Chit....how many do you need?

 

You can never have too many.

 

I have owned countless knives over the years, most very nice, some junky and clunky. I think a Victorinox or Wenger Swiss Army knife is an integral part of any kit, but if I was going to stick with a single brand to provide various knives it would be Ontario. I think the company offers the best value in a wide assortment of blades and styles.

Having a selection of go-to knives for different tasks is not much different than a selection of go-to firearms.

 

I am more of the thought that I want to make a home made forge, and collect some old pickup truck leaf springs. That way, I can make as many knives as I need, practically forever.

 

If I had to stock several knives of any particular type. I would probbably go with the glock field knife
it's $30 well made durable, and simple sheath and not going to break the bank to buy several.

 

If I had to stock several knives of any particular type. I would probbably go with the glock field knife
it's $30 well made durable, and simple sheath and not going to break the bank to buy several.

The Glock knives might be excellent trading stock, or give-aways... and would likely serve one as well if separated from your main carries..🐦

 

For hand outs, would stock the Old Hickory Butcher knife. You can do everything you need with it.

 

I have two fixed and two folders for each family member and one spare of each put back...Im putting up 1/2 pints of cheap booze for trade goods..knives not so much:

 

There's more knives in the U.S. than guns, and there's more guns than people. So everyone who is capable of using a knife should already have one. And if you don't, then you probably have no knife skills and wouldn't be able to do much with one except cut yourself by accident or allow someone to take it from you and stab you with it.

Knives as barter items is not the best idea.

 

This may be true but it's alwayse good to have standardized kit for your units.

 

Collecting knives seems cool, and there are lots of great ones out there. But if the SHTF everyone and their brother will have a knife , be it swiss army Rambo or steak. Pick the ones that work for you and what you feel you need . beyond that I don't really see the point. Every household has a dozen, none are perfect for everything but there will be no shortage of them.I can think of many better things to stockpile.

 

I think high quality knives would be a great bartering item. Booze is for fun. If you're starving to death a knife can be pretty useful (think processing game and gardening) booze, less so. What does a quality mora or old hickory cost? $10 or $15? The utility of a knife would be pretty hard to beat.

 

I would never trade weapons. And if your starving to death your beyond any help a knife can bring.

If you want to have a standard equipent for say a squad or two that's one thing. But I woukdnt do it for barter

 

Booze is an anesthetic, disinfectant, nerve tonic for freakouts..it has many uses besides "fun"..knives are a dime a doz...every kitchen in America has a stash...anyone who works or plays outdoors has one or three...we keep belt and pocket knife, spares of each in the packs and a couple on the side...that's plenty...Ever since John Rambo sewed up his arm with a fishing line out of his hollow handle and stuck and cooked a pig with his knife/fire steel, everyone has tried to own a Jimmy Lyle knock off...that dude made a friggin fortune off those 3 movies...he made/sold a 100 each of the movie knives at a 1000 a pop...hes good but 99% of Americans don't need that sort of cut...prepper or no

 

I've always liked all things sharp and pointy. I have all sorts of knives. I've got several folders, hunting folders with gut hooks, utility fixed blades, camp knives, choppers, batoning knives, skinners, bayonets (old collector ones not for real use), a SOG machete and a SOG micro tanto on my key chain, even have a couple of camp axes, a full size axe and maul, and yes even a tactical tomahawk which I really like, but my favorite and the one I carry and use daily is my ESEE Izula. Little over 6" long with a 2-3/4" blade of 1095 carbon steel. Holds a great edge, small enough to carry everywhere, works great for skinning and cleaning game, creates some serious sparks on a ferrocium rod and takes a hell of a beating. I've been wearing mine as a neck knife for over 2 years now and still love it.

Would I stock pile knives for barter? Sure. Anything can be useful as barter if the other person needs it. I wouldn't run out and buy a pallet full of knives just to be able to open my own knife emporium after SHTF but I can see the value of having 10, 20, 30 decent knives you could part with. Just because kitchens all over the world have knives in them doesn't mean nobody will want a better knife or a folding knife they can carry easily. Your average chef knife doesn't do so well in a pocket. If some guy is walking around with a steak knife and several cans of food he might be willing to part with some food for a knife that foods neatly in his pocket.
Another reason is as time goes by, knives get sharpened, blades wear down, knives get lost or unusable so it's good to have multiple backups. Making your own is an option but what's easier to stock pile, cheap knives or forge supplies and leaf springs?

