Outdoor and survival knives are essential tools for anyone who enjoys spending time in the great outdoors. These knives are designed to withstand tough conditions and provide a variety of functions, from cutting rope and preparing food to building shelter and starting fires. If you’re in the market for a new outdoor or survival knife, here are some types to consider.
Once you understand these types of knives, you will be able to determine which survival knife best meets the needs of your customers.
Types of Survival Knives
- Fixed Blade
Knives with a fixed blade consist of a single piece of metal with a handle. When the metal extends throughout the entire length of the handle, it is known as a full tang. Full-tang knives with fixed blades are the most durable. However, because they do not fold, they occupy a great deal of space.
- Combat
Knives are designed specifically for hand-to-hand combat. Typically, this refers to a long blade with a very sharp point. As a result of their extreme pointiness, the tips are not suitable for tasks such as batoning wood.
- Boot Knives
The design of boot knives allows them to fit comfortably in boots. This means they are typically no longer than 7 or 8 inches and have a thin handle.
Typically, boot knives have spearpoint-shaped blades (though not always).
- Bowie Knives
A Bowie knife may also be referred to as green thorn knives or an assisted opening knife, for instance. Rezin Bowie created the first Bowie knife in the early 1800s (his life story is quite interesting and worth reading). When his brother used it to kill a person in a large knife fight, the knife gained notoriety.
There are numerous types of Bowie knives, but a genuine one must always have a clip point, a blade at least 5 inches long, and a full tang.
- Neck Knives
People who are unable to carry a conventional knife, such as scuba divers and water rescue teams, favor neck knives.
Always small blades with a protective sheath to prevent accidental stabbing. Wear them underneath your shirt to prevent snagging. Use a quality chain or strip some 550 paracords and slide them over a chain of metal beads.
- Throwing Knives
Increasingly, throwing knives are marketed as a form of a survival knives. However, let’s be honest: you will likely never need to throw a knife in a survival situation. There are superior hunting tools.
And if you miss in self-defense, you just gave your attacker a knife! But throwing knives can be extremely entertaining to use. They also make a valid point that is applicable in other circumstances.
- Military Knives
“Military knife” and “combat knife” are frequently used synonymously. Military knives are not, however, combat knives.
Instead, military knives are best suited for tasks such as brush clearance and general utility. In light of contemporary battle tactics, the likelihood of a soldier engaging in close combat with the enemy is extremely remote.
- Buck Knives
Buck-type knives are folders with a lock back; they have a notch that keeps the blade in the open position, making it less likely that the blade will close and cause injury.
The original Buck 110 featured a versatile clip-point blade. However, be aware that Buck produces many knives that lack these characteristics.
- Rambo Knives
A great deal of consideration went into selecting the ideal survival knife for the Rambo films.
The blade used in the first three films was a Bowie clip point with 14 saw teeth on the spine. The combination of these characteristics makes the knife suitable for demanding tasks such as chopping and sawing wood, as well as slashing and stabbing.
Wrap Up
In opening a wholesale business for knives, you need to be familiar with the different uses of every knife so that you will which type of knife to recommend to your customers. By doing so, you will get to gain a lot of loyal customers and your business will surely flourish.
