A survival knife is the most important tool that you must have in an SHTF situation. The main reason is the versatility of the weapon. You can use it for self-defense, hunting, as a tool, cooking, and eating. For those reasons, you should consider long and hard what kind of survival knife you’re going to choose to have in your arsenal of tools.
Imagine that you’re all alone in the woods going days without food. Right there you see a small mammal. Or imagine that you need to go through the trees to find water on the other side. In many situations, you’re going to need a tool that you’ll help you cut through things to survive.
That’s what made me think, should a survival knife be serrated? A survival knife should be serrated if you need to cut harder objects and things that would be tougher for you to cut through. Now, if you’re dealing with a softer surface, a plain edge knife may be the best option since it won’t damage the object or destroy it at once.
In most cases, a survival knife will be more versatile for you if it’s serrated. In the majority of survival situations, you’ll encounter harder materials such as ropes, tree branches, animal skin and meat, and wood. These are all objects that will be better cut with a serrated knife. For this reason, the best option for you will be to have a serrated edge knife, if you have to choose.
Now, it’s important to keep in mind that there’ll be a few occasions in which you’ll be better off with a plain edge knife. Soft materials will fall apart and not handle well the serrated edge. In this case, the plain edge knife will be able to cut through the material with precision and ease. This is why it’s a great idea to have both knives if you can.
So, your survival knife should be serrated in most cases. If you want to know all the advantages of going with the serrated edge for a survival situation and what situations would be better handled with a plain edge knife, keep reading below. You will learn everything you need to consider before choosing your survival knife. After all, once SHTF, you won’t be able to choose another knife. So, pick one carefully and do it well.
It Gives You More Control While Cutting
When you’re using a tool or a weapon, which the survival knife will be both, you must have control of it at all times. It’s important that you know what you’re doing to make sure that you don’t get yourself hurt, and that you don’t lose control over the blade and cut things the wrong way. It’s also important to maintain things under control when you’re hunting, otherwise, things won’t go as planned.
Now, this is when the serrated knife gets interesting. It gives you more control while cutting things. The serrated edge makes it easier for you to control the object that you’re cutting with the knife. It’s like it makes it easier for you to make the knife an extension of your hands. This way, you can better control whatever it is that you’re cutting. Things won’t slip as easy and will remain under your control, so you cut things safely.
When you’re cutting slippery surfaces, the serrated knife will become even more useful to you. It allows you to have a firmer grip over the material that you’re cutting. This will be extra handy when you’re trying to clean the meat that you hunted or trying to cut a hard object. As you can see, this is one of the main advantages of using a serrated knife, and you should give it special consideration for it.
So, consider the serrated edge survival knives for the control that it’ll give you over the material that you’re cutting. It will reduce your chances of getting hurt and increase your efficiency while cutting anything.
It Cuts Hard Object Easily
Another thing that you should consider about the serrated edge knife is that it cuts hard objects easily. It not only gives you more control while cutting anything, but it also makes it easier for you to cut hard objects. A plain edge knife will make it extra hard for you to cut anything that has a hard surface. It may even feel like the blade is blunt when it isn’t.
This is why you should consider having a serrated edge knife since it’s more likely for you to encounter hard objects in a survival situation.
Still, you should consider your strategy before anything else. A good idea would be to choose a knife that has both kinds of blades. It’s not that hard to find models that come with both a serrated and a plain edge. This is the perfect world if you want to make sure that you’ll have a knife that will cut through anything that you may need. You should look for blades that have a high-quality metal and not just the type of blade that will work better for you.
Now the point is that you should give preference to the serrated edge if you want to have the perfect survival knife. When you’re in an SHTF situation, you’re more likely to need something to cut hard objects than you’re to encounter soft objects. For this reason, you’ll see that the serrated edge knife is more useful to you in 99% of the time. The Pocket Knife Multi-Tool is a great knife with both edges. Get yours here.
You Can Use It To Eat
Another use for a survival knife that people fail to remember even though it’s obvious, it’s to use the knife to eat. Now, you may eat with your bare hands, but having the serrated edge knife will make things easier for you. So, using the knife to eat, the serrated knife will be better to cut the meat and other food, unlike the plain edge knife.
