If you are in the market for a new survival knife but don’t really know where to start looking then let us help you. You see, choosing the perfect survival knife is important because if you end up with one that you aren’t comfortable with, then you would have paid a lot of money for something you aren’t likely to use again.
This solitary tool can be the matter of life of death, and you wouldn’t believe the stuff that you can do to survive in the wilderness with a good knife.
Plus, you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with useless equipment do you?
That’s why we have put together this handy little tips article on what you need to know, and how you can choose the right survival knife.
So without further ado, let’s get things started.
Getting to Grips with Your Survival Knife
First and foremost you are going to need a knife that sits well in your hand; you need to feel comfortable not just holding it but using it. My advice here is to test the knife out before you purchase it, make sure that it doesn’t dig into your hand, cause blisters, cuts or any other kind of discomfort.
The material also matters when it comes to selecting your survival knife. You have metal handles, polymer, and hard rubber to choose from.
Above all, stay clear of those hollow handles knives as they can break easily, and doesn’t give you enough purchase when using it. It may seem cool that you can store things in the base of the knife such as matches, a lighter or other smaller objects but remember, you lose the knife, you’ve lost them too.
Think About the Metal and Design of the Blade
The second thing you need to think about after you have settled with a comfortable grip is the blade. What metal is best? The truth is both Carbon and Stainless Steel have their pros and cons. Stainless steel knives wont rust and they are strong under pressure, but they do go blunt quickly when compared to Carbon.
Carbon on the other hand are strong knives that hold their sharpness a lot longer than stainless steel, but are prone to rusting.
Whichever you choose here, you can’t really go wrong.
Then we move onto the design of the blade, do you go for a straight edge or a jagged edge? Again this comes down to personal preference and they both have their uses. I would just think about when you need to sharpen that blade, because straight edges are much easier to sharpen than serrated ones.
How Long is Too Long?
One of the final points in our survival knife tips is the blade length, you want something that is easy to carry but also big enough to help you achieve what you need to when you are out in the wilderness.
Most survival knives are between the 6” – 12” range but have you ever seen a 12” blade? Not the best in practicality. Look for something along the lines of 7” – 8” as these sizes are easy to carry and good to work with.
How Far Does Your Blade Extend?
The final point is something that is often overlooked when selecting a survival knife and that is the tang. The tang is the part of the blade you don’t see, as it’s the part that goes into the handle and grip area. Now, the longer the tang the better the knife will be to use and to hold because it will have that solid stability factor.
With hollow handles that allow storage, the tang of the blade will stop at the very start of the handle, which means it prone to snapping off if you use the knife with excess force.
Our advice is to find a blade that has a piece of steel that run as far down the handle as possible, which might mean that you need to invest slightly more money into the knife than a cheaper hollow handle, but let me tell you it would be worth every cent.
Remember, when you come to buying a survival knife you want it to last a long while.