Choosing the Best Wilderness Survival Knife is Very Important

In a wilderness survival event, a quality wilderness survival knife is the most important tool you can have. Your wilderness survival knife is important for hunting, making traps, cooking, wood cutting digging, defense, etc. It is for these reasons that a great wilderness survival knife is so important. 

Before we discuss the important things you should look for in a survival knife, there are several things you should avoid.

Double edged blades do not make good survival knives. They are designed more for thrusting rather than cutting or chopping. They are not very functional in a survival situation and tend to have weak tips that can be broken off. Remember reliability is everything in a survival knife and a double edged blade also doesn’t have a thick spine, so it would be impossible to baton wood with it.

Stay away from "Rambo GI Joe" style knives, they are not real survival knives even though Sylvester Stallone makes it look cool. They are more for show than anything because of their aggressive looks but are too heavy and not very practical for survival chores.

So what options make the best wilderness survival knife?

Handle – A good handle should feel comfortable in your hand and be made of a durable solid material. Avoid handles that are hollow or plastic as they will not be dependable. A couple of nice features to have is a lanyard hold and a blunt flat edge at the end of the handle. The lanyard hole is great for putting a rope through so you can attach your knife to your wrist or another piece of gear. Look for a solid blunt edge on the end of the handle as it comes in handy when you need to hammer an object.

Blade shape – Avoid blades with a point that is relatively thin or narrow. Thin or narrow points can break easily especially when digging. You want a sturdy point that can take plenty of abuse, but still be used for finer survival chores. A drop point blade is probably the best option for a multi-purpose wilderness survival knife. You also need a blade with a decent curved edge on the bottom called the belly, which comes in handy for chores such as slicing and skinning.

Plain edge or serrated edge – Your daily wilderness survival knife should always have a plain edge. A serrated edge might be more useful in a city environment as its best strengths are for cutting synthetic materials such as rope and seat belts, plastic, etc. A plain edge can still do these things BUT do everything else a lot better. Plain edges are also hold an edge longer and are much easier to sharpen.

Fixed blade – Survival knives must be durable, reliable and be able to take a lot of abuse. A folding knife isn’t any of these. Although a folder can make an excellent back-up knife, your primary survival knife should always be a fixed blade, preferably with a full tang. Full tang means that the blade goes right through to the end of the handle. This ads extra strength and durability to the knife. In a survival situation, reliability is everything!

Blade Size – Wilderness survival knives must be sturdy enough to handle the abuse of outdoor survival yet small enough to be comfortable for smaller jobs. A good thickness for the blade should be around 1/8 inch or between 3 to 4 mm. This gives you enough strength for heavy duty jobs while still be effective at slicing and smaller tasks. A good blade length would be around 4 to 5 inches long or between 100 and 125mm.