The Best Knife? (Part 6)

You gotta keep your edge!  This is true in business as well as in many other areas of life.  It is also true when talking about knives.  A dull survival knife is still better than a sharp rock but just barely!  Many survival knives that folks use and brag about have probably never been used long term in a survival situation.  A lot of people buy a knife because it looks cool or tactical.  But true survival knives are actually rather plain.  As I stated before, most mountain men used knives that were similar to what we would call kitchen knives today.

A knife edge that is intended for survival has to have certain basic features.

1. It must be easy to sharpen.

2. It must be of sufficient length.

3. It must have a plain edge.

Ease of sharpening is rarely considered by many novice knife purchasers.  But when that edge gets dull, believe me you will want to be able to bring it back to a razor sharpness.  You do bring a sharpening stone with you don’t you?  I mean, who would pack a survival kit and not include something with which to maintain an edge on their main tool?

The steel of the knife, however, must not be too hard or too soft.  This has to do with the tempering process, as well as the type of steel used.  If it is too hard, only a diamond sharpener can sharpen it, or it will be too brittle and break under hard use, especially in cold temperatures. .  It must also not be too soft.  If it is too soft, it will be very easy to sharpen but it will not hold that edge for long.  This is why hand made knives hold an edge over factory made ones!  Always practice with and test the knife that you will depend on if a survival situation occurs.  Some factory knives will not hold a good edge as they are mass produced and you may or may not get a good one.  So test it carefully.  Also, if you will hone the knife’s edge on a leather strop (or even the backside of a leather belt ), every time you are done using it you won’t have to work so hard to bring it back to sharpness as you never really let it get dull to begin with.

The ideal knife length for survival is usually considered to be 4-6 inches in length.   Shorter than that and it loses some of it’s batoning ability for thicker woods, some of it’s defensive capability against predators and some of it’s chopping ability for other survival related tasks.  Longer than that and it becomes unwieldy for smaller jobs like carving wood and cleaning game and fish etc.  However, if I had to choose between a longer blade or a shorter blade, I would probably choose the longer one because a longer knife can do a smaller knife’s job passably, but a smaller knife cannot do the job of a longer one!

A survival knife must have a plain edge, not a serated or partially serated one.  Have you ever tried to re-sharpen a serated edge knife?  It takes a special sharpener that fits the profile of the serations as they are not all serated the same.  So, you would need to pack the special sharpener as well.  Plus, the serations on even a partially serated knife are usually next to the handle.  That is the area which you will use for most of your fine carving, ie. the first 2 inches or so.  In addition, a plain edge knife can be sharpened on a rock, a concrete slab or even the bottom of a ceramic coffee cup where it is unglazed.  Serated edges are good for sailors and others working with ropes and lines as they saw through those items faster and easier, but they are not ideal for the survival scenario.

Keeping a keen edge on your spiritual life requires constant honing and diligence.  If you will take time to read the Bible and pray every day you will find that it is easier to stay sharp!  It’s just like stropping! Use that leather bound Bible to good effect on your soul!  Don’t wait until church on Sunday to sharpen up.  Work a little bit every day to maintain your relationship with the Heavenly Father and you will find that it is much easier to keep your edge than to try and bring it back from dullness.

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.