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Glass-breaking is a function about which I keep hearing but don’t fully understand outside a military situation. I assume it refers to evacuating a car after an accident or other emergency. My problem with this is that almost nobody wears their survival knife on the way to and from work. If the knife is in the trunk with your BOB, how is it going to help? In a military scenario, I can see rescuing aircrew from a downed chopper; however, that situation is very different from what we’re likely to face. In the military, you have your gear on your person so your knife will be handy. Aircraft canopies are made of a plexiglass material, so I doubt it breaks like glass anyway. Egress from an automobile in an emergency would need to be executed with whatever is anchored within reach of the driver, which probably means something fixed to the dashboard or in a console compartment. Given the limited room involved, the tool will not likely be a survival knife. More likely, a folding blade knife with a “glass-break” tip on the handle or similar tool will be used. Therefore, I see this as a survival function but not the function of a survival knife, if you can see the difference.

Defending yourself with a knife is a subject well beyond this article. A couple of points for new folks: First, you must understand that in a fight, the guy who has trained and practiced will beat the guy who hasn’t, period. The weapoon is immaterial. If you have never had any training in this area, you might want to get some. If you have had some training, then you already know the general parameters of the weapon on which you trained. Use that weapon. Familiarity and muscle memory will beat new and cool every time. Will a kukhri beat a Bowie? That’s the wrong question! Which guy knows what he’s doing better? So, either find a knife you like and get trained on that weapon or get some general training and then get a weapon which fits your training. Back in the day, bigger was better. That’s not so today, based on your training.

The subject of defense would not be complete without discussing the improvised spear. What I refer to here is lashing or otherwise affixing your knife to a sapling pole to create an ad-hoc spear. Since no one I know practices spear techniques for defense against people, I will defer to our previous discussion. The practical side of this I can see would be defense against animals. Wild hogs are thick and ugly where I live. If I had to face a hog without a firearm, a spear would be my next choice. I can see a similar issue in areas with big cats or wolves. My concern with the concept is the actual lashing. Many knives have touted their abilities as spears. Most have holes at various points to enable lashing to a pole. The problem is that most people cannot tie the knife securely enough to a pole to prevent loss of the knife once you jab the animal in question. Once you lose your knife, all you have is an unsharpened stick. This leaves you in something less than an enviable position. I have not made this issue one of the decision criteria for my carry knife. If, in your evaluation of your situation, you see the spear concept as necessary, then select a knife with multiple attachment points and have the proper cord available. Then practice it and check how secure the knife is. Practice some more, and check again. Or maybe just go with a sharpened stick and keep your knife on your belt.

Skinning and processing wild game is an important skill you need to practice. Large animals, like elk and moose, lend themselves to the use of a large knife. Small game, like rabbits and squirrels, though need a small- to medium-sized blade. Conflicting requirements? Yes, but there is a solution.

1. In your retreat you should have knives of several sizes, so that you can have the right knife for the job, whether it’s large or small. Regardless of size, all these knives should be razor sharp.
2. Your experience hunting will guide your choice of knives. Where I live, whitetail deer are the biggest game animal I will typically have to skin and process. Many friends carry a 4” Pendleton-style hunting knife while deer hunting. Too small? It works for them. The more important question is whether your big survival knife will do the job? There is a great deal of room in this function for different blade shapes and lengths. If you don’t hunt now, you really should start. It will allow you to practice many skills you will need later. If you do hunt, do you carry your survival knife? Why not? If you cannot use your survival knife for skinning and processing game, you probably ought to reconsider your choice, in my humble opinion. Of course the issue of only one knife arises here again. Even when hunting, I carry several knives because each does a particular job well. There are several quality folding knives that could help, particularly if your choice of survival knife does not lend itself to skinning or gutting.

General cutting chores around camp include such actions as cutting string and cord, meal preparation (outside of processing game), cutting material for repairs, cutting bandages, slicing bread, spreading peanut butter, and just about anything else you do with a knife that has not been covered elsewhere. Most of these chores can be accomplished with any size of knife, as long as it is sharp. So while your knife will do a lot of work in this category, it is probably not one upon which to base your decision. I recommend going camping for the weekend to see all the things you do with a knife; then evaluate your potential choices in light of this. If you already have a survival knife, how often did you choose to use something else for cutting? Why? What did you do that was better done with a longer blade? What did you do that was better done with a shorter or thinner blade? How can you resolve these issues in your situation?

