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Has your knife ever helped you out of a dire situation?
- Thread starter story
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I'll give you an urban funny one then:
I was in mah nest all casual when a woman I used to do booty calls with phoned up wanting me to get her something from a third party. I couldn't really be bothered but I said yes. She turned up and I just pulled mah strides on and called that good to go. So I'm barefoot, not shirt, no undersmackers, no nothing, just the trousers. Anyway, on the return journey at around 02.00 we have an auto accident. A woman driving a Volvo pulls out and we hit it full on ramming speed. The Volvo was totalled. The woman driving it wasn't hurt but she's on a big rush of shit to the head and flapping like a useless thing. The woman driving our car has whiplash, nothing more, and it is best not to move her. Although I was unharmed somehow during the crash I figure I must have expanded because my trouser button is gone. So, there I was, with bunch of tasks ahead of me, trousers readily heading south and nudity imminent. I've got no idea what's in the other car but I know I need to go looksie 'cos it's either going to need medical help or a broken snout, and I also need to push our car off the road from the position it is in. Tricky one with the one hand 'cos the other hand is holding up the trousers. In short, there were several moments during that when I was so tempted to bail on the trousers completely so as to free up both hands. As I suspected total nudity wouldn't have been the best state to be in when the police turned up improvisation was imperative. I grabbed a length of electrical cable attached to who cares what and cut myself a belt. That was the exciting bit over right there.
I was in mah nest all casual when a woman I used to do booty calls with phoned up wanting me to get her something from a third party. I couldn't really be bothered but I said yes. She turned up and I just pulled mah strides on and called that good to go. So I'm barefoot, not shirt, no undersmackers, no nothing, just the trousers. Anyway, on the return journey at around 02.00 we have an auto accident. A woman driving a Volvo pulls out and we hit it full on ramming speed. The Volvo was totalled. The woman driving it wasn't hurt but she's on a big rush of shit to the head and flapping like a useless thing. The woman driving our car has whiplash, nothing more, and it is best not to move her. Although I was unharmed somehow during the crash I figure I must have expanded because my trouser button is gone. So, there I was, with bunch of tasks ahead of me, trousers readily heading south and nudity imminent. I've got no idea what's in the other car but I know I need to go looksie 'cos it's either going to need medical help or a broken snout, and I also need to push our car off the road from the position it is in. Tricky one with the one hand 'cos the other hand is holding up the trousers. In short, there were several moments during that when I was so tempted to bail on the trousers completely so as to free up both hands. As I suspected total nudity wouldn't have been the best state to be in when the police turned up improvisation was imperative. I grabbed a length of electrical cable attached to who cares what and cut myself a belt. That was the exciting bit over right there.
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I buck the trend and maybe it has to do with where I live, I dunno. I think a chopper is the most important tool and I choose a hatchet or a hawk. Fire prep and shelter building are more important than the ability to do a lot of fine carving IMO. I actually think a hatchet is less awkward to use for fine tasks than a similarly weighted chopper knife anyway.
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Welcome to the forums, story. This has the potential to be an interesting thread. But I'm hoping that you will jump in with some of your own experiences and observations. What do you think? Are there more important survival tools? Has your knife ever helped you out of a dire situation?
All the best,
- Mike
All the best,
- Mike
I have very little experience using knives. I love to go backpacking-and have used friends knives in the past to make kindling or prepare food. I'm looking to do longer trips, and friends have suggested getting that I get a knife-"just to be safe".
I started thinking about whether or not people really use them for things other than kindling and food prep. I thought it would be interesting to hear about real experiences that knife owners have had, and it might help me better justify the expense.
I started thinking about whether or not people really use them for things other than kindling and food prep. I thought it would be interesting to hear about real experiences that knife owners have had, and it might help me better justify the expense.
Mistwalker
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If I had more time I could have fun with this one...maybe later.
In a nut shell though...yes more than once.
by the way BTII that was hilarious thanks for the laugh!
In a nut shell though...yes more than once.
by the way BTII that was hilarious thanks for the laugh!
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back a number of years ago, my wife, a friend and I wanted to get up to that circular revolving restaurant in Atlanta. The line to take the elevator was LONG, so I had a great idea.
We found a freight elevator, and took that up to what I thought was the floor just below the restaurant.
Opening a door, we suddenly found ourselves on the roof itself, with the revolving restaurant above us.
.........then a gust of wind slammed the dang door shut, and there we were, some 25 stories up, on the open roof, in the wind and a light rain. No cell phones in those days, and you could bang on that door for a week, and no one would hear you.
As luck would have it, using my trusty Swiss Army knife, I was able to slide back the bolt on the lock, and we escaped.
We found a freight elevator, and took that up to what I thought was the floor just below the restaurant.
Opening a door, we suddenly found ourselves on the roof itself, with the revolving restaurant above us.
