Has anyone actually been in a real life "survival" situation? If so what knife did you have and how did it work?

Summer between 8th and 9th grade, got lost in the Stanislaus National Forest in No. Cal for four days. Don't remember much that I did with a knife (a Bucklite, which I still have). Since it was August-ish, and we had decent backpacking stuff, albeit only for a day hike, I don't remember being traumatized or break-down worried. We eventually found the campsite and came home. If it went longer, who knows....
 
Blues said:
I was once walking to my car by cutting across Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, late at night or in the early a.m., after some hours pub crawling. (This was many moons ago when I was in my 20's.)

I heard footsteps coming up on me from out of the shadows back further in the park and I knew that it didn't bode well.

I had a quick thought and walked under a streetlamp in the park, pulled out whatever knife I had on me at the time, and made sure the blade glinted under the light.

The footsteps almost immediately receded and whatever potential incident was in the offing was averted.

I suppose that might qualify as usage of a knife in a survival situation...
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And I bet the Nun you scared that night posts her side of the story every so often on the Convent Forums.

Houlahound said:
This guy hacked his own arm off with a blunt pocket knife to survive - he wins the thread.

en.m.wikipedia.org

Aron Ralston - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
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That’s horrifying.
He let his knife get dull? *cringe*

Billy The Blade said:
I'll never look at meatloaf the same...
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He didn’t age well.

Houlahound said:
Well here's a story of survival that involves a knife. It's a reminder you don't want to leave blunt knives around the house - could have been much worse with a dull blade.;

en.m.wikipedia.org

John and Lorena Bobbitt - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
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My favorite part of the story is the act was accomplished with a Cutco kitchen knife.

DocJD said:
I understand what you're saying , but I'm pretty sure, that overall , seat belts save more lives than they take .
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I’d listen to this guy- he’s a doctor.
 
a knife has often made life easier, or more convenient afield, but to be honest, I have never, in some 65+ years in the outdoors, found myself in a situation of 'life or death' when camping, hiking or hunting.
 
In brackenridge park, I had abandoned my truck trekking my way in the 100 degrees heat, in search of my wife. It was hot & humid, I was sweating & needed water. When I finally found her, she asked “do you have your knife?!”, I did. I pulled out my massive buck (305) and we accomplished the cutting task as a team, her holding the items to be cut, and I handled the delicate cutting.
The picnic tables were covered with plastic table covers in no time. Birthday party at kiddie park went well. We even beat the rain.
🤪
 
tejasandre said:
In brackenridge park, I had abandoned my truck trekking my way in the 100 degrees heat, in search of my wife. It was hot & humid, I was sweating & needed water. When I finally found her, she asked “do you have your knife?!”, I did. I pulled out my massive buck (305) and we accomplished the cutting task as a team, her holding the items to be cut, and I handled the delicate cutting.
The picnic tables were covered with plastic table covers in no time. Birthday party at kiddie park went well. We even beat the rain.
🤪
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Traumatic :-)
 
not2sharp said:
Every day is a survival experience for everyone. We never know when disaster will strike and we usually survive without consciously being aware of our actions. We have been learning survival skills since the day of our birth. We are all experts at it, and have a inNate talent for it. This may not be the stuff of Hollywood films, but it is just as relevant. There is no better way to appreciate this than to look at our elders and the risks they find themselves in as physical and mental frailty sets in as they begin to lose those long held skills.

Survival is in the ordinary things that we experience. The extraordinary stuff is only noted on the death Certificate.

n2s
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Very perceptive.
 
“Very perceptive.”

Certainly is. For a guy who’s not2sharp, he’s pretty sharp.

Parker
 
dano said:
Summer between 8th and 9th grade, got lost in the Stanislaus National Forest in No. Cal for four days. Don't remember much that I did with a knife (a Bucklite, which I still have). Since it was August-ish, and we had decent backpacking stuff, albeit only for a day hike, I don't remember being traumatized or break-down worried. We eventually found the campsite and came home. If it went longer, who knows....
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Wow!
 