Somewhere between the last two categories comes preparing fish. Most folks immediately jump to the classic filet knife with its long, thin, flexible blade. While excellent for fileting fish, this type of knife is generally not very useful in many other functions. Don’t worry; many other knife blade styles will work adequately. The Scandinavian Mora-style blades are traditionally only about 4” long and stiff rather than flexible, yet their fishermen have used them for centuries. I fileted a crappy once with a Ka-Bar. It’s not pretty but functional. Unless you anticipate eating fish almost exclusively, this is probably not a decision criterion for new folks.

Chopping, hacking, and splitting are all different functions that often get lumped together. We will define chopping here to be the cutting in the classic “V” shape and requiring multiple strokes of the blade. Chopping of vegetables for food preparation or small branches with one stroke is not what we are talking about. When on the trail away from your retreat or in a more everyday survival situation, chopping is not an activity you should do a lot. It simply expends too much energy. Sawing is a much better answer. Generically, chopping requires a heavy head, like an axe. No knife blade is really a good axe, although a kukhri is a very functional chopper. This is the category where blades other than knives come into use. Blades such as machetes, hatchets, tomahawks, and shingle hatchets make much better choppers than virtually any knife. Even the largest Bowie-style Rambo knife just does not have enough weight or leverage behind the cutting blade for efficient chopping. That being said, the size of the material you are chopping really determines the blade you need to chop it. What are your likely situations? I have used a kukhri, a machete, and a shingle hatchet for chopping duties while camping over the years. I still own them all, but I don’t carry them hiking. The machete is in my truck, because I use it all the time while the others are at home. In the areas I go, I don’t anticipate a major chopping requirement. If you do, you should consider a tomahawk, machete, or kukhri.

Splitting typically requires a heavy, wide blade. Splitting firewood on the trail is typically not an issue, since if you have a fire it should be small. Small pieces of wood can be split effectively with a Ka-Bar or similar knife if you feel the need. I have used my machete for splitting wood for various projects but obviously not on big logs. Splitting cattails, yucca shoots, and the like for food, materials, and such can be accomplished with pretty much any knife. Typically, whatever you use to chop, you will use to split.

Hacking, as used here, is the function of clearing brush, vines, branches, and other plant growth from trails, campsites, shooting lanes, and such. Since you are typically not chopping big timber, this is the province of the machete, brush knife, or kukhri. Axes are too heavy to be functional here. Tomahawks might work. I don’t have one, but they look light enough. At your retreat, have the right tool. A machete works, but so does a ditch axe and brush hook. On the trail, only the machete is light enough to make sense. Still, your camping experience here will help you decide if you need it in your situation. In a survival situation, a large camp area is not necessary and often undesirable. You need to eliminate unnecessary expenditure of energy. I have never cleared a campsite; I found a site that was clear enough. Even in the thick woods in my Southern mountains, I’ve never needed a machete to clear a path. I just found a clear path. What will work for your situation?

So what do you, as someone new to survival and prepping, need? I cannot say definitively what your answer will be, because I do not know your situation. Let me offer this guidance: Get some experience hunting, hiking, or camping. I recommend these activities because you will get out into nature and be around people who have used knives for many years. There are camping and hiking clubs in most areas. These folks may not be knife experts, but they are a good source of practical information. Most hunters today understand that expanding the hunter population is the only way the sport can survive, so many are open minded about teaching someone new. Ask around. Someone you know probably hunts and can help you with the details. You will likely get a lot of conflicting guidance. That’s okay. Everyone has their own perspective and priorities. Always ask why, when getting opinions; it can be very illuminating.

Instead of trying to find one knife that can do everything, many people group similar tasks and find a blade optimized for those tasks. For example, chopping, hacking, and splitting can be accomplished by a machete, a kukhri, or a tomahawk. While lousy at fine cutting tasks, any of those tools are far superior than a small to medium blade at chopping, hacking, or splitting.