Now, it’s important to point out that you shouldn’t use the same knife to cut the rope, hunt the animal, prepare the food, and eat the meal. There’s a good chance that you’ll get a bacterial infection or something similar in the process. In the ideal situation, you prep so well beforehand that you have more than one option of knives to use in a survival situation. Even a multi-tool can be your best friend in this situation, so make sure to think these things through before picking your knife.
Now, it is also important to highlight that the greater risk that you take is to use the same knife to prepare the meal and to eat it. The reason is that depending on the animal that you’ve hunted, there’s a chance that it’s carrying bacteria. This will make you more likely to get something from the knife that too the skin and hair off the animal than the knife that you’ve used to cut a rope.
So, make sure to think about having more than one knife and to separate the use that you give them. It’s important to not mess this up since it can affect your health. Remember you may not find a doctor in this situation.
It’s A Good Idea To Have Both
Now, even though the serrated knife is the best for a survival knife, you could consider have both types of knife. There are two ways that you can do this. You can have a knife that has both types of blades, which is not that hard to find. Or you can have more than one knife. This is another interesting option that you should consider since it will make your prepping strategy that much better. The whole point is to be prepared for everything. Having both blades is doing exactly that.
If you decide to go to a place, or find yourself there, that gives you the possibility of fishing, you’ll see that it’s a terrible idea to cut a fish to cook or to eat with a serrated knife. The meat will fall apart and make things the worse for you. This is when having a plain edge knife will be great. To open cans is also better to use the plain edge knife. Now, for the other moments when the plain edge knife won’t do, you will need the serrated edge knife.
Those situations and many others illustrate the same point. Your strategy won’t be completed if you only have a type of knife. If you must, you should only have the serrated knife. Still, having both blades will make your whole prepping game that much better. After all, you’ll find yourself in situations where only one type of blade will do it. That’s when having two or more knives may save your life.
Serrated Edges Cut Ropes And Cloth Better
One more advantage that the serrated edge has over the plain edge is that it cuts ropes and cloth better. Not only that but all the other similar objects like wire, threads, and anything that you can imagine. If you need to cut through something to open or release something, chances are that you will have better luck with the serrated survival knife. This kind of blade can get a better grip over the objects and tear it apart while you’re moving to cut it.
Imagine that you need to create a tourniquet or that you need to cut a rope to knot something. Those are the crucial moments that you’ll see that having a serrated edge knife will save your life and increase your chances of survival. It’s important to keep this in mind, so you remember that you must have a serrated edge knife as a survival knife no matter what. You can also have a plain edge knife, but you must have a serrated one.
So, make sure to have a serrated knife to also cut through cloth and ropes. Just be careful not to make the blade blunt. Certain cloth and paper do make the blade blunt when you need to cut harder objects or things like animal meat. The reason is that you need a really sharp blade to cut meat and hard objects, so anything can make the knife blunt enough to not cut those things. Just make sure to keep the knife in a sheath, and you’ll be good to go.
Pick Stainless Steel Blades
This is a very important thing for you to keep in mind. You should get a knife with stainless steel blades. This will prevent the knife from rusting, which will make it last longer and safer for you while using it. Rust will bring bacteria, which will contaminate your food and anything that the knife cuts. Especially, your skin if you ever cut it with a rusty knife. In a survival situation, this is not a problem that you want to have.
The first thing that you should do is to check if the blade is of high-quality metal. Then, see if it is stainless steel. The goal is to make sure that the knife is durable and resistant. These are the two most important things that you should know about the knife. You won’t be able to buy a new one as you please or ask for a refund. So, you must choose your blade well. There’ll be no do-overs.
Now, stainless steel blades are usually the best because they’ll ensure that the knife lasts a long time. Also, this usually means that the manufacturer made sure to make a resistant knife. This is all that you need in your survival knife. Make sure that is serrated and stainless steel.
So, pick a model that will fit into your prepping strategy and that checks those boxes. If you’re looking for the right stainless steel, serrated knife, you should look the Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife. It checks all the boxes and won’t let you down. Cut straight to this great item here.
