Dispelling Once And For All (I hope) The Myths About:
What Knife Constitutes A "Survival Knife"
Extrema Ratio Ontos cutting giant bamboo to make a "rice cooking pot"
The role of a knife in a
survival situation has been a fantasy brought to life from the movies of old, where the hero (yes it was a hero) saved the girl and the day with his "survival knife" In fact there was a VERY good movie just about this very thing; the movie title being"
A publicity shot from the movie The Most Dangerous Game (note the hero holding what is more than likely the original Bowie knife design known as a bird's beak).
The "Most Dangerous Game" and I recommend you to watch this movie if you haven't already.
Because it is good. However, not wishing to spoil this movie, the hero's most potent tool was his brain and not his knife but I will not say any more because I really don't want to spoil it for you.
Another very important "survival tool" is a super reliable watch such as this Citizen Eco Drive
you can see my extensive reviews about it here on this blog or on my channel @bushcampingtools
I'd like to bet most people that make videos about survival knives have never had to survive anywhere where a knife was paramount to their existence.
Extrema Ratio Dobermann IV working hard in the Australian bush
Are they talking about being trapped** behind enemy lines?
Kizlyar Vityaz T used to gather and prepare fat wood (Northern hemisphere)
Are they talking about being stranded on a deserted island?
Kizlyar Supreme Survivalist X (deserted beach Australia), yes coconuts do wash up on beaches (depending upon where you are- and many are NOT in an edible condition-like in the movies!) You can hack them open but will probably be wasting your time and effort.
Hacking open coconuts is great if you happen to be camping where they are growing in abundance (so that's only going to be in the tropics of course). Knife FKMD Parus and what's left of a coconut.
Are they talking about being lost at sea?
(sorry no pictures of me being lost at sea!)
Are they talking about being lost in the snow?
The superb convex ground URAL hunting knife from Kizlyar Supreme.
etc. etc. etc..............
I mean, what are they talking about, and is it from personal experience or complete and utter bullshit?
Oh I forgot: are they on the payroll of some knife company?
Seriously????
In reality most survival situations do not involve knives at all.
I've written about this at great length.
see here:
The rugged environment of KOMDO ISLAND (Photo author)
But if you must read a story which does involve a knife (with a twist) then read here! Over 4K have read this story so far!
and here:
Survival (outside of civilised areas) is not just about knives, it's about keeping one's head and knowing and understanding, especially if you need to gather food.
It's about knowing what you can and can't eat.
The image below shows some known (and sort of tasty) wild figs next to some unidentified Boletus mushrooms collected in the Australian bush (not European origin). Maybe they are edible, maybe they are not? Will you try them??
These mushrooms shown below growing on a fallen and long dead wild cherry, however, are delicious to eat (cooked of course) 
Wild pleurotus mushrooms (Oyster mushrooms) (Custom knife from knife maker Nino Maglia of Legion 14 fame)
Wild King oyster mushrooms growing near cotton woods (Knife WTG RED WOLF an excellent knife)
If you don't already possess a good understanding of what you can and can't eat,
These yam tubers MUST be cooked before being consumed
then it is very likely you will have a hard time of it in such a survival situation where your existence depends upon supplementing your food and water reserves. Remembering ignorance can get you killed.
Edible mountain berries or deadly poisonous berries???
Do you know how to (reliably) catch a fish without a fishing rod?
You also must be familiar with at the very least basic first aid
Read some good books such as but not limited to:
Attend certified courses in First Aid
The extra stuff like stitching wounds. Can you perform this task?
Do you know how to treat a spider bite for example?
Luckily this spider is somewhat harmless-although it makes good sense NOT to be bitten by ANY spider because there's always a chance of some sort of allergic reaction.
You should have a good knowledge of what is poisonous and what isn't. For example: in the image below, we generally take it for granted that any creatures of bright coloration (for example this Northern hemisphere salamander) eg yellow and black; will be poisonous and in fact this creature is indeed poisonous- able to secrete a powerful nmj blocker (that's fancy words for a type of neurotoxin!)
However, there are many things which can be poisonous to man and are not Black and Yellow!
The deadly Eastern Brown Snake (heck we had one living under our patio deck next to our swimming pool!) Image courtesy of the Australian Museum.
