What survival/kit/useful items should be kept w/ your Large Knife or Machete?

Fallkniven A1, DC4 sharpener, Ultimate Survival Technologies BlastMatch, paracord
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I tend to put a chopper (12 inchand under) behind a small shoulder bag.

I'd keep it light. blend the lines. 550 cord over it, maybe a small sharper, hotspark, WHAT I THINK IS REALLY USEFUL is a section of saw blade (blending the lines because you're carrying the rigid length anyway)

I wouldn't think of the sheath as the survival kit, plenty of ways to stash handi stuff all over your body that doesn't make it bulky.
 
Hi all,

Marion, great thread. I tend to only put a firesteel and a sharpener on my sheaths. I just do not like bulky sheaths. I will put a small pouch to hold a small flat knife also on my sheath like I did for this 10" Warthorn knife that I made.
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I have tried several different configerations over the years and just could not get it the way I wanted with a pouch or something on the sheath. So I decided that to carry some other survival goodies in a pouch that I can put on my belt and next to knife.

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I really like this set up better for me.

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If I had a system like River 8 does on his knife that would drive nuts, but what works for some does not always work for others and if it works for you than that is all that counts.

Bryan
 
I tend to agree with Bryan, but if your large chopper was something that was kept in the truck as a self-contained kit, a more comprehensive (and most likely bulky) package would be okay. It's really on the individual, how they travel/pack and their activities that will ultimately decide on what fits best.

ROCK6
 
This is my own personal opinion, of course...

I'm a firm believer that knife kits are not the way to go. I don't follow the "little bit of everything" PSK mentality either. All your eggs in one basket is never a good idea. Like a few have said, maybe a sharpener or a ferro rod. You should make every effort possible to spread out your "PSK" (for lack of a better word) to avoid the likelyhood of losing it in one fell swoop.


Rick
 
This is my own personal opinion, of course...

I'm a firm believer that knife kits are not the way to go. I don't follow the "little bit of everything" PSK mentality either. All your eggs in one basket is never a good idea. Like a few have said, maybe a sharpener or a ferro rod. You should make every effort possible to spread out your "PSK" (for lack of a better word) to avoid the likelyhood of losing it in one fell swoop.


Rick

Quoted for truth! I think that a pouch for a sharpener and a ferro rod make sense since they take up little space, add marginal weight, and places them in a spot where they're convenient to grab when in the field.
 
my knife kits are far from everything in one basket, just the opposite in fact- my pack is much more my everything in one basket (pack :)), my knife kit is my "insurance policy" if I were to get separated from my pack- hope it never happens, but if it does- I'll make due

this is my largest knife :D- Fallkniven F1 w/ "kit"

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When it comes to bare necessities....cordage is a must for me as a good durable natural cordage is hard to make anywhere but especially here. The items need to first address the hierarchy of needs in a "survival" situation, water, shelter, food, health. I usually have multiple ways to achieve fire; ferro rod, the coradage for a bow drill, a match safe, and or lighter. Water is an issue so a good bandanna, other cloth or coffee filters for a first stage filtering, purification tabs, and hopefully you have a container somewhere handy to boil it in. A small FAK is always good. Smaller braided line of fishing line can be used to fish or make snares, and here i always keep a few fish hooks handy and a large needle is good too.
 
I don't often carry a "chopper" on my person, rather in or on a pack or bag, so that's where the other stuff goes. Never found a small enough or suitable pouch for the size of knife that I will carry on my person, but like to have a P-38 can opener and a BSA Hotspark "ranger-banded" to my smaller Kydex sheaths - one item per side of the sheath. I have thought about making a couple PJCB/drinking straw tinder packets to go with this but have just not done it. It would be neat to be able to attach one of my "telescoping blow tubes (telescoping magnet with the magnet removed and a hole in each end) to a sheath but it could start looking like a contraption.

A small sharpener, like the useful half of a DMT keychain diamond plate, would be handy but I haven't worked that one out yet. Maybe attach it to the back somehow. Bryan Breeden uses a diamond rod sharpener (I think that's what it is) that I made him an extra long "firesteel loop" for to carry that right on his sheath. I did bolt a BSA Hotspark to one of the rivet holes with a rubber washer once.

I think you're onto something better with a packet or something attached to the sheath.

Incidentally, if you plan to use screws for attachment, the hardware and home improvement stores sell the oval head, countersink type screws that come with Tek-Loks in CS, stainless and brass in different lengths. They look better than the zinc-plated machine screws I have seen some guys use and you can cut them to length if needed. Nylock nuts on the back or rubber washers keep them from loosening. The rubber washers can be cut from a section of rubber hose of the appropriate size.
 
the big trend with the 'bushcraft" knives and their sheaths is to mount the firesteel to the sheath. there are also dome diamond rods like the one from EZ-Lap, or Fallkniven sells a flat diamond sharpener with 3M tape on the back that you can stick to the sheath. 550 cord is also simple enough to add.

that gives you a firestarter, sharpener and cordage. i've seen some knife kits with EVERYTHING crammed into them, and that can get bulky, but if you KISS with some of the items that complement the knife and don't get too crazy with it there shouldn't be a problem.

perhaps a small knife on the big choppers.

but dor the fishing kit, FAK, and other stuff i'll use another pouch.
 
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