Survival

On the internet and media today you can see people that prepare for accidents and disasters in nature. I have mentioned many times before that survival will most likely happen suddenly or by accident. This will be in areas in or around populated areas. Some will be rivers and lakes or the sea around where people live.

Most accidents that results in death are in areas I have explained above and not in the wilderness at all. The areas I have explained above can be deadly. It can be fire, extreme weather, terror, cold water, at night or a number of other factors.

To be prepared is not about exaggeration or over doing philosophies because it is a known fact that people die from situations and from what is many times a trivial situation that could easily be overcome by a SAK.

What are the main factors that must be considered and what do you need?

Basically the tools you need for survival or the factors involved are not so different from the wilderness. 

The SAK is just one tool that makes things safer for people in or around populated areas. When you are in a boat you will need knife/tools, light and something to make fire with. Besides these you need to use common sense and use a life west of some kind.

If you look on what people die from then many will be surprised. If you fall through the ice and cannot get up then you scream for help. It can be smart to have a device or tool that can make sound like a small whistle. The light you can use to send signals with for example SOS. The knife can be helpful to get up from the ice as well.

It is absolutely not necessary to die from such situations. On the water if you are into sports or kayaking then you must take some extra precautions. Just to paddle in the summertime can be demanding because of waves, current and sudden change in weather. Sudden changes in weather can be because of environmental changes that makes even the experienced person unsecure and situation unpredictable.

One of the main factors that make survival unpredictable for people is the comfort they are used to. People use boats the year around and that is important to remember. People are used to comfort and that things never goes wrong. This is most dangerous factor in my mind.

Today people use mobile phones and this is a very helpful and smart tool to bring. It is also an unpredictable safety device still.

Do people really want to drive around in a boat and suddenly come across an accident with a person screaming for help that he is tangled in a net or rope and not having a knife. Some people do not bring a cutting device on the water and that is a big no! It is retarded to say it gently.

My webpages are about SAK and things around it. People die from trivial things and I suggest people should wake up a bit.

Development of rescue blades

Society got laws and regulations for knives and this is unavoidable. Because of this different belt cutters are developed to be used in public places or as a device to be in a car and so on. I agree that these are helpful devices and some are good products. Its main task is to cut a seat belt in a pulling motion. It got a curve that can only be used for such tasks and it cannot be used to stab with. Ok all well so far. I agree that stabbing with knives is wrong and it is a disgusting idea all together.

The problem with these belt cutters is that they are usually small and designed to cut thin materials that many times are flat. It will not be sufficient for rope. The development of laws and regulations are therefore conflicting with what is the best safety device for people. From what I know people are allowed to have knives in cars and so on. This can also include window breakers and so on, this I have talked about before and that people die when cars fall in the water because they simply cannot get out. People get a real hard time breaking the windows from outside as well.

On the picture to the right is a Leatherman "strap cutter" that is very well developed. This can be used for a number of different things. It can also cut much more than straps. Because this is one hand opening with lock and the Complete OHT got more cutting blades then it is a good tool with quality. Strap cutters and similar products that are designed for seat belt are very limited in the abilities to cut. They are designed to be pulled with. The development of the society makes products alone that are similar to the design of the Leatherman strap cutter and got that guiding angle that ends up in a sharp groove for cutting. Wenger also developed different designs for safety.

Together with other cutting devices on a tool then these are very smart to have. Alone they are not sufficient to be called safety tools. This can be because the material you cut is not flat and it can be thick rope or materials. Some of them are just too small and made to be put in a small pocket in a life west. It is just not sufficient on the water.

The problem with smaller cutting devices is that they sometimes require time. It takes time to cut the materials. If you have practiced with it then you can do things faster. The problem is that many pulling devices actually requires force to pull with. For older people or if you are injured then this may be difficult.

If you have a reason for bringing a knife then you are allowed to have a knife with you. This is a good simple rule. Therefore bring larger cutting devices because it will save time. One hand opening, longer blade and locking mechanisms saves time. Designated rescue blades by Victorinox are perfect blades. The wavy edge and long inward curve cuts extremely controlled and well.