There's never one right answer just like there's never one do it all knife.

 

Minor point, Kev--hollow handled knives came out well over twenty years before Rambo, think Randall et al and they were not crap.

 

Old, old post, I know but, just for fun - Here's the grand-daddy/original of the "Rambo hollow handle survival knife" (And All Other Hollow Handle Knives)
A Ka-Bar, stamped: "KA-BAR" over "Pat. Aug 31, 1926" over "Pat. Can. 1923" I assume the "Can." is short for canister, i.e., hollow handle.

I owned this knife and sold it to a collector who just had to have it. The hollow handle was still water-tight.

 

If I had to stock several knives of any particular type. I would probbably go with the glock field knife
it's $30 well made durable, and simple sheath and not going to break the bank to buy several.

Great knives if you want to take out a sentry but try skinning out anything with them...Can it be done, certainly but not effectively or efficiently.

That's the problem with bayonets, tantos and stilettos.

 

I didn't say it was a perfect knife it is a decent robust field knife. Good for basic knife like things like opening cans cutting rope gutting fish ect.
and yes its good for throwing and terminating soft comprimises.
But if I'm stocking knives for s group I'm not spending 60+ on knives per person. I'm going to get a durable robust easily sharpened functional tool with a good price point.
all my guys got glock knives. And they worked well

 

I have a few crappy knives but I am most interested in keeping my Ontario Knife Company M7 around. It fits on my 590A1 and AR. It also keeps an incredible edge. If you stare too long at this knife it cuts you.

It turns my rifle and shotgun into spears. Even if someone thought I had no ammo they know I can stab them. I had bayonet training and it can be very effective.

 

Did we miss anything?

Hatchets/tomahawks!!

 

all i would add is a group for salt water use, stainless steel knives, for those that live near the coast, as carbon steel will almost corrode on impact if you dont remove the scales, flush everything let dry oil and reassemble....... thats tha only reason i have the spydercos, rope and water work....... everybodys got their preference on large blades, I prefer a drop point or a KuKri,as you gain power in the stroke, Bolo aint bad either

 

16. Sharps:
My sharps selection and why

I do not consider any given sharps item as a do-it-all tool. Some can be multipurpose, but none can do everything well, and often not even passably. So I use and often carry a variety of different tools that have some type of sharpened edge, or in my terminology, Sharps, for different situations.

My Sharps System

Gentleman’s SAK: There are many variations of the small SAK available. The one that I carry daily has a simple blade, small scissors, small screwdriver, and fingernail file. But it also has an LED and an ink pen. It has come in handy several times for those features. Part of my pocket EDC.

Leatherman Micra multi-tool: The Micra is more heavy duty, and has more features than the SAK. I have used it numerous times for a variety of tasks. Part of my pocket EDC.

Leatherman Crater C33 pocket knife: The Crater is a compact liner lock knife that works well for normal, everyday activities. Part of my pocket EDC.

P-51 can opener: This is for emergencies, so I can easily open canned foods that I might find. It is also usable for a few other things, like slicing sheet plastic. Part of my pocket EDC.

Res-Q-Me seatbelt cutter/window breaker: I want this on me so I can break an automobile window in a heat or flood emergency. Part of my pocket EDC.

Redi-edge knife sharpener: Knives are both safer and more effective when kept sharp, thus the pocket sharpener. Part of my pocket EDC.

Folding credit card knife: This is a credit card size unit with a metal blade inside. The plastic of the card folds around and creates a handle for the blade. This is a last ditch tool for survival in case I lose all my other gear. Part of my pocket EDC.

Leatherman Surge multi-tool w/bits: This is one of the larger multi-tools, and is a bit heavy. But it is highly capable, with a wide variety of effective tools, with the four main blades deployable without opening the handles. Useful in both urban and wilderness areas. It is part of my field EDC, in a belt pouch.

Wenger Survivor SAK: No longer available, this is a highly capable tool for field use and for emergencies. Wood saw, can opener, bottle opener, whistle, and the other normal set of a medium size SAK. It too goes on my belt as part of the field EDC. (a Victorinox Rucksack is a good alternate)

Spyderco C08 Harpy: This is a wicked, smallish folding hawk bill knife with serrated blade. It is an effective defensive knife. It is also my emergency cord, rope, net, seaweed, vine, and other entangling items cutter to free myself if I wind up caught in such a situation.

