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如何选择你的生存刀具 (转)
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How to Choose a Survival Knife
A Survival Knife is the most important single item of your survival gear
You need the best survival knife. Choosing the right survival knife is more than
an exercise in individuality – your very life may hinge upon its proper
selection.
Anyone who has ever spent quality time in the outdoors will vouch for the
usefulness of a good knife but to the survival expert his knife is one of his
best friends and the most closely guarded of his survival gear. Like a good
friend, his survival knife should never let him down.
Every Man Had a Knife
Time was when nearly all men carried knives, if only a small pocket knife while
in town. Whenever one went into the wilds his hunting knife, as they were then
called, was always close at hand.
The survival knife is the most important item of your survival gearToday many
people have forgotten the necessity of always carrying a knife. Indeed it has
become commonplace to meet people who are afraid of knives and question those
who carry them. It is a sad fact that the majority of modern day people have no
idea about the many uses of a good knife.
Often while out on the trail I will meet people who ask me what the knife
hanging from the shoulder strap of my pack is for. “You don’t know what a knife
is for?”, is my usual reply. And they think they do. But I know better, for else
they would not have asked such a clueless question.
Survival Knives are Required Gear
A good survival knife is the most important item of your survival gear and is
one of the 15 essentials that all survivors should have with them. With a good
knife you can make or obtain just about anything you need to live and even
prosper in the outdoors. With this in mind, your selection of the best survival
knife for your needs must be based on solid construction, proper materials,
workmanship, and functionality.
Survival Knives to Avoid
To the inexperienced, survival knives often conjure up images of the huge Rambo
type knives as glorified in Hollywood movies. Though they look like potent
weapons that can take on the world, these oversized knives are a far cry from
the best of knives used by survival experts. The big knives suffer from being
difficult to control as they are overly heavy and bulky. Many needs of the
survivor require finer detail work than can readily be accomplished with this
kind of blade.
Double edged knives are used mostly for thrusting. Because their tips are
relatively weak they are prone to breaking. In addition, the second edge is an
unneeded edge that can lead to injury.
Many survival knives are sold that have hollow handles, the idea being you can
store survival essentials like matches and compass inside the water tight
handle. One problem hollow handled survival knives have is that they are prone
to being weaker than the solid handle variety. There are exceptions, but
generally you are better off storing your survival gear elsewhere. One advantage
to this is that should you loose your knife you will still have the remainder of
your survival gear to rely upon.
Optimum Blade Length of a Survival Knife
The best survival knives neet to be versatile in the number of things they can
be called upon to do. At the same time bulk and weight are important
considerations as with any survival gear.
It has been my experience that the ideal survival knife blade length is
somewhere between four and six inches. This size blade offers good mix of size
and control. Any blade larger than that is overkill and merely adds to the
weight and bulk of the survival gear I am carrying.
If a larger survival blade is needed then you would probably be better off
packing a machete, axe, hatchet, tomahawk, or kuris. In any case, you would
still do well to also have on your person a regular sized survival knife.
In addition to a survival knife with about a 5-inch blade, I like to carry a
multi-tool that has a smaller folding blade. This blade comes in handy for finer
detail work that would be too cumbersome for the large knife.
Knife Tang
The best survival knives are constructed of one piece of metal, to which there
may be slabs of material attached to form a comfortable handle. This kind of
construction is known in the knife world as “full tang” or “narrow tang”.
Full tang survival knives are made so that the blade merges into the handle.
Often two slabs of material are attached to either side of the metal to make a
comfortable handle. In order to economize on weight and bulk some knives eschew
the addition of handles and the metal is left bare.
Narrow tang survival knives reduce the size of the blade material as it enters
the handle of the knife. A handle is then attached over the narrower piece of
the knife. Often the knife handle is composed of leather disks, the placement of
which is a skill in and of itself. Narrow tang knives sometimes have a pommel
attached to the handle end of the tang.
Cheap survival knives are often made so that the metal blade is separate from
the handle. The weak point on these badly made knives is where the blade and
handle are bolted and glued together. You would do well to avoid such a cheap
knife in favor of the superior full tang or narrow tang models.
Types of Knife Blades
There are two main types of knife blades that the survivor need concern himself
with, namely smooth and serrated. Serrated survival knife blades do well at
cutting synthetic materials, clothing, and flesh. For self defense and
paramedics, etc, serrated edges are a good choice.
A drawback to serrated cutting edges is that they are difficult to sharpen
properly in the field. This is certainly a major drawback in a survival
situation where maintaining a keen edge during hard use is vitally important. In
addition, serrated knives do not have an efficient blade for carving and
chopping.
A plain smooth edged blade is the blade of choice for most survival situations.
Such a blade is useful for carving, chopping, and cutting. Though it may not
slice through nylon webbing, clothing, or flesh as efficiently as a serrated
blade, the straight bladed knives will still make short work of these materials.
The added advantage of the regular blade is that you can sharpen your survival
knife on a rock or piece of concrete should you not have a regular sharpening
stone handy whereas the serrated blade generally needs a special sharpening
device and technique.
On the back of many survival knives are a saw meant for sawing through metal or
wood. In too many cases, as in the Rambo type knives, these saws only do a poor
job at best. If you require a small saw in your survival gear you would do well
to add a tool specifically designed for this rather than use your knife for this
purpose.
Knife Blade Thickness
The best survival knives generally have a blade thickness of between 5/32 and
8/32 of an inch. Any thinner and the blade becomes too flexible and thicker
blades lack the finesse for the finer work that knives for survival are often
called upon to do.
It is important that the tip of the knife maintains its strength, as this is a
likely area the knife is likely to fail.
Knife Blade Materials
There are two main types of steel used in making high quality survival knives:
Stainless Steel knife blades are rust resistant and work especially well in wet
environments. They require less care than the carbon steel knives. Drawbacks to
using stainless steel in knives is that they tend to be more expensive, are more
difficult to sharpen, and may not hold an edge as well.
Carbon Steel knife blades will rust if not used regularly or coated. Many feel
carbon bladed knives hold an edge better than their stainless steel
counterparts.
Some of the Best Survival Knives
In future Survival Topics I will explore a few of the proven survival knives
that would serve you well. I welcome any input from Survival Topics readers
about knives and their personal choices for the best survival knife.
Some of the best survival knives that come highly recommended include:
Fallkniven H1
Fallkniven A1
Fallkniven F1
Fallkniven S-1
SOG Seal 2000
SOG Seal Pup
Becker BK10
Becker BK9
Becker BK7
Bear Grylls Knife - interesting read
Survivormans Knife
When choosing a survival knife you need to make sure you do not skimp. Get the
best survival knife for your needs and it will serve you well for years to come.
And, it may just save your life! |
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