Guest post by Josh C
Becker Knife
Any Scout, Hunter, Camper or Outdoor Enthusiast should have a good knife and know how to use it.
A good survival knife is the single most important piece of equipment you will ever have or use.
With it you can procure fire and food, and create shelter and other structures. Just as there’s a tool for every job, a wrench for tightening bolts, a hammer for pounding nails, there’s a knife for every task.
If you’re blazing trails or clearing brush you would want a Machete. If you’re splitting kindling or dressing game the obvious choice would be a Fixed Blade. Cutting rope and carving tent stakes then falls to the Folding Knife.
Let’s take a look at the parts of a knife. The blade is made up of the edge, the tip, the point and the coil. The tang is the part of the blade that runs through the handle.
When choosing a knife there’s a simple guideline to follow:
Hold the knife, how does it feel in your hand? Does it fit your hand comfortably? Is it to heavy for you to use effectively? Is it to big?
Look it over, what is it made of? Are you going to be comfortable carrying it around with you on outings?
Use the knife, is the blade shaped correctly for the jobs you may need to use it for? Will you be able to comfortably use it for an extended period of time? Go over all the cuts and slices you may need to make.
Research it; ask people who have it how it handles. Read reviews on it, many times have I bought a knife on impulse to have it break the first time I use it.
Price It, I have never spent more than twenty-five dollars on a knife. That said you should not skimp on quality, the knife you purchase has to be perfectly suited to you for you to survive.
Now lets take a look at the types of Cutting Edges there are available.
Machetes: In a survival situation a good chopper can make a world of difference. While an axe or hatchet would be equally useful for chopping, they lack the finesse of the machete.
There are several different styles of machetes ranging from the Gurka Kukri to the South American Bola. The only good way to find the style that suits you is to get out there and use it.
Fixed blades: A good fixed blade is essential to your survival. When choosing a fixed blade one thing to keep in mind is whether or not it has a full tang.
The tang is the portion of the metal that runs through the handle. A full tang provides extra support for chopping and slicing or anything that requires putting any stress on the blade.
Also try to stay away from hollow handled “survival” knives. These are accidents waiting to happen.
If it has a hollow handle than it has no support from the tang and is therefore probably the worst tool you can take in to the woods.
A blade length of between 4 and 7 inches is probably best for survival and bush craft purposes, any larger and it becomes to cumbersome to use effectively, any smaller and you might as well use a folding knife.
Folding Knives: The Folding Knife provides amazing control when carving and doing fine work. There are to types of folders, Pocket Knives and Multi Tools.
Pocket Knives can be divided into two further categories, Jack Knives and Pen Knives. Jack Knives are hinged on only one end but may have more than one blade.
Swiss Army Knife
They are traditionally the only type of knife with a blade that locks in place, although it does not have to. Pen Knives are hinged on both ends and have multiple non-locking blades.
Multi-Tools are divided between Multi-blade Knives and Multi-pliars. Multi-blade Knives are hinged on both ends like Pen Knives but in addition to multiple blades they have tools such as scissors, bottle openers, cork screws and screw drivers.
This style of knife was made popular by the Victorinox knife company . Multi-pliars are basically Multi-blade Knives that fold up inside a folding needle nose pliers. The Leatherman Knife Company made this tool popular. Sometimes generic multi-pliers are referred to as Leatherman tools.
There are two common types of steel used in making knives. The first being stainless steel, stainless steel has the advantage that it is virtually indestructible and in theory won’t rust.
That said, it will tarnish over time, and will not keep a good edge for very long. The other type of steel is ‘carbon steel’. Carbon steel will take and hold an edge better than stainless, but will rust if exposed to the elements.
There are several things that you can do to extend the life of your knives, or any tool for that matter.
First, keep it dry. ‘Dry knives live long lives’. The process of rusting is scientifically known as rapid oxidization . If you leave an apple out in the open air for any period of time you will notice that it will start to turn brown.
That is called oxidization, which basically means that the fruit is loosing moisture. Rusting occurs when metal gains moisture (whether it’s through being left out in the rain or other), and then rapidly loosing it.
Keep it clean. If you ever have to cut a piece of food with your knife, and it’s still all sticky from that piece of pine you cut through the other day, then what are you going to do.
Sap and other sticky substances and residues can easily be removed by rubbing at the sap with rubbing alcohol and using a dish scrubby or rough sand paper.
Finally keep it sharp. A dull knife is much more dangerous than a sharp one. When carving with a dull knife you have to force the knife more than is necessary, making it harder to control. It is also a lot easier to work with a sharp knife.
There are many methods of knife sharpening, included are:
The Sharpening Steel (honing rod). The honing rod is a long round file used for quickly sharpening longer blades. Sharpening (wet) Stone. The sharpening stone is the most reliable knife sharpener out there. It has been used since before our forefathers came to America.
Precision Sharpening Systems. There are many different types of manual sharpeners and kits on the market.
{ 18 comments }
There are rare exceptions to the rule on hollow handle survival knives. This Chris Reeve knife machined from a single bar of steel has served me well for years. http://www.knifeart.com/shadowiv1.html
Wow, thats really cool. I didnt know they were made that way.