.........then a gust of wind slammed the dang door shut, and there we were, some 25 stories up, on the open roof, in the wind and a light rain. No cell phones in those days, and you could bang on that door for a week, and no one would hear you.
As luck would have it, using my trusty Swiss Army knife, I was able to slide back the bolt on the lock, and we escaped.
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It can help but probably won't. Meaning a knife can make things a lot easier but a lot of hikers don't carry them. The reason being you could go your whole life without "needing" a knife on your hike. In fact there's a large community that think a SAK classic is the only way to go. If you can you should check out the thru-hike thread. Tradja tested knives out and the majority of what he did is food prep but also used it to trim insoles, lance blister, etc. If I weren't going to carry an axe/hawk I would definitely have a fixed blade on me. You can make kindling, fuzz sticks, harvest fatwood, trim bows for insulation, cut poles for a shelter frame and so on. To me it's like a back up to my shelter/tent. If everything was lost I could make a debris hut with it. Could I make one without? Yes, but it would take a lot longer.
PS, if you're borrowing your buddies knife all the time that should tell you to get one. Don't be the guy that bums tools all the time. I for one, don't lend out my cutting tools to anyone. Even my closest friends.
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That's essentially my position. It goes for my cooking pot, my fishing rod, and my tent, too. They have never been the determining factor between survival and peril, but they let me do what I want to do when I'm in the woods. I use my knife to make fires, prep food (and clean fish), clear brush, etc. It just happens to be an extremely useful tool. That goes for my Leatherman, too, though in that case I think that the pliers have saved my fingers from being burned quite a few times!
I can think of situations where my knife would help me to persevere, though. Most of these situations involve preparing and maintaining a fire or emergency shelter.
All the best,
- Mike
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I was an avid backpacker for years. Most of that time, I had a leatherman to cut open my Mountain House dinner. I would carry a very small hatchet, to help process fire wood, but in NM there are months of fire restrictions.
So no, I don't think that I was ever in a dire situation where a knife saved me. But, looking back I realize how little I knew about survival. Once, my backpack went tumbling down a hill. What if it was out of reach? (keep your knife on you!)
With a good knife, and some knowledge, I would have had a fire and a shelter. I could have made a water vessel, maybe, and made deadfall traps.
So, like said above, a knife can do so many things, why would you not have one.
Get a 4-6" high carbon knife, and a "chopper" or a axe/hawk/hatchet.
Be prepared! Knives are like seatbelts, better to have them on you or with you.
So no, I don't think that I was ever in a dire situation where a knife saved me. But, looking back I realize how little I knew about survival. Once, my backpack went tumbling down a hill. What if it was out of reach? (keep your knife on you!)
With a good knife, and some knowledge, I would have had a fire and a shelter. I could have made a water vessel, maybe, and made deadfall traps.
So, like said above, a knife can do so many things, why would you not have one.
Get a 4-6" high carbon knife, and a "chopper" or a axe/hawk/hatchet.
Be prepared! Knives are like seatbelts, better to have them on you or with you.
Need to set the stage a little....
My father and I were fishing in the Quetico in weather that we shouldn't have gone out in. We at least had the sense to wear the lifejackets.
We had with us 50 ft of rope tied to a mesh bag filled with rocks and that was our anchor.
We're paddling across a large, windy lake because we just HAD to get to the early evening smallmouth honey-hole.
Canoe gets swamped, gear goes over, one treble hook on a Rapala embeds into the anchor rope, and the other treble embeds into my dad's boot.
So now an anchor is long-lined from my father's boot as we bob up and down in some fairly sporty waves.
I cut the anchor rope with a tiny little blade in a Leatherman Squirt that I kept attached to a belt loop.
Anchor went to the bottom, and we collected the rest of the gear that was still floating in the area.
Dire? Probably not that dramatic, but it could have been much worse with a couple of minor changes to the circumstances, and it certainly got my attention.
My father and I were fishing in the Quetico in weather that we shouldn't have gone out in. We at least had the sense to wear the lifejackets.
We had with us 50 ft of rope tied to a mesh bag filled with rocks and that was our anchor.
We're paddling across a large, windy lake because we just HAD to get to the early evening smallmouth honey-hole.
Canoe gets swamped, gear goes over, one treble hook on a Rapala embeds into the anchor rope, and the other treble embeds into my dad's boot.
So now an anchor is long-lined from my father's boot as we bob up and down in some fairly sporty waves.
I cut the anchor rope with a tiny little blade in a Leatherman Squirt that I kept attached to a belt loop.
Anchor went to the bottom, and we collected the rest of the gear that was still floating in the area.
Dire? Probably not that dramatic, but it could have been much worse with a couple of minor changes to the circumstances, and it certainly got my attention.
Last edited:
Mistwalker
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Exactly. Those of us who do use and love our knives tend to have issues with putting them in an other's hands...especially someone who doesn't even own one. Only my brother and my wife ever use my personal knives and then only occasionally. Personally I wouldn't want someone (an adult anyway) who doesn't own a knife in the woods with me.
