What knife features for Wilderness Survival?

Daniel Koster

Daniel Koster

www.kosterknives.com
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
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Without naming any knives.....




What features do you look for in a knife, or an axe, etc....for Wilderness Survival?




In other words....what would your "Sharps" list be?
(let's say you can take more than one item and you have a packmule to carry it for you...:D)


What would you want your sharp stuff to be able to do?



I'd like to put together a list of Wilderness Survival knife/axe/etc. needs.




For example...opening a letter is probably not one of them!!! :D :rolleyes:
 
Off the top of my head. . .
I'd want:
- a good chopper
- something good for clearing soft vegetation
- something good for fine slicing
- something good for skinning/cleaning game, including fish

I'd take at least 3 "sharps":
a small blade, 3-4"
a medium blade, 5-8"
an axe(hatchet) or kukri
 
The general-purpose bush knife should be indestructible. The blade should be as long as the width of the palm, four to four and a quarter inches is ideal to perform intricate woodcraft duties, yet is large enough to present a good target for baton when cutting down small trees, and splitting wood. A general-use knife should have the blade tip close to the profile centerline of the handle. The back of the handle and back of the blade should be on the same line. The back of the blade should not be thinned down or sharpened so that a baton can be used more effectively without being cut up. The knife’s spine should be squared off to be able to spark a FireSteel/ferrocerium rod. The blade should be of good quality carbon steel; my personal preferences are O1 and A2. The blade should be one-eighth of an inch thick and about one inch wide. This size of blade is lightweight, yet difficult to break. The curvature of the cutting edge should extend for the full length of the blade. As for the blade grind, I prefer the Scandinavian Grind. This grind is a wide flat bevel that runs to the edge of the blade there is no significant secondary bevel. The angle is engineered to match the quality of the steel and intended use, usually the edge bevels only goes 1/3 way up the side of the knife. The result is a very keen edge. The Scandinavian Grind gives excellent control in woodcarving. If you carve wood, you will probably find that the flat bevels give you better control of the cut. The wide bevel face lies flat against the wood like a plain and slices wood into fine curls. Working with wood is a must when practicing wilderness living skills. Another advantage to this grind is that it cuts well and is one of the best shapes that quickly sharpens to a razor’s edge. It's also ideal if you expect to sharpen your knife in the field, and don't want to carry a tool kit around, no jigs or other gadgets are required. All that is required is to lay the bevel flat to the stone, and work the entire surface of the bevel. It forms its own guide. This requires some patience, but minimal skill. The knife blade should have a sharp enough point to penetrate deep into wood with a minimum of effort. The steel should be soft enough to be maintained at a shaving edge, a Rockwell scale hardness of 58.5-60 seems ideal. Carbon steel, unlike stainless steel, has another advantage in the bush; it can be used as the striker in the flint and steel method of fire lighting. The metal of the knife blade should extend for the full length of the handle (a full tang) for strength. The knife handle should be durable and made of a water-resistant material; my preference is micarta. The knife should have a strong pommel that will protect the handle if the knife is driven tip-first deep into wood. The knife handle should be as long as the width of your palm, four to four and a quarter inches is ideal. The cross section of the handle should be oval instead of round or rectangular. The handle should be a bright color so the knife can be easily found on the forest floor. I like to stay true to the Mora tradition, and prefer red. A guard on a bush knife is in the way and detracts from many operations. It prevents the use of a simple, secure, deep sheath. One of the best methods in preventing the loss of a knife while carrying it is to use a deep sheath and wear it around the neck to be constantly aware of the knife’s presence. When the knife is not in use, the sheath is tucked in the shirt. The pouch sheath should be constructed from heavy cowhide and treated with beeswax/paraffin to help it become water-resistant.
 
A pommel that I can use for hammering and for batoning the knife into wood tip first is a nice feature that is often overlooked. The thick hexagon one on the USAF knife is great.

If no SAK or multitool is available, having some sort of short section of saw teeth in the spine for cutting notches and making clean cut in short lengths of wood is a huge advantage.

