Hunting

Best Hunting Knives-Options

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.