Cobalt
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 1998
- Messages
- 17,894
Alright, here it is for all yall. Remember, you saw it here on the Busse forum first. You all owe my wife a glass of wine, since she typed it all into my computer.
Great thing is that this is the first time that it is on the internet, so now if it ends up on any other site you know it came from this forum. Remember this was written in 1996 so there weren't too many folding knife choices back then compared to now.
_______________________________________________________________
CHOOSING THE RIGHT SURVIVAL KNIFE by Chris Janowsky
From American Survival Guide July 1996
A few days ago I received a phone call from a lady who not long ago received her "Wake Up Call," i.e., that all was not right in the world. She asked about survival equipment she should purchase and how to attend one of my classes. Her very first concern other than training was, "What knife do I get?"
It is not uncommon for us at WSI (World Survival Institute) to hear this request. As a matter of fact, it is probably the most frequently asked question I get. This is for good reason. When I teach a class I stress that, other than your brain, the proper survival knife is your most important tool.
Choosing the right survival knife can be a real job for anyone, like walking through a maze. There are thousands of different style knives out there made of different steels, different hardness and other different qualities. To make matters worse, there are individuals out there who will sell you anything just to make a profit. There are many good knives on the market but unfortunately there are many crummy ones.
You certainly don't want to end up with a bad knife (JUNK). You also don't want to end up with a pretty good knife. What you should be looking for is a very fine knife that will never let you down. And if we approach the selection of a knife from a survival prospective, we've made the "Maze" a lot simpler. Given critical importance of a "survival knife," your choice must be that EXCELLENT knife that could make the difference between life or death.
Survival knives in general can be broken down into two distinctive categories. There is the urban survival knife and the wilderness survival knife. We will be discussing the latter, although some knives may fit both categories.
The qualities we're looking for will be the same but the design "shape" of the knives differ.
Let us first look at what style (design) knife we need. This must go hand-in-hand with purpose (what tasks will the knife be required to perform on a daily basis?). Once we've established purpose, we have dictated design and are well on our way to that excellent knife.
To design a knife for your needs you will be constantly making tradeoffs. For example, a skinning knife and a filleting knife are radically different in design. Most skinning knives are short with a deep belly and not much of a point. If the skinning knife has a point it is usually a clip point or of a smooth drop point design. The filet knife on the other hand has no belly, and is long and thin. Its blade comes to a very sharp point which is not known for strength.
The skinning knife would make a poor filleting knife and to use a filleting knife as a skinning knife would be disastrous. As you can see neither design would be good for a wilderness survival knife. What we must do is take the essential design of one knife and merge it with the essential design of the other. This is the trade-off we talked about. We no longer have the perfect skinning or filleting knife, but we do have a blade design that can perform both tasks with a reasonable amount of proficiency.
Knives in general fit into two major categories. We have folding knives and fixed blade knives. Both have their purpose in the survival world. We will address each with their advantages and disadvantages. Ideally you should have one of each that is designed for your needs.
Let's look at the tasks a folding knife should be able to perform in a wilderness survival situation:
" Field dress both big and small game
" Quarter and butcher big and small game
" Gut and or fillet large and small fish
" Cut large diameter rope with a single slice
" Cut and carve hardwoods (Oak, Walnut, Hickory etc.) to improvise tools and shelters
" Drill holes in hardwood with the point
" Small enough to fit in your pocket
" Light weight (5 oz. or less)
" Strong enough to split firewood by pounding on it with another piece of wood.
" Hold an edge sharp enough to shave with
" Large enough for close quarter combat
" Lifetime guarantee
If a folding knife cannot perform these tasks easily and efficiently, it is not the survival knife you need. Remember the bottom line is, your life may well depend on it.
Knife Design - Now that we know what we want the knife to be used for, we can design the blade and the folding/locking mechanism to suit our purposes. To be able to efficiently field dress and skin big game (moose, caribou, deer etc.) we must have a blade with a "belly" of sorts. It must have a point to enter the skin but not so radical that it enters all the way into the entrails. Yet the blade must be long enough to butcher the animal, marrow enough to work its way around the bone, and strong enough to be pounded through bone like the pelvis and sternum.
