Survival knives are in a family of knives called "fixed-blade". This means they do not fold. In the fixed-blade family, there are: Survival, Fishing, Hunting, Fighting, Kitchen, Dagger, and Bowie knives.

 

There are several options of knives you can select, but the important thing is that you select the knife or knives that will best equip you in the future.

  

Survival Knives are intended for survival situations. Combat survival knives are carried by Military troops & hunters, while Hiking survival knives are mostly used by backpackers & campers. Multitudes of participants in other outdoor activities carry and use survival knives. What should you consider when selecting a survival knife?

Survival knives have many designs and sizes. There are long and heavy survival knives with a design similar to a machete. Some are still built based on the design of the Bowie knife, with a long strong blade. Still other survival knives are of a folding design for compact carrying. We will cover some of the designs and features commonly found on survival knives.

Most survival knives have a multi-purpose blade. The blade can usually perform multiple tasks like chopping,cutting, spearing and prying. The handle often has a lanyard hole so the survival knife can be tied to a pole to make a spear.

 

 

Some survival knives have a hollow handle feature. The movie “Rambo” popularized this style, knives like these are called Rambo survival knives. One of the selling points to these survival knives is that gear can be stored in the handle. A drawback to many hollow handle survival knives is the handle is attached to and not actually part of the blade. This creates a weaker point that may fail when you need your survival knife the most.

As a rule of thumb, you should avoid survival knives with a double cutting edged blade. This weakens the tip and also increases the risk of getting cut while performing tasks with survival knives. Some of these tasks may include cutting, slicing, prying, chopping or digging. Fixed blade survival knives should have a full length tang. This means the blade on survival knives should be a single piece of steel that runs all the way through the handle. The blade should be good quality steel that is strong and will also keep a sharp edge.

 

This type of knives are not only purchased to be used in combat, hiking & survival situation but their popularity has turned them into a collector knives.