Cold Steel Oda: The Oda is very similar to the original Randall R-1 fighting/utility knife developed in WW II and purchased privately and carried by many GIs, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen. The Oda is my general use sheath knife, suitable for both defense and utility work. With clip point it can penetrate effectively, and do small tasks. Enough belly for slicing and dicing and skinning game. Carried on either my belt or on LBE when in the field.

Cold Steel Rifleman’s Tomahawk: Another multipurpose tool. Useful for defense, clearing brush, building shelters, cutting wood, splitting wood, used for butchering larger game, breaking rocks, driving stakes, and other impact uses since it has a hammer head. Carried on my belt at times, or on the LBE or on the game cart when in the field.

Sven 21” folding saw: The saw really comes into its own when building shelters and gathering and processing firewood. Much more effective and efficient than an axe or tomahawk/hatchet, the saw collapses into a compact tube.

Cold Steel e-tool: This is a solid wooden handle small shovel. Some might not consider it a sharps, but even if the edges are not made razor sharp, it is still effective for far more than just digging cat holes and defensive positions. When an axe or tomahawk or machete is not available it will do to clear brush and even cut small saplings. Not to mention it is a highly effective defensive weapon. Can also be used as a fry pan or griddle over the fire, if careful. Carried on the pack or game cart when in the field.

Cold Steel 24” Latin machete: Longer than the majority of machetes, the Latin style works well for handling many field tasks. It is not a tree feller, or firewood splitter, but it effective in clearing brush and smaller saplings. And is a wicked short sword.

Cold Steel Medium Voyager clip point folder: This is an alternative EDC pocket carry knife when in the field. It is bigger than I like for dress clothing, but does well in the field. Sometimes I carry it in my pocket, other times in a belt sheath. A general use knife for field and kitchen duty. It is also the knife in my medium sized stainless steel tin survival kit.

Ontario Knife Company OKC-3S bayonet: Another sharps with the same blade style of the Randall R-1. It is the current Marine issue bayonet/fighting knife/utility knife. And for the same reasons the R-1 was so successful. A clip point that makes penetration easy, enough belly for slicing and skinning game, large enough to use to do light chopping. A short serrated section on the base of the blade provides a means to cut cordage. When used as a bayonet on my PTR-91 or Remington 11-87, I have a very intimidating tool for controlling situations that do not call for shooting. This is the core of my ‘survival’ sharps. It is the last item I would give up, since it fills the major needs of many disaster and survival situations. Usually on my thigh or LBE when in the field.

Dura-worx mini planting tool: Essentially a small pick mattock, this tool is highly effective in digging cat holes, defensive positions, drainage trenches, and other digging uses in hard and clay ground where a shovel just will not do by itself. More awkward than a tomahawk, it is still an effective defensive weapon. On the game cart.

Iltis Oxhead double bit felling axe: This double bit axe has many advantages over single bit axes. It is a felling axe, so one edge is sharped to do the felling, with the other edge set up to do the limbing. Much better than a tomahawk or hatchet for heavier work and for lighter work done for longer periods of time. On the game cart.

Pocket chainsaw: Another useful tool. Smaller and lighter than an axe, but much more effective than the saws on the SAKs and multi-tools. More compact and easier to carry than the Sven, it will fit in medium size emergency/survival kits. It provides a huge advantage in survival situation to construct shelters and gather firewood. In a couple of different medium size survival kits.

Skatchet: This is a field tool/survival tool. It is a small hatchet head, with a coarse threaded eye into which one can thread a handle made from a branch or broomstick. A bit heavy for a backpack survival kit, it can easily be carried in a car kit, or on a game cart to replace a tomahawk or hatchet.

Wyoming knife: This specialized field butchering tool makes dressing game in the field, especially medium to large game, much easier, less fatiguing, more efficient, safer, and less likely to puncture internal organs of the game when slitting the animal open, and skinning it. I keep one in my hunting pack, with a spare blade.