Check out Ragweed Forge. They sell Scandanavian knives that are very inexpensive and tough. I have several Moras and they are the toughest $10 knives you’ll find. They sell more expensive knives if you like, but anything you can’t do with a Mora means you’re probably working too hard. They’ve got a huge selection and ship knives cheap. No, I don’t work for them.
Also, never skimp on a multi-tool. I can personally recommend the Victorinox and Leatherman products. Pricey but incredibly handy. The knives on them are not the best. I EDC a Leatherman Wave.
Another best buy is Opinel. Light duty carbon steel folding knives that slice exceptionally well. They come in about a dozen sizes plus hawkbill and a now (I think) discontinued saw. My EDC No 8 cost me $15 and is the sharpest, best slicing knife I’ve ever owned. Paired with the Wave, I’m set for anything shy of chopping, which I’d use a hatchet or machete for.
Last, buy a good sharpening kit and learn how to use it. The Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker is hard to beat. It can make a butter knife into a razor blade.
Regarding stainless: There are many grades of stainless. The stuff they put in my Victorinox SAK many years ago didn’t hold an edge. Now you can buy knives made of all sorts of stainless. The exotics get really pricey, but I’ve seen 420 and 440C in folders around the $20 mark. They are much harder than the soft stainlesses. My NRA giveaway knife said 420 and it held a great edge.
+1 on the Leatherman Wave.
Great post Josh – Thanks!
A reminder for the Canadian readers that concealed knives are illegal here without a permit which is granted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) via the Canadian Firearms Program.
The exceptions are that
(i) in Ontario as long as the blade is not spring loaded and is smaller than your palm its legal, ie a penknife. Criminal Code of Canada – Section 84(1) defines such knives as not being”a knife that has a blade that opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force or by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife”.
(ii) a knife may be worn in openly public so long as it is sheathed.
Thanks, I am familiarizing myself with my local knife laws. By the way I really found your article on prepping with kids useful.
Great post Josh. My every day carry usually consists of my swiss army knife or a smith & wesson tactical folder. We keep leathermans in the cars in our BoBs. I have an older Buck fixed blade knife but I rarely use it. When my folding knives can’t accomplish something brute force or a hatchet usually works for me.
As a weekend project, you should try flint knapping. You’d be amazed at how sharp the edge can get and how strong the knife is.
Thanks, my EDC usually consists of a lockback and a SAK. I try to stay away
from S&W Knives because of some of my previous experiences with them. I love Leatherman tools although I have the annoying tendency of losing them when I actually take them out in the field. As far as your Buck knife is it a model 119 or a Knighthawk? Thanks for the feed back.
The only problem I’ve had with the S&W is it doesn’t keep an edge as well as the others. But other than that it’s been a solid knife. As for the Buck, I’m not 100% sure which model it is, but it looks similar to the 119s that are on Amazon. I don’t have any complaints with the Buck, but I also don’t use it very often.
“That is called oxidation, which basically means that the fruit is loosing moisture”
Wow. So that’s how that works.
“…using a dish scrubby or rough sand paper. ”
Yeah- sandpaper is a great tool to use on a knife blade.
“The honing rod is a long round file…”
Um, no, it isn’t.
This guy is foolish at best, dangerous at worst- goodbye.
“Yeah- sandpaper is a great tool to use on a knife blade.”
I am not suggesting that you use sand paper on your pretty little $100+ becker knife. I am saying that using sand paper is the best way I have found for removing accumulated residue fast. Yes it may remove some finish, but I dont see the purpose in having a knife if its not gonna get used.
“The honing rod is a long round file…”
“Um, no, it isn’t.”
How else would you describe it?
I’ve had the Leatherman wave for a couple of years. I couldn’t say anything bad about it. Its came in handy at work and at home.
Yeah, thats probably my favorite model, although I do like the Skeletools.
Skeletool and Wave have worked great with me. Also have some Kershaw Ken Onion 1600BLK and 1585BR for pocket knife that I alternate it’s use in my workplace for every day use as I am opening a lot of boxes. For peeling coconuts I have a Collins machete and a Kershaw Outcast, both work fine also…
I really like the Outcast and stuff by Ken Onion. Overall I like Kershaw.
If you say an Axe lacks finesse, you don’t know how to use it. They are used for completely different reasons than the machete. It’s not better or worse, but I’d prefer a decent wood axe in the car and a woodland hatchet for the kit.
Here is an article I wrote on axes a little while ago http://survivalcache.com/survival-axe/. I agree that a certain degree of finesse can be obtained with the axe, but really its a matter of opinion.
For the ultimate in axe finesse, check out the viking bearded axe. You can get your hand right behind the blade for detail work or take a standard grip and chop as well or better than a standard axe. It won’t replace a small knife, but it will do almost anything else. A tomahawk would be a good substitute.
The “big knife does everything” school of thought doesn’t sit well with me. No culture that I know of relies solely on big knives. I’m not advocating carrying 50 pounds of cutlery, but some diversification and redundancy is ok within weight/space limits.
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