Survival Tips

The survival knife
In many survival situations a knife is an indispensable item. A knife is a very useful tool (helps you build a shelter, start a fire, cut rope, prepare food and countless other tasks) but a knife can also be an effective weapon for both hunting and self-defence. Because a knife IS a weapon as well as being a tool, you must pay attention to local laws about carrying a knife. These laws differ from country to country and are, in most cases, rigorously enforced. You should never carry a knife in public places and if you are in transit, pack it away in your luggage. Police regard a knife, first-and-foremost as an offensive weapon, and secondarily as a working tool. Illustrated in the photo (left) is an RSK MK3 knife by Doug Ritter, which meets all the requirements of a first-class survival knife.

What exactly is, a "survival knife?"

A survival knife is a knife that can be used for a multitude of purposes in a survival situation, so it must be light, safe to handle and very strong. It has to keep a sharp edge, and the handle and blade must be unbreakable. A fixed-blade knife is usually the best (carry a folding knife as a spare, and always have two knives with you) A folding knife is not as strong as a fixed blade knife because it has several moving parts and is best sharpened with a 20 -25° edge and kept for lighter work such as slicing or skinning.

Physical characteristics of a survival knife:

Length and strength: A survival knife does not have to have a long blade; the best length is around 10-15 cm (4 to 6 inches) long, with the thickest part of the blade being between 4-6.5 mm (5/32-3/16 inches) thick. Longer knives are cumbersome to carry, and the risk of accidents when using them in a tired state is considerably higher. If a longer blade is needed it is better to carry a machete, kukris or axe. The blade should not be flexible, but neither should it be too thick, because thick blades cannot do the finer work a survival knife is often required to do.

Shape: The tang of the knife (part that fits into the handle) has to be strong and this is something to look out for when buying your knife. Most knives fail at the tang or at the point, and a survival knife blade and tang should all be made out of one piece of steel as illustrated in the above photo. To reduce the weight of the knife and cheapen production, some makers cut away the centre of the tang so, when you look at the knife handle from the side, it looks as if the blade and tang are one solid piece and the tang is sandwiched in the handle, but if you removed the handle you would find the tang is cut away inside. Ask the question when you buy, if the seller is unsure, go somewhere else. Cheap survival knives are often made so that the metal blade is separate from the handle. The weak point on these badly made knives is where the blade and handle are welded, bolted or even glued together. A cheap knife may have a short tang moulded into a plastic or rubber handle, these knives are not suitable as survival knives. You would do well to avoid such a cheap knife in favour of the superior full tang or narrow tang models where the blade and tang are all made out of one piece of steel without welds.

Avoid "novelty" survival knives with hollow handles filled with "survival equipment" such as compass, fishing gear, etc. Even if this survival equipment is high quality (frequently not so) the hollow handle seriously weakens your knife. If you lose your knife (heaven forbid) you have lost some, or all, of your precious survival equipment as well. A compass attached to a knife is a bad idea because steel becomes magnetised and will affect the compass's accuracy. Keep away from all these gimmicks.

A thick, wide, sturdy point is best for survival use. A drop point blade (illustrated above) is typically best, although some clip points (see photo right) are acceptable. If you look at a clip point blade you will see it reduces blade strength near the point.

A straight blade edge is usually the best for survival use, a serrated blade is more difficult to sharpen and if you need to saw something it is better to use a Commando saw or hacksaw blade. Chose a single-edge blade because a double-edge blade is safer to handle and is also illegal to carry in many countries. Straight, single-edge blades are useful for carving, chopping, and cutting. Though they may not slice through materials as efficiently as a serrated blade, straight bladed knives will still do a good job.

The added advantage of the straight blade is that you can sharpen your survival knife using natural materials should you not have a regular sharpening stone handy, whereas the serrated blade generally needs a special sharpening device and technique.

It is important that the tip of the knife maintains its strength as this is an area where the knife is likely to fail so do not change the shape of your knife by grinding down the end to make a longer, narrower point.

Materials: Stainless steel and carbon steel are used for making top quality survival knives. Stainless steel knife blades are rust resistant and this is vital if you are venturing into wet environments such as jungle. Stainless steel knives require less maintenance than carbon steel knives. They tend to be more expensive, are more difficult to sharpen, and may not hold an edge as well as carbon steel but they are the best all-round material for a survival knife.
Carbon Steel knife blades will rust if not used regularly or coated. They tend to hold their edge better than stainless steel knives. It's a matter of personal choice, I would always chose a stainless steel knife as this will cope with the harshest working environments.