Benchmade Model 5 Rescue hook/gutting hook: This tool is more for rescue work, slicing seat belts or other entanglements than it is for gutting game. But it will work for both. I do not carry mine often, but I do add it to the gear when going on longer field trips.

Pick-of-Life Ice Escape Picks: These are a set of handles with short spikes, connected with a lanyard. Carried on the outside of winter clothing when one is going to be around water, they are one of the few ways to get out of the water after going through the ice. The picks allow a person to get traction on the ice to pull through the ice, or get back on top of it.

As part of my tools and hardware kit, I keep (or intend to get) a Leatherman Crunch multi-tool, Leatherman Supertool 300 multi-tool, Victorinox Workchamp SAK, and a glass cutter. Between these multi-tools and SAK, in addition to the Surge and Survivor, I can work on most of my gear, and create things in the field and around town when I need to.

There are a few sharps I would like to add. They are more for fairly specific situations, and would not be used in everyday activities.

Tek-tite Tekna Ocean Edge arm knife: For diving and for unobtrusive carry under a long sleeve shirt in the PAW.

Cold Steel Counter Tac II boot knife: Another option for unobtrusive carry. Pretty much a PAW option.

Randall R-12 Raymond Thorpe 13" bowie knife: Another special purpose sharps tool. I would like to have one for use in the PAW, in deep wilderness situations where carrying several of the larger sharps tools would not be doable.

Cold Steel 1860 heavy cavalry saber: For those situations in the PAW when a firearm is not available or when something less immediately lethal than a firearm is needed, when one is not facing firearms. It can also be a tool of intimidation in many situations, as well as a deadly weapon when needed. It will take training to become proficient.

And for medium and large game hunting without firearms or snares/traps, I would like to have a set of spears. Some of the options: Cold Steel Boar Spear, Cold Steel Lance Point Spear, Cold Steel Classic Leaf Shape Spear, Cold Steel European Spear.

And when it comes to hollow handle survival knives I am partial to these three: Tek-tite Tekna Wilderness Edge, United Cutlery UC212 Bushmaster, and the Schrade SCHF1 Survival Knife.

The Wilderness Edge has removable scales, rather than a hollow handle, making it very strong.

The SCHF1 is a clone of the Reeves knife machined from a solid bar of stock. The handle is hollow, but there is no joint in the knife.

The Bushmaster is a copy of the Brewer survival knife. Now, while it does have a pinned tang, if one looks closely, it is obvious that the tang goes much deeper up into the handle than on other hollow handle knives. Definitely not as strong as a the Wilderness Edge or the SCHF1, as long as one does not pry with the knife it should be fine, and does have quite a few features the others to not. I hope to get both the Wilderness Edge and the Bushmaster to build survival kits around.

Other parts of the sharps system are other knife sharpeners in addition to the Redi-Edge pocket sharpener. These include a couple more variations of the Redi-edge, a bastard cut mill file, Lansky Blademedic sharpener, Eze-Lap paddle diamond sharpener set, and a Lansky table sharpener kit.

Just my opinion.

 

The SCHF1 is a clone of the Reeves knife machined from a solid bar of stock. The handle is hollow, but there is no joint in the knife.

I bought one because I always thought the Reeves knives were kewl looking and I liked the idea of it, but could never justify the cost of the Reeves knives when made, and certainly can't now that he doesn't make that style anymore.

It was a bit of a disappointment though. Heavy and unbalanced. The blade is not particularly useful for bushcraft - maybe for fighting (which I would most certainly lose unless I was lucky and my opponent was totally unarmed and unskilled in unarmed combat, in which case he would be wise to run away) - but not for every day chores. The all metal handle is hard on the hands, even when wearing gloves. Still, a cool knife to have, just not very useful IMO. I think the CS Bushman knives are much more useful, if not as sturdy.

 

"What are the best ideas for barter items in a SHTF?"
I mainly have 1/2 pint plastic bottles of cheap vodka @ 1.92 per...never goes stale like tobacco and wont stab you like a knife you just gave somebody will...
Other people think differently of course...but knives are expensive to stockpile, even the cheaper ones and @ 1.92 per item I can put back a lot..JMO

 

Vodka may not stab you, but it might get someone drunk enough to shoot you if you refuse to sell them more when they are drunk.

