In a post-TEOTWAWKI environment many of the services we take for granted now will be nonexistent. We will be growing or own produce, butchering our own livestock, cooking our own food, performing our own minor surgeries and protecting or own lives. We will have to rely on our own skills, knowledge and equipment. Of all the tools available to humans none has more importance than a wide selection of cutlery. History has revealed to us six simple machines that revolutionized the world: the wheel, the lever, the pulley, the inclined plane, the screw, and the wedge. As you may have guessed the wedge is an example of the knife. If you were to keep track of every time you, or a mechanical device, used the simple wedge (knife) to accomplish a task for one day you would surely be amazed. In my opinion acquiring a wide selection of cutlery should be considered a top priority in any preparedness plan.
Contrary to the propaganda expelled by some of the mass marketing knife manufacturers there is no one “do it all” knife. There are hundreds of knife designs, shapes, lengths, grinds, etc. They all serve a specific purpose. Some can overlap and do double duty but to be truly efficient you should chose a knife specifically suited for an intended task. Let’s look at what those tasks might be and some suggestions to consider when purchasing your survival cutlery.
Butchering: When it comes to butchering domestic livestock you can get by with three basic knife designs: a straight or curved 6” to 8” boner, a 6” skinner with an upswept point and a 8” to 10” breaker. These should be stainless steel with a synthetic handle. The stainless blade will hold up to the acids and blood from the carcasses and the synthetic handles are much easier to hold when your hands are bloody. Victorinox, sold by Forschner, are superb knives at very reasonable prices. There are other well-made blades out there, but these are the industries standard.
Kitchen Knives: Here you will want a full set of 5” steak knives, 3 or 4 paring knives, a 10” chef’s knife, a 8” scalloped edge bread knife, and a few 6” to 8” boning knives. I would also suggest a good quality game shears for disjointing wild (or domestic) small game and waterfowl. Again, I highly recommend stainless steel in the 440C series for corrosion resistance. Blade grinds for kitchen and butchering knives are generally based on a flat grind and work superbly.
Hunting: There are about a hundred knife designs sold under the heading hunting knives and my suggestions are just that, my suggestions. To help make things a little easier, I will give you too basic blade designs to choose from: a drop point or a clip point. A drop point is as it sounds, the spine of the knife drops slightly from the back edge to the point. It would be safe to say this is the most widely made hunting knife design in history. The clip point design has a shallow swedge (false edge) running an inch or two back from the point and is seen in many ‘so called” bowie knives. The clip point configuration makes piercing cuts a little easier but the choice is yours as both designs make for an excellent hunting knife. The blades length should be a least 4”. Blade grind should be either a flat or hollow grind. Both grinds make for excellent slicers that are easy to sharpen as well as strong. A high carbon blade with a mirror polish and Rockwell rating of 58-60 should serve you well for a lifetime.
Next you should get a bird and trout knife. If you have ever tried to skin a squirrel or dress a partridge with a full size hunting knife you will know frustration. A small 2” to 3” thin bladed knife, possibly with a ring to slip over your finger so you don’t have to set it down while skinning will be worth its weight in gold and yet cost next to nothing.
Lastly I would purchase two filet knives, one around 5” and the other around 10”. Fishing is not only an enjoyable pastime, but if times get tough could be an untapped source for the survival larder.
Rescue: Every vehicle you own should have a rescue knife secured to the steering wheel with a lanyard of some kind. The characteristics of a good rescue knife include a rounded or sheepsfoot type tip, a serrated edge, and possibly a glass breaker in the end of the handle. The serrated edge makes short work of seat belts and the rounded tip adds safety when under duress or injured. Keep this secured to the steering wheel so it is always within reach and not flying around the interior. There are several good one-handed opening rescue knives available if that style suits your needs.
Brush Knives: After the Schumer hits the fan you will be in need of a few good brush knives. From constructing hides and clearing shooting lanes to harvesting food and stripping logs. First off purchase a couple of machetes. 20” or so will suffice and set you back less than $20 a piece. Next you can’t go wrong with a Kukri. They will do what the machete can’t, namely cut thicker, harder stock as well as double as an excellent draw knife for debarking and shaping logs and the like. The kukri also works wonders as a cleaver when butchering small game and fowl for the freezer. “Cold Steel” carries both the machetes and kukris at affordable prices and they are superbly made.
Camp/Utility Knives: Knives under this heading are generally in the 6” to 8” range, made of high carbon steel with a flat grind for strength. Don’t get a blade with too high a Rockwell rating as you will be sharpening this knife a lot. A thick, stiff spine is needed as this knife will be used for everything from pounding stakes to shaving [fire starting] fuzz sticks. A Rockwell rating of 54 to 58 would be ideal. Also one of the baked on finishes that are widely available would be in order for this workhorse.