Handle: In practical terms, the handle of the knife has two uses, to ensure a firm and comfortable grip and to enhance or act as the finger guard to stop the hand sliding down onto the blade. Typical materials used are wood, a high impact plastic or high density rubber. Nine times out of ten, a survival knife ends up as a chopping tool at some point in its history. Take this into account. A beautiful, polished, rosewood handle may look good but when you start whacking the knife around it may not last long if you miss the blade and hit the beginning of the tang. The handle must be unbreakable in extreme use and, therefore, much stronger than the handle of a general purpose knife. These small details separate the survival knife from the everyday, run-of-the-mill knife. Used carefully, a hardwood handle is fine and should take plenty of punishment.

Fixing methods: Look at the way the handle fixes to the tang as this a potential weak point. A variety of methods may be used – screws, rivets, moulded to the tang or a combination. Satisfy yourself that the fixing method used is durable.

Metal handles: The all-metal knife is very strong but bear in mind that a metal handle has its drawbacks. It significantly increases the weight of the knife, it is impractical in very cold conditions because it will freeze to the skin or at the least be uncomfortable to hold for extended periods. Some people recommend wrapping a handle in paracord or some other covering, never do this as there is a risk the wrapping material will fail and you will harm yourself.

Golden rules:

• Never use a knife as a lever; no knife is made for this purpose and you will damage the knife and possibly harm yourself.
  
  
• Never throw your knife. A survival knife is not balanced as a throwing knife and you will cause injury, damage the knife or lose it.
  
  
• Keep your knife clean and sharp at all times. After you use it, clean and sharpen it. A couple of strokes on the sharpening stone is all that is usually necessary to maintain the edge.
  
  
• Get into the good habit of keeping your knife in its sheath when not in use. I have seen people cut themselves on a knife left lying around and it is possible in a survival situation to walk off and forget your precious knife in a tired or anxious state.
  
  
• Always have a cord fitted to the lanyard hole. Fasten the cord to your belt as an added protection against losing your knife. Wrap the cord round your wrist when chopping to prevent the knife from bouncing away if you lose your grip.
  
  
• Never run with your knife in your hand or be off balance when using it. Sounds obvious? Many accidents with knives are caused this way.
  
  
• Never heat your knife blade in a fire (using it a cooking skewer) unless you have a very real need to do this, such as cauterising a wound. Heating the blade will weaken it.
  
  
• Wash off salt water, blood, etc., in clean water immediately after use and clean off and dry your knife before replacing it back in the sheath.
  
  
• Never stick your knife into the ground, this will blunt it and you run the risk of sticking the point into rock or a stone and damaging it. (Ignore the advertising shots on this website, the knife was used this way for creative purposes only.)
  
  
• Learn to always cut away from the body; peel fruit, etc. the same way.
  
  
• If you are cold, hungry, tired or not focused because of the trauma of the situation you can easily inflict serious damage to your person or others with a knife. Treat your knife with the same respect you would treat a loaded gun. Do not risk any personal injury as this will just make your situation worse.

Stainless steel is much harder than carbon steel and consequently is more time consuming to sharpen. Both stainless and carbon steel knives hold a good edge if sharpened correctly. Factory-made knives usually need sharpening before use, sometimes they have been ground to the correct angle with a flat primary edge but the final sharpening angle is up to the buyer. Always sharpen your new knife when you buy it so it is ready for use when you need it; this is even more important if you have never tried sharpening a knife before. If your efforts result in a knife that is blunter than when you bought it, you are getting the technique wrong. It is always best to learn in the warmth and comfort of your own home; keep a couple of first aid plasters at hand! If the crunch comes, and you get into a survival situation, the last thing you want to do is sit down in a blizzard or pouring rain and sharpen your knife before constructing that vital shelter or skinning that delicious rabbit.