I've been in a bunch of survival situations but a knife was never necessary. The time that I was taken out to sea by an undertow at Laguna Beach, Ca. in the summer of '82, I had left my Case XX Sidewinder on the beach with my wallet. It took me 13 1/2 hours to swim back.
 
Yes. I had a modified Kabar (Mk.2) and a Huntsman SAK. Worked out well, as I'm still here.
Ron
 
dano said:
Summer between 8th and 9th grade, got lost in the Stanislaus National Forest in No. Cal for four days. Don't remember much that I did with a knife (a Bucklite, which I still have). Since it was August-ish, and we had decent backpacking stuff, albeit only for a day hike, I don't remember being traumatized or break-down worried. We eventually found the campsite and came home. If it went longer, who knows....
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I went trout fishing with a friend up in the Pocono mountains along a small stream. The stream was down a few miles down the road from the development where the house was located. Not being familiar with the area at all, my friend tells me 'fish here for a bit'. Since I had waders I decided to cross to the other side, then move down stream a bit, crossed a few more times, fished, and so on. At some point I realized I had no idea where I was, and noticed all trees look the same in the woods. Kept my head (after a brief panic) and tried to back track the path I took until I could see the road we came in on. Should have had a compass and some knowledge of using it for navigation at a minimum. Things could have gone badly if I had picked the wrong direction to head back. My friend should have schooled me a bit before setting me loose in the woods, since he was familiar with the area.
 
Nothing crazy here but I can tell you when I saw that video of the boar charging that dude who was pumping gas, I dropped the Tops Wild Pig Hunter in my basket and have hovered over it every day since….
 
FloridaDreams said:
Nothing crazy here but I can tell you when I saw that video of the boar charging that dude who was pumping gas, I dropped the Tops Wild Pig Hunter in my basket and have hovered over it every day since….
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I had to look that up. Is it this video? Pretty crazy.


Those guys are taking a lot of risks. A full grown boar with tusks (and even sows can have tusks) could slice them open pretty easily charging into them like that. Pigs will also bite like dogs. I go pig hunting now and then, and the way you're supposed to deal with them (if you can't just shoot them) is to grab their back legs so they can't move. Those guys should have been trying to get behind the boar, not standing in front of it with a stick. You stand in front of a boar and it will win every time.
 
000Robert said:
I've been in a bunch of survival situations but a knife was never necessary. The time that I was taken out to sea by an undertow at Laguna Beach, Ca. in the summer of '82, I had left my Case XX Sidewinder on the beach with my wallet. It took me 13 1/2 hours to swim back.
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Wow. So I've always wondered, did you just float the whole time, tread water or what? How exhausted were you.
 
000Robert said:
I've been in a bunch of survival situations but a knife was never necessary. The time that I was taken out to sea by an undertow at Laguna Beach, Ca. in the summer of '82, I had left my Case XX Sidewinder on the beach with my wallet. It took me 13 1/2 hours to swim back.
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Whoa... Laguna was my beach in the 80s too, and while I was never out that long I definitely got towed out a couple of times as a kid!
 
I have been in two situations I could consider survival situations. Both while climbing and well above treeline. In the first one the weather report was not accurate, we were carryng too heavy backpacks (and therefore moving slower than desired) and we ended up digging a snow cave at 4000m (Mont Blanc range). Not too bad as we even got some sleep. The second one was similar in the way that we got stranded in a crest (rock climbing this time) with the bare minimum... temps dropped and I ended up hugging and rubbing with my climbing partner way harder than with some girls I have slept with LOL. We made it out ok, albeit a tad hipothermic (both of us).

In the first situation, digging implements were much more critical than any knife (we used a proper aluminum shovel AND the cooking pot). In the second one I would have traded half of my knives for a sleeping bag or a biby bag or a couple of robust space blankets. I must say we did have a space blanket... but it was the flimsy kind... and the strong wind ripped it appart in no time. I have bought the heavier stronger ones since then.

So sorry, no knife involvement at all for me.

Mikel
 
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