Fighting Knives: A true fighting knife is inherently designed differently than most other knives. First let me say, any knife can be a fighting knife in the hands of a desperate man or woman, but some are better suited than others. A well thought-out fighting knife has a few definite attributes. One is the handle, it should be well fitted to the hand and of a material that allows a strong purchase when held. Next the weight; it should be light enough to be fast in the hand, but heavy enough to cause impact damage when hacking or if a less than lethal technique is required. The length of the blade is usually 6” to 10”. A shorter blade will be fast but lack the heft for deep penetration and a longer blade may be slow and unyielding. It will be your choice as to blade configuration. There are those who will opt for the double edge dagger style and those who swear by the single edge. It’s our call. One thing I cannot stress enough about the fighting knife. Do not use it for anything but fighting. This knife should be dedicated to one job, riding on your hip next to your handgun. If when you should ever have to use it you do not want it dulled from clearing brush or chipped from digging roots.
Personal/Pocket Knives: Personal knives fall under a separate heading. This will be the knife/or knives you carry everyday. Mine is a one hand opening tactical folder, a three bladed stockman, and a Leatherman wave. Yours could be a neck knife, a belt knife or a pocketknife. You may like a folding knife in a sheath or a two bladed trapper. Personally I have dozens of pocketknives from several different knife makers. Buck, Case, Gerber, CRKT, Cold Steel, Browning, etc. all ride with me at different times. This leads me to another suggestion. Pocket knives make excellent barter items. If my services were rendered I for one would accept a nice Case Trapper over a few pre-1965 quarters any day. It just makes good sense to stock up on pocketknives now for future use. If you frequent flea markets, garage sales, and the like you can come by these gems at very reasonable cost. Look for brand names such as Case, Winchester, Buck, Camillus, etc.
Tactical Knives: In 1982 Spyderco introduced a new knife design called the Clipit. It was unique in the fact it had a hole in the top of the blade so it could be opened with one hand, a two step serrated edge and a metal clip that allowed it to be attached to a pocket, belt, etc. Today almost every knife maker offers a version of this design. I urge you to acquire at least one of these knives and become familiar with its function. There is truly a no more practical, and tactical blade configuration out there. To be able to clip a blade almost anywhere and open it with one hand as fast as a switchblade, with out the legalities, makes this my number one suggestion.
Sharpening: Now that you have a basic understanding of your cutlery requirements we need to address how to keep them sharp. First buy a Norton Tri-stone cradle. This unit consists of three India stones. One course, one medium and one fine. With these stones you will be able to sharpen almost anything. Next purchase a diamond whetstone and a diamond tapered rod for touching up your serrated blades. The diamond whetstones come in handy folding versions that are perfectly suited for your bug out bag or glove box. I suggest you purchase John Juranitch’s book or video called The Razor’s Edge. This man is a true expert on the subject and you will learn his time-tested secrets. Also, get in the habit of carrying a couple small 2” by 6” sheets of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper in your wallet. These are very handy for touching up a dull blade at virtually no cost. My final suggestion on sharpening is to acquire a good 10” to 12” butchers steel. Many knives that seem dull do not need to be resharpened on a stone, but simply stroked on a steel. If you were to look at the microscopic edge of a dull knife you would likely see the edge is simply rolled over to one side. If you were to lightly stroke the knife down the steel as if you were trying to shave a thin sliver off, you could straighten the edge back into serviceable function.
Miscellaneous: Finally I suggest you acquire a good quality multi- tool and/or a Victorinox Swiss Army knife. They are indispensable. A full sized hand meat saw as well as a cleaver. A dozen or so box cutters, a couple scalpels in sterilized packages and a straight razor. (The Bic disposable razors will run out fast.) Finally, one single and one double bit axe, a good hatchet, and a splitting maul. These are my suggestions to get you started, but you may have other ideas as to what you may need for your particular situation. Remember, the best knife is the one in your hand when you need it.
JWR Adds: There is a trade-off between quantity and quality in acquiring cutlery. I’d rather spend $600 and buy a dozen Cold Steel or CRKT knives instead of just one custom-made knife for the same money. In survival planning there is great value in redundancy, to allow for eventual loss, theft, or breakage of tools, and to provide spares for barter and charity. Having fairly inexpensive spares also means that you will have a knife when and where you need it. For example, here at the Rawles Ranch, in addition to a full-size hay cutting scythe, we also have five inexpensive hand scythes that cost a total of $30. Likewise, we habitually keep both a modestly-priced tanto style Cold steel or CRKT folding knife as well as a Leatherman tool in each of our vehicles and in each of our G.O.O.D. kits. But please don’t take the emphasis on quantity to an extreme. Be sure to avoid the “bargain” mainland Chinese junk. You need cutlery that is dependable.