Basically I want a 7" copy of the USAF survival knife with a full tang, choil, slightly cross angled and deeper saw teeth better for wood, hexagon head pommel, and a more shallow grind
 
Myakka,

Doesn't this describe your Mors Kochanski's description of a bushcraft knife?

Lester
 
Myakka,

+1

To that knife I would add a tool capable of chopping be it an axe or machete depending on location. Mac
 
i don't do any hunting or fishing at the moment, maybe in the future.

but because of this my own personal preferences are possibly different from some of the others.

my EDC in the woods is a small 1.5# axe and a Case trapper in CV steel with yellow delrin scales. (along with my other gear)

truthfully, i have never really had too much need for a fixed blade in the woods since i started carrying the axe. it is heavy enough to chop well, it is sharp enough to hack stakes, split pegs, and whittle roughly. it makes great shavings for starting a fire, and the chips that i pops off of a small log are also good for getting a fire going. my trapper takes the other smaller jobs (which, to tell you the truth, there aren't a lot of in my neck of the woods)

also, on longer trips or those that i expect to have plenty of lounging/free time (camping in the same area for a couple of days instead of thru hiking etc) i sometimes also bring along a couple of small wood carving chisels. one has the traditional flat end and the other has the curve for scooping out depressions. they are cheap, i have had them for years, but they work.

EDITED to add: whoops sorry i broke the bright red rule.
 
What features do you look for in a knife, or an axe, etc....for Wilderness Survival?

For a large blade, I do like a choil which allows you to choke up for smaller tasks and you still have the reach for chopping chores. Other than my RTAK or Ontario machete which are good at lighter vegetation, I like a little thicker stock (1/4") with either a full flat or convex grind.

In other words....what would your "Sharps" list be?
(let's say you can take more than one item and you have a packmule to carry it for you...:D)

Axe, Heavier chopping/splitting than a large knife ~ GB SFA is my idea
Larger chopper with choil, 1/4" (1065, A2), flat or convex grind, ~10" blade
Belt knife, ~4-5" wide blade, 3/16" flat or covex (A2, 01, D2), Nessmuk-like
Bushcraft...see Myakka's post:D
Small bird/trout knife (i.e. neck knife), 1-1.5" blade, thin (S30V, D2)

Throw in a handy locking folder and/or a SAK, and i'm covered.

What would you want your sharp stuff to be able to do?

Other than a leafy/light vegetation area, I would prefer the large 1/4"~10" bladed chopper, but a 12" machete and ax could cover a lot of big chores from gathering fire wood, clearing a camp site, quickly gathering material for shelter, etc.

The belt knife would be the staple for camp chores, skinning/cleaning game, etc.

Bushcraft blade would be used mostly for wood working, making traps, utensils, etc.

Small bird/trout knife would be excellent for the small chores or small-scale slicing, cleaning, etc.

A decent bow saw would be a good addition for working with larger diameter wood.
 
I look for easy carry , most of the time Im not in camp but going somewhere , check traps , go fishing , going hunting but doing something , I want my knife/knives with me but easy to carry and not digging into me .

I like a little razor sharp blade , for delicate stuff like cleaning smaller fish , digging splinters out , and the fine delicate cutting that needs doing at times , ATM this is a small folder with a 2"blade that sits in a pouch made as part of my belt , it fit longways , not up n down ways .

I like a bigger blade , for just about everything else , its got to be heaps stonger than the fine one that does scapel duty , the handle must fit my hand , the blade length has to be so I can really put pressure on but have really really good control , about 4-6 inches is good for me . This is my hunting / skinning / carving knife the one that gets used for nearly everything . Right now it is a folder as well , that also rides on my belt .

I also like a big blade , for clearing a path , clearing weeds for camp , for lopping poles and other heavier work , I bring a machete for this , I began with a 18 inch one , now Im playing around with a 24 inch one , 2 reasons , one is blackberry and wait-a-while or lawyer vines ( reverse hooks grab ya , sink in and do not let go ) the other is the massive amount more of cutting power of the bigger blades LOVE THEM dam they are good .
at the moment this rides either on my pack , or in my hand being used

this is what works for me usually at times I swap the machete from one with a roughly 1/8 inch thick blade for one with a 1/4 inch thick spring steel blade that does duty as axe on the hardwoods , and the folder gets swapped for or backed up with a fixed blade .