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Welcome Story...
My knife has gotten my butt into and out of trouble to varying degrees, depending on locations.
My knife has gotten my butt into and out of trouble to varying degrees, depending on locations.
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Very familiar; I was out working pest control, sitting in my truck doing paperwork, when a gentleman with an accent came up to me and asked if "you have something sharp?" I had just picked-up my then new knife ( a Cruciable II folder) at the post office a couple of hours prior and had it on the seat next to me. I said "yes", and showed the guy who said "that will work, I belive". I followed him to his rental car, and there in the back seat was his daughter, entangled in the seat belts, crying and hyperventilating. I cut the belt, the kid started breathing normaly again and said thanks ( I don't think she was in dire trouble, just very scared) and all was right with the world. A good story to tell people when they ask me why I carry a knife.
dialton
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UUmm, you do realize this is bladeforums right? Hehehe
I'm not sure how dire it was but it got my attention at the time. I got a trebble hook in my arm while fishing in my tube (as a youngun)
I sure was glad to have a knife to cut the line from the hook. I would have been much happier had we not had to paddle to shore to get a pair of needle nose pliers to run it on thru cut the barb and run it back out. From that time on, I NEVER go fishing without some NN pliers. Wish we would have known how to take that hook out with mono line back then. Oh and where were leathermans back in the 60's and 70's?
I don't go anywhere without a knife, really. Might just be a pocket knife but I have one. Most of the time (and every day at work) I have a large single bladed folder and a slip joint. In the woods its gonna be fixed and whatever else.
On the other subject and I dont want to move the thread in a different direction but I gotta say: I am extremely surprised that you guys (that said you would not let anyone use your knife) take your cutting instruments so seriously or possibly the term is so personally. The knives that I own are more than capable of taking any amount of unintentional abuse by a novice and I certainly would not hesitate to let someone that was out in the woods with me use mine. If you are out in the woods with me, you are a friend of mine or you ain't goin. If I saw them using it in a manner that I did not care for, I would intervene but I kind of like to let others use them. In many cases, they have never handled a quality cutting tool like that before. One of my buddies is hunting in Wyoming right now. I offered to let him take what I consider to be a pretty expensive and hard to come by older model Busse skinner with him on that trip and try it out. I mean its not like they wana borrow your dog!
I'm not sure how dire it was but it got my attention at the time. I got a trebble hook in my arm while fishing in my tube (as a youngun)
I sure was glad to have a knife to cut the line from the hook. I would have been much happier had we not had to paddle to shore to get a pair of needle nose pliers to run it on thru cut the barb and run it back out. From that time on, I NEVER go fishing without some NN pliers. Wish we would have known how to take that hook out with mono line back then. Oh and where were leathermans back in the 60's and 70's?
I don't go anywhere without a knife, really. Might just be a pocket knife but I have one. Most of the time (and every day at work) I have a large single bladed folder and a slip joint. In the woods its gonna be fixed and whatever else.
On the other subject and I dont want to move the thread in a different direction but I gotta say: I am extremely surprised that you guys (that said you would not let anyone use your knife) take your cutting instruments so seriously or possibly the term is so personally. The knives that I own are more than capable of taking any amount of unintentional abuse by a novice and I certainly would not hesitate to let someone that was out in the woods with me use mine. If you are out in the woods with me, you are a friend of mine or you ain't goin. If I saw them using it in a manner that I did not care for, I would intervene but I kind of like to let others use them. In many cases, they have never handled a quality cutting tool like that before. One of my buddies is hunting in Wyoming right now. I offered to let him take what I consider to be a pretty expensive and hard to come by older model Busse skinner with him on that trip and try it out. I mean its not like they wana borrow your dog!
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Here is what I found when I asked and thought about these sorts of things.
The reason you rarely see people who practice survival in a survival situation or knife users in a dire situation - is BECAUSE they have their PSK's with them, knives with them, or skills with them.
You will likely find a lot of us who would find themselves in a dire situation had they not had their knife. With it, however, it is much more manageable.
TF
The reason you rarely see people who practice survival in a survival situation or knife users in a dire situation - is BECAUSE they have their PSK's with them, knives with them, or skills with them.
You will likely find a lot of us who would find themselves in a dire situation had they not had their knife. With it, however, it is much more manageable.
TF
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Not a dire situation but...
Our family went car camping with my brother-in-laws family and he wanted to make dinner the first knife. He threw some chicken breasts on the grill over the fire pit, but then realized he had nothing to flip them. Within 2 minutes I chopped, battoned, tied and wedged a set of tongs. The kids were impressed.
Our family went car camping with my brother-in-laws family and he wanted to make dinner the first knife. He threw some chicken breasts on the grill over the fire pit, but then realized he had nothing to flip them. Within 2 minutes I chopped, battoned, tied and wedged a set of tongs. The kids were impressed.