Features Of Survival Knives

Survival knives are arguably one of the most important tools that you can have in any given survival situation. A proper knife can be used for a number of tasks ranging from killing dinner to chopping wood for fire and shelter. There are certain features that are included in survival knives that make them even more useful when faced against the wild. Designed with versatility in mind, these types of knives will not be the best at any one thing, instead they will do a good job of cutting and chopping across a wide variety of materials.

Some of the most common additional features in survival knives include:

• Serrated Edges – There is some debate over the use of serrated edges in a survival knife. Those for the toothed design say that sawing and chopping dense materials is much easier. Those against say they are too difficult to sharpen to justify in the wild.
• Full Tang Blade – The strongest knives are those who’s blade shaft extends all the way to the butt of the knife. Survival knives need to be extremely strong to handle intense cutting.
• Fire Starter – Many survival knives include a fire starter in the sheath or on the lanyard of the knife. With a knife and fire starter, you can survive almost any situation.
• Whetstone – Some of the highest quality knives include a whetstone inside the sheath for sharpening in the wild.
• Hole Punch/Window Breaker – Many knives include a hole punch or window breaker in the butt of the knife for safe escapes through windows.
• Sticky Grip – Made of rubber or some other polymer material, survival knives must have grips that can withstand hours of constant abuse without slipping from sweat.
• Lashing Slots – Holes purposefully placed in the handle of a knife can be used to fashion a spear if necessary in the wild.

Types Of Survival Knives

The most popular survival knives generally start as a custom survival knife put into production. Knives like the Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife and the Gerber Prodigy survival knives are perfect solutions with their full tang, fixed blade, and partially serrated edges. Any military survival knives will have the quality and durability to last in the wild, just be sure to avoid fake plastic handled models. Rambo survival knives have always been a quality product, however their built in compasses often get in the way of the knife for what little value they add.

Survival knives to avoid include any sort of hollow grip design. Although it may seem useful to have matches, whistle, iodine pills, and a needle inside the handle of your knife, there are two major problems. First, it guarantees your knife is not full tang making it less durable than other knives. Second, if you loose your knife, you loose all of your survival tools as well. Do yourself a favor and keep your knife and survival kit separate.

Other Things To Consider

When choosing the perfect survival knife there are other things you should consider beyond its bonus features. Beyond being full tang, you also want to pay attention to the type of metal your knife is made of. Stainless steel is most common because it is sharp, durable, and won’t rust in the elements. However, carbon metal blades are said to keep sharper for longer, but will rust much sooner. Also, pay attention to the length of your blade. We recommend a lenth between 6 and 10 inches. Any less and you can’t do the work, any more and it becomes a burden to carry and wield.