It is an undeniable fact that a survival knife is one of the most important tools to have in a survival situation. A robust and reliable blade gives you the advantage of performing tasks such as cutting, splitting, slicing, carving and much more. Here are some of the things you should consider while purchasing your survival knife.

Blade size

Different knives come in different sizes for different purposes. Understanding what your knives are for can greatly help you decide what blade size you should go for. A bigger blade length may give you more strength and momentum to chop or baton larger size wood, but it compromises the ability to carve items when needed. Whereas, a smaller blade length allows you to perform tasks such as slicing, cutting, and carving with better control.

Tang

When it comes to a real survival situation, having a reliable knife is utterly important to save lives. The tang is the part of the blade that is wrapped in the handle. There are full tang, skeletonized tang, rat-tail tang, narrowing tang, and partial tang, but the best choice for survival would be a full tang. With a full tang knife, you can expect your knife to be sturdier and much durable. Besides, if an event where the knife handle breaks off, you would be able to continue using your full tang knife by wrapping it around with duct tape or some paracord, but this isn’t advisable for the other tang types.

Type of grinds

There are many types of grinds such as hollow, saber, chisel, convex, scandi, and much more. Different types of grinds allow you to perform detailed tasks differently. A hollow grind gives a clean and sharp finishing from its thin steel, most suitable for food preparation tasks, however, it is prone to chips if abused. A saber grind can withstand large chopping forces and can perform tasks such as batoning better by busting wood apart. A chisel grind essentially is a V-bevel, except that only one side of the blade is sharpened while the other side remains straight, it is a perfect tool for woodworking. The convex grind has a curved edge that makes it an easy-to-use knife, it allows you to glide through materials easily while cutting. It is also known to last longer because it can maintain its edge longer than other types of grind which will ease your sharpening sessions. A scandi grind on the other hand is one of the easiest blade grinds to maintain on the field and can manage most common jungle craft tasks given.

Type of steel

There are two main types of steel commonly used in survival knives which are stainless and carbon steel. Both type of steel has its strengths and weaknesses. A stainless-steel knife can be easier to maintain from rusting however it does not retain its sharpness very well. Carbon steel knives can retain its sharpness, but it requires a great deal of maintenance from rusting.

Ultimately, you would want to purchase a knife that can last you a lifetime and would work best for your environment and situations. Having the right knife can change your outdoor experience and confidence. Be sure to follow and like MORPH Outdoors on Facebook & Instagram and contact us if you need any help choosing a knife!