As indicated by the term "survival", a survival knife is a specific knife with certain knife features which helps the wielder of the knife in surviving life-threatening and difficult situations. In other words, the survival knife represents a multi-tool which provides the services for numerous tasks, such as self defense, peeling apples, splitting wood, cutting objects, hammering, hunting, fire-making, first aid, and as a prying tool.
However, the list of survival tasks isn't limited to the mentioned tasks. When it comes to the design and size of the survival knife, many people assume that they are looking for some Rambo knife or bowie knife since these knife types are portrayed as the perfect versions of the survival knife in the television. Nonetheless, it is important to mention here that a good survival knife is the one which is essentially simple in design and highly skillful and effective with regards to its performance.
The Essential Features of A Good Survival Knife
1. Size of the Knife
The size of the survival knife matters a lot; however, it should not be too big or too small. A bigger survival knife will not allow you to perform those tasks which require more accuracy, such as carving into the wood. On the contrary, if the survival knife will be too small, it won't allow you to perform the sturdier tasks, such as hammering, chopping wood, or batoning. You have to make sure that your survival knife is of the perfect size allowing you to perform all kinds of survival tasks effectively. Roughly stated, the overall length of your survival knife should be at least of 9-inches; whereas, the length of the blade should be at least of 5-inches. The perfect size of the survival knife will allow you to perform all kind of rugged and smaller work which demands accuracy and refinement.
2. Blade Type
Apart from the size of the survival knife, the blade type of the survival knife plays an important role in the selection of the survival knife as well. There are two blade types to choose from; either you can get a fixed-blade survival knife; or, you can opt for getting a folding-blade survival knife. When it comes to the selection of a strong and reliable survival knife, it is recommended to get a fixed-blade survival knife. In contrast to a folding-blade survival knife, the fixed-blade survival knife offers more stability and reliability.
You won't have the fear of breaking the blade while performing the sturdier tasks. Not to mention the fact that apart from getting a fixed-blade survival knife, it is equally important to get a survival knife with a full-tang. A full tang survival knife will exhibit utmost stability in contrast to the survival knife which has a partial tang. While selecting the best survival knife, you ought to keep in mind that you will be performing a variety of demanding tasks; therefore, you cannot compromise on the quality of the blade and design of the survival knife.
3. Other Essential Features
Apart from the blade and the size of the survival knife, there are some other features to consider as well. For instance, make sure that the blade of your survival knife incorporates a sharp and pointy tip. A sharp pointy tip-blade will allow you to effectively defend yourself against a potential attacker or even a wild animal while you are camping in the woods. Apart from this, make sure that your survival knife is single-edged and comprises a flat ground spine since this will come handy while making fire. In addition, your survival knife must have a strong pommel as well.
