What knife for desert island survival?

I was thinking more of pure rural, so all natural materials. Locally I would be looking at wood + pitch glue or possibly even some fibreglass type material using pitch glue and plant material directly as a binder. The bag idea sound interesting, Ron Hood noted the same before with other native blades. I'll have to try that out on my Bolo.

-Cliff
 
A machete and a SAK with a saw, awl, and magnifying glass, definitely.

You can do almost anything with a good machete if you are willing to get creative. Some know-how helps. I mean, I've seen church pulpits and pews made using nothing but a machete and glue. And you would be surprised at the quality of the finished product. When I was a kid back in Puerto Rico, I used a machete to prepare the camping area before pitching the tent or starting a campfire. I also used a machete to cut the grass in the backyard in the areas where using a lawnmower was not practical. All of this to say, if you have access to only one tool in the tropics, a machete is the way to go. Sure, it requires care, but eventually that becomes second nature. They are easy to resharpen and easy to repair. A machete and a SAK will cover your basics.
 
With the previous post in mind DON'T forget a field sharpening device, the machete and probably the SAK will require frequent sharpening due to the softer steels.
 
Without reading the thread:
1. What folder if you could only take a folder? Benchmade 610 Rukus

2. What fixed blade* if you could only take a fixed blade? Fehrman Final Judgement

3. Would you prefer an axe to either or both of these options? Depends on the island -- maybe for the Rukus, No for the FJ.
 
Bag handle :

tramontina_bolo_bag_handle.jpg


It only takes a few minutes for the bags to melt, the foil sticks to them. I rasped it to shape. It leaves a very aggressive texture which should wear smooth in use. It seems solid through a few minutes of chopping. However the first inch or so near the choil didn't get completely formed because I was concerned about the blade overheating. If this breaks off I'll redo it a bit better and check again.

-Cliff
 
Book: Fatu Hiva.

THOR HEYERDAHL and his new bride went to
an island Fatu Hiva, in the Marquesas
group in Polynesia, 1937 to 1938.

The book describes living in at least
3 different locals, so it is quite informative.

Good info for survival in a strange
or different culture. IMO they made critical
mistake: not attending the only church
because it was not the their denomination.
This offended locals, with bad consequences.

Good info on what nature has to offer:
rain, mosquitos, disease etc. High parts of
some islands have a different climate than
the lower, offering relief from mosquitos.

Thor also addresses some of the inner game:
normal mental processes, changes, realizations.

If you are around man's machines or scrap
material, a multi-tool is great. Needle nose
pliers could be useful in any case.

Machete, parang, or golok is the top choice.
Does anyone make an good stainless?

On bigger islands, an axe could be quite useful.

A stainless fixed blade with Kydex sheath would
be an nice EDC, but not essential.

A regular folder would be a poor choice, for these
primitive conditions. The concealment, that a folder
offers, would not be important on a desert island,
whereas concealment is paramount in normal society.

frank
 
Cliff,

Your bag handle actually looks alot better than the one I saw here. Must be those good Canadian Bags. Good job. Mac
 
It is actually pretty easy to work with a file, you could probably polish it if you wanted with a buffer / sandpaper. You could even work some kind of pattern using the different color bags, the above was accidental in that respect. The gnarly bits on the end are bits of foil, they can obviously be removed if desired. If you have another knife you can also carve it to shape, or just grind it on a rock. I would recommend wrapping a much larger handle which gives you room to work it to shape. If you heat it too much it tends to melt and will run out of the foil or catch fire if you lay it in the coals so a decent pair of gloves is useful to keep checking it. It is actually fairly hard once set, you could probably "cast" a spear tip from it and various other tools. Interesting media.

-Cliff
 
Dante said:
With the previous post in mind DON'T forget a field sharpening device, the machete and probably the SAK will require frequent sharpening due to the softer steels.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right. For the machete, if no ready made sharpening device is available, you can always improvise a sharpening stone by flat grinding a suitable stone. You can even make it into a two sided stone with course and medium, or medium and fine surfaces. I've used similar techniques in my youth with acceptable results. (Truth be told, sharpening is not one of my strengths.) I've never tried this with a SAK and honestly do not know how well it would work. I can only assume that its soft steel/low Rockwell should allow this sharpening technique to work. Maybe Cliff can shed some light on this.
 
alberich said:
I'd get any long bowie (40 - 45 cm) with a D2 blade, and some mutitool like Gerber.
Click to expand...

D2 is easy to chip/break (especially when chopping) and it is not very easy to sharpen in "field" conditions. So it wouldn't be my first choice for desert island survival scenario.

Size is about right :-)

btw: greetings to Prague, mate. :-)
 
Preacher Man said:
I can only assume that its soft steel/low Rockwell should allow this sharpening technique to work.
Click to expand...

You can sharpen pretty much any knife on a suitable rock. If the rock can scratch it, then it can sharpen it. I have honed the high carbon stainless on rocks, it will just take longer. Generally though I would not pick such blades for survival type use as they are too brittle.

-Cliff
 
I have no experience with a tropical environment but I think I would go with a stainless machete in the 10-12 inch range and a stainless mora.
Cliff “Does anyone know if Mears uses a stainless version of his single-bevel knife in the tropics”
If I remember rightly ray mears was using a frosts clipper in a tropical environment may have been Malaysia. Not sure it was stainless or not, but I would imagine the woodlores leather sheath and wooden handle would have problems in such a damp environment.
The clipper can be seen here near the bottom of the page
http://www.survivalschool.co.uk/acatalog/Knives_and_Saws.html
 
SAK for the finer work such as fuzz sticks and fine cuts and most likely my RAT-5 or a similar type coated 1095 blade. 1095 is easy to sharpen on a rock as opposed to D2 is more flexible than other steels and living in Florida let me fill you in on stainless steel. It does not mean enviormentally protected from all corrosive elements blade. If I was really that worried over the salt water enviorment I would just soak my 1095 in coconut juice to give it that nice natural protection of a patina. As for machetes unless you live in the jungle there is no need for a blade over 7inches in length. Sure you don't have to work as hard if you have a machete right? Wrong extra time in sharpening, overall uncomfy in carry, cannot use in a small cramped enviorment ( inside your lean to,cave,hootch ect,ect ). On the big Island of hawaii I was once suprised by a 200+ pound pig sticking it's head through my tent ( attracted by MRE peanut butter ) there was plenty of room to use my bayonet but I would have been fu#$d had I tried to use a machete. No the hog was not killed but I think we both scared the crap out of each other.
 
I would think that a fixed blade and a folder that you EDC and are familiar with would be best in most any environment. They become like old friends, and increase your confidence level, as well as your level of safety while using them since blade shape and length become "muscle memories", and inattention is less likely to result in injury to yourself, or damage or loss of the blades. Mine is 5 1/2" of 1095HC steel and I named it "Wilson"!:D But it don't float.

Codger
 
I agree with the multi-tool. I would preffer a Wave or Charge (with 154cm blade) or Swisstool to a simple folding knife or even a SAK (I used to love SAKs but the multitools makes them a distant second choice for me know). The Leathermans come with a diamond file which could sharpen your machete or axe in an emergency.
 
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