Best blade size for a survival situation

B

Buckshot

Joined
Mar 10, 1999
Messages
38
Hey fellas,
If you were stuck out in the woods for a long
period of time and could carry one knife
what size and style blade would you carry. I
Think between 4 and 6 inches would be about
right in all straight edge. Thats just my
opinion though. How about yours?
Buckshot
 
Do you want total length of all knives, or length of each knife individually?
biggrin.gif


I'll be out for around a week this summer, and I'll be taking (cutting-tool-wise):

Benchmade 140HS (Nimravus in M2 steel) - 4.5" balde, just under 9.5" OAL

CRKT Stiff KISS - 3.25" blade, 7.25" OAL

Small folder, probably BM 705 (2.8" blade)

The 140 is to be the primary camp knife. The KISS is to be a boot knife, for backup purposes (if the 140 is damaged) and anything which has a good chance of damaging the knife, since it's so cheap (comparatively, anyway).
The small folder is for mundane tasks like splinter removal, etc. which require a lot of fine blade control

Also, a pocket chainsaw, for cutting branches (rather than a machete, hatchet, etc., since it is much lighter, and I don't plan on doing a lot of cutting of that sort).

Since you asked for one knife (not that that scenario is all to likely for me), I would take the 140, since it is a good all-around size, and I can skip a backup is absolutely necessary, and fine cutting can be done with a large blade, if you are very careful, and a crude hatchet can be made from rock if needed.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
If you can only have one knife, it better be a big one. You can make a big knife do most little things, but a small knife can't do a big knife's job. Consider Wicked RCM or RTAK or maybe one of the larger Busse's or a CS Trailmaster.
 
I think I would take either a Camillus Companion or a Project 1. The Companion will chop whatever you need and you can still do some whittling with it. Ditto for the Project 1. But what you pay for the Project 1 you can buy 4 Camillus Companions. Both are near indestructable. The handle on the Companion will be much more comfortable for chopping but the narrow blade of the Project 1 might be better for finer work (the Project 2 would be better yet for fine work but less durable for prying). I have a Companion but I don't have a Project 1 so I can't really compare the two side by side. But I would love to get a Project 1 (or maybe a 2).

You could substitute a Steel Heart or a Battle Mistress for the Companion and maybe a Fallkniven A1 or new generation KBar for the Project 1 or something form Ontario or Cold Steel. Personally, I don't want a 'rubber' handled knife as a survival knife.


------------------
Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
Originally posted by KillerMan:
If you can only have one knife, it better be a big one. You can make a big knife do most little things, but a small knife can't do a big knife's job.
Click to expand...


This idea is voiced fairly frequently, but it usually strikes me as an assumption rather than a fact. In my 20 yrs of backpacking and hiking, I've found a 4"-5" fixed to be very sufficient.

So I'm curious (and anyone please feel free to answer): Besides chopping (which has never been a "need" for me), what can a big knife do which a smaller fixed cannot do equally well, or better?

Curious --
Glen
 
Blade length in excess of 4" will be a disadvantage 90% of the time. The most important other 10% of the time is if you need to make an emergency shelter. In that case a heavier blade becomes an asset. A heavy 5 or 6 inch blade might be a workable compromise. The Camillus/Becker Campanion would be a good candidate.
 
If you're limited to one knife and are looking for economy ($50-$60), a Cold Steel SRK (6" blade)or Ka-Bar utility/fighter (7")is hard to beat. If given a backup I'd go with the Benchmade Nimvarus Cub (3 1/2")which is good for closer work.

 
I would have to say something in the order of a 5"-7" blade would be about right. I prefer in the 5"-6" category myself.



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Plainsman
primitiveguy@hotmail.com
<A HREF="http://pub7.ezboard.com/bplainsmanscabin.html" TARGET=_blank>
Plainsman's Cabin Forums</A>
 
I agree with some. I think a knife between
4 and 6 inches is better than a 9 or 10 inch
bowie. Yes a heavy large knife is better for chopping but think you will be using this knife every single day. Your gonna want a knife that will do all the jobs required of it. Skinning game big or small, cutting small
tinder for a fire, ect. A big knife can do
bigger chores better but I think the smaller
is by far more useful in a survival situation.
Buckshot
 
I sort of agree with Jeff Clark. A long knife is too much, *most* of the time.

