a disaster has struck!!!

[TheDaddy187]

that chtf situation has landed and we need to move to an area of countryside to survive...

you only have time and resources to get 1 thing from your survival kit...

what do you get??

and why??

this can only be 1 item (no firesteel and kindling) and serve only 1 original purpose...

multitools are allowed, but that axe with the knife built into the handle is not...
that paracord bracelet with the firesteel, kindling and whistle is also not allowed...
light my fire knifes are also not allowed...

any tools with an edge that usually has a sheath, the sheath is allowed but sharpeners, firesteel ect are not allowed...

would you grab your trusty knife...

a firesteel...

a tarp/tent...

your canteen...

an axe...

cordage...


let me know what 1 item it is you believe you can use to survive for weeks in the wilderness

another note... mankinds numbers have fallen drastically so you will be alone...

you will be safe in the countryside, but will almost certianly die/be captured if you go anywhere near whats left of civilisation so this is a no go...

your chosen area is miles from the nearest house and includes open fields and medium-dense forest areas with a small flowing stream for water...
the cause of the situation (zombie apocolypse, invasion, chemical war ect) has not had an effect on the wildlife so no contaminents from food captured or foraged.

the season is now (winter uk)

you have only the clothes on your back and your 1 chosen tool

your clothes include only boots, underwear, 1pair trousers, 1 shirt and 1 waterproof coat to suit the winter...

sadly you lost your paracord bracelet (unless its your chosen item) along with any other survival gear you would normally always have on you...

hopefully this should lead to some interesting answers...

TD

EDIT: ok we will call it a chtf situation

 

[sunndog]

The only knife I own is an 80's survival knife with all the gear in the handle and a sharpner, wire cutter, catapult, and fishing spear on the paracord wrapped sheath

Have I got the time/ resources to remove/grind off all that stuff?

 

[TheDaddy187]

i think it that case you would have to ignore the bits in the handle and imagine you had a standard sheath...

say for example the parts in the handle were lost or already used...

 

[bushcraftkid2001]

My wildlife hatchet all the way, it chops, carves,splits, whittles and could probably be used to prep game.

 

[TheDaddy187]

bushcraftkid, good answer...

this forum appears to lack a like button...

is that the grunsfors bruks wildlife hatchet?

one hell of a tool...

in place of a hatchet i like to carry a tomahawk... mines a cold steel trailhawk...

bit lighter and easier to rebuild a handle in the wild if one breaks...

the hickory handle feels plenty stong but i imagine one day it could fail

 

[Angry Pirate]

I think the answer would depend on where I happen to be: if I was in or near my car all my kit would be in a bag so I'd grab that (selecting one item would be an artificial imposition as they're all grouped together); if I was at home and couldn't make it upstairs to pack a bag or to the kitchen to grab food I'd grab my kukhri from the front room, though as it sits next to a lighter, a folding saw and a hatchet I'd grab them too. If I was at work I'd have a multitool and a lighter.
I cannot envisage a situation where I could access one tool but not another so I'd have what was nearby at the time.

 

[TheDaddy187]

as you grab your kukri, a nearby explosion levels part of your house...

or a horde of zombies smash through the window and you have to make fast tracks out...

its not always about the how...

 

[Kent Clark]

My first thought was to take my recently acquired Gransfors Bruk Small Hatchet. I have several other axes, but this is small and easy to carry, ultra sharp and can be used for many of the tasks normally given to larger axes and knives. However, food preparation would be a major survival task, so a knife would probably be a better choice.

I am a really big fan of Victorinox knives. I have a fair collection and I use all of them. I like knives with a good balance of tools. Something like the Deluxe Tinker or the Ranger would seem ideal. But there are tools that in such a desperate situation would probably not get used too often. The choice on the back of those two is either a large Philips Screwdriver or a corkscrew. Maybe the Trailmaster, with the larger, locking blade and the inclusion of a longer than normal saw blade? Yes, this would be a great choice.

In the end though, if I could only have one thing, I would probably take a larger, fixed blade knife. Probably the one I have just made. Super-hard carbon steel, so it will remain sharp for quite a while, very strong, a good weight, safe in the hand, good for prep of game and general food prep, deep 4.5" blade, etc. Yep, boring though the choice is, that's what I would take.

 

[TheDaddy187]

another good and well thought out answer...

pictures of this knife??

 

[santaman2000]

My 30-06...

 

[Kent Clark]

another good and well thought out answer...

pictures of this knife??

I think I have posted this photo before, but here it is. Brazilian rosewood handel, convex grind, distal taper.

 

[TheDaddy187]

very nice...

im more a fan of full tang...

what tang and length does this have?

 

[sunndog]

ignore the bits in the handle and imagine you had a standard sheath

oh you're just going into the realms of fantasy now, a zombie apocalypse and I'm s'posed to ignore the sewing kit and compass in my knife handle!?


I'm sorry dude, I'm just messing with ya. couldn't resist it..........course i'v got more than one knife

Playing the game....given my location (a place colder and windy'er than you've any right to expect in this country)
It would have to be an axe, the rest I can make/scavange from human refuse that's inevitably at the sides of roads....I'm sure to find an old paint can or some such sooner or later

 

[TheDaddy187]

so it seems so far, tool over fire and shelter...

makes sense, can use tools to make shelter and a fireboard...

anyone with different ideas?

 

[Kent Clark]

very nice...

im more a fan of full tang...

what tang and length does this have?

There are obviously advantages with both. Mine has a 2/3 internal tang.

Sure, a full tang gives you a very strong knife and often looks great.

However, the advantages of an internal tang on a forged knife are often overlooked.

1. The forged tang is hammered and compressed and so is consequently much denser and stronger.
2. The handle can be precisely shaped to the individual hand and is not dependent on the final shape of the profile of the full tang.
3. Wood and metal expands and contract with temperature and humidity at different rates. Scales that don't quite fit the profile is a serious problem.
4. You often end up with a better balanced knife.
5. The blade is easier to forge.

 

[Shewie]

Loftys SAS survival handbook

 

[mountainm]

For shelter building, trap building and self defence (zombies?) I reckon it would have to be my parang.

 

[TheDaddy187]

im not impartial to hidden tang blades...

i love moras... most have a 2/3 tang...

waiting for the day the mora companion full tang is released though

regardless of tang, a beautiful and well crafted knife much like yours is still a beautiful and well crafted knife...

 

[rik_uk3]

I'd just take cash.

 

[TheDaddy187]

good answer shewie... i wonder though, what would you use as tools?