Please do not rush out and get an expensive custom-made knife right off the bat. It may be a great knife, but it may not be the right knife for you. Experience will tell you what you need. Until you get that experience, I recommend buying a quality knife at a reasonable price. I recommend your top end be the Ka-Bar. It is an excellent quality knife currently priced between $103 and $123 on their website. There are many good knives on the market, priced between $50 and $100 from reputable manufacturers, like Gerber, Ontario, Cold Steel, SOG, and Kershaw. If you have to talk to a salesman, just use the term “belt knife” or “camp knife”. Look for a knife with a full tang, meaning the blade steel goes all the way to the end of the handle. Your first blade should probably be medium size, 5–7” long. The sheath, regardless of the material, should hold the blade securely, without allowing any of the blade to slip out.

As a matter of perspective, let me offer what I carry, in case it’s of use to you. Every day, I carry a Wenger Swiss Army Knife and an A.G. Russell lockback folder. I carry these two knives 24/7/365, whether in jeans or a business suit. The Russell is an excellent knife with a solid steel handle and excellent steel blade. Its edge is literally a razor. The Wenger is my all-purpose tool. I use it for everything, and I have for decades. Together they give me the sharp cutting blade with near fixed blade strength and the functionality of the saw, screwdrivers, scissors, and file of the Wenger. When hiking, camping, and exploring the wilderness, I add a Puma brand Bowie-style belt knife. It has a hollow ground 7” blade that holds an edge better than most knives I have owned. It came with an excellent heavy leather scabbard with multiple lash points in case I want it on my web gear or rucksack. Occasionally, I carry my old aircrew survival knife, more for old time’s sake than necessity. It’s still sharp as a razor and tough as ever.

I would love to tell you exactly which knife you should carry, but that would be foolish. You may get lucky and buy the perfect knife for you the first time out. I hope you do, but I would not bet on it. Experience is your best teacher. Good luck.

I have noticed quite a bit of confusion and hype surrounding the subject of survival blades lately. I have also noted people new to survival and prepping often cannot get simple questions answered due to lack of accurate information from sales clerks and others. I have written this so that newcomers can get some balanced information.

Let’s define our terms before we begin. While many readers are preparing for an end of the world scenario, survival situations as I will consider them here happen every day. As I am writing this, most of the nation has been brutalized by a series of terrible winter storms. Even the Deep South is experiencing periods of freezing temperatures lasting weeks, which is highly unusual for us. I am certain many are thankful for their preparations and many were at risk because of the brutal weather.

Survival situations can occur without warning at any time on any day. You may find yourself stuck on the road in a blizzard (I’ve been there) or facing a vehicle malfunction after a weekend of backpacking in the wilderness. That time, I was stuck at a deserted trail head deep in the Arizona mountains over 40 miles from the nearest paved road on a Sunday night. I have spent many a night on the trail that I didn’t expect to. Before I completely trash my credibility, please understand that if you spent as much time out in nature as I have these past fifty years, you’d have stories too.

Since survival situations can happen anytime anywhere, it follows that the best survival knife is the one you have with you rather than the one you were going to buy next month. It’s also not the one you left home because it was too heavy, nor is it the one you left behind because it was illegal or politically unacceptable where you were going. The one you have is “the one you got”. (Pardon the grammar.)

This being the case, most folks understand that some prior thought on this subject would be useful. As I mentioned before, the amount of hype and opinion masquerading as fact concerning survival blades is staggering. This point was brought home to me when an acquaintance of some years decided to begin prepping. Never an outdoorsman, this poor fellow was trying to gather information like a city guy; he was browsing the Internet, reading magazines, et cetera. To say he was confused would be kind. When I stumbled into him, he was being brow beaten into buying a huge Rambo knife, which he obviously did not want. He had asked the salesman about survival knives, and the salesman jumped him like a rabid dog. I don’t usually get between a salesman and his customer, but this guy needed to be saved. Outside, he shared his frustrations and we talked. He knew he needed to talk to people who actually did what he wanted to do, but it’s not like there are prepper clubs at the community college. It’s for guys like him that I am writing this article. If you have been around a while and have practiced your craft, you already know what works for you.

Before we begin the discussion of survival blades, I recommend analyzing your situation. Do you live in your retreat? Do you have to drive a long distance to get to your retreat? Do you anticipate being in wooded terrain or in a desert? Will you be surviving in an urban environment? Do you hike, hunt, camp, or backpack routinely? If so, in what type of terrain? This analysis should lead to at least several potential uses of a survival blade. These issues can affect your choice of blades as much as the functional issues we will discuss in a moment.