A knife can be sharpened on any stone that is harder than steel using the correct technique, the problem is finding such a stone in a survival situation. It is wise to carry a sharpening stone in your survival kit and there are many small models available in most countries. In North America I would choose EXE-LAP, in Europe I would choose Fällkniven DC3 or (illustrated, photo left) or the larger DC4; widely available is the Spyderco ceramic sharpener. None of these stones require lubrication. For sharpening a survival knife buy a 600 grit diamond stone or equivalent. A course stone will work faster but the medium grade will give a sharper, longer lasting edge. Some stones have a medium grit and a fine grit side. Use the fine grit side to polish the sharpened edge and it will be more durable. In the field, consider carrying a the pen-sized, Gerber Diamond Knife Sharpener (illustrated, photo right. Click to enlarge). Not as effective as a stone, but can put an edge on a blade relatively fast if the blade just requires a bit of a sharpening up, which is most common for a survival knife. If you use your knife for chopping wood, this will quickly blunt the edge, so after building your shelter and cooking your rabbit, relax before nightfall with your sharpening stone and restore the edge on your knife. After using an abrasive stone, a couple of light strokes with a Gerber Diamond Knife Sharpener can remove unwanted metal left by grinding (burr). I use both a medium abrasive stone, then finish with a fine grit to polish the edge, a few strokes down the Gerber Diamond Knife Sharpener leaves a durable, sharp edge.

How do you actually sharpen a knife?
Sharpening a knife is all about technique. Once you have mastered the technique you can sharpen any knife. In a survival situation, you need a sharp edge and it does not have to be perfect, just "sufficient onto the day."

The poor survival knife is expected to fulfil many cutting and chopping functions and this is a lot to ask of one blade. Think about the number of knives you use in your kitchen at home in food preparation and eating. You may have to use your survival knife to chop through bone, de-scale and fillet fish, slice meat, cut down vines, slice fruit, cut paracord, kill an animal, to name but a few uses. Add cutting brushwood, splitting branches and hacking through vegetation and you get the picture.

So how can you use one poor knife to fulfil so many functions? The answer is in the edge you produce. A thin, sharp edge ground with a narrow angle is useful for slicing and cutting but will not retain its sharpness (durability) for long if you whittle wood down with it. A thicker, wider angle edge will perform chopping and whittling functions longer without the need for sharpening but is not very effective if you want to de-scale fish. If you only have one knife you have to learn how to regrind and sharpen it to give the edge you need for the job in hand. It makes good sense to carry two knives. Keep the drop point 6 inch blade for general rough work and a folding lock knife with a narrow angle and very fine edge for the more delicate jobs. Use a wire saw to cut thicker branches and poles for shelter making. Do not use your precious knives for the wrong job because a lazy moment will cost you a lot of hard work recovering the blade edge later on. Sharpening a survival knife (both locking knife or fixed blade drop point shape).

• The knife steel is not high quality and will not take a sharp edge whatever you do.
  
  
• The blade design is too complicated, requiring several grinding angles.
  
  
• The grinding angle is incorrect for the chosen use of the knife. Keeping the grinding angle constant and the blade evenly in contact with the abrasive is not easy. A good angle to sharpen a survival knife is 25°, which as you can see from the above chart is a compromise. It will not fine slice a tomato or be totally efficient at chopping wood, but it will perform adequately all round with good durability. If you have two knives, grind the fixed blade to 30 - 35° and the folding locking knife to 20- 25°; use the fixed blade for cruder work and the folding knife for finer work.
  
  
• The burr has not been removed, leaving the blade rough.
  
  
• Blades that are hard coated (with titanium carbonitride) should only be sharpened on one edge. The hard coating on the non-honed side of the blade becomes the cutting edge. A frequent mistake is to sharpen both edges and this results in a less durable or dull knife edge.

Use a circular motion or push and pull the blade up and down the stone. Work the entire length of the blade; after several strokes feel the edge with your finger nail to detect burr. Once you have burr down the whole length of the blade, turn it over and sharpen the other side. Keep a constant pressure when grinding by resting the knife on your thumb (or thumb and finger for longer blades) and let your thumb rub over the abrasive.

Everyone has thumbs of different sizes so find the place on your thumb and finger to rest the blade that gives the required angle. It can take over one hundred strokes to sharpen stainless steel and less for carbon steel. The metal of the cutting edge becomes very thin as it is being ground on the abrasive block and it will form a burr where the metal turns away from the abrasive.

