceptions, but generally you are better off storing your survival gear elsewhere. One advantage to this is that should you loose your knife you will still have the remainder of your survival gear to rely upon.
The best survival knives need to be versatile. They will be called upon to perform a number of tasks. At the same time bulk and weight are important considerations as with any survival gear.
Survival Knives are Required Gear
A good survival knife is the most important item of your survival gear and is one of the 15 essentials that all survivors should have with them. With a good knife you can make or obtain just about anything you need to live and even prosper in the outdoors. With this in mind, your selection of the best survival knife for your needs must be based on solid construction, proper materials, workmanship, and functionality.
The best outdoor survival knives are actually quite unassuming. Inexperienced outdoorsmen and survivalists will often pass them over to select blades that will mark them as survival neophytes to those who are in the know.
Anyone who has ever spent quality time in the outdoors will vouch for the usefulness of a good knife but to the survival expert his knife is one of his best friends and the most closely guarded of his survival gear. Like a good friend, his survival knife should never let him down.
Choosing the right survival knife is more than an exercise in individuality – your very life may hinge upon its proper selection.
Some of the best survival knives are made by Fallkniven, SOG and Becker. You may pay a little more but the quality is well worth it. Get the best knife for your needs- it may just save your life!
Gerber Knives
For almost 70 years now, Gerber has been known to produce the best outdoor tools and knives. Gerber knives are noted for their oxidized carbon tough stainless steel blades that retain their sharpness longer compared to their top competitors. Every outdoorsman can attest to the credibility of Gerber knives. These cutting tools have gone through and passed countless field tests for over 50 years and topped them every time.
Joseph Gerber started making knives with an unlikely and unintentional beginning. An accomplished advertising man, Mr. Gerber hired a knife craftsman to make him 25 sets of kitchen cutlery as Christmas gifts for his clients. The knives were so popular; he left his ad agency and started the legendary Gerber blades in 1939.