Traditional knife for survival

Jack Black said:
Nice to see our man Vinnie's thoughts on The Silent Lambsfoot too. Nice way to spend an afternoon :)
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Agreed! There seems to be a lot of similarity in the blades of the Silent Lambfoot and the Outdoor Edge Lambfoot hafted in green G10 that was in the shops several years ago. Nice value for money knives.
 
Old Biker said:
I like that guy. I always figured if one is in a position where they need to use a knife as a survival tool. It is going to have to be a knife they have with them at that time. Most people are more likely to have a small folding knife, like he shows, with them, than some big honking Bowie type knife.
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An excellent point about using what you have. For years I have used an Old Hickory butcher knife for just about everything around camp, often lending it to friends with higher end but less efficient designs.
 
Bartleby said:
Agreed! There seems to be a lot of similarity in the blades of the Silent Lambfoot and the Outdoor Edge Lambfoot hafted in green G10 that was in the shops several years ago. Nice value for money knives.
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Yes, I bought a few of those when a UK retailer was selling them off a while back. Thought they'd make nice gift for my friends' kids. They're a bit smaller, but definitely a similar blade :)

Bartleby said:
An excellent point about using what you have. For years I have used an Old Hickory butcher knife for just about everything around camp, often lending it to friends with higher end but less efficient designs.
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Good choice :thumbsup:
 
Jack Black said:
Yes, I bought a few of those when a UK retailer was selling them off a while back. Thought they'd make nice gift for my friends' kids. They're a bit smaller, but definitely a similar blade
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Cheap and Cheerful, but G-10 is a strange choice of handle for such a traditional pattern. Didn't give them much thought until the Micarta scaled Lambshank was created, which brought them back to mind.
 
Bartleby said:
Cheap and Cheerful, but G-10 is a strange choice of handle for such a traditional pattern. Didn't give them much thought until the Micarta scaled Lambshank was created, which brought them back to mind.
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Yes indeed, the kids like them, but then what kids don't like a knife?! :D :thumbsup:
 
I'm glad everyone is digging the vid as much as I do. I just wish I had Vinnie's skill, that's some decent workmanship he put into that shelter. I wonder how long it'll stay up. I bet the framing will last many years and he just has to re-thatch (is that the right term?) the roof periodically.
 
r8shell said:
That's the one you sent me, Jack! I didn't have great luck sharpening it, I guess because of the shape of the blades, but that video has inspired me to give it another go. :)
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Yes indeed :D When I said it was THE knife, I thought maybe it could be Vinnie's old 'un - after Part 4 where he stabs a car and batons the heck out of it! :D Sadly, I think it has seen better days r8shell, I was just waiting for you to ask about the pattern on the Levine forum ;) :D :thumbsup:

bt93 said:
I'm glad everyone is digging the vid as much as I do. I just wish I had Vinnie's skill, that's some decent workmanship he put into that shelter. I wonder how long it'll stay up. I bet the framing will last many years and he just has to re-thatch (is that the right term?) the roof periodically.
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I've watched a few more of Vinnie's vids this afternoon, I think they should give him his own TV programme! :) :thumbsup:
 
That was a great video, that really shows what a traditional can so.

But.......... I don't know if everybody here knows much about willow trees, but they're incredibly easy to cut. If you happen to be in a place where there are no willows, you might not have that same level of success. Where I spend my time outdoors, the closest I can usually find is poplar. It's not as easy to work with as your garden variety weeping willow, but I can manage it with a bit of elbow grease. But for most bigger jobs in the Adirondacks, we just grab an axe or a hatchet. Nobody bothers with huge knives here. I don't think I've ever seen anybody here ever try to baton there way through a branch.

So not is this guy good with a small knife, but he knows exactly what woods to tackle with one.

I take the middle road most of the time. I carry my saw scout. The big spear does a great job. And if the spear isn't enough, I have a small wood saw.

81gQCoGh.jpg
 
Buzzbait said:
That was a great video, that really shows what a traditional can so.

But.......... I don't know if everybody here knows much about willow trees, but they're incredibly easy to cut. If you happen to be in a place where there are no willows, you might not have that same level of success. Where I spend my time outdoors, the closest I can usually find is poplar. It's not as easy to work with as your garden variety weeping willow, but I can manage it with a bit of elbow grease. But for most bigger jobs in the Adirondacks, we just grab an axe or a hatchet. Nobody bothers with huge knives here. I don't think I've ever seen anybody here ever try to baton there way through a branch.

So not is this guy good with a small knife, but he knows exactly what woods to tackle with one.

