Actual “Survival Knives”

[jeffbird]

Curious to see knives that have been used in actual survival scenarios.

Here is my one and only knife actually used for a survival scenario 45 years ago for a month long mountaineering and survival course.

This is a Puma folder with their carbon steel. The man at the store said Puma used good steel, so I dug deep as my means were modest back then. Light weight mattered a lot as did easy to sharpen.

It worked well.

We broke wood by finding dead limbs and stomping on them to break them. I never heard of batoning until recent years, which I still see little or no need to do.

 

[Blues]

Some posts moved. If I understand correctly, the OP is asking you to post the actual knives in your possession which have been used in your own survival situations. Not the names or brands or pictures of knives which may be purchased for such use.

I can't remember which knife I was carrying during my five weeks in the Wind River Range on a backpacking and technical mountaineering trip, a week of which was a survival test without provisions...but I do remember carrying the one below in Yosemite in 1975 while taking my cousin out for her first camping and hiking trip.

A bear came into our camp, and though I had suspended our food, it rummaged my pack, chewed my water bottle, and stepped on my shoulder while huffing in my face.

This was the knife I had with me, which I had obtained when I worked for a year and a half in the Backpacking and Mountaineering Dept. of Abercrombie & Fitch in NYC in 1975-1976.



I had the knife in my hand and was trying to determine if I was better served trying to fight my way out of the situation, or just hope the bear left of its own accord.

I chose the latter course and was glad I did. (Though I didn't stop shaking for quite a while afterward. I was about 22 years old at the time.)

 

[Terry M.]

Some posts moved. If I understand correctly, the OP is asking you to post the actual knives in your possession which have been used in your own survival situations. Not the names or brands or pictures of knives which may be purchased for such use.

I can't remember which knife I was carrying during my five weeks in the Wind River Range on a backpacking and technical mountaineering trip, a week of which was a survival test without provisions...but I do remember carrying the one below in Yosemite in 1975 while taking my cousin out for her first camping and hiking trip.

A bear came into our camp, and though I had suspended our food, it rummaged my pack, chewed my water bottle, and stepped on my shoulder while huffing in my face.

This was the knife I had with me, which I had obtained when I worked for a year and a half in the Backpacking and Mountaineering Dept. of Abercrombie & Fitch in NYC in 1975-1976.

View attachment 2952210

I had the knife in my hand and was trying to determine if I was better served trying to fight my way out of the situation, or just hope the bear left of its own accord.

I chose the latter course and was glad I did. (Though I didn't stop shaking for quite a while afterward. I was about 22 years old at the time.)

My friend, you have led the life. I wish I could sit down for a drink with you just to hear your stories. Good stuff!

 

[jeffbird]

Some posts moved. If I understand correctly, the OP is asking you to post the actual knives in your possession which have been used in your own survival situations. Not the names or brands or pictures of knives which may be purchased for such use.

I can't remember which knife I was carrying during my five weeks in the Wind River Range on a backpacking and technical mountaineering trip, a week of which was a survival test without provisions...but I do remember carrying the one below in Yosemite in 1975 while taking my cousin out for her first camping and hiking trip.

A bear came into our camp, and though I had suspended our food, it rummaged my pack, chewed my water bottle, and stepped on my shoulder while huffing in my face.

This was the knife I had with me, which I had obtained when I worked for a year and a half in the Backpacking and Mountaineering Dept. of Abercrombie & Fitch in NYC in 1975-1976.

View attachment 2952210

I had the knife in my hand and was trying to determine if I was better served trying to fight my way out of the situation, or just hope the bear left of its own accord.

I chose the latter course and was glad I did. (Though I didn't stop shaking for quite a while afterward. I was about 22 years old at the time.)

Correct Blue.

Bears are incredible animals. Glad you did not turn into a snack.

Very interesting and unusual knife. It sort of looks like a cross between a Puma White Hunter and a Randall.

Who made it and what is the idea behind the unique design?

 

[Mk-211]

Correct Blue.

Bears are incredible animals. Glad you did not turn into a snack.

Very interesting and unusual knife. It sort of looks like a cross between a Puma White Hunter and a Randall.

Who made it and what is the idea behind the unique design?

Good guess, Puma Sea Hunter, near the tip of the blade.

 

[Blues]

It is a Puma...(marked on the blade in the image.) It's designed for diving. I've used it once or twice in that capacity. It has some features for sawing, cracking shells, chopping bones etc. I do remember some being broken at the tang over the years...so the design was probably not as robust as it should have been.

 

[knarfeng]

Curious to see knives that have been used in actual survival scenarios.

Here is my one and only knife actually used for a survival scenario 45 years ago for a month long mountaineering and survival course.

This is a Puma folder with their carbon steel. The man at the store said Puma used good steel, so I dug deep as my means were modest back then. Light weight mattered a lot as did easy to sharpen.

It worked well.

We broke wood by finding dead limbs and stomping on them to break them. I never heard of batoning until recent years, which I still see little or no need to do.

