Survival Knives

For discussions of survival necessities, visit www.SurvivalBlog.com
Chris Reeve knives can be found at chrisreeve.com/

[@SharpPointyThings]

The fishing gear IS a useful survival supply. You tie the hook to the line, tie it to a stick, drop it in the water, and a Fish and Wildlife officer will show up in five minutes, asking for your license.

[@greggv8]

One thing that's often overlooked in survival / bugout / camping gear is a decent pair of nail clippers. A pair of nail clippers and a nail file can be used to keep a chipped or split nail from getting worse. I've never seen in any TV show or movie, or read in any book - where someone is packing up stuff in an emergency, that nail clippers or things like a comb or hairbrush are mentioned. Sometimes a character may toss in a toothbrush. If you're going to be out in the boonies for a while, you'll need to keep your toenails trimmed to keep them from snagging your socks or having pressure on them which can cause ingrown nails or just the edges cutting the skin which could lead to an infection. Hangnails, little spurs that split off the edges of finger and toe nails, can be a problem, especially for people with highly curved nails and rather plump toes. Let them grow too long and they snag and hurt. But clip them off completely and when they split off again they can dive down into the toe or finger. Finding a decent clippers and associated accessories these days is difficult. TRIM used to be a very good brand but recent stuff I've seen with their mark stamped on has been pretty bad. I'd say they qualify as sharp. A metal nail file is reasonably pointy. How about a video on good and bad nail care kits for home and other use? Assuming there is such a thing as a good quality kit these days, or even just good nail clippers.

[@powers1776reset]

@@greggv8 I bet Rambo just uses his teeth to trim his toenails

[@geodkyt]

*Thank you* fornpointinf outbthe lighter. Even Mini-Bic (not much larger than a few sealed matches) provides *hundreds* of opportunities for a fire - not 2-6 matches. In the Boy Scouts, we learned to build a survival kit rhat fit into a standard M256 decon kit. Thatt and a fixed blade knife no longer than 8" were all the tools we were allowed to have. (My dad taught me to wrap a couple of 55 gallon heavy drum liners around the outside, held on with heavy rubber bands, and cover my knife sheath with a lashing of 550 cord.) Since this was a Scout troop in a military town, our instructors were SERE graduates who were quite pragmatic. (For example, we were tested on trap building, but they provided a small amount of meat for us to eat because, "You probably won't catch anything before the end of the weekend, so here." It is truly wonderful how warm and dry a couple of large, heavy duty trash bags will do to keep you warm and dry, even under a rudimentary lean to.

[@petesheppard1709]

Toys riding the Rambo craze... ''...$19.95, which was $20 more than they were worth"--Money quote! 😜

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

Chris Reeve stopped making those solid milled (A2 Steel) one piece fixed blades about 1994 or so. I was able to snag one of the last 7” Tanto versions, but he had a half dozen main models, including a very useful Aviator model that I wish I had grabbed. They varied from $300-$400 as I recall, based on length, and they went from about 4” or so for the Aviator (going from memory) to 6-9” for the other versions, all with high quality leather sheaths. I paid $400 for mine I think, in late 1994 from a premier knife shop back East who only had a couple left. The first ones had hex sided buttcaps with o-rings, while the later ones were round and checkered to exactly match the checkered handles, also with an o-ring, and I was able to get both cap types. Reeve had enough sense not to put anything into the handles, he left that to the customer, and the only thing I ever carried in mine was a tube of waterproof matches. Unlike every other hollow handle, the Reeve one piece compartments were completely waterproof. Jeff at Cutlery Shoppe in Boise used to sell the whole one piece line (maybe 8-10 models if you counted all blade lengths) (?) as Reeve lived and had his shop there, but he and Reeve had some kind of major falling out, and that ended. The tanto is a great fighter, and sharp and sturdy as hell, but slightly less useful for “survival” tasks I guess. Reeve went on to develop the Sebenza and Umnumzaan and Mnandi and other beautiful folding knives, not to mention helping to develop major new industry leading knife steels with Crucible industries (S30V and S35VN), but still introduced new fixed blades like the Green Beret (Yarborough, in two blade lengths) and the Pacific. They may not have hollow handles, and they aren’t milled out of one piece of solid steel, but they’re far more practical and beautifully made. Other than the Reeves, the only other hollow handle “survival” knife that was worth anything back then, was one of the original Jimmy Lile knives used in the original “First Blood” movie, and (in my opinion) those saw serrations on the back of the blade were for looks, not utility. You’re much better off with even a SAK saw blade, say from a Huntsman, which you can also use with a fire steel, or a small folding saw. (As you say no one is going to be in the woods with just a knife!) The Lile Rambo knives were going for about $750 back then IIRC, but I had a $60 Imperial Schrade M7S survival knife made from an M7 bayonet, and it had a sheath with a large front pouch that held a lot more stuff than you could fit into a small hollow handle, and was pretty much indestructible. It had the obligatory hooks and fishing line, but also a magnesium fire starter and a decent compass, a good pull saw for zipping thru large branches, and room in the pouches for a lot more stuff, including med supplies. I kept half of the stuff that came with it and upgraded the rest. (Love those flares you have BTW!) That was really the last of the “survival knife” craze, and probably good riddance. Thanks for the look back!

