GET THE MOST FROM YOUR BLADE

A SURVIVAL KNIFE IS MUCH LIKE A FIGHTER PUSHED INTO THE 12TH ROUND OF A 10-ROUNDER

- REUBEN BOLIEU

A longer survival knife can help trim branches by chopping in the direction of their growth. The author chops low and off to his side, ensuring the blade completely clears his leg.

Rather than mimic the copy-and-pasted adage that a survival knife is the knife you have on you when you need it, I'd rather give my opinion. A survival knife is a multipurpose tool. There won't be many spoons, try sticks, or gnomes carved during a survival scenario, let alone carved with the characteristics of a survival knife.

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I'd recommend four inches to seven inches in blade length with a tang that runs the entire knife length, visibly seen between the scales (full tang). If you look at the United States Air Force Pilot Survival Knife, it has a five-inch-long blade. There is a long history of the United States Marine Corps using a Ka-Bar seven-inch bladed knife.

A survival knife must be able to quickly put a point on a stick to fire-harden as a quick self-defense tool.

I am a fan of thin knives, especially when I have a saw and chopping tool such as a tomahawk, hatchet, or long blade. However, I'd go for a stout blade made to pull double and triple duty without the other tools. With a survival knife, chopping, digging, notching, batoning, and some prying may have to be done.

I wouldn't go with anything less than 1/8-inch thick for a knife designated for emergency use. I'd recommend 3/16- and 14-inch thickness. Carbon steel all the way because a river stone, cardboard, sandpaper, leather sheath, Cordura, and harder steel can all be used to sharpen a carbon steel blade easier than stainless steel. Carbon steel blades have more flex and are proven to resist snapping better than stainless steel. On top of that, a survival knife must be comfortable and portable.