Here's one. Not mine, but it's a legit survival story. A Chinese-made Buck Liner Lock vs. a bear. And the guy survived.

D

Thread 'folding knife saves life - grizzly bear attack'

Aug 4, 2019

hard to believe this guy survived and rode a bike after the attack & injuries

https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/grizzly-bear-attack-survivor-describes-what-happened-1.5234128

I'm not sure which brand of folding knife that is... can anyone id it?

• dirc
• Replies: 32
• Forum: General Knife Discussion

 

[Triple_D]

I had a couple of survival training courses in the Navy. In one, I used the standard issue Ontario 499 pilot's knife. In the other course, they took our knives (and all other weapons) away from us, before they turned us loose out in the woods. I guess they didn't trust us.

 

[Mannlicher]

in 60+ years of bumming around in swamps, woods, mountains and deserts, I have yet to find myself in an actual 'survival' situation. I always took a decent belt knife and a SAK though. They got used, but never in an emergency.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Unfortunately, I think this thread will be mighty brief.

 

[RLB0414]

My friend, you have led the life. I wish I could sit down for a drink with you just to hear your stories. Good stuff!

There are several members on this site, that to converse with, I would gladly pick up the tab.

 

[Synov]

It is a Puma...(marked on the blade in the image.) It's designed for diving. I've used it once or twice in that capacity. It has some features for sawing, cracking shells, chopping bones etc. I do remember some being broken at the tang over the years...so the design was probably not as robust as it should have been.

But it's made of PUMASTER high speed steel, how could it break?

 

[scdub]

a survival scenario 45 years ago for a month long mountaineering and survival course.

Based on the above description, it sounds like you were practicing survival skills in a somewhat controlled setting, rather than being in a situation where you were worried that you might not make it out alive.

By this definition of “survival situation”, I’d consider the knives I carry on long hikes and backpacking to be “actual survival knives”, because they are part of the kit designed to keep me alive - just like my “survival boots” and my “survival jacket”.

I was “lost” in the woods once for a short time many years ago, and I was carrying a SAK and a Swamp Rat Howling Rat at the time, but I found my bearings without using either knife.

On the other hand, I’ve practiced survival skills using many different knives while on the trail, and my current favorite is my Busse Dirt Dart. It chops well above its weight (15oz) when lashed to my head as shown.



Along with some other knives that I’ve carried and used in the woods:

 

[Blues]

Well, since we're venturing off-topic, (this is my shocked face), the one time I actually had to use a knife almost assuredly for survival was a folding knife I'd carried in my twenties...useful for work or woods...around the same time as I would have picked up the Puma.

It may very well have been this one which I also got at Abercrombie & Fitch when I worked there, as it was a favorite of mine.



Anyway, I was on my way back to my car, cutting across Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village after leaving the "Kettle of Fish" bar on McDougal St at oh dark 30, as was frequently the case back in those days.

No one was about that I could see until I heard steps rapidly coming up from behind me, (roughly a hundred or so feet), and since there was no one else in the area I pretty quickly figured that whoever it was had nothing good in mind for me.

Not wanting to run and induce a chase, I walked under one of the old fashioned street lamps and took out my knife and made sure the blade caught the light, maneuvering the blade to reflect this way and that...ensuring that it would be seen.

With that, the footsteps took a 90 degree turn and headed off into the darkness, receding rapidly and I was able to get back to my car parked a block or two away further east. (I stopped taking shortcuts across the park thereafter.)

True story.

 

[knarfeng]

On the other hand, I’ve practiced survival skills using many different knives while on the trail, and my current favorite is my Busse Dirt Dart. It chops well above its weight (15oz) when lashed to my head as shown.



Along with some other knives that I’ve carried and used in the woods:

So, we need the picture of it lashed to your head. And maybe a video of you using it that way.

 

[vjb.knife]

 

[Danke42]

The only surviving I've done with a knife was with a SAK also. Using the tweezers to pull cactus thorns out of my body after days of pepperpotting.

Sadly no pictures of the details.

 

[Flatsman007]

So, we need the picture of it lashed to your head. And maybe a video of you using it that way.

I was hoping someone would have to ask that other than me.

 

[Deino]

Having a knife of any kind will improve your chance to survive.

So now, the question is which and why.

If you have a good sleeping kit, with tents and everything and fit enough to carry around, a smaller knife is fine.

If you go lightweight, but ready to make a temporary shelter. A bigger knife might be needed.

Then you can be somewhere in between, a medium 10-15cm (4-6") knife is fine.

What kind of "survival" plays too. If I'm in a dense forest, I would like to have a machete to clear out a zone for my camp. In harder woody place, a hatch is useful. If you in a prepared campsite, SAK is more than enough.

If you don't want to be lost, with the marvel of modern technology, having a gps watch and a few battery packs can keep you clear.

 

[scdub]

So, we need the picture of it lashed to your head. And maybe a video of you using it that way.

(This isn’t actually me but this is basically how it looks… )