Usually, one of the easiest food sources to procure in the wilderness is fish. Our knife must be long enough to fillet a large fish and pointed enough to be efficient. We also need a razor-sharp edge that won't be dulled by the touch, abrasive scales found on many fish.
Cutting rope is easiest with a serrated edge, but a smooth edge is better when working with fish and game. No problem, let's make a combination edge with the part of the knife closest to the handle serrated and the rest of the blade smooth.
We will want to use the knife as a drill when improvising tools, so we have to have a strong sharp point. If the knife has to be used for close quarter combat, the blade should be approximately 4" long, razor-sharp and capable of easily penetrating soft body armor.
At this point we've pretty much worked out our blade design, so long as we can also carve and whittle with it. Now we have the ideal design for our purposes. Our blade will be approximately 4" long, nor more than 1" wide and be 1/8" thick at the top (back) for strength. Its cutting edge will be both smooth (near the tip), and serrated (near the handle). The width will taper to a razor sharp edge with a point still strong enough to easily penetrate body armor or tin cans.
We don't want the knife to be heavy, so let's make the handle lining and locking mechanism out of a lightweight material like Titanium. Titanium is very strong and feather light. It's also very expensive, so don't assume it comes in every knife you see. Ideally, the scales (outside covering) should also be lightweight and strong. This is not a beauty contest, so look for something like G-10 High Pressure Laminate. Not very pretty but it will stand up to most any abuse you can dish out.
Last but certainly not least is the steel the blade will be made of. One of the finer, more expensive steels is ATS-34 High Carbon Stainless. This steel is very strong and will hold an edge that seems to last forever. ATS-34 is also fairly rust and stain-resistant. Many professional knife makers consider this steel to be the finest for a folding knife. There are many very good steels out there but in my opinion ATS-34 high carbon stainless would be the best first choice for a folding knife.
Let's take a look at stainless steel in general. When we hear the words stainless steel we assume that it will not rust, stain or discolor. To the contrary, all stainless still will stain or rust under the right conditions.
Stainless steel is made by adding alloys to carbon steel such as chromium. As chromium is added, the amount of carbon decreases. High carbon steel will take and hold a keen razor sharp edge. As we decrease the carbon content by adding more chromium, we increase the steel's ability to become rust and stain resistant.
Unfortunately this creates some serious trade-off problems. As the steel becomes more "stainless," its ability to hold an edge decreases drastically and it becomes harder to sharpen. A good example is the steel called 440C Stainless, which is heavily used by many production knife makers. This steel approaches ideal corrosion resistance, but unfortunately it comes with inherent problems.
To achieve fine edge-holding qualities during the tempering process, the blade will be brittle. If you are willing to sacrifice some of the fine edge-holding qualities, the steel can be made to be touch (malleable) and wear-resistant, but slightly on the soft side of the Rockwell hardness scale. This is a trade-off we can't get away from when using 440C stainless. If you live in the tropics or near salt water this steel may be a wise choice. If not I would choose another steel like ATS-34, A2 tool steel, AUS-8A or San Mai III.
As you can see, there are major differences in steel. It's very important that you know exactly what you are getting for that excellent survival knife. Your design may be perfect, but if the steel is wrong for your purposes, you will be disappointed.
The edge of a folding survival knife should be concave, or hollow ground. A hollow grind produces a light and strong blade that takes a very sharp edge easily. As we talk about the steel and the edge, it is very important we know the hardness of that beautifully ground edge.
The edge of a folding survival knife should be from 59 to 61 on the Rockwell hardness scale. The Rockwell scale measures the resistance to indentation on a piece of steel, and rates it with a score from 20 through 68. The higher the number, the harder the sample. Generally, a knife edge should be somewhere between 57 and 64. Values that vary far below or above this range are either too soft or too hard to make a good blade. Many steels cannot be hardened to a 59-61 Rockwell scale score without becoming brittle. However, some of the newer steels, such as ATS-34, love this hardness and do remain tough (not brittle).
