Your knife is the single most important tool you carry. It creates shelter, processes firewood, dresses game, and makes other tools. If you can only carry one item, make it a good knife.
Critical Features
- Full Tang: The metal of the blade must extend all the way through the handle. Partial tang knives will break under heavy use (like batoning wood).
- Fixed Blade: Folding knives have a mechanical weak point (the hinge). A fixed blade is stronger and more reliable for survival tasks.
- Blade Length: 4-6 inches is the sweet spot. Smaller is good for carving; larger is good for chopping. This size does both adequately.
- Carbon vs. Stainless: High Carbon steel (like 1095) holds an edge well and sparks easily with flint, but it rusts. Stainless is lower maintenance but harder to sharpen in the field.
Spine and Grind
A 90-degree spine (sharp corners on the back of the blade) is essential. This allows you to scrape ferro rods for fire starting and process tinder without dulling your cutting edge.
A Scandi grind is often preferred for bushcraft because it acts like a wedge, splitting wood efficiently and being very easy to sharpen on a flat stone.
Avoid "Rambo" Knives
Knives with hollow handles (for storing matches) or massive saw-backs are usually gimmicks that compromise structural integrity. Simple, solid, and sharp is what you need.