Here you got an incredible fixed blade knife from Mora for rope. It will cut rope like nothing. If you only bring this knife for survival it is not sufficient because you need something to do force cuts with on wood. Most of this edge got serrations and only a small section of the tip is plain edge. There is also a very small part on the inner edge towards the handle that is plain. For force cuts in wood you need a plain edge. If the outer section of this blade would have had the plain edge just a bit further in then you would have a combination edge that is better for everything. 

I would not recommend using the little plain edge towards the tip for force cuts in wood because this may cause injury on the person using it. Some philosophies on combination edges are inner section serrations vice versa. The absolute best for wood is plain edge on the inner section. This Mora is a rope cutter that is very good for such tasks. Serrated edge on wood is not well or comfortable at all.

I like both combination edges used on Victorinox and Wenger knives. I prefer a special purpose OH lockable belt cutter/rescue blade and a separate plain edge OH lock blade.  It gives a great advantage!

The Mora knife is incredible for rope but not sufficient for survival. I recommend this knife anyway because of the serrations. It will cut belts and rope easy.

Tip on a knife

Today you can see many different edge designs and we must also be careful that we enter a world without a sharp tip on a blade. Different special purpose blades are made for cutting belts and for rescue tasks. For survival you must have a blade that got a tip design that is pointy and sharp. This part of the blade will have a big number of uses during survival situations.

The Swiss Army Knives are no stabbing knives because of the design. They can be used for some light tasks there too(on materials). The tip can see much use for carving and precision tasks.  The SAKs many times got the awl that is a perfect puncturing and drilling tool.

The concept of a survival knife is a SAK because you can have many different blades in one package. It is not smart to jump corners for survival. I recommend a rescue blade with OH and lock and serrations, a plain edge OH lock blade, wood saw and the awl. Additional screwdrivers are welcome. Pliers are also excellent survival tools.

the perfect killing weapon? Answer: absolutely not!

It is time for an update about the survival of knives.  The law we have in our country that you should have a reason for having a knife in a public place is ok. It is advanced enough for a functional regulation today. Never the less it is a topic that many avoid talking about.  The problems with laws and regulations are that they are the result of criminal acts and situations. That alone is a shame but necessary for a modern society or a society at all. Any sharp instrument could be dangerous in the wrong hands. This also results in ordinary people getting “fear of knives” The moment people decide not to bring a knife in the outdoors then you have a very negative development. Another factor is that if a law is the result of criminal acts within a city then you have a very sad development. That a law should then influence areas of the country with little people is not fair. That said acts happen many places too. Usually the police will enforce stricter upon it within a city if you carry a knife there, which is good.

Sometimes the view of experts can be a bit shocking this is because they are around the sphere of criminal acts. Their view will then become biased towards creating new laws. Each and every time a new law is at hand it will hurt only the ordinary person. This is always the case and sadly true. Luckily we have the understanding that knives and tools are very important for people. Norway is a country with nature everywhere. People enjoy the beautiful environment here. We have also a rather liberal country that allows many different knives which I am very glad for. It seems the importance of knives is very much understood by the politicians here. This I am glad about. I am not for all knives, for example combat knives, a machete, bayonets and other weapons on the street should be judged hard. Also we have laws against some types of knives that are illegal to have. Such knives got little or no use in our country anyway. Some fall within a grey zone which is understandable.

My point is that fear of knives and tools is not healthy and if you got a very small knife in the pocket on a public place then this should be ok. I cannot encourage people to do so. I would rather you to ask the authorities where you live and ask.

On a safety point of view it is very negative to create a law that only hurt the ordinary person. Fear of knives in the general population should never happen because Norway is a knife and axe country with traditions from the absolute beginning.

If a development within a country result in ordinary people starting to carry knives for self-defense against gangs and criminals then it is bad. This development will create a development for destroying all the good values with knives. In some sense it is understandable that people would want to defend against the terrible things they read about in the media. I do not encourage this at all but only touch it. It would be very wrong to carry a knife for fighting in a modern society.

In my opinion if a criminal person use a knife to stab someone then this should be looked upon as an attempted murder regardless. Any person with a normal understanding would see that if you hit a big vein then a person could die. One cannot say I only wanted to cut some. This is my view upon it. Another dangerous development is when the fear of knives results in not having knives. It would be like being illiterate in a sense.