For the new folks, let me mention right up front that you will need to learn new skills in your survival and prepping education. You must routinely practice those skills or they will vanish. Hunting, hiking, camping, and backpacking are great activities, where some of these new skills can be practiced. If your family has never been camping and unplugged from the e-world, that experience alone will be like a survival episode for them. The point is that any experience you gain will be very valuable in evaluating what I discuss here and what you read or hear elsewhere. It would be useful to frame the discussion around the potential functions of a survival blade. To simplify the situation, I will focus on these functions when you are away from your home base and out on the trail. I have taken this step because many people confuse these discussions with scenarios occurring at their retreat. For example, at your retreat you should have saws and axes to deal with downed trees and similar situations. When on the trail and limited to a survival blade, chopping down a tree is an entirely different situation.

The subject of survival knives covers a lot of ground. A discussion with some friends and review of several magazines generated a list of potential uses:

• Chopping- used like an axe for obtaining firewood or saplings for shelter or a litter
• Hacking- used like a machete for clearing lanes, campsites, or paths
• Splitting- used like a hatchet for obtaining firewood, building materials, foods, or first aid
• Sawing- used like a wood saw or bone saw
• Field surgery- used like a scalpel
• Fighting and defense- used against people or animals
• Skinning and processing game
• Utility cutting- general cutting chores around camp and kitchen
• Digging
• Wire cutting
• Hammering
• Prying
• Glass breaking

There are likely other functions someone has required of his knife, but these are enough to begin discussions. A simple scan of the above list should make it clear that no one blade can do all these functions well or even adequately. That has never concerned me, because I do not limit myself to only one blade. I have never understood the question which begins “If you could only have one knife…”. How bad a planner are you? Why would you plan to have only one knife?

Let’s discuss these potential functions of a survival knife and see if they make any sense to your likely situation. First, and my personal favorite whenever it comes up, is field surgery. If you have the skills to consider this subject, then you already know you need an entire field surgery kit, including scalpel handle, multiple blades, hemostats, and suture sets. If you think that any knife is the right answer for surgery, you really need to go get more training.

Digging seems to come up whenever the subject of survival is discussed. There are many reasons why you might have to dig in a survival situation– to get tubers and roots, create a solar still, make a fire pit, and more. These are all good reasons to dig, but why plan to use a knife? This is probably a holdover from the WWII era when there were no suitable alternatives. This is no longer the case. There have been several excellent trowels on the market since the 1970’s designed primarily for backpacking. They are light weight and strong. One, called U-dig-it, is quality steel and folds into a small sheath. Others are high strength plastic. I have several of each and have used them heavily over the past four decades. None has ever failed me. They are light enough to carry hiking or backpacking. Here’s the important point; they all dig far better than any knife. What sense does it make to hone a great edge on a knife and then jam it into the ground repeatedly? In your vehicle, you should carry a shovel or an entrenching tool in case you need to do some serious digging. Your home or retreat should have several full-sized shovels or spades. I don’t plan to dig with any of my knives, and neither do any of my friends.

Wire cutting is a two-part issue, the difference being the strength of the wire. Soft wire, like copper electrical wire, can be cut with a knife, if you absolutely had to, although I’d prefer a multi-tool or cutting pliers of some sort. Hard wire, meaning anything with steel filaments, cannot be cut with a knife unless you have one of those bayonet rigs where the knife and sheath combine to make a cutter. This means everything from Army commo wire to fence wire and barbed wire is off limits for a knife. If you anticipate the requirement to cut steel wire, you should get a real cutter designed for the task and probably one with compound leverage. Don’t expect a pair of diagonal cutters from your tool box to cut steel wire either. Check out your local hardware or farm supply store for fencing tools. I have one at home, but I don’t carry it, because I don’t anticipate the requirement when on the trail. If you do, get the right tool.

Hammering is another function, which probably dates from the WWII era, since the old aircrew survival knife and the Ka-bar both had “hammerheads” on them. I have never needed to hammer anything in any of the survival situations in which I found myself. While in the field with the Army I did use my knife to hammer nails and fence staples, but it is more dangerous than you think.

