How to choose the best survival knife – 5 things to remember
Salty’s Note: The following is written as a guest post by Billy of Perkin Knives. Beans, Bullets, Bandages and You doesn’t do affiliate links or advertising, but we do from time to time include guest posts from authors in the prepping and outdoors world that do. Knives are something I personally don’t know much about, so I welcomed an expert who does to write this.
As the term suggests, survival knives are what come to our rescue when all heck breaks loose on our camping or hunting adventures. Survival knives are one of the essentials that need to be carried by all adventure seekers whether you’re going on a small hiking trip, weekend camping or hunting.
The real question of which survival knife or pocket knife should you carry with you at all times is answered below with the top 5 things that you should keep in mind when choosing a survival knife.
Size
Size is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a survival knife for yourself. A big knife may not always be the right knife, especially not in situations that require you to think on your feet and act quickly and effectively. An average sized knife, of about 10 inches, seems to be good enough to do most of the tasks that require the use of a survival knife.
Fixed vs. Folding Knife
A folding knife may seem more convenient to carry around but it’s not always the best choice of knife for survival situations. A fixed blade will always be more durable than a folding knife because it’s stronger and more sturdy. A folding knife will always fall short in performing tasks like pounding, chopping, thrusting, cutting etc.
Full Tang
If you really want a survival knife to work in your favor and work well, then it’s important that you purchase a full tang knife. Along with being a fixed knife, your choice of survival knife should also be a full tang knife which means a knife is made of one constant piece of metal without any breaks in between. A full tang knife will be stronger and more robust than a partial tang knife. It provides a much stronger and comfortable grip which is very important when using a survival knife.
A partial tang knife can loosen its blades after tasks such as batoning, prying, chopping etc. Once the blade is loose from the handle in a partial tang knife, it will be very difficult for you to use it and perform any tasks. The same is not true in the case of a full tang knife. Even if the handle comes off in a full tang knife, you can still wrap it up with some cloth for grip and continue to use it.
There’s really no justification or reason why you should buy a partial tang blade when you’re investing in a survival knife. You want your survival knife to work effectively and perform well, this is only possible in a full tang knife because a full tang knife is one continuous piece of metal.
Sharply Pointed
While this may seem like an obvious thing to keep in mind, when you go out to purchase survival knives, you may come across several knives that have angled, rounded, hooked or straight cut tips instead of sharp pointed tips. A survival knife should definitely have a sharply pointed tip because that makes it a better self defense tool and also makes it easier to stab or thrust through thick layered clothing, meat etc.
When it comes to hunting, you need a sharply pointed knife which you can either attach to a pole to create a long spear-like weapon or use as it is. A sharp pointed knife is more supportive and effective in tasks like drilling, notching, removing splinters, intricate prying, picking and more such tasks.
Solid Pommel
Pommel is the bottom part of the handle of the knife, also known as the butt. A good survival knife should have a solid pommel so that you can do some light duty pounding and hammering if the need arises. A rounded or hooked pommel will not let you hammer or pound on the knife so make sure that you pay attention to the pommel of the knife and look for one that’s solid.
Conclusion
It’s important to look for a knife that has all these characteristics so that you can make the most of your knife at the time of need. You don’t want to be carrying multiple tools or knives for different purposes, a survival knife should always be a multi-purpose knife which can be of use and help out in different kinds of survival situations.
About the author: Having been on the Perkin Knives team for several years as a marketing executive, Billy has been part of a great many top-of-the-line projects. Not only has he personally contributed to the service in every way, but he also happens to be one of the most revered members of Perkin Knives.
What is the best steel for a knife, and, how to care for the knife. I left a knife in the leather sheaf the blade turned black still sharp just black, any dangers in using the knife ?
any knife intended for use in self defense or fighting should have a good sized hand guard to prevent cuts from your hand slipping while thrusting the blade. If it does not have this or a point that is in line with the grip, it should not be used as a fighting knife, if at all possible.
That said, if the knife is NOT intended to be a fighting knife, then a pointy tip is not very important..in which case, the cutting edge should be wide enough to extend out from the center line past where your fingers grip the handle to allow fine cutting of food. Like a Santoku or a vegetable knife.
I carry a emerson combat fighter n a Zero Tolerance Hinderer both are tactical fighters n folders n I have no doubt that both of them would hold up well thru any mortal combat situation I may encounter I have a handmade Joseph Rodgers pattern 1 n it’s definitely stronger but the folders are always with me.