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This is my guide for how to choose the right survival knife. This is by no means a definitive list, because it depends on your personal tastes and the situations you are likely to be in, but I hope to tell you some of the main features you should consider for a general purpose blade.
if there is anything incorrect in this instructable, please let me know.
Also, these pictures are from google images to illustrate my points.
if there is anything incorrect in this instructable, please let me know.
Also, these pictures are from google images to illustrate my points.
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Signing UpStep 1The Law
In the UK, the law is fairly tight. I am not going to go too in depth about it, but my source of knowledge is here if you want to check up on it, or get some examples. In general:
You may not carry a knife with more than 3" of cutting edge, and it may not lock open. Butterfly knives, flick knives, or other assisted opening knives are also banned; if you are caught with one in public, you will end up in jail.
Knives over this length may not be carried without good reason. The exception to this is :
1. Knives carried for work
2. Knives carried for religious reasons
3. Knives carried as part of national dress
As for what a public place is:
The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 section 1(4) provides that;
'a public place includes any highway and any other premises to which the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise'
This also includes your car (even if it is locked).
You may not carry a knife with more than 3" of cutting edge, and it may not lock open. Butterfly knives, flick knives, or other assisted opening knives are also banned; if you are caught with one in public, you will end up in jail.
Knives over this length may not be carried without good reason. The exception to this is :
1. Knives carried for work
2. Knives carried for religious reasons
3. Knives carried as part of national dress
As for what a public place is:
The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 section 1(4) provides that;
'a public place includes any highway and any other premises to which the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise'
This also includes your car (even if it is locked).
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what about this one? its 9 inch with 4.5 inch blade and full tang
Also, what do you think of the Gerber LMF II ASEK as a survial knife?
/genuine
As far as examples, any sword under $70) and most fixed blade knives under $30. There are exceptions, not all makers price the same(of course in that price range I wouldn't buy from a maker). Few people advertise a rat tail tang as it's considered undesirable for the reasons mentioned above. This means only honest or the unknowing tell you it's rat tail and that means most people won't tell you if they can help it.
Last word: Rat tail tangs are cheap and can be dangerous in an often used knife. Most people who have a fixed blade have bought a cheap rat tail and they either found out the hard way or don't use it very often at all. Below are some informational links on rat tails.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_%28weaponry%29#Hidden_tang
http://netsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001780.html
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?45577-rat-tail-tang&highlight=rat+tail+tang
As a final note, one of the most popular and highly recommended beginner bushcraft knives (which if you are talking survival is the way to go; if you want a fighting knife you are looking at something completely different) is the 'Frost Mora' constructed with a half tang and a very thin blade, look through the reviews on amazon or on any bushcraft/survival forum and see if anyone has managed to break on of those.
I have seen slipping and rotating on a rat tail knife. I spose that's one that does and one that does not.
With regard to the information on shear force, I'm not referring to a solid piece. I'm referring to when the tang is welded on. I believe you can weld a rat tail(or any tang type) on very well, but if you're putting the effort into welding it on well, you're not using a rat tail. This isn't a "it cannot be done" it's a "if [this] than [that]".
Thinking on it again, I still don't understand where the comment about a half tang knife came into this, genuinely.. The Frost Mora has a 2.5 mm thick blade and tang. Also, the tang is half tang, it doesn't seem to apply to this conversation.
Personally, I'm fond of drop-points (pretty much the opposite of the sheepsfoot - the spine is straight to the point, and the edge curves towards the spine (like a rounded tanto)) - it makes for a really strong tip, yet possesses a belly for skinning/whittling/whatever (very difficult to do with a tanto point)
I'd also strongly recommend against a serrated blade for a survival knife (especially if you are planning on using it for skinning or gutting). While serrations can be really helpful for fibrous materials like cloth and rope, and give the knife a sawing/tearing ability even when dull, they also make it extremely difficult to sharpen, and make tasks like skinning and whittling nearly impossible (both would be quite useful to make tools/prep food).
Anyways, not to get too detailed, but yeah, a clip point is generally all around-good, and frequently favored by a lot of people, and can do most tasks well.
I've also seen a few handmades where they have a full tang, but hollowed out and removable handle scales for stashing a couple tiny things like fish hooks or a flint or something.
It is also worth mentioning blade thickness (I personally prefer 0.25in thickness as I favor durability over anything else). Also that extra thickness allows you to strike harder and use for prying or hammering.
A paracord handle might be a good idea since it can be replaced at any time or used for other purposes such as making as spear. Full tang always (rat tail may still break).
For steel I like S30V because it is very durable and stainless. Also INFI steel (from Busse) is incredibly strong although not very stainless. A good but cheap one is 440C. One must remember that knife makers may give different treatments to those metals.
Finally it depends on what do yo want your knife for. I like my knives for survival AND collecting, so I favor extremely durable, although expensive knives but if you only care for the survival more than the knife itself you can get almost the same results with far cheaper knives. Top notch brands would be "Strider knives", "MercWorx knives" and "Busse knives". For the inexpensive yet incredibly useful I recommend "Muela knives".
I also particularly recommend a small uitility knife that still covers all my points mentioned above: the Strider WP-T (or Strider WP Tanto). You can get it with almost any kind of tip you want if you don't like tanto points. Google it.
Nice guide again! Very in-depth and well thought out.
for mine a leatherman style product has been the most effective, and any other options have been covered as part of the every-day carry philosophy.
Good luck!
For cutting tasks, don't buy too heavy, thick, or long of a blade. The knife with the polished blade and wood handle has a blade profile similar to a Buck Nighthawk that I own. It is a good bush knife for heavy use, but is not the ideal for things like food prep or skinning. This type is good for bushcraft and other heavy tasks though.
For actual standard cutting, you can get really excellent deals on Opinel or Mora. They easily keep a razor sharp edge (particularly the carbon steel versions) and for food prep or fine cutting they will last a long time.
Once you learn about basic steel types, you can save a ton of money if you are buying for basic utility. For actual use, beware spending on the design, appearance and exotic engineering of a basic blade...unless you are buying for collecting purposes. Spend your money on the steel for the purpose intended.
Like this picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ground_blade_shapes.png
You need to write "Waerloeg" under it -she/he made the picture -not Google!
Attributing pictures using "Google images" is like saying a street sign pointing to Paris made the Mona Lisa!
Also, you have licensed this article as "Public Domain". Since these pictures are NOT all licensed public domain, you are not within your rights to re-license these pictures as "Public Domain".