I vary my tools according to where I am going tho , I havent found a one size fits all combo for all the places I go , yet .

I AM a fan of hi carbon steels tho , and lean strongly toward natural handle material over synthetics but this is just preference of mine for no reasons that its what I really love in a blade
 
My knife would need to be able to handle the following:
- carve wood
- baton through wood
- light/medium prying
- all manner of food prep
- skin/clean game and fish
- be comfortable in hand in several positions
- drilling
- scraping
- square spine for throwing a spark
- easy to field sharpen
 
Reading this, I reached up on my book shelf and took down my well used, Randall model 3 with a 5 " blade, tool steel. The little pocket stone did come in handy once while away from camp and was gutting some game. It is my favorite not too big, not too small.....just right!

Of course I don't step into the out doors without my khkuri!...........EVER...........:)
 
Method of carry is important. As much as I like a high ride sheath, it gets in the way of a backpack hip belt: the pommel should be below the belt line, a pouch friction type, with a compartment on the front or rear edges for a small sharpener and fire steel. The sheaths for axe or hatchet, folding saw, or big blade should have lashing points. Actually, the hatchet/fixed combo has been ignored in recent years yet is the do-it-all package that made sense with a pocket knife when a lot of people lived in near wilderness. I will sort of discount the "pack mule" as being a vehicle:D to offer that the full sized axe, maul, or chainsaw (cheaper than a lot of knives!) are not excluded but probably outside your concept. I take a cordless recip saw and 12v charger... :). A "line" of optional matched implements that could be acquired separately according to need would be very fetching indeed.:) Regards, ss.
 
I have been carrying a small blade (2"-3")and a mid-size (7") chopper lately (new toys) but if I was choosing one knife to go out with and handle anything it would have the following:


  • Sturdy, straight blade for easy resharpening
  • Extended pommel
  • Flat spine
  • Good belly for skinning
  • 5" blade
  • Minimal to no guard
  • Low-riding kydex sheath since they can dry out more quickly and the low-rides hang more comfortably on the hip IMO
  • Stainless steel blade if its an extended trip so less maintenance is involved
 
For me:

-First off Carbon Steel
-4"-5" blade
-perferrably not natural handle material
-kydex sheath that rides high and tight
-Drop doint, or moded clip with a full flat grind, mabye even a full convex
-good flat sharp spine for striking a ferro rod.
-full tang
-I like a small guard, but not much of one.


As to axe's. latley I've been having a craving for 'hawk's. I used a wetterlings large hunter axe. 19" handle is perfect for me, 2lbs head at the most.
 
Victorinox OH German Army utility knife (Trekker) handles many of the specialty camp chores and fine cutting. As well as sawing, where chopping isn't available because of limited room
bundevaluation004a1.jpg


Becker BK-11 Necker can handle many of the finer cutting chores, as well as heavier wood work, bataning, etc., kind of overlaping the SAK and larger knife chores.
BeckerNecker007c.jpg


Becker BK-7 Combat/Utility can handle the heavier wood chores, bataning, chopping and even a few of the finer cutting chores.
Becker020.jpg


-OR-

The SA Wetterling, BRKT Northstar and Victorinox Hunter lockblade w/saw, can handle the same chores.
P1010508b.jpg


-OR-

Exchange the BRKT for a Mora, the Wetterling for a Fiskars and keep the SAK

-OR-

Just take the SAK, improvise and adapt. :D
 
What features do you look for in a knife, or an axe, etc....for Wilderness Survival?
Click to expand...
Not too heavy. Confortable for long use. Easy carry in pocket or small pack. Lanyard. Easily sharpened. Would prefer a fixed-blade for keeping it clean, but if a folder it needs to lock.

For hiking and backpacking:
Lightweight. Easy pocket carry. Lanyard. Fine edge. Again, I prefer a fixed blade for hygiene purposes.

-Bob
 
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