Learn How To Make Your Knife
Learning to make your own knife is an invaluable skill to have. There might be a situation in which you lose everything you have. In this case, you will need to know how to make your own tools. Knowing how to make your knife with whatever you have available is crucial to surviving under any circumstance. You can learn how to make a knife within a few minutes. Although you will need more than that to make a perfect model of a survival knife.
Usually, rocks and metal pieces are great things to use as blades. They’re relatively easy to find no matter where you are in the world, and you can sharpen them and mold them quite easily. You will need to learn how to effectively do this first, and then, learn what tools to use to make the blade. Once you do this, you will pretty much know how to make the blade. Then, you have to learn how to make the handle.
This part is the easiest one. You will need something like a plastic or a piece of wood. To attach the blade to it, you will need a rope or a wire. Anything that helps you keep the blade in place. This way you’ll have your handmade knife in minutes. Then, all you have to do is to test and see if it’s as sharp as you need your survival knife to be.
So, just make sure that your knife works and that the blade remains in place. Otherwise, you won’t be able to cut things and use the survival knife for what it’s intended for.
Learn How To Make It Sharp
Imagine that you’re out there hunting a small mammal. You set up everything you need to capture the creature and wait your moment to attack. On you capture the animal and are ready to skin it and cut the meat, your knife does nothing. No matter how much you try to cut, it just doesn’t do anything.
Now, imagine that you need to cut a rope to create a tool to make your life easier in the wilderness. You try to cut the rope but nothing happens. It remains intact. Both scenarios are the classical blunt knife ones.
This is why you should always learn how to sharpen your knife. Not only that but you should make sure that you do sharpen your knife every once in a while. The first step to ensure that you always have a sharp knife is to keep it in a sheath. This will avoid the blade to get in contact with things that will make it blunt. Then, you must get the right tools that help keep the knife sharp. This is crucial to make sure that your knife will cut when you need it the most.
So, learn how to make the knife sharp. This, along with learning how to make the knife, are invaluable skills to have. A survival knife is one of the most important tools that you can have in your survival arsenal. It will help you get through most situations that can happen.
Don’t Use The Same Knife For Everything
You should never use the same knife for everything. As much as you may think about sterilizing the blade, it’s still not a good idea. The best that you can do is to use more than one knife. This is also a great idea to get a serrated blade and a plain one. This will ensure that you have a knife for everything. After all, in a survival situation, you’ll encounter different scenarios like cooking and cutting wood.
Now, make sure that both knives that you end up choosing are of high-quality. You need a tool that will last a long time and that can resist all the situations you might face. The knife has to be able to cut wood and meat. It has to cut your way through the woods and help you cut cloth and rope.
So, choose more than one knife. Make sure that it’s durable and resistance. Pick both types of blades to make sure that you’re ready for everything. If you already selected a serrated knife, you should take a look into plain edge knife options. The Gerber Bear Fine Edge is the best survival knife with this type of blade. Take a look here.
Learn Knife Fighting 101
A knife is more than just a tool. It’s also a weapon. Now, you can’t have a weapon that you don’t know how to use. Otherwise, you’ll have something useless that won’t be able to help you when you need it. This is why you must learn knife fighting 101. You have to learn the basics of fighting with a knife.
The first thing that you should do is to get a tactical knife. The reason is simple. This type of knife is built for this. The handle is strong and resistant. The blades are sharp and durable. It fits really well in your grip and helps you make the right movements.
So, pick a great tactical knife, and you’ll win half the battle. Then, all you’ll need is to learn how to fight with one. The Kershaw Blur Tanto Knife is the best tactical knife that you’ll see. Check it out here.
Final Thoughts
So, your survival knife should be serrated. Still, you should seriously consider having more than one, and in this case, have a plain edge knife as well. Both are going to serve really well for you and get the job done. You’ll use the serrated edge knife more but the other one will be useful as well.
Also, remember to always keep the blade sharp and make sure that you get a stainless steel one. Learn how to use the knife for all the different functions that you can apply it. Remember that it is a tool and a weapon, so use it well.