The Best Knife?

What is the best knife in a survival situation?  The answer, of course, is the one you have with you.  It beats a sharp rock or piece of glass any day.  Obviously quality is always a concern but unfortunately many people carry something cheap in their pocket in case they lose it.  This is not a wise strategy in the long run.  When your life depends on it, do you want a strong, capable blade that will hold up to hard use, or just some cheap, junk steel knife?

In my opinion, you should always try to carry a quality knife.  You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to have a good, usable blade.  In fact, with the modern digitally controlled heat treat furnaces, there are many choices available.  However, you still get what you pay for.  When it comes to your survival, don’t let you life depend on some 5 or 10 dollar knife of unknown steel that you picked up at a convenience store or flea market.

A major factor in the price of a knife is the kind of steel that is used.  When the manufacturer uses a good steel, they will include the type of steel in the description.  Just because it says stainless steel or surgical steel doesn’t mean that it’s a good steel.  An interesting thing to know is that a poorer quality steel with a good heat treat is superior to a great steel with a poor heat treat!  This is one of the failings of mass produced knives.  Depending on the quality control of the factory, you may or may not get a knife that will hold a good edge, which is what you are looking for in a good steel.  This is why hand made knives made by a reputable knife maker are in such demand.  They are individually made and heat treated one at a time.  Excellent quality control!

There are many other factors in selecting a good quality knife and I want to spend the next few posts discussing them.  As you may have read in the PS below, I am a custom knife maker and it is one of my passions to help people obtain quality knives.  While you can’t be an expert in every area, this is one that I know quite a bit about and I look forward to sharing this knowledge with you.

Speaking of sharp things, the Bible is called the Sword of the Spirit.  It is able to cut through our excuses and pre-conceived notions and reveal the thoughts and intents of our heart.  Have you read your Bible today?  Will you let God reveal your heart to you through His Word?

James B.

PS. You can check out my website where you can set up training for many of these skills at www.waypointsurvival.com and look at and order my custom knives at www.benderknifeworks.com.