Bradford Angier wrote that anything over 3" was a waste, unless you're trying to cut a birthday cake. And, admittedly, 3" would be enough, for most of the things I do with a knife.

OTOH, I think many folks (myself included, sometimes) are drawn to BIG, MANLY knifes
smile.gif
, and tend to have a few (or quite a few) of them in their collections. And they are handy for shelter construction, or other "chopping" needs.

In Ron Hoods videos, you very often see him with big knives in his hand..., but even he says if he was limited to one knife, it'd be one of his Swiss Army knives.

That's what's so nice about Simonich's Parasite combination. I have his SRT, with a Parasite in the handle. Two knives in one... a 9" blade and a 2".

Of course.. if you're not artificially restricted to just one knife.., you could always carry a SAK and a Battle Mistress, or a SAK, a Cetan and a Trailmaster..., or a little DH Russell fish and game and a machete..., or all of the above! (my choice
smile.gif
)
 
A Fallkniven A1 would be another good candidate.
Check out the 1st Stop Knife Shop for good prices on the Campanion (sign up for their code-3 price deal, it's great). Also look at the reviews of the Campanion in the Camillus forum.

[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 04-26-2000).]
 
Don't know what a little knife can do until you read Mors Kocanski's NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT.

I have little 100 lb high school girls cutting 2 and 3" poles for shelters using 4" Mora knives and a 2 1/2"x10" stick for a mallet. Takes about five whacks to sever a 3" pole. Sure a big knife has utility, but they are over rated. And I have bought a bunch of them
wink.gif
.
 
BIG KNIFE = GOOD! (Use caveman dialect when reading *L*)

I personally like the Khukuri as I can use it to fell small trees to make shelter, chop kindling, etc. Some might prefer a bolo, parang, or a barong. Whatever the choice may be, make it a chopper with some heft. You can always adjust how you handle the edge for the tasks which demand more dexterity. I agree that a larger knife is a bit unweildy for some of the finer tasks, and my choice of blades isn't optimal for a large number of mundane camp chores. However, if you are going to be "stuck" in the wilderness for an extended period of time with only one knive, I would much prefer to have a knife that can do a wide variety of chores very well, than a blade which falls short in breadth and scope of capabilities but can perform excellently under non-emergency scenarios. I can always learn to adjust how I handle my blade for different tasks. Better to have and not need, than to need and not have. Be prepared. Adapt... Improvise... Overcome. Semper ubi sububi.

------------------
They've got us completely surrounded... The poor bastards!
 
I'd still like to see someone remove a splinter or perform minor surgery with a large knife. Not that large knives aren't useful, but they do not replace small knives. That's a good excuse to carry two or more knives, so no one should complain.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
I think I will make a script for this post... people keep asking questions about survival knives, and I always have the same answer...


I need a knife to do many things. I need a knife to shave tinder. I need a knife to make 'fuzz sticks'. I need a knife to cut line. I need a knife to whittle figure four deadfall triggers. I need a knife to skin the animals (large and small) I take with my deadfalls. It would be nifty to have a high carbon blade that I could spark on a natural flint. I need a knife I can pound on with a stick to split small logs. I need a knife to whittle out a utensil or two to eat with.

I can break branches with my hands or rocks to make a shelter with. They need not be sawed clean, or even rough cut for an emergency. I can dig with a sharpened, firehardened stick, no need to damage a good blade by doing that.