I've had enough experience with people who had problems with alcohol, especially the mean violent kind, that I would be more careful about who I sell alcohol to than who I sell a gun or knife to. In fact, generally I would prefer to not sell it in mass quantities at all, maybe trading a few shots at most for something useful, and then only with people I know won't have a problem with being cutoff at that point.

Did you know more people die from excessive alcohol consumption than by knife or gun?

I am all for allowing people to be stupid - they can drink, use drugs, whatever - but I am not going to contribute to their stupidity, especially not if they are around me, and especially not in a SHTF situation. I will stockpile alcohol (vodka is good), but not for general bartering.

 

course i wouldn't be sure about alcohol either, as I dont know if i would want to trade a desperate man out of something, that a lil liquid courage might be enough motivation for him to try to take it back.....

 

Alot of important things can be made using alcohol tho

 

that is true,

Alot of important things can be made using alcohol tho

guess it would be a calculated risk/ limit the amount bartered type deal.....

 

guess it would be a calculated risk/ limit the amount bartered type deal.....

Not even alcohol is a valuable solvent for many things thinking medicine not drowning your sorrows

 

Are you stockpiling for your great grand children? That's a lot of knives.

 

I know guys who have enough knives to open a retail store, I suppose that could be handy when the SHTF.

 

That I don't understand but some folks like to collect postage stamps others knives to each their own.

 

Stockpiling "survival knives" for SHTF is like showing up to build a house with a toolbox full of framing hammers. Were I equipping a band of followers, I would rather stockpile the diversity of tools that a "survival knife" tries to cover, but does so very poorly:

- Utility knives. Retractable, replaceable blades can be swapped as often as you break them, presenting no incentive to be more gentle with them than nature intended.

- Tomahawk or axe. Stop swinging your knife around as though it were one.

- Shovel. Yes, if I were embarking into the woods and had to equip my companions, I would make one carry a shovel. Not an e-tool, but a real shovel.

- Hunting knife. Fixed or folder, purpose built for skinning and dressing game.

- Machete. Clearing and light shelter construction.

- Hammer/mallet, chisels, bit brace auger. Fashioning semi-permanent shelters is far easier if you can fashion pegged mortise-and-tennon joints.

- Bow saw. Crosscuts, fashions tennons, shelter construction, bucks firewood to length.

- Compass transit. I only include this as an alternative for a knife based on the description of my "survival knife" below.

Each of these performs a task that I would expect a "survival knife" to try to perform in part, ineffectively, and perhaps not safely. If i found myself on foot with others, i would rather have them equipped as above, than equipped with "survival knives." Sadly, I don't have one of my "survival knives" handy to photograph, but my starting point is the basic survival knife adaptation prescribed Don Paul in his books Everybody's Knife Bible and Great Living in Grubby Times. Paul is a former Green Beret, and while I get the uncomfortable feeling that he is over-leveraging the value of his training, I have found his knife adaptations quite innovative.

Every one of my "survival knives" has a clinometer etched into the blade, with a notch at the spline for a plumb bob and a sighting hole on the hand guard, in order that the knife might be used to sight through the hole, using the point as a blade sight, to align the clinometer with objects in the distance. Their height can be used to triangulate location, gauge distances, count daylight hours remaining, etc. It can also be used as a transit level to level and plumb shelters, and to devise water flow schemes and calculate feet of head.

From personal experience, it helps to epoxy the hand guard in place, and pin it to the grip. Otherwise, the aperture loses zero. Grinding the back of point back to a stouter angle first makes it less likely that it will snap or move zero when you sharpen the knife. I always regrind the edge geometry to be less acute for the last 1/3 to 1/2. This makes it less likely to be damaged when sunk into a branch for use in sighting.

The fuller gets polished in order that it might double as a signal mirror. A concave mirror like the fuller is exponentially more likely to be seen than a flat mirror. I also drill a very small hole exactly perpendicular to the blade, in order that the mirror can be sighted toward the rescue vessel, and the knife rocked back and forth on its longitudinal axis back and forth between the sun and the vessel.

I epoxy a hard steel plate at the buttcap, to allow it to be used for smashing nuts and other appropriate objects.

I carve a broad, shallow groove the length of the grip, in order that the handle might be tied to the end of a stick, with the cylindrical shape of the stick fitting partially in the groove. I then carve horizontal grooves around the rest of the grip, not just for grip, but to allow the knife to be lashed to the stick. A spear is more useful in many situations than a knife.

