Choosing a sheath knife

From Guides

A few tips

A blunt knife is a spoon = a blunt knife is more dangerious to use than a sharp one requiring more force to cut and if it slips the cut it make in you will be ragged and slower to heal. [Move into using a knife?]

Materials

Handle

non-absorbent materials such as plastic, antler, horn or metal are prefered especially if the knife will be used in food preperation. Absorbent materials such as wood will allow bacteria to gather, which can result in food contamination and increses the health risk if you get cut.

Blade

ideally a knife should have a blade made of carbon or High carbon stainless steel - carbon steel is the knife makers choice as its generally easier to work and as such most hand made knives will be this - stainless steel knives can be just as good however err on the side of caution and avoid cheap knives especially if the metal has a yellowish tint to it.

Sheaths

Sheaths are equally maybe more important than knives as these are what protects the blade from you, you from the blade and the elements - select a well constructed sheath - the more robust the better.

Blade type

Generaly a Scandi or spearpoint blade is most favoured for bushcraft - clip or drop points tend to be weaker towards the tip although most users might never be aware of this.

Bevel

Ideally for bushcraft where we work with wood a lot a single bevel is the prefered grind as this bites into the wood without the risk of slipping - for game prep we can steel the edge lightly to create a micro secondary bevel.

Additonal Notes

End of the day your knife is your knife it should be of a size and design you like and can safely work with - Woodlore style knives are most common on courses and among the inexperienced knives with blades of this size are best allowing mechanical advantage while in use however among indigenious people all over the world larger blades are generally the normal - Original authors preference being a 7" blade with a full tang.

Recommendation

Generally speaking you cant go wrong with either a Leuku or a Puuko (scandinavian styles) made by a reputable maker - most reputable makers will also be able to tell you the Temper of their tools - this is usually measured in Rockwell C and a good all round knife would have a rockwell C of around 56 - 58 or there abouts.

See also: Sheath knife