Making Knives
KNIVESCOMEINTOPLAY in almost every aspect of survival. If you’re with
out a knife, there are ways of making basic knives that will do the job. All
you need is a semisharp edge. That edge can be made from a number of
materials, including rock, metal, bone, or even wood.
Knives from Rock
One of the oldest skills known to humankind is taking a piece of solid rock
and breaking it to form a cutting edge. Over time this became a complicated
and refined skill, now referred to as flint knapping. The good news is that
you need only learn the basics to fashion a knife edge sharp enough to get
you through most situations. No, it won’t be as sharp as a steel knife, but a
survival blade will give you a rough, serrated edge for cutting or scraping.
The most useful blades I have made while surviving have come from
throwing a rock—one I hoped would break—against another rock (while
carefully protecting my eyes) until I had shearedoff edges sharp enough
to cut into wood.
Refined flint knapping is a useful primitive living skill, but too
advanced for the survival situations to which this book is dedicated. Like
bow making, flint knapping takes much time and mentored practice to
master. With that in mind, the following pictures illustrate the most rudi
mentary methods for breaking a rock down to a usable edge.
Knives from Metal
When making survival knives, there is simply no substitute for metal. The
biggest challenge is finding a piece that’s roughly the right size and shape.
Rub the metal against a hard surface to sharpen the point and blade (this
will take a long time, so sit down and be patient). Unlike most survival
knives, a metal blade will require a handle to protect your hands. Tape,
cloth, or rope can all be used as knife handles.
Knives from Bone
Bone knives work better for puncturing than for cutting or scraping because
they don’t hold an edge very well. To make this type of knife, you need to
start with a decentsize bone, such as a leg bone from a large mammal.
(^330) | Survive!