I drill a hole in the pommel and attach a lanyard. The length needs to be played around with until it retains the knife at hand with the first two fingers only gripping the handle. This allows it to be used to draw cut, slice, or chop with exponentially more force, and creates an additional articulation to increase moment of rotation.

I often strap a section of mill or bastard file to the sheath. It can be used to sharpen a variety of other tools, or as a sharpener of last resort for the knife. I also strap a small LED flashlight to the spine side of the sheath. When worn on the "wrong" side, it positions the light about 15° forward, illuminating the past hands-free. A red or amber lens doesn't draw much attention.

Before they became hard to find, I used to epoxy calculator watches to the sheath. I don't really bother anymore, as everything has a calculator on it now, and rarely is survival navigation so urgent that you can't do the arithmetic out by hand. The old calculator watches didn't do trigonometry anyway. I can easily carry a purpose-built calculator for that.

And the last alteration I make is to rivet a pouch on the inside face of the sheath to carry a compass. The knife sits out far enough that it doesn't get in the way, or conflict with anything.

Most of these come straight from Don Paul, or are my adaptations of his ideas.

So, if you had to stockpile "survival knives," for some reason, that is what I would recommend. But, like I said, you would be better served stockpiling purpose-built tools.

 

The OP wasn't talking about stockpiling knives for survival...but for "Bartering", swapping a cheap MTech for a few cans of Tamales.. may be a good idea.
We should be stockpiling Experience.
I can't think of a time or place were I didn't have a fixed blade on my person. I have several knives, that have proven themselves, & have became my GOTO's. My equipment stays on or near me(arms reach),24/7
But I have friend, GOD Bless him, that brings me a new MTech at least once a month. Yes, I would trade those, but not my PMoore's.
Maybe give them a 48hr watch period, to make sure they don't try using them , on you

 

I've brought the point up before (as did someone else earlier in the thread) that very few people that actually know how to use a knife, are not going to have one (or several) post SHTF. Most people are merely going to need a can opener to finish off what they have in the kitchen.....and then they're just standing on the porch waiting on the gubment to come save them. A knife ain't gonna make any difference whatsoever, nor are they likely to have much useful/valuable stuff to trade for it.
But to answer the question in the OP, I think the knife that is most practical to store for future trading, and best fitting the necessary criteria of being functional, good quality, and economical, could be the basic, stainless MoraKnives, that can be found for about $12. They might not be ideal for building a lean-to shelter, but for most realistic tasks like food prep, small fish and game cleaning,etc, you'd be hard pressed to find something of this level of qualilty and function, for this kinda money.

 

Handout knives

Earlier in the article we talked about corner store $10 knives. This might sound odd, but I feel survivalist should stockpile a few cheap knives. That is right, get some of those cheap $10 and $15 knives and put them in storage.

Why would you stockpile cheap knives?

To handout to the less prepped people who show up asking for help. These are the zombies who refused to stockpile their own survival gear, or the less fortunate who had to leave their preps behind.

Why would you give someone a knife?

So they can help butcher pigs or chickens, help harvest crops, help do chores around the farm that might require a knife.

Why give someone a $40 or $50 knife to harvest squash when you can give them a $10 knife that will do the same thing? If someone loses a $10 made in China corner store knife, no big deal. Teaching a child how to use a knife and knife safety, do you risk them losing a high priced knife or an expendable $10 knife?

I like the idea of handout knives, in a GH scenario. I don't stockpile knives in my car, per se, I just always seem to have 5 or 6 cheap 4 inch spring assist folders in my car at any given moment.

I would likely take them along with me in a GH scenario. I think "getting home" is something a lot of folks don't plan for, even though they might have home preperations for some emergency.

In a GH situation, I figure it likely to run it to folks who seem decent enough but are really up a creek and having a knife might give them some peace of mind if nothing else.

But as I see it, that is just a traveler helping a fellow traveler.

I don't figure I would feel such an inclination when I have reached where I am going.. but who knows? If so.. I have a bunch of cheap knives around the place, if the mood struck me to be generous.

I am a bit gung ho on knives and have more than I would likely need. Having 3 full cutlery blocks in your kitchen is something I have only seen at my house