Once you have burr, you are on your way to a sharp edge. You can feel the burr with your thumb nail. Never run your nail or finger down the blade, only across it, for obvious reasons. When you sharpen the other side of the blade the first few stokes will remove the burr. Once the second side forms a burr on the side you first sharpened you have the edge. If your abrasive stone has both fine and coarse sides, give your blade a couple of light strokes over the finer abrasive to remove the burr. If you have a Gerber Diamond Knife Sharpener, use this to remove the burr, a couple of light strokes is all that is needed. It is possible to polish the cutting edge further on a leather belt using a process known as "stropping," but this is not necessary for a survival knife and somewhat impractical in the field.

Inspect the blade. If your angle is correct, both sides of the blade should be ground to the same angle. If one side looks as if more metal has been removed then you have made the grinding angle more shallow on this side. Nothing for it but to start the process over again. Test the edge by slicing it through paper, it should make a clean cut and not stick to the paper or tear it. If you do not have paper in a survival situation, just use the knife for the intended purpose. If it cuts the way you want it to cut, then you have a sharp knife. If it does not work as you intended, repeat the sharpening process making sure you sharpen the whole length of the blade by keeping the angle right and the pressure on the blade constant.

Sharpening systems

Still can't get that edge? Oh well, help is at hand with a sharpening system that sets the angle for you.

Below are some sharpening gadgets that all work and vary only in ease of use, size and price.

Manufacturer: D.M.T. The Aligner Guided Diamond Sharpener ensures guided strokes and exact bevels to give a consistent angle and produce the ultimate in fast, accurate knife sharpening. A very flexible guided sharpening system with 7 angle variability, and the handle accepts any 4" (110 mm) DMT® Diamond Whetstone. The knife clamp can be used separately as a sharpening guide with any bench model DMT® Diamond Whetstone. Included is a fabric storage pouch with Velcro enclosure. Price guide £46.00. Highly recommended piece of kit.

Manufacturer: Columbia River. Slide Sharp uses a unique system of injection moulded nylon guides to hold the knife edge at the specific angle required for optimum sharpening. A hardwood base holds a porcelain sharpening rod. Simply insert the rod in the base, slide a return spring over it, select the sharpening guide needed for your knife, and slide on the cap. Sharpening action couldn't be easier. Just pull your blade through a sharpening guide slot pressing down lightly. The return spring pops the guide up again for the next stroke. You then repeat the same action as needed in the opposite slot, sharpening both sides of the blade equally, or as needed. Two sharpening guides are included. One is a slight angle for putting an edge on sport, work, tactical and kitchen knives. The second has a steeper angle for heavier tools such as choppers and machetes. The Slide Sharp system comes with two porcelain sharpening rods. You start with the coarser grey rod, and finish the edge with the fine white rod. Price guide 25.00. Good but sizeable in a 26x11.5cm box.

Manufacturer: Smiths. The Smith's 3-in-1 Sharpening System is a handy sharpener you can not only take anywhere but will do three jobs in one. Features pre-aligned carbides for quick edge setting, 750 grit interrupted surface diamond sharpener and pre-aligned ceramic sharpeners for sharpening standard and serrated blades. The rods easily store in the base. Price guide £20.00

Manufacturer: Spyderco. The Tri-Angle Sharpmaker includes two sets of high Alumina Ceramic stones: A pair of medium grit (dark) stones for aggressive sharpening, and a pair of fine stones (white) for professional grade finishing. There is also a set of brass safety rods to protect the user's hand during sharpening. For sharpening plain edges the flat sides of the stones are ideal. For serrated edges use the corners. The stones fit into keyed holes and slots moulded into the polymer base and have a 40 degree and 30 degree sharpening angle for knives and a 12.5 degree scissor setting. A groove running the length of the stone is for sharpening pointed objects like darts, awls and fishhooks. All components pack into the base and the lid snaps shut making the 204 self contained and small enough to carry in your shirt pocket. No lubrication is required during use for dry, mess-free sharpening. Includes instruction DVD and book. Price guide £50.00.

Manufacturer: Vulkanus. A sharpening system that is simple - and really works! How many of you have used sharpening systems over the years that you've discarded because you can't seem to get that edge you really want, or simply can't achieve? Or is it that you can't seem to find the correct angle that your blade requires? Finally your problem has been solved with a completely new design for sharpening all sizes of knives - from pocket to fixed blade to kitchen - called Vulkanus. This revolutionary design, by Austrian Harald Stallegger, will guarantee a razor sharp edge after only a few swipes. This patented spring-loaded mechanism allows you to pull the blade through the hardened steel inserts along the blade surface, all the way to the tip. Vulkanus is designed to sharpen serrated blades as well. Price guide £35.00 in plastic, £60.00 in stainless steel. This is a really excellent sharpener and highly recommended.