Great thing is that this is the first time that it is on the internet, so now if it ends up on any other site you know it came from this forum. Remember this was written in 1996 so there weren't too many folding knife choices back then compared to now.
_______________________________________________________________
CHOOSING THE RIGHT SURVIVAL KNIFE by Chris Janowsky
From American Survival Guide July 1996
A few days ago I received a phone call from a lady who not long ago received her "Wake Up Call," i.e., that all was not right in the world. She asked about survival equipment she should purchase and how to attend one of my classes. Her very first concern other than training was, "What knife do I get?"
It is not uncommon for us at WSI (World Survival Institute) to hear this request. As a matter of fact, it is probably the most frequently asked question I get. This is for good reason. When I teach a class I stress that, other than your brain, the proper survival knife is your most important tool.
Choosing the right survival knife can be a real job for anyone, like walking through a maze. There are thousands of different style knives out there made of different steels, different hardness and other different qualities. To make matters worse, there are individuals out there who will sell you anything just to make a profit. There are many good knives on the market but unfortunately there are many crummy ones.
You certainly don't want to end up with a bad knife (JUNK). You also don't want to end up with a pretty good knife. What you should be looking for is a very fine knife that will never let you down. And if we approach the selection of a knife from a survival prospective, we've made the "Maze" a lot simpler. Given critical importance of a "survival knife," your choice must be that EXCELLENT knife that could make the difference between life or death.
Survival knives in general can be broken down into two distinctive categories. There is the urban survival knife and the wilderness survival knife. We will be discussing the latter, although some knives may fit both categories.
The qualities we're looking for will be the same but the design "shape" of the knives differ.
Let us first look at what style (design) knife we need. This must go hand-in-hand with purpose (what tasks will the knife be required to perform on a daily basis?). Once we've established purpose, we have dictated design and are well on our way to that excellent knife.
To design a knife for your needs you will be constantly making tradeoffs. For example, a skinning knife and a filleting knife are radically different in design. Most skinning knives are short with a deep belly and not much of a point. If the skinning knife has a point it is usually a clip point or of a smooth drop point design. The filet knife on the other hand has no belly, and is long and thin. Its blade comes to a very sharp point which is not known for strength.
The skinning knife would make a poor filleting knife and to use a filleting knife as a skinning knife would be disastrous. As you can see neither design would be good for a wilderness survival knife. What we must do is take the essential design of one knife and merge it with the essential design of the other. This is the trade-off we talked about. We no longer have the perfect skinning or filleting knife, but we do have a blade design that can perform both tasks with a reasonable amount of proficiency.
Knives in general fit into two major categories. We have folding knives and fixed blade knives. Both have their purpose in the survival world. We will address each with their advantages and disadvantages. Ideally you should have one of each that is designed for your needs.
Let's look at the tasks a folding knife should be able to perform in a wilderness survival situation:
" Field dress both big and small game
" Quarter and butcher big and small game
" Gut and or fillet large and small fish
" Cut large diameter rope with a single slice
" Cut and carve hardwoods (Oak, Walnut, Hickory etc.) to improvise tools and shelters
" Drill holes in hardwood with the point
" Small enough to fit in your pocket
" Light weight (5 oz. or less)
" Strong enough to split firewood by pounding on it with another piece of wood.
" Hold an edge sharp enough to shave with
" Large enough for close quarter combat
" Lifetime guarantee
If a folding knife cannot perform these tasks easily and efficiently, it is not the survival knife you need. Remember the bottom line is, your life may well depend on it.
Knife Design - Now that we know what we want the knife to be used for, we can design the blade and the folding/locking mechanism to suit our purposes. To be able to efficiently field dress and skin big game (moose, caribou, deer etc.) we must have a blade with a "belly" of sorts. It must have a point to enter the skin but not so radical that it enters all the way into the entrails. Yet the blade must be long enough to butcher the animal, marrow enough to work its way around the bone, and strong enough to be pounded through bone like the pelvis and sternum.