And contrary to popular belief there are definitely many poisonous snakes living a great life outside of Australia.
So far I've been talking about "survival" essentially in the wilderness. Let's change direction.
**Survival in a War Zone (as a non combatant Medical Aid worker)
FKMD Combat Survival Knife, one hardcore knife
There are countless scenarios here, so I will write only a little about those of which I know*.
I can tell you they do not involve knives or any weapons for that matter. In fact possessing a weapon could get you killed. What scenarios? For example: foreign medical aid workers or aid workers living and working in hostile environments. Literally keeping your head down, obeying instructions, not doing stupid things like hanging out in front of windows etc.
Sleeping with you bug out gear (eg passport, mobile, power bank, water filter, head torch or small flashlight).
Being ready to move at a moments notice with any other gear that can be safely taken. Always wearing the appropriate clothing, ie flak jacket, helmet (when mobile) and designated branding of the aid organisation (at all times). Not to mention communications being paramount to safety and thus "survival".
This sort of survival situation is of course an extremely dangerous situation possibly even more dangerous due to the fact that mobility may not be the same as the armed forces. This is where "what's between your ears' really counts!
So let's return to the question of "What's a Survival Knife"?
The FKMD Panabas knife based upon a traditional styled "jungle knife" seen here after removing a palm heart.
If it is an unplanned survival situation (possibly the worst kind) in the wilderness, then it will definitely be that knife you have on you. Full stop.
What kinds of "unplanned survival situations" could there be?
A simple day hike on a known trail, no one else hiking that trail this day and someone twists their ankle badly. At this point you are out of mobile phone coverage, there is no road access (after all you are hiking on a single track route), the weather is about to turn bad (ok you have adequate clothing), no one for some reason is carrying any walking sticks. You need to cut a branch/sapling in order to make a impromptu walking stick for the injured; no one is carrying any sort of blade. You are 15 km away from your vehicles and mobile phone signal. You maybe lucky and find a suitable stick from the ground or you may have to use whatever means you can to break a branch etc in order to make that walking stick. You are carrying headlamps because with that twisted ankle now swelling badly you will not be returning to the cars that day before nightfall, the time is just after midday.
There is a stream with very cold water running and maybe it would be good to get the injured to place their foot into the icy waters to slow the swelling but that stream is at least 50m below a very talus strewn descent from your present position.
Can someone (at least two if possible return for help?) maybe maybe not? Making sure to leave at least one person behind (possibly the most experienced amongst the group). Maybe you will have to wait it out overnight and fire wouldn't be a bad idea?
You see where I'm going here? Luckily 15 km is not 25/30km away from a vehicle. So a slow hobble will get one back to the cars. In this scenario the time to "survive" will be (hopefully) short before proper help can be gained. It could be possible with a large enough knife (and cordage/rope) one could fashion a stretcher or some sort of other walking aid as well. Who knows? In the latter case, that knife would be THE SURVIVAL knife. Yes, it doesn't have to be a big chopper
Linder Bowie Knife (a big knife)
but ideally it should be a sturdy medium
Kizlyar Supreme STURM an excellent choice for a medium sized fixed blade (now available in AUS10 Co)- shown here is my much older mode after chopping (believe it or not) into a palm tree to extract edible parts.
to large (7") bladed knife. Such a knife in skilled hands can be used for many tasks.
Many say to carry a largish knife (bigger than 7") when hiking, well in some countries this may not be possible or simply the duration of such a hike, carrying a large knife maybe just carrying too much gear? That's also why it pays to stay fit to be able to carry the gear.
So if you are insistent about what would the construction of such a knife would be?
However, if you really want the definitive take based upon real world (as in global) experience then you should skip the above video and watch here
Thanks for taking the time to read this article and watching the videos!
BCT
* Based upon my wife's voluntary duty as an anaesthetist and intensive care doctor in Gaza, along with other volunteer doctors from around the globe at this present time of writing, they have been embedded for over three weeks enduring bomb blasts (rendering one hospital they were working in in operable) to being knocked off their feet from bomb blasts. If you haven't already, I invite you to watch the few videos from this situation on my channel and give them a like. Don't worry, they are NOT monetized as I wouldn't dream of making money from such tragedies. But by watching and liking you will help the word get out there.
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