Essential Prepper Blades
Dr. John Woods 01.29.20
Knives, knives, knives, but that is far from all there is to it for preppers. At the other end of the spectrum a lot of outdoors people, hunters, survivalists, and preppers tend to have maybe too many blades (if there is such a thing). In reality all you really need is a trio of essential cutting tools to get most jobs done. Notice I did say most.
If you go outside, even to the backyard, you need a knife. The first blade you need is a good sheath knife for a lot of tasks involved in trekking, camp life, bug outs, hunting, fishing, and general all around work. This knife should be worn on your waist on a heavy duty belt in a heavy duty leather or nylon sheath. As a traditionalist I prefer leather. Old school.
We’ll not specify here a type or model of knife, but what you need is a good cutting blade that can be sharpened to a great edge again and again. This “camp” knife is going to cut groceries, tent rope, make sticks pointy, gut and clean game, slice steaks and roasts, peel taters, and all the other many sundry jobs to be done around a campsite, bugout hideout, backcountry escape site or whatever else comes along.
Next comes a good camp saw, usually the folding type that is easy to stow, carry, and deploy. When getting a saw like this, do not scrimp on quality and durability. This needs to be a super strong and well-made saw. The saw blade needs to have a sturdy lock on it so it does not fold back during use.
A hand saw is highly useful for trimming out a camp site, clearing a walking trail or shooting lane for hunting, downsizing branches into kindling and firewood and many other jobs. A good cutting saw will work faster, cleaner, and safer than an ax, so have a good hand saw on hand.
The third tool needed by a prepper-survivalist and a woodsman is a good ax or even a handier hatchet. You choose. I like a hatchet or small ax with a cut side and a hammer side to trim limbs off trees, prepare kindling wood, fire fodder and splitting medium sized chunks of firewood. The hammer side is handy for driving nails, tent stakes, and plenty of other tasks.
Sure many other blade types, saws and axes could be good to have around, too. A good pocket knife and multi-tool are highly useful, too. So, keep your blade choices simple, but buy the best you can afford and take care of them.