Usually, one of the easiest food sources to procure in the wilderness is fish. Our knife must be long enough to fillet a large fish and pointed enough to be efficient. We also need a razor-sharp edge that won't be dulled by the touch, abrasive scales found on many fish.
Cutting rope is easiest with a serrated edge, but a smooth edge is better when working with fish and game. No problem, let's make a combination edge with the part of the knife closest to the handle serrated and the rest of the blade smooth.
We will want to use the knife as a drill when improvising tools, so we have to have a strong sharp point. If the knife has to be used for close quarter combat, the blade should be approximately 4" long, razor-sharp and capable of easily penetrating soft body armor.
At this point we've pretty much worked out our blade design, so long as we can also carve and whittle with it. Now we have the ideal design for our purposes. Our blade will be approximately 4" long, nor more than 1" wide and be 1/8" thick at the top (back) for strength. Its cutting edge will be both smooth (near the tip), and serrated (near the handle). The width will taper to a razor sharp edge with a point still strong enough to easily penetrate body armor or tin cans.
We don't want the knife to be heavy, so let's make the handle lining and locking mechanism out of a lightweight material like Titanium. Titanium is very strong and feather light. It's also very expensive, so don't assume it comes in every knife you see. Ideally, the scales (outside covering) should also be lightweight and strong. This is not a beauty contest, so look for something like G-10 High Pressure Laminate. Not very pretty but it will stand up to most any abuse you can dish out.
Last but certainly not least is the steel the blade will be made of. One of the finer, more expensive steels is ATS-34 High Carbon Stainless. This steel is very strong and will hold an edge that seems to last forever. ATS-34 is also fairly rust and stain-resistant. Many professional knife makers consider this steel to be the finest for a folding knife. There are many very good steels out there but in my opinion ATS-34 high carbon stainless would be the best first choice for a folding knife.
Let's take a look at stainless steel in general. When we hear the words stainless steel we assume that it will not rust, stain or discolor. To the contrary, all stainless still will stain or rust under the right conditions.
Stainless steel is made by adding alloys to carbon steel such as chromium. As chromium is added, the amount of carbon decreases. High carbon steel will take and hold a keen razor sharp edge. As we decrease the carbon content by adding more chromium, we increase the steel's ability to become rust and stain resistant.
Unfortunately this creates some serious trade-off problems. As the steel becomes more "stainless," its ability to hold an edge decreases drastically and it becomes harder to sharpen. A good example is the steel called 440C Stainless, which is heavily used by many production knife makers. This steel approaches ideal corrosion resistance, but unfortunately it comes with inherent problems.
To achieve fine edge-holding qualities during the tempering process, the blade will be brittle. If you are willing to sacrifice some of the fine edge-holding qualities, the steel can be made to be touch (malleable) and wear-resistant, but slightly on the soft side of the Rockwell hardness scale. This is a trade-off we can't get away from when using 440C stainless. If you live in the tropics or near salt water this steel may be a wise choice. If not I would choose another steel like ATS-34, A2 tool steel, AUS-8A or San Mai III.
As you can see, there are major differences in steel. It's very important that you know exactly what you are getting for that excellent survival knife. Your design may be perfect, but if the steel is wrong for your purposes, you will be disappointed.
The edge of a folding survival knife should be concave, or hollow ground. A hollow grind produces a light and strong blade that takes a very sharp edge easily. As we talk about the steel and the edge, it is very important we know the hardness of that beautifully ground edge.
The edge of a folding survival knife should be from 59 to 61 on the Rockwell hardness scale. The Rockwell scale measures the resistance to indentation on a piece of steel, and rates it with a score from 20 through 68. The higher the number, the harder the sample. Generally, a knife edge should be somewhere between 57 and 64. Values that vary far below or above this range are either too soft or too hard to make a good blade. Many steels cannot be hardened to a 59-61 Rockwell scale score without becoming brittle. However, some of the newer steels, such as ATS-34, love this hardness and do remain tough (not brittle).
