Hello, my friend and welcome back! In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I live knives and for good reasons. In today’s post, we are going to look at some of these and the different type of knives you should have in your preps. Grab a cup of coffee my friend and have a seat while we visit.
Let me start by saying that I have loved knives from a very young age. I can remember back when my father gave me my first pocket knife. It went something like this: Mom: I can’t believe you gave him a pocket knife! He is only 6 years for God sake! What if he cuts himself with it? Dad: Then he will learn to be careful with it. Needless to say, my dad was a man of few words.
He was right though; I did learn to be careful after I cut my self with it a few times. I swear I think I think I could have had a bone sticking out through my skin and my dad would just say “Rub some dirt on it, you’ll be OK.” Like me he loved knives.
What is it about a good knife that makes you feel so empowered? Now I know what the shrinks would probably say, but personally, I think it’s because the need for a knife is deeply rooted in our subconscious. They say that people too hand down instincts from our primitive ancestors through our DNA. For so long, the knife or a variation of it helped man to survive and was the only many people had.
When I pick up a gun, it feels great, but not like when I pick up a good knife. The feeling is almost primal. You feel it deep down in your soul and know that you just need to have one. There are many reasons why each of you should have several and here are just a few:
- Skinning wild meat and cutting it up.
- Making shavings for kindling.
- Cutting wood and string to build a shelter.
- Self-defense.
- Used for whittling wood to make spears and other items.
The list goes on and on. It’s the one tool that you can’t be without, but what kind of knives do you need? Well, this tends to vary depending on where you live. Those of us that live along the water, always have a good Filet knife which is then and flexible for skinning fish with. They are also good for getting the last pieces of meat off of an animal caucus.
Then you have your hunting knife. The hunting knife is great for skinning and butchering wild game. These are usually about 7 inches long and have a reasonably thick full tang blade. Strong and non-flexible, these are usually prized positions of the outdoorsman.
The survival knife is another must-have knife. Unlike other knives, these usually have about a ten-inch full tang blade on then and the blades are always really thick. These are the ones you use for cutting wood and buttoning. They are meant to be used and abused so that you can keep your other knives sharp by using this one. I have seen the ones with the compass in the end and contents in the handle, just remember, if there is an empty space in the handle, then it’s not full tang and will quickly fail you. You see a full tang knife means that the blade metal runs all the way through the handle so as to make them more durable. Avoid any knife that is not full tang.
The next group is fighting knives. There are many of them on the market that looks very scary but are not worth a crap. Let me also point out some that only those who have been in knife fights know. There is no winner in a knife fight! Be thankful if you even survive and the only hope you have is a good fighting knife. If you can avoid a knife fight at any cost, then do so, because the only way to win one is not to get in one.
And last but not least, there is the throwing knife. These are usually thick knives designed to take the punishment of throwing them. They come in al different shapes and sizes and every Prepper should have some whether they can stick a target or not. Why? You may not have the time inclination to learn to throw them now, but come SHTF you will have plenty of time and motivation to learn. It would be nice if you had a dozen or two in your preps when that time comes.
As I said in the beginning, the feeling you get when you hold a good knife is primal and gives you a feeling of security that you can’t get out of Cracker Jacks. Well, that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post, so until next time, stays safe, stay strong and stay prepared. God Bless America!
-Sarge-
Let’s reiterate:
“The next group is fighting knives. There are many of them on the market that look very scary, but are not worth a crap. Let me also point out some that only those who have been in knife fights know. There is no winner in a knife fight! Be thankful if you even survive and the only hope you have is a good fighting knife. If you can avoid a knife fight at any cost, then do so, because the only way to win one is not to get in one.”
I have had several young men approach me to ask me to train them in knife fighting. I finally got it to stop when I agreed to teach about it and required that one young man bring his knife to train with. He promptly produced a rambo style hollow handled knife…I said give it to me” he dutifully handed it over, I put it in a drawer. and said “that is your first lesson” he sat quietly for a while and asked if the lesson was for him to fight me for return of the knife, to which I simply said “no” he was confused. About a week later he wanted it back..I said “no, figure out the lesson first” he said “not to fight with knives?” I gave it back.
That’s exactly my point about knife fighting. The only way to win a knife fight is to not get in one.
I follow the axiom that you should never throw a knife at someone. If you miss, you just gave them a weapon, you have more than likely pissed them off, and you have now empowered to use it against you.
By the way, why didn’t you mention folding EDC knives?
That’s very true and yet another reason I do not encourage others to get into a knife fight. The reason that I didn’t mention folding knives is because I consider them to be more of a casual knife than one used for surviving. Something I don’t like about folding knives is if the closing mechanism fails and I have seen many that have, you could be hurt badly. I would never rely on a folding knife. Now, having said that, I do have quite a few of them in my preps for bartering with. Most people don’t know a good knife from a bad one. As long as it cuts when they get it is all they care about. Hopes this answers your question and thanks for stopping by. 🙂
please don’t take a Knife to a gun fight, you’ll lose
Amen Brother! 🙂