[@BladeObssession]

Schrade made some hollow handle knives that were machined from one solid billet which were extremely well made and tough

[@evilned1]

I remember those things. I never bought one. I think they were popularized by the movie First Blood when Rambo carried one.

[@stolman2197]

In my early days teaching survival courses, I had a young man arrive for a course with one of the worst example of these hollow handle POSs, he was refusing to switch to the Russell Green River blades we gave our clients. Eventually he didn't go on course (for other reasons).

[@gabrielglouw3589]

The only survival type knife I have is a Esee 5 that I keep in my bugout/hurricane fleeing bag. Of course I carry a pocket knife and Leatherman as a matter of course.

[@nlb137]

The second knife had the right idea with putting some of the 'survival' shit in the sheath rather than the handle. I swear it seems like the hollow handle was just a contractual obligation on that one.

[@MASI_forging]

The knife looks cool 😉😉

[@tonykennedy8592]

I really like the presentation of this information. If I could offer one small pedantic piece of advice. Maybe try not to lip smack so much when talking. Your mic is very good and it picks up the sound.

[@katana1430]

I was given one of these with a Soligen blade as a kid, but my father didn't regard it as serious equipment and prepared 24hr survival belt packs for all of us kids.

[@SharpPointyThings]

A lot of blades marked "Solingen" are knockoffs. If there isn't a German maker's mark with it, it's almost certainly fake. And that's the city of origin, they still used several types of primarily Krupp steel.

[@katana1430]

Huh, did not know that. I'll have to dig it out and check for a mark. @@SharpPointyThings

[@branch42]

Yes, the mini-Bic is a case of matches and flint struck, piezo ignitor is vulnerable to moisture and EMP . That Air Force stockman is more useful that most belt knives, if you need a chopper, include a tomahawk head or other axe head designed for a tapered stick. Chopping with a knife is woefully inefficient, use an axe. If you cannot find a bit of wood to use as a handle, you most likely have other more important issues.

[@SharpPointyThings]

EMP has zero effect on a piezo lighter. It has far less effect on anything than people have been led to believe. Conductor length is the critical factor, and that conductor length in the lighter is near zero. Flint lighters have severe issues with moisture. The small folding knife is useful for the things you use small knives for. That was issued as an adjunct to the aircrew fixed blade, which handles the tasks big knives do. An axe head on a hand-hewn stick isn't very effective. It is far better to just have an axe. Also, if EMP or CME were to become a problem, a lighter would be the least of the issues I was worried about. I'll cover other cutting implements in other episodes. This was specifically about this style of knife.

[@MrTweell]

I remember getting one of those 'survival knives' as a present in 1990. It wasn't too bad as a weeding knife. Supposedly it was made from 440 stainless, but I have my doubts about that.

[@SharpPointyThings]

Some of them were, but they weren't necessarily properly heat treated.

