Is it hard to find what you’re looking for? Is the search for a good quality survival knife a complicated process? Well, we can tell you that there are loads of great survival knives to choose from and good deals too. You can find affordable knives that have a robust design and professional manufacturing. They tend to be stuck amongst the riff-raff and other lousy quality types in the market. However, you can still find them if you know the easy ways to spot a quality survival knife.
What Are the Characteristics of a Quality Survival Knife?
A survival knife is an outdoor tool that is built for durability in all types of conditions. It is designed to be your saving grace if you ever get lost in the wilderness. You will also find that it’s a handy blade that can be used for other, less stressful situations, like camping. The toughness of a survival knife is its most significant advantage over different types of blades.
Camping, tactical, sports and hunting knives have a particular added strength factor because of the vigorous use that they are typically subjected to. Also, they can usually withstand all weather conditions – so what makes survival knives different, and what are the easy ways to spot a survival knife? Let’s have a look.
Does It Have a Full Tang?
The full tang handle is standard for survival knives because it offers so much strength and durability. What is a full tang? A full tang is the part of the handle that extends continuously from the blade to the end of the handle. Usually, the handle materials like wood or carbon fiber are riveted onto the tang to give the handle extra sturdiness.
Therefore, the knife functions as one whole piece with a full tang. A partial tang on a survival knife is a no-go. If you’re looking at a knife that isn’t full tang, then you should be alarmed to move onto a different option. That’s because the strength of a partial tang is not sufficient for the range of functions that a survival knife is intended for.
Make sure you check out whether or not the tang is the right thing, and better yet, confirm on the pictures of the knife that the handle is full tang – you’ll be able to see it, and if not, then a knife with three rivets will mean a full tang as well.
This part of the construction of a knife is crucial because this is the only part of a fixed blade that is joined to anything else. That’s why the durability of the knife depends on it massively. Other factors also contribute to a knife’s toughness, like the steel type, but it’s not an easy way to spot a quality survival knife.
Is the Design of the Handle Ergonomic?
The handle needs to be comfortable and easy to hold for long periods. The design of the handle will tell you everything you need to know about the grip strength that the handle will provide. The stronger your grip strength is when holding a knife, the more effective your cutting and daggering will be.
If the knife is loose in your hand, then you’re going to be fumbling all over the place trying to use it. In fact, it can even be dangerous to use a knife that isn’t snug in your grip. It might slip under duress, leading to you cutting your hand or worse. The design of the handle will be evident and easy to spot, and you should know what to look for when sorting through options.
A good quality knife will have a wavy design that creates room for your fingers to sit comfortably on the handle while providing ample grip strength. A flat handle with no waves in the middle section of the handle will only make your grip strength weaker. So try to avoid getting something along those lines.
The bolster at the front of the handle and the beginning of the blade should be big enough to offer your thumb support and index finger leverage. The bolster is what stops your hand from sliding down the blade. Essentially, a bolster is best designed when there is a deep index finger groove right before it. The deeper the groove, the more comfort, and strength you’ll get, so look out for that when searching.
What Type of Blade Does It Have?
The type of blade is the part of the knife that does the job; it’s the workhorse. There are several types of blades, and with each type comes an array of different functions and uses.
Tanto points, for instance, are great for special forces who will be engaging in hand-to-hand combat and might need a strong piercing factor added to their blade. The purpose of each type of blade has a design that will give the best results in that area of work. A survival knife has a set of tasks that will make up the most important majority of its use.
If you are ever backpacking and get caught out in the bush and need to make yourself a shelter or find food to eat. Then you’re going to need something that offers incredible sharpness and pointiness, as well as toughness and durability. The clip point is essentially all of those all in one.
A clip point is the type of blade that curves down on the blade’s spine to a point from halfway up the blade. The blade edge is rounded up toward the point to give the edge more cutting coverage, and the sloping part of the spine is sharpened as well. It is a good-looking knife and is easy to spot. This type of blade will give you one of the best ranges of functions for the outdoors.
Final Words
A survival knife is sometimes thought to be any large knife that can cut into something, but it simply isn’t true. There are great types of knives out there that would be a terrible idea to take out backpacking.
For example, the blade type might not be practical for survival-type tasks, and the handle might be lacking in grip strength, where at some point, that could be the difference between you slicing your hand open or not. These easy ways to spot a quality survival knife are not the only vital things you need to consider before buying.
These are just the easiest ways to know if you’re on the right track. Many other factors will make the final decision on whether the knife is of high quality or not. The steel needs to be top-notch, the blade should be thick, and the hardness rating must be just right to put the highest quality finish on a survival knife.
However, this is an excellent place to start. You can let these points govern what catches our eye and what should be doubted. However, it will come down to your needs and what you intend to buy it for. So all the best with the survival knife search.