Manufacturer: Gerber. The Gerber Pocket Sharpener is manufactured with coarse and fine ceramic stones set at the proper angles. Weighing only 1 oz, this will put an edge on any worn blade. Very useful field tool and the cheapest in my selection. Price guide £4.00. Cheap and it works very well on smaller knives but not as versatile as some of the systems shown above. You pays your money and you takes your choice!

Lansky Diamond Sharpening Set

Several people have written in recommending the Lansky diamond deluxe sharpening set. I have bought one and here is my evaluation:

First, it is expensive because of the diamond stones and you need to have a lot of knives to sharpen to justify owning one. This is not the sort of kit to stuff in your day bag! Which is fair enough, as your knives should be correctly edged, and only need a touch up in the field. I might consider packing one for expedition use as a sharpening system for all to use, but it is not as efficient (in my view) as the Vulkanus or the Smiths 3-in-1 system, which I would carry with me in preference to the Lansky set.
 

The down-sides:

1. I found the system difficult to use without a bench stand which can be purchased as an optional extra.

2. The clamping system is not very efficient. In the instructions it tells you to tighten it with a coin but I had to use a substantial screwdriver. You have to be very careful that a blade 10 - 15 cm doesn't slip when sharpening it.

3. For small blades, such as the Gerber L.S.T knife, it is very difficult to get the clamp to hold the blade. I tried it on several small knives and they were all difficult to hold in the clamp. It can be done, but I would not like to try it in minus degrees in a survival situation.

4. The need to use oil makes the job messy. If you can clean yourself up afterwards - OK, but in the field you are left with oily black hands.

The positives:

1. Once set up securely, the correct angles are easily achieved using the guide rods in the appropriate holes. The course diamond stone can easily re-edge a ruined blade even one made of high-quality, hardened steel.

2. Working down the grades of stone from course to fine gives a correctly angled and sharp cutting edge.

3. The Sapphire stone (optional extra but worth the money) gives a highly polished edge with no burr.

Tip:

Do not use too much pressure when sharpening the blade. If you press too hard you take off a lot of metal and the blade has a tendency to jump out of the clamp or move around. You need to find the right touch, it requires patience and a little finesse.

Overall:

It works but is pricy and cheaper systems will do an equally good job. This sharpening system is really for use in the workshop to get your blades in first-class shape. In the field use a Vulkanus to keep the edge on the blade.

Recommended survival knife:

Manufactured by Fällkniven, Sweden, Model A1 - survival knife model A1 and in Black (A1 BL) Teflon coated as supplied to the Swedish Military. Retails for 1,660 Swedish Kronor (£128, $260.)

This elegant survival knife has become something of a favourite in military circles, where the need is for a strong, reliable and safe knife. The civilian world, naturally, has the same requirements. Despite its size, Model A1 is a versatile and well-balanced knife, and internationally about the best money can buy. The 6mm thick blade, in laminate VG10 steel, is very strong, with a convex edge. The black surface is of Ceracoat 8H for protection against reflections and corrosion. Delivered with a Zytel leather or moulded Kydex plastic sheath.

PRODUCT DETAILS: Model A1; Total length: 280 mm; Blade length: 160 mm; Blade thickness: 6 mm; Blade profile: Convex; Tang: Broad; Weight: 310 g;
Steel: Laminated VG10**; Hardness: 59HRC; Handle material: Kraton®; Sheath: Zytel Leather or Kydex.

Manufactured by Fällkniven, Havrevägen 10, S- 961 42 Boden, Sweden
Tel.: 0921-544 22 0921-544 33 Int. +46-921 544 22 Int.+46-921 544 33
www.fallkniven.com  info@fallkniven.se

** VG10 is a costly steel that is hard to work, but which, when correctly hardened and tempered, gives a blade that is resilient and hard, as well as practically stainless. Laminate blades are about 20 per cent stronger than a solid blade. With an outer layer of 420J2 and an edge made of VG10 you get a blade that is extremely strong and retains its sharpness for a very long time.

Other knives will be reviewed when I get the time.

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