[@branch42]

Right, there are some poorly HT 440c 154cm butter knives, that are barely up to the task, then put Bose on the job and you Buck 110 from the same steel@@SharpPointyThings

[@dmitch1983]

Informative. At the 4:39 mark your cameraman audibly tells you to speak up and then proceeds to mouth breathe right next to the mic for the duration. Tripods are cheaper than the knives you bought to demonstrate... Just a suggestion

[@SharpPointyThings]

We were using a tripod. There may have been a transfer issue with the files, as far as the grain and pixellation.

[@taylormahan1744]

The only one I know that is really good.....the coldsteel bowie bushman. 1 piece, good size, extremely adaptable. Very sharp. And a ferro rod.

[@SharpPointyThings]

Yes, especially for the money, it's an excellent piece, though a better grip would be a plus.

[@dennisleighton2812]

Just a question [asking for a friend ;-) ] - is there a difference between a survival knife and a survival kit? If I was looking for a survival knife (singular) I would surely go for the definitive knife - the Cold Steel SRK, as this is the one that sort of defines the parameters. (Or does it?) Would a "survival kit" be something like a multitool knife (ie Victorinox) , a pliers-based multitool (eg Leatherman), or a fixed blade set like the Victorinox Venture Pro (with sheath kit)? Another thing I picked up from your video is about what else one has about one's person, eg in pockets etc. My contention is that if one is going out into the wild, one prepares for it, and that includes kit and gear you're likely to be using for the conditions one is likely to encounter. Given that, why would one limit yourself to only one knife which may not be at all suitable for some tasks but well suited to others. Why not have more than one? Survival scenarios - what conditions would need to occur for a person to be stranded somewhere away from civilisation, with ONLY a single knife, and nothing else? The chances of that must be millions to one, and even so it would have been gross negligence on an epic scale to have ended up there! Survival is surely that situation where one needs to get BACK to civilisation, whereas deliberately planning to go out into the woods/wild/ bush etc is something like camping, hiking, orienteering, adventuring, and so on. One (survival) is reacting to a bad situation, the other is pro-actively entering an unusual environment for the pleasure of the experience. I think it is very important to acknowledge the difference and address the different issues accordingly. Too many KZbinrs tend not to make this distinction. Your mention of an element of this prompted me to respond. Thanks for the opportunity. I would be happy to share further insights in the future. Cheers mate!

[@SharpPointyThings]

The SRK is an excellent knife, and paired with a small kit of useful items would work well.

[@dennisleighton2812]

@@SharpPointyThings My thought exactly! For me, a perfect companion is the V'nox Venture pro (with kit). [Any chance of a video on this knife?] On the other hand, I'd never give up my V'nox Swiss Champ! My bag knife ( for really heavy duty stuff - ie Cold Steel Trail Master) is anyway a permanent feature in my pack, paired with the Silky saw there. That gives my the tools I might need out there, and excludes any need for an axe.

[@michaelmichaels5836]

If anyone doesn’t want their survival knife I’ll take it 😂. They’re really not that bad.

[@jeffreyshreve1277]

I was in the Marine Corps when all these wannabe Rambo knives came out and I just had to laugh at all the dumb newbies that thought these would be great to own.

[@E.L.RipleyAtNostromo]

LOL! Me too. In 1986 my boss heard me talking about knives and had to show me his pride and joy knife, no name “stainless” steel, hollow handle with the compass, an actual _vinyl_ sheath. And $20 is what he paid for the $5 knife. I was looking to buy one of the big Gerbers at the time, and it was all I could to keep a straight face looking at that POS.

[@willy480able]

What!? No miniature combination rooshin phrase book and bible?

[@Maurice895]

I thought you were Todd Carr.

[@SharpPointyThings]

Who?

[@AandB1998]

“Survival” knife..😂 Just marketing like most things. Making everyone believe they need this or that. It’s cool looking, it’s this brand, color, shape, etc. EDC pouches and gear is the modern trend. You makes you survive and you WILL do whatever necessary gear or not. You’re alive until such time as you’re not!

[@powers1776reset]

But…..but Rambo?🥺 What about when you gotta jump off of a mountain, onto/into the top of a 100’ pine tree, where you then,must check every branch for stability, on your way to earth?!? I think after that, I would damn sure feel better about my squashed nuts and gushing heaping gash on my arm, knowing that I still have my hollow handle super duper China survival knife(with zero disinfectant). Ya know? 😬