I am also not a fan of reducing traditional knives for safety. Belt cutter designs for example could work but for sure not always. I like functions like that regardless.

There are many different blade designs on the SAKs and Swiss knives. In the wrong hands they could be dangerous for sure.  If you look upon the OH blade from Victorinox used on the Soldier for example it is not very pointy. The tip is something in between round and pointy.

A professional would agree with me that a fighting knife should be a fixed blade knife. In my opinion the experts that would say a pocket knife is more dangerous than a fixed blade then I would wonder. I have been into militaria many years ago so I know 100% what a combat knife is.

That said any sharp instrument could be dangerous!

11:55

It is an understatement to say I am just a fan about SAK. The truth is that I love them. For me every function is just as interesting. The Swiss knives got functions that in combination can be used for whatever task you could find.  The Victorinox locking belt cutter blades are superb. I am not a fan of the belt cutter designs that is made to hook unto a belt and pulled. They are very limited in reality. For sure it is absolutely worth having still. The Swiss belt cutters you find on the large SAKs are much better because they are blades with edges. Not just a hook design that is very limited. It may sound strange that the wonderful Swiss Soldiers knife is as it is. One would expect it to be a better stabber? If you are well educated on them then you know that the Soldiers knife is a tool. It is a tool for them and all the functions represent a package required by the Swiss military.

13:55

The advantages with SAKs can be many and the functions within the package of tools can be used in combination. This can be for utility in almost any scenario and for any service.

There are some situations in world with the SAKs being used for bad things with death as the result. It is always sad. I have “that” with knives, so for me I really hate the wrong use.

I find it important to mention that the development of the society should not prevent knives from having an acute tip. This is important on knives without an awl for example. The tip is important for precision tasks.

If you look upon the development in the country then many of these negative situations has happened in other countries many years ago. We must learn from that knowledge. I have been into all aspects of knives. So I totally understand all the aspects of small blades can be very dangerous too. It should not be so that criminal use dictates how or what an ordinary person would want in their pocket. Most of the developments and evolution changes on the different categories within the Swiss sphere are made for extra safety, comfort and functionality. It is totally wrong to place them in a negative setting in my opinion. I have never had any problems with the police or authorities with knives. I respect the regulations. I am worried that kids and people are forgetting about the importance of tools and knives. It should be a human right to learn.

To finish up today I can mention the reason for why some combination blades and knives got a partially round tip can be: In many military situations today the SAK is used for escape. To escape a dangerous situation that is. Most pocket knives and folding knives are used for utility tasks by services and military. The tip can be used to cut a person free from entanglements, belts and equipment. Far from the fantasy world of hand to hand combat with their pocket knives. SAKs are very high in quality, sturdy and functional. It does not mean that a SAK is completely without teeth because the OH locking blade with combination edge can be dangerous in a swing. The traditional plain edge designs and locking blades in the wrong hands are dangerous. It is important not to be blinded by the facts they got the Army in them that they are killing weapons. It is far from reality as mentioned.

15:02

PS if you are into sharpening then you can make the traditional blades tip section a bit more acute. I general they are ready for use, especially the 91mm large and small blades are wonderful for precision cutting. It is a bit more difficult to change the tip on the OH combination blade which you find on the 111mm. In my opinion it is best to have it as is. The tip is partially round, well maybe not acute are the best words perhaps.  You can make it a bit more acute if preferred. Locking systems on SAKs are in general to prevent accidental closing.

15.11.2020

Today I would like to guide you into my pages about the 111mm knives. I have been much into the locking mechanisms safety knives. My collection of the liner-locking SAKs is growing because it is such a high quality construction. On these pages you can see the edges and what I am talking about better. It is always a discussion on where to place the wavy edge. The combination edge can cut many materials when every second count. Remember that every person got the obligation to prevent wrong use with knives and to avoid any violence. Enjoy:)

This summer I have used this Victorinox Hunter XT as my safety knife on the water. Especially in my kayak this has been splashed or wet with saltwater a lot. On sakhome.com I have discussed and talked about how this quality got all the aspects required for a complete safety/rescue SAK. This is more than a hunting tool. I have it a pouch on the belt for my life jacket, easy to reach or grab quickly. There is no corrosion anywhere on this 111mm.