For survival, where my _life_ depends on the skills I have learned and the miniscule equipment I have managed to salvage from a) a burning plane, b) my pockets, c)the enemy, d) whatever; I am in need of a tool to live from. This would be, in my dreams, a chopper full of airmen in maroon berets. Failing this, it would be a 3 - 4 inch fixed blade. Preferably, it would have a belly to skin animals with, a sturdy spine so that it won't mind splitting small logs, be soft enough to sharpen with natural stones, and have a high enough free carbon content that I can strike sparks with the spine on a natural flint.


I am not saying I would carry this knife and only this knife when camping. There is use for a great many more sharp things in the woods. This is the single knife I would wish to have with me, in lieu of the maroon berets, should my life depend on me and the things in my pockets. And I would readily trade it for three matches, a frost folder, and a pot.


Stryver
 
I agree with Jeff and Stryrer. Another thing that has to be considered, though, is setting. Most people seem to agree that a machete is the best tool for survival in the jungle.

And if you are in northern temperate regions, a large knife will save you some work if you have to to a LOT of chopping to do to build a shelter for instance. But if the choice is between a big chopper and Stryver's ideal knife, I would take the knife every time.

As for the Moras, I just got a shipment of 4 moras. Great knives for the money but IMO, not really suited as a survival knife for primarily 1 reason. No finger guard. The 6" mora is particularly dangerous as the sharp blade terminates abruptly at the ferrule and extends beyond the handle by a good 1/8". You could slip up on this blade very easily and cut yourself a good one. Not good if you are in the wilderness, miles from nowhere.

I still think the Becker Companion is an interesting compromise but if I had to pick one knife for survival, it might be something like the Busse Mean Street [Edit: nah, make it the badger attack]. Both are small knives that you can beat on but the badger has some heft to it]. Both are small enough to do small tasks but heavy duty enough that you can make a wooden mallet and beat on them to split logs [that's pushing it with the mean street-probably more like wishful thinking-but it is one tough knife-basically a very sharp railroad spike].


------------------
Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 04-30-2000).]
 
I couldn't agree more.

Tere's nothing you can do with a big knife that you can't do with a small axe or a saw.

Anyway, I have never seen a 11'' bowie been used for anything constructive apart for slicing bread and beeing a penis enlarger for less experienced boy scouts.

I allmost allways carry two by the way, a Buck Vanguard and a thick 8.5'' blade norvegian Brusletto hunting knife for the bread and for handeling frozen peanut butter.

Grunde
 
Originally posted by Grunde:
I have never seen a 11'' bowie been used for anything constructive apart for slicing bread and beeing a penis enlarger for less experienced boy scouts.
Click to expand...

Interesting that your opinion is based upon an lack of experience ... just cause ya ain't seen it, don't change the facts that it works.
Based on personal experience ... it doesn't work as a penis enlarger. I use it for chopping. Sure, there are other ways of doing things ... but I like that way. Actually, metal blades are only useful for you small membered folks. Stone rules!

Mike
wink.gif


------------------
No matter what you do, some things won't work out.
No matter what you do, some things will work out.
Worry about those things that you can make a difference with.
 
Depends on the circumstances but I'll agree with a 4-6" blade. Shelters in a Northern forest situation can be built with no tools just use dead trees, limbs, bark and moss .

But fire is another story and here is where a knife shines- as Stryver has said very well.

Traditional Scandinavian knives have no guards , so you grow up learning to cut on the pull stroke. My Grandfather from Norway scoffed at knife guards saying it got in the way and he could make anything out of wood.

My favorite knife for cleaning deer is a 3" blade.
 
I also like 5 to 6 inch blades for *most* of my work....however....those that under-estimate the ability of a machete or large bowie, haven't used them to their full potential.

Try bushwhacking heavy vegetation with a 5 or 6 inch blade, axe, or saw.

Surprisingly dense woods usually doesn't require the use of large blade since secondary growth is deprived of sunlight, thus leaving the ground fairly clean. (a lesson learned by the defoliate 'experts' in Vietnam who defoliated primary jungle only to have a thicker secondary growth return in a few months - making excellent ambush points)

Once you get into secondary growth you're going to need a large machete type blade to travel.

Knife size all depends on environment.

------------------
Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com
 
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