Survival gear in knife?

P

Plainsman

Joined
Apr 5, 1999
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1,165
What items do you keep on/with your knife for survival?

These are things in/on the handle or sheath.

I like basics; cordage, firestarters, nav, signaling, fishing kit. Everything else gets too big/bulkyheavy.

Cordage: 550, tactical cordage, wire and monofilament are used depending upon setup.

Fire: Bic lighters, small to medium ferro rod, larger kits with space, matches.

Nav: small compass, button and pocket compasses, no baseplate or larger.

Signaling: small signal mirror

Fishing kit: basics-hooks, sinkers, swivels, monofilament

Its not a lot of stuff, but nice to have if one has nothing but the knife.
 
This is just a personal preference, but when it comes to a kit on a knife, I pretty much just pack fire items. This is mainly because fire is the next best thing for survival along with a cutting tool.

As fun as ferro rods are in practicing fire making with, a good durable and reliable lighter would be best. Along with fool proof tinder that has some sort of accelerant. But, lighters always have a higher tendency to breaking compared to a big half inch diameter ferro rod, so you can make that judgement.

Since you're main goal is for survival, that's why I mentioned the lighter first. You need fire the first time every time. But I have had Bic lighters go bad while stored in various kits. I don't know why, but the striker would get to the point where it wouldn't produce a strike, and that is bad, especially if you're using it for an actual survival/emergency situation. So if you're going with a lighter, I would make sure that it is a good brand with a good reputation, and so it won't be a lemon.

As for tinder, there's two choices, synthetic or natural. Natural is good because they are non toxic and can be found out in nature, but synthetic can be store bought and put together right now by numerous affective items.
 
The "flint" in lighters have the same vulnerability as larger ferro rods do once they have been scraped they can start to corrode over time. They essentially disitigrate starting from the exposed parts, the lighter "flints" do the same so if you plan on storing a lighter long term you should try to make sure it hasn't been struck before. Or take it apart and coat the end of the "flint" in nail polish or something else to protect it from the environment.
 
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