Most important

myright said:
+1 here. Cutting wood for fire is secondary to the other tasks since there is alway a lot of wood just laying around. That being said I would need a knife that could handle those tasks maybe just not specifically designed as such.
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+1... knives are for cutting and slicing (IMO).

AJ
 
My requirements are these:


Pointy tip for ease of stabbing into a tree

Satin finish to keep glare to a minimum when posing for photos

Fancy scales for photogenic reasons -- exotic woods score big here

Lanyard hole for fancy braided fob

01 or 1095 to take a good patina
 
The most important task a knife could be used for is to save a life.

Can it cut bandages, chop branches for splints or crutches, sever joints?
Is it a shape that a panicked person not familiar with the knife will instinctively be able to use? for instance, people have been known to try to cut material with the dull side of a sheepsfoot blade because they assume the curved edge is the sharp edge.
 
I would want a knife that can chop wood for fire and still be sharp enough to handle small tasks like gutting animals, building traps,making fuzz sticks. It could also be needed to dispatch a larger animal (deer) that might have been caught in a snare.
 
PB Wilson said:
My requirements are these:


Pointy tip for ease of stabbing into a tree

Satin finish to keep glare to a minimum when posing for photos

Fancy scales for photogenic reasons -- exotic woods score big here

Lanyard hole for fancy braided fob

01 or 1095 to take a good patina
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LOL!!!

In all reality those probably are the most frequently used features of a knife!
 
I want a fixed blade (never broke a folder, but don't want this to be my first) for shelter and fire building in my enviornment.
 
PB Wilson said:
My requirements are these:


Pointy tip for ease of stabbing into a tree

Satin finish to keep glare to a minimum when posing for photos

Fancy scales for photogenic reasons -- exotic woods score big here

Lanyard hole for fancy braided fob

01 or 1095 to take a good patina
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Ha, ha!!! Great answer. :D
 
As per Scott's post, what do you need your knife for to get you out of a bad situation?
Whatever task is needed to get me home, could be fire and shelter, maybe helping me out of a medical situation. Could also be as easy as cutting a shaft to help ford a waterway that suddenly blocks the way home.
Be it folder, fixed or a hatchet it has to be a strong tool and be able to hang, yet be portable enough to be with me.
 
Gossman Knives said:
Here's a question to satisfy my curiousity. What's the most important task or job you expect your knife to perform if you would end up in a bad way while out.
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Wheter or not in an emergency, while hiking, I expect my knife to help me get a fire going: splitting small firewood, making feather sticks, etc. In a survival situation (i.e. lost in the woods in winter, and forced to stay the night) I'd need my knife to help me build a shelter. So, most likely cutting a lot of spruce twigs and a few wrist thick trees. Pretty basic rule of threes stuff really; fight hypotermia -> shelter and fire.
 
I'd have to say the number one job is to always be a "cutter."

So said, with care, most jobs can be performed with appropriate cuts, therefore, the blade must be able to take a SHARP edge and RETAIN it through lots of use.

If one can cut, then other tools can be made to perform the jobs the knife can't or shouldn't.
 
blgoode said:
being able to be batonned through limbs for wood gathering / shelter building.

Cut rope or light materials as well. A point usable enough for poking through materials or skin if food prep was needed. Basically any task associated with shelter or fire building.
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Double ditto. This is the single most important task to me is shelter building with a close second to fire making.
 
siguy said:
in the event of a bad turn of the tables, in my area i think the most important survival priority is fire.

as long as i have fire, i will be warm enough to survive. i can last at least a couple of days without food and water, but if i'm hypothermic i will be dead...

so if i have a knife that will help me keep a good hot fire going, then that's all i really need.

but i usually carry a folding saw and/or axe for keeping a fire going, and a smaller knife for whittling.
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Couldn't agree more :thumbup:

I can spend all night by a fire building a shelter, but a night up here in the fall/winter (especially this winter..brrrrr) would be brutal, even in a shelter, without at least a small fire to warm up by.
So for me its Fire, Shelter, then food.

Plus it helps give a level of confidence against things that go "bump" in the night... :eek:
 
It needs to handle a wide variety of chores, to aid in supplying my required needs. Mostly though, lite wood working, firestarting and game chores.
 
Gossman Knives said:
Here's a question to satisfy my curiousity. What's the most important task or job you expect your knife to perform if you would end up in a bad way while out. Everyone lives in different enviroments, states and other countries so each persons situation is going to be different. Lets not make this a company, maker, brand is better then yours thread. There's really no need to mention which knife, just what you think would be then most important job or jobs it would perform to make life comfortable until you get back.
Scott
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Seppuku? :D:eek::D
 
Here in the NW I would want a knife that is long enough to baton or chop standing dead wood to get to the dry center.

around 4.5-5 inch blade is long enough to get the job done but not be left at home.
 
PorcupineMtns66 said:
Of course it would need to be just big enough to baton wood and have a thick spine, small enough to do small notching and such for traps or shelter building.

My most important thing is this, and this is what I have been reluctantly preparing for ever since 911:

Should there be a chemical, biological or nuke attack on the big city near me, it needs to do the before mentioned plus act as a prybar without breaking. I would need it to get into locked entrances for food and supplies or to gain shelter off street level.

So strength without snapping is my main concern.

I keep a backpack loaded up with a PSK and my Busse HHFSH.
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why not just buy an EOD Robotics Breacher Bar from County Comm?
they can be had for thirteen bucks. the right tool for the job. ;)
 
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Having a shelter and fire are psychological. They bring comfort and peace of mind. If I'm going to be stuck in the woods overnite or longer, these two things are top priority, will make you feel secure and help clear the head to work on a plan to get out. The whole idea is to get out of the the bad situation you are in. Any other jobs will be done depending on the actual situation you are in. Cutting tool choice will come down to where you are going. Taking into account the enviroment, terrain and weather. This IMO is why there will never be the "one" tool does it all. Gives us a reason to have many edged tools. :D
Scott
 
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If you are lost and in a bad way and come across another lost soul in the same condition, your knife must be more cool:cool:
 
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