Imagine a scenario, you are in the woods, and you lost your pack. You have nothing with you-no sleeping bag, spare clothes, food, no backpack etc… All you have left with is your survival kit, and thank goodness for that. A survival knife is widely regarded as the single most important tool for those who love to venture into the wilderness. It can obviously cut things – an an important task you should have proper know-how of – but with a little know-how, your survival knife can be used for many other things.
What Can Survival Knife Be used For?
Make firewood
A heavy and big wilderness survival knife is an effective tool for cutting firewood and splitting it into smaller pieces. It is even perfect for stripping bark from standing deadwood or shaving dry branches into fuel which can be used as a material to catch a spark or grow a fire. With the right survival knife you can even chop logs. Simply hold the blade against the wood and whack it with a sturdy stick. The result won’t be as efficient as with using an axe but does the job very well in emergencies.
For digging a hole
Though it isn’t a great use of a survival knife as it dulls the blade and can damage the knife in the long run but when you must dig, for example, for bait or dig a toilet, a survival knife will do the trick and serves a lot more purposes than a shovel.
Helping you build a shelter
As mentioned above, a good quality survival knife can help you cut down branches; it can really work fine in crafting a shelter. It is suggested to start by cutting down some evergreen branches to lay on the bottom for padding, then build a lean-to over the boughs using leafy branches.
First Aid
You cannot undermine the ability of a survival knife in helping you in those situations. Use the knife to cut clothing or cloth material into strips as a bandage. The knife can also be used to remove splinters.
Hammer
Do you know the knife’s handle also works fine as a hammer? It is recommended to put on the sheath first for safety.
Survival Knife Buying tips and Tricks
Buying a survival knife is like an investment, and if you want to make sure you wouldn’t change your knife often, take into account the following features:
Material being used
Usually, two types of material are used while making a survival knife: carbon steel and stainless steel. Carbon steel is considered the best steel due to its strong and durable nature, but the only con is it is extremely prone to rust.
Blade thickness
The thickness of the blade has a direct relation with the strength of the knife, and when you are on a trip, you don’t want your knife to break into two pieces while cutting. Always get a thick knife to ensure it can withstand a lateral force.
Portability
Since you will be carrying it with you on your trip, make sure it is portable enough to be fit in the pocket and doesn’t weigh much.
Before you awaken Bear Grylls in you, invest in essentials that will help you survive in your journey, and a survival knife is one of the essential items to invest in. Don’t be tricked into buying a gimmicky knife like the ones with hollow handles and poor quality steel being used. Since your survival knife will be used for so many different kinds of tasks such as cutting, digging, etc., they need to be built to last, and Damascus steel is one such metal that is strong and durable. Having a survival knife made of a Damascus knife will ensure you can do all of these things mentioned above and more easily.