When you begin searching for the right knife, you may be overwhelmed with the choices, and wonder how to decide. First, ask yourself what you expect the knife to do. Is it for hunting or do you want one in your emergency survival kit. One quality knife can perform both tasks, and the same knife can be for personal protection if that is also a concern. However, so-called combat knifes, or fighting knives are not suited for skinning game and chopping wood in a survival situation.
When searching for knives look for all one-piece knives. The handle should be an extension of the blade. Otherwise, there is a weak point where the handle is connected to the blade sometimes by glue. Hollow handles mean the knife is not what is called a full tang knife. Manufactures, sell the concept of a hollow handle by including fish line, matches in the handle or even making the cap for the handle a compass. Wooden handles are not recommended because they will become water damaged and wood will shrink away from the handle and eventually crack.
Wooden handled knives will wear faster and may crack over time if not properly cared for. Rubber or polymer handles are impervious to moisture and chemicals. Many knives claim to be survival knives yet they have dagger like blades sharpened on both sides. This makes the knife difficult to chop with or use the knife to create a spark with a flint rod without dulling the blade. Having both sides of the knife sharp means, you have a greater chance of cutting yourself as well.
Knife blades can be made of high carbon steel and stainless steel. Both are quality materials and the difference is that carbon blades will rust if not treated but because the metal is harder than stainless, they stay sharp longer. Stainless steel is durable and is suited for marine use because saltwater has no effect on stainless whereas saltwater will corrode carbon steel quickly.
Stainless is virtually impervious to water and saltwater but will dull faster but can be sharpened quickly whereas carbon steel being harder requires more time and labor to put the edge back. Typically, stainless steel blades are made either of 440 or 420 stainless with chromium added for corrosion resistance. The 440 stainless has more carbon in the blade making it slightly harder than 420 stainless.
Knives used in the field have to be tough because you cannot have multiples of knives for various jobs so one knife has to do it all. You may have to pry open a can one day and chop small pieces of wood the next and the knife must not suffer from the tasks. A knife that is not full tang will not be up to the job and the handle will break off leaving you in a possibly dire situation.
The backside will be hammered on with wood blocks or even other metal to drive the blade through material. Keep the length between six and nine inches for handling all tasks to include detail work such as trimming small pieces of wood or even cutting up food. Wooden, bone and hollowed handled knifes will not hold up under this type of work.
Fancy handles and saw blades on the backside of the knife generally do not do much to enhance the knife's performance. Some people do like serrated edges, however, experts will tell you once the serrations are dulled they stay dull because it requires special tools to sharpen the edges. Serrated blades on either side of the blade do help saw through heavy rope, but do not saw wood well, and if you do have a large rope to cut through use a chopping motion it will be much quicker.
When searching for knives look for all one-piece knives. The handle should be an extension of the blade. Otherwise, there is a weak point where the handle is connected to the blade sometimes by glue. Hollow handles mean the knife is not what is called a full tang knife. Manufactures, sell the concept of a hollow handle by including fish line, matches in the handle or even making the cap for the handle a compass. Wooden handles are not recommended because they will become water damaged and wood will shrink away from the handle and eventually crack.
Wooden handled knives will wear faster and may crack over time if not properly cared for. Rubber or polymer handles are impervious to moisture and chemicals. Many knives claim to be survival knives yet they have dagger like blades sharpened on both sides. This makes the knife difficult to chop with or use the knife to create a spark with a flint rod without dulling the blade. Having both sides of the knife sharp means, you have a greater chance of cutting yourself as well.
Knife blades can be made of high carbon steel and stainless steel. Both are quality materials and the difference is that carbon blades will rust if not treated but because the metal is harder than stainless, they stay sharp longer. Stainless steel is durable and is suited for marine use because saltwater has no effect on stainless whereas saltwater will corrode carbon steel quickly.
Stainless is virtually impervious to water and saltwater but will dull faster but can be sharpened quickly whereas carbon steel being harder requires more time and labor to put the edge back. Typically, stainless steel blades are made either of 440 or 420 stainless with chromium added for corrosion resistance. The 440 stainless has more carbon in the blade making it slightly harder than 420 stainless.
Knives used in the field have to be tough because you cannot have multiples of knives for various jobs so one knife has to do it all. You may have to pry open a can one day and chop small pieces of wood the next and the knife must not suffer from the tasks. A knife that is not full tang will not be up to the job and the handle will break off leaving you in a possibly dire situation.
The backside will be hammered on with wood blocks or even other metal to drive the blade through material. Keep the length between six and nine inches for handling all tasks to include detail work such as trimming small pieces of wood or even cutting up food. Wooden, bone and hollowed handled knifes will not hold up under this type of work.
Fancy handles and saw blades on the backside of the knife generally do not do much to enhance the knife's performance. Some people do like serrated edges, however, experts will tell you once the serrations are dulled they stay dull because it requires special tools to sharpen the edges. Serrated blades on either side of the blade do help saw through heavy rope, but do not saw wood well, and if you do have a large rope to cut through use a chopping motion it will be much quicker.
About the Author:
It is important to have a good knife in your bug-out bag for disaters. To gain more knowledge more about disaster preparation skills go to The Smart Preppers Site.
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