I take the middle road most of the time. I carry my saw scout. The big spear does a great job. And if the spear isn't enough, I have a small wood saw.

81gQCoGh.jpg
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That's a very good point about the types of wood. Willow, poplar, and a few other woods are easy to cut with a small blade. But when you try oak, hickory or hornbeam, it gets a lot harder fast. Now with our move to Texas, I find mesquite and cedar in this semi arid hill country to be some very tough stuff. Unlike most of what I felt with in the eastern hardwood forest back east. I find a small machete or very aggressive saw to be needed here. You ain't gonna whittle down a Texas mesquite with a penknife! Even the short scrub type oaks they have here are very tough.
 
jackknife said:
That's a very good point about the types of wood. Willow, poplar, and a few other woods are easy to cut with a small blade. But when you try oak, hickory or hornbeam, it gets a lot harder fast. Now with our move to Texas, I find mesquite and cedar in this semi arid hill country to be some very tough stuff. Unlike most of what I felt with in the eastern hardwood forest back east. I find a small machete or very aggressive saw to be needed here. You ain't gonna whittle down a Texas mesquite with a penknife! Even the short scrub type oaks they have here are very tough.
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Amen, sir! Back in the '80's, when I first moved down here, I was introduced to the Old Hickory butcher in the role of small machete, not so much for trees but for vines (especially trumpet vine) and stickers. The separate saw or a hatchet/axe is the way to go.
 
Being prepared is the key, I always had a shovel, bow saw , ax with me on campouts. On my body I had an 8OT STOCKMAN, and a folding saw plus my fixed 150OT baby sharpfinger.

Small knives can do big work.
 
Interesting discussion! I really enjoyed the video. I'm a former US Army helicopter pilot and Aviation Life Support Equipment Officer. Of course I went through S.E.R.E. training as well as advanced medical training. I flew with a medevac unit with a live mission covering 55,000 square miles of high mountains, rain forests, high desert and ocean. Our crews were outfitted with a US Army Survival kit folding knife that was poorly designed and constructed and with minimal use the springs were breaking rendering it useless. We all opted for a small Swiss Army camping knife with a saw blade. I used mine for over 20 years and retired it as a gift to my grandson. It fit nicely in our Survival Vests and proved itself time again in the field under harsh conditions. Cutting rope, medical dressings, splints and a host of other jobs needed to complete our mission. One mission required the amputation of a leg to extract the victim from the tangled wreck. Yep, the folder completed the job our other equipment failed at! That little red Swiss Army knife delivered.

Currently I live in SE Asia and carry a Swiss Army knife and an assisted opener as my EDC. I'm putting together a Emergency Survival Kit in case of an earthquake or a typhoon. Both are extremely likely and should one hit the major metropolitan area where I live the federal government here will be of no help. So we will be left to our own devices to survive and I imagine there is a high possibility of looting.

I have no problem relying on a small folder for many, many tasks. It would not be the best choice for chopping bamboo to build shelters from tarps nor would it be a reliable self defense tool. For that I am looking at machete's. A simple folding knife is too often under rated! Just make sure that the tool you choose is appropriate for the environment and tasks at hand. If a small folder is all you have, common sense and inventiveness will get you where you need to be.
 
Traditional knives I use, or have used, in what some may term a "survival" situation are as foillows:
Victorinox Soldier
Victorinox Farmer
Case CV Trapper (yellow Delrin, of course!)
Case 6318 Pocket Worn medium stockman
Victorinox Ranger
Victorinox Huntsman
Case 6375 large CV stockman
Camillus/Remington R4466 Muskrat
Modified Western W49 bowie, re-shaped into a bolo knife

Back in the late '80's, when I was assigned to SOCSOUTH as a Tactics Advisor, I carried my Huntsman and my R4466 Remington, as well as a Buck Ranger. They all proved quite useful in the jungles of Central America! The rest listed have been carried and used in various locations in Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and the Middle East over the past 35+ years. Now, in my semi-retirement, I use a number of different Case, SAK, Great Eastern, Buck and other traditional folders, as well as my trusty Western "bolo knife" down here in Central Texas!

Regards,
Ron

 
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Agreed! That's why I have always carried them on me...and usually more than one! Right now, I have a Buck 500 in a belt pouch, along with a Vic Farmer SAK in another pouch, and a Case 6318 in my pocket.

"A knifeless man is a lifeless man." - old Norse proverb
 
I'm on an airplane at the moment, so my "survival knife" is a SwissCard with the blade removed, a P-38, and a Leatherman 6.

Hope we don't crash. ;-)
 
Having spent several million miles in airliners...I'm with ya there! Hope it makes it where you're intending to go!
 
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