Consider this situation: You need to hammer a fence staple into a tree in order to anchor something. So, you draw your knife and hammer with the butt. Great, but wait, where is that razor sharp blade? It is probably bouncing within inches of your face or other body parts. That’s NOT safe! This may sound stupid, but many people have injured themselves in just this manner. Hammering is best done with… wait for it… a hammer or at least the hammer end of a tool like a shingle hatchet or tomahawk. Frankly, hammering with any tool with a blade on the back side is dangerous, but hatchets and tomahawks are far safer than using a knife. I do not expect to need to hammer while on the trail, so my hammers are at home and in my vehicles. If you expect to need one, please use something safer and more efficient than a knife.

Sawing is a function that often arises in discussions of survival because it is immensely more efficient than chopping. That being said, I have personally been very disappointed in the saw-back knives I have tried. A saw is a very high-tech tool. Its teeth are often bent outwards from the blade. The teeth are sharpened individually, often on both sides to get cutting action on both the push and the pull stroke. The teeth are usually heat treated differently than the saw blade itself. None of this is typically found on a knife blade with saw teeth. You may certainly have had different experience than me, but I view saw teeth on the back of a knife blade as solid evidence that the knife is of poor quality and I dismiss it immediately. However, there are two exceptions– the old aircrew survival knife has a functional, if not efficient, saw on the blade. It probably works because of the quality of the steel and the heat treating. The second exception is a custom-made knife from a reputable maker, like Randall. I have not handled one myself, but I trust those guys to do a good job. My Randall had a regular blade. I have noted several knife manufacturers recently market saw-back knives. They should know how to make a good saw, but I have no direct experience with them, nor do any of my friends. Not to worry though, several good options exist. The saw on my Wenger Swiss Army knife is absolutely excellent. I routinely saw two inch branches and saplings with it and it’s great on PVC. It is my go to saw on the trail. Another good option is one of the many wire saws on the market. Very light weight and easily packed, wire saws have the advantage of being able to cut very large timber, if you need to. I recommend rigging it like a bow saw rather than holding it in two hands. My two-hand technique must be bad, because the saw always gets stuck. Finally, folding saws have become very popular with hunters today. Several I have tried are good, solid saws; they’re light weight and very reasonably priced. At home, consider a quality bow saw and a quality pruning saw. I found a pruning saw almost as old as I am at a flea market for a buck. After a bath in naval jelly and some sanding to remove the rust, I was amazed at how well it cut. I still have a chain saw, but this could do the job after the gas is gone.

A note to the new folks: The serrations found on the cutting edge of some knives is not intended as a saw. These serrations are intended to allow more efficient cutting of fibrous materials, like rope and seat belt webbing. Personally, I do not see the increased functionality, but several of my friends do, and they are in a position to know. I think the serrations complicate sharpening the blade, but if you think the extra effort is justified then go for it. An option would be to have a folding knife with a serrated blade, as there are many good ones on the market, and leave the fixed blade simple and sharp.

Prying is an inevitable task, which will arise more often than you think. I have seen several knife manufacturers advertise how strong their knives are by prying heavy weights or standing on the handle of a knife in a vise. New guys, please read the fine print and disclaimers on these videos. All have a statement to the effect “Don’t do this. It will void your warranty.” I have seen good knives completely destroyed, because someone thought they could use them like a crow bar. Here’s the only practical answer I can give you, because every situation will be different: Whenever you are faced with a prying situation, ask yourself, “Is this important enough to chip the edge or bend the blade?” If the answer is “yes”, then good luck with it. Buy a Ka-bar or the best knife you can. Generally speaking, I avoid prying with any of my blades. There have been several tools designed specifically for this issue; the Tac Tool on the Ka-Bar website being the most recent. Divers have had several knife-like pry bars for years. Of course, don’t forget actual crow bars and gorilla bars from the hardware stores. While discussing this subject with a few friends, it occurred to us that survival in an urban area would likely require a lot more prying than hacking. Our conclusion was that in an urban environment, an actual pry bar (like the Estwing I-beam from the hardware store) would make much more sense to carry than a machete or tomahawk, like we do in our more wooded environment. If you are planning to escape the city or suburb in which you live and evac to a rural retreat, a solution might be a good pry bar in your vehicle. Certainly, you should have several of different sizes in your retreat.