Survival knives are knives intended for survival purposes when lost in a wilderness environment. Military units issue some type of survival knife to pilots in the event they may be shot down. Hunters, hikers, and outdoor sport enthusiasts use survival knives. Some survival knives are heavy-bladed and thick; others are lightweight or fold in order to save weight and bulk as part of a larger survival kit. Their functions often include serving as a hunting knife.
Origins of the survival knife
Previous to the late 19th century, outdoorsmen and military personnel did not use knives that were notably different from the knives used by butchers. Bladestock was relatively thin and the handles were often no more than two wooden slabs riveted to the tang. Around the turn of the century, Webster L. Marble introduced the modern concept of the "hunting knife." These knives incorporated heavier blades, crossguards, and pommels. They very much resembled miniaturized Bowie knives. Case, Cattaraugus, and other cutlery manufacturers soon introduced similar knives of their own and it is from these that the modern concept of the survival knife is descended. These knives, along with machetes and bolos constituted survival knives as used by military, explorers, and outdoorsmen up through at least the 1930s.
During WWII, survival knives were issued to aircraft crew, as it was a real possibility that these personnel might be shot down over wilderness or behind enemy lines. Lifeboats aboard naval vessels also frequently contained survival kits including knives. These knives varied in design from one branch of the service to another and from one nation to another. The majority of them were simply commercial knives purchased in bulk by the military. From the Vietnam-era and to present, purpose-built survival knives evolved.
Some militaries, including the US, have redesigned the bayonet used with their issued rifle to include survival knife features. Historically, bayonets had functioned poorly as field knives, due to being designed primarily to turn a rifle into a thrusting weapon and only secondarily (if at all) to work as a field knife. The newer models function more acceptably for mundane tasks while remaining capable of being attached to the muzzle of a rifle.
Features
The serrations often seen on more recent survival knives are intended to allow aircrewmen to cut their way free through the relatively thin metal skin of a crashed helicopter or airplane. They do not function well as woodsaws nor are they intended as such. Those knives that do include functional saw-teeth still suffer from lack of blade length limiting the thickness of what can be cut when used as a saw. Other features, such as hollow handles that could be used as storage space for matches or similar small items, began gaining popularity in the 1980s. Custom or semi-custom makers such as Jimmy Lile and Bo Randall are often credited with inventing those features, but all of them can be found individually in earlier commercial knives.
Examples of Survival Knives
Fixed blade knives
- Aitor mod - Jungle King I, Jungle King II, Jungle King III
- Bark River Knife & Tool - Bravo-1, Fox River, Highland Special and Northstar.
- Becker Knife and Tool - BK-2, BK-7 and BK-10.
- Cold Steel - Master Hunter and SRK. The SRK is approved by the US Coast Guard and US Navy.
- Chris Reeve Knives hollow handled knives
- Eikhorn Solingen Aircrew Survival Escape Knife and KM2000
- Fällkniven mod - A1, A2, F1, H1, S1 or WM1. The F1 and S1 (only black versions) are approved as aircrew survival knives by the US Navy and US Marine Corps, and the F1 is Swedish Air Force pilot issue.
- Gerber - LMF 2 is approved by the US Air Force as an ASEK knife
- H.P. Klotzli - Model 1
- Izhmash NV-01
- Jimmy Lile - First Blood , Sly II, Rambo The Mission
- Ka-Bar - 1221 Next Generation Fighter/Utility and 1218/5018 USMC Fighting/Utility knife.
- Ontario Knives - 499 Airforce survival knife, TAK-1, RAT-3, RAT-5, RTAK.
- Randall Made Knives - Model 15 Airman, Model 18 Attack-Survival.
- Relentless Knives - Model M1 Aviator, Model M1 MAP and Model M4X.
- Robert Parrish - 8" "Attack Survival " and the Model 36
- SOG - SEAL Team is approved for use by the US Navy SEALs as an assault knife
- SOG - SEAL Pup, a smaller version of the SOG SEAL Team
- Swamp Rat Knives - CampTramp, Howling Rat, Ratweiler
- TOPS Knives - Tracker, designed by Tom Brown Jr.
- Remington - Tango
- Columbia River Knife and Tool - M60 SOTFB
- SOG - Team Leader
- Busse - ASH-1, Fusion Battle Mistress
- Scrapyard - Scrapper 6
- W.G. Stegner - Fixed Blades
- Buck - 119 Special
- Buck - Nighthawk
- Buck - Buckmaster
- Gerber - Big Rock
- Gerber - Profile
- Gerber - BMF (Basic Multi Functional)
- Ray Mears - Woodlore Fixed Blade
- Master Cutlery - Ultimate Survival Knives
- Wilkinson Sword - Survival Knife/Dartmoor Survival knife (Ray Mears design of the mid 80's)
Folding blade knives
Some may consider a folding blade not durable enough, however, it is more compact and easily carried. It is vitally important that the blade lock securely (to prevent injury) and be easily opened with one hand (in case one arm is incapacitated).
- Al Mar SERE 2000
- Chris Reeve Sebenza
- Blade Tech Professional Hunter
- Benchmade AFCK and Mini-AFCK
- Buck Knives Odyssey and Lightning
- Emerson Knives Commander and CQC Series
- Fällkniven Mod. P and Mod. U2
- CRKT - M16-14D
- CRKT - M16-12Z
- Buck - 110 Folding Hunter
- Gerber - Gator
Multi purpose knives
- Buck Knives Crosslock
- Leatherman k500x
- SOG Rev-7
Multi-tools and pocket survival tools (PST)
These are knives that have many tools that may be useful in survival situations, however the blades are usually small and these tools should be accompanied by a larger knife. Sometimes, the blades are bigger, making them more usable as a primary knife, then extra functions are kept to a bare minimum. However, pocket knives almost never feature a good blade lock, limiting their usefulness as a primary blade. In urban emergency situations tools other than a knife such as screwdriver, pliers etc may allow escape from dangerous situations.
- Gerber Multi-Plier 600
- Leatherman Charge TTi
- Leatherman Wave
- SOG Power Plier
- Victorinox SwissTool RS
Machetes with cutting characteristics
Besides regular knives, some people also switch to special Machete-variations as the Golok and Parang to use as their primary (survival) knife. Also, sometimes Kukhris are used in areas where it does not need to serve to clear vegetation. Popular brands and models are:
- Cold Steel LTC
- Gurkha House
- Himalayan Imports Sirupati (12-15inch)
- Marble no°6 Safety Axe
- Valiant Trading Company
Neck knives
Although mostly used as a back-up, certain neck knives may be used for survival use. They are encased in hard-scale protection or are foldable.
- Bud Nealy
- Cold Steel 20BTJ
- CRKT Dogfish
- Emerson Knives LaGriffe
- KA-BAR TDI LDK
- Relentless Knives M2 Talon
- Rob Simonich Bitterroot
- Smith and Wesson HRT2
- Spyderco SPOT
- RAT Izula
See also
- Bushcraft
- Mors Kochanski
- Ray Mears
- Tom Brown (naturalist)
References
- ^ Blade Tech Professional hunter approved by USRSOG as survival knife
- ^ Taylor, Rich (February 1997). "Survival Tools" . http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/adventures/1277796.html . Retrieved 02/05/2008 .
- ^ "Gerber Multitool" . http://www.gerber-tools.com/Gerber-Multi-Plier-600-blunt-nose-7500.htm . Retrieved 02/06/2008 .
- ^ "Blades aka Steel" . http://www.usrsog.org/blades.htm . Retrieved 02/06/2008 .
- ^ Gardner, James (August, 2004), "Sticking
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