The "Survival Knife"

[David Craik]

by all means, please start a thread, I am quite happy to see that there is an interest in this forum. Every Day Carry (EDC) is a great topic, most survival books usually start out with a list of EDC items.

Looking forward to your contribution and expertise Larry.

"Every Day Carry" would largely depend on where you live and where you go every day. If you live in Nome and have to commute to Fairbanks via snowmobile, your "EDC" will likely include wilderness survival items. I carry a Leatherman Core (only because I use it in my job) and a cell phone. I cannot really picture an instance where most people are thrust into a "wilderness survival" situation in their daily lives while walking down the street or commuting to their job or the grocery store.

I would hope that those people who travel in potentially hazardous environments on a daily basis would know what to carry without benefit of a survival book.

[lfos847]

Thanks David. I live I learn.

[David Craik]

Don't we all, partner.

[Tripitaka of AA]

.well... not according to my wife, apparently!

[ride57]

(sorry, I cant post a pic of the knife as it says it is to many urls and may contain forbidden words??)

Greetings, I got the below blade from my (ex wifes) relative in Northern Thailand. Its made from a truck leaf spring, its has a hollow handle, but I have never tried to make a spear out of it. It works very well as a machete. The sheath is rattan and that is goat scrotum on the end that holds the end together. It is made for field/jungle work. ETA: it looks alot like the cold steel bushman.

My carry knife is a benchmade folder (forgot exactly what model it is ) but I observe the law (Washington state) so they are 3 1/2 in or less blade length.

In my backpack I have a Eickhorn Solingen Pocket Rescue tool. I used to wear that when I was a volunteer deputy, then firefighter/EMT. It will cut windshields out (yes I tried it, works, wear gloves!!) has the window break button and the seat belt cutter.

My favorite knife , the one I am never without is the little pocket knives that have the scissors and file/screwdriver blade. Cleans fingernails, open boxes etc.

I just ordered a KaBar USN knife (the one with the 7 in blade) Mostly because I am retired Navy. It was a toss up between that and the KaBar tanto that (tony?) posted a pic of earlier.

Doug

[ride57]

Ok, I figured it out
desoto012.jpg

[David Craik]

it looks alot like the cold steel bushman.

It sure does! In the Philippines they made a lot of knives out of leaf-springs too, this type of steel seems to work very well.

[Ramirez]

It sure does! In the Philippines they made a lot of knives out of leaf-springs too, this type of steel seems to work very well.

They have a certain rough charm that I really like, the Cold Steel is on my to get list. Thanks for recommending.

[Mekugi]

Just one knife is pretty hard to fathom since one needs something small to get inside of animals and cut not to mention for the smaller, more precise tasks.

But for a larger size knife, here's my commercial pick: The M7-S made after Imperial lost the M-9 contract and before Shrade went out of business. It has a highly functional saw on the back of it that is handy for making notches in wood and did a fairly good job of cutting through bone- meaning it was actually more good than for show. It has a smaller saw towards the point that was also handy for cutting rope. It has a small hammer and claw on the pommel, which I found useful in the field and a lot better than using a rock or limb to hammer in tent posts or stakes. The cross-guard has a phillips head and a flathead screwdriver tooled in it, but I have never had much use for that but once, and it didn't work very well. I had put this through the wringer and re-blued it several times, so it has been pretty true to it's cause. The sheath has pocket on it and the compass and other junk can be pulled out, leaving the magnesium fire starter and room for other 'possibles' in it.

Other than that I have a Buckskinner knife that was custom made for me that has done me the most good. That blade is perhaps the best I have ever had. Simple, rugged and virtually indestructible.

[WhiteBeltJones]

Any thoughts on this multipurpose shovel that the Chinese armies employs, apparently?

[David Craik]

Unusual choice on the M-7 Russ. I've found a light dagger type blade to be very limited in practice, and the pommel of a knife to be pretty marginal for hammering anything. Except a skull maybe. But whatever works for you. Of course is one had their druthers, multiple knives would be optimal, but I have found a larger knife of good quality can perform the function of small knives by simply wrapping the excess edge with something and using only the first couple inches, whereas the reverse is not true. You can made a big knife a small knife, but not the other way around. Most small animals can be skinned by simply pulling the skin off with your hands anyway after a few cuts.

I guess this underscores personal preference; if you like a knife and can use it well for these types of tasks by all means use that one. A lot of the stuff I've done requires chopping of small-diameter branches - stakes, trap triggers, hooks, battens, etc. and bayonet blades due to their shape just don't seem well-suited to that. Or to skinning. Sawing something 1/2" in diameter just seems like a waste of time when you could cut it in one swipe.

That Chinese shovel looks to be made of pretty decent steel that will take a good edge, or course how long it maintains that edge is anyone's guess. A good shovel like this I'm sure is a godsend, but it cannot take the place of a knife in my mind.

[Mekugi]

My experience is pretty limited from the terrain I've hunted in, so it suits that fine I guess.

I used to used my old Ka-Bar but switched to the M7-S because it had more function to it.
The M7-S doesn't chop well, that is a problem. I usually use a larger blade or tomahawk to take down limbs, and then whittle when it comes to stakes and camp tools, so it does a fairly good job of that. The dagger shape makes it handy for stripping bark and the tip is a fairly decent chisel. The saw is good for making notches but not for taking down limbs (that's a given) so a saw on the back to me means a notch-maker. As for digging, the shape is nice to plunge into hard earth and pull it up....especially sand rock littered soil. It's not easy to get inside a mule deer let alone smaller game, so it is useless for that.
Now that I think of it, I have used this blade more for woodwork than anything else.

Furthermore I don't believe I have a one knife policy. I usually carry three around in the woods, large for hacking, one medium for chores (like the M7S), and then one smaller for dressing and cooking. Guess I never had to summarize it all down....and this is making me think I need to start looking around again.

One a side note, this is not a bad combination: A Green River knife and a Tomahawk.

I've had my green river knife since I can remember and it is always a camp companion. It's the perfect do all knife for cutting and gutting (and it whittles nicely).

The Tomahawk, while it is slower than a machete on smaller limbs, can take down trees with a little effort.

[David Craik]

True enough, I never have only one knife either. A tomahawk is a great tool as well.

[Mekugi]

This is a good thread, it's making me think about what the perfect knife to have in my scramble pack would be....

[Ramirez]

I don't have much experience with machetes but some of the bushcraft/survival books I have read usually say an axe or tomahawk is better suited for the wood lands of most of North America, the machete is better suited for tropical regions. I can't recall the reason, perhaps the dense growth in rain forests might be it.

[lfos847]

Has anyone read the articles on the Tom Brown Tracker knife. I could never spend that much but I did get to test one for a weekend trip into the Everglades.