Knife arrived today and I have modded it so I'll start with that in case someone decide to do the same thing in the future (yes, I have drilled 2 hours old knife
).
The pummel is solid aluminium with a hex hole to hold the bit driver. From a hollow handle point of view it's a complete waste of space. So I have decided to hollow the pummel out a little. It's aluminium which makes it very easy to work with, but this also makes it very easy to messup so go slow, stop and check often and don't use too much force. Cordless drill strongly recommended so you have good control over the revs. Start with 10mm drill, it will self center due to the hex hole.
Now there is a very hard magnet at the bottom of it (good luck storing a compas in the handle
) and when you get to it stop and go to the 11mm drill bit so you have more room to work. Now switch to 2mm bit and drill holes around the magnet but don't go too deep. It is pressed in and you have no chance dislodging it, luckily it's ceramic and I have used small punch to slowly and gently break it away. After that finish off with 12mm and then 13mm bit but don't go deeper than the magnet cavity. As soon as the bottom of the hole is smooth stop drilling, this will leave you 5mm of aluminium to the lanyard hole. Tidy up the edge with sand paper.
So I have gained 13mm in diameter and 17mm deep space, which is about 10% gain in handle capacity
Ok, back to the topic.
The handle have two stages: main compartment which is 20mm in diameter and 63mm deep, after that you have another 26mm which is 15mm diameter so they have hollowed out the handle as best as they could which is great as the carbon steel would be a totaly different story to drill.
Some things are cheap like the sheath which is generic and floppy. But the important bits have been done properly: handle is threaded extra deep so you can screw the cap all the way in even without the oring, blade is perfectly symmetrical (actually better than my Fallkniven S1), lanyard hole is not added as an afterthought which makes the pummel flat and easy to use, space inside the handle have been maximized via two stage drilling etc. The handle could be thicker to maximize the space inside but on the other hand it gives you some headroom for wrapping the handle and save you frostbites.
Few pictures of things that will/will not fit:
Mini BIC lighter - no go
Leatherman squirt - no chance
led light (klarus mix6), tablets, wire to give you an idea of the diameter.
I would go for a lighter rather than matches and a fire steel 99% of the time myself!
cordage as you say would b handy.
some more tinder of some sort, or better still something like fuel blocks/wax card.
wire, its surprisingly useful and not just for snares
I hve to say that I'm not a fan of having knife sheaths/handles full of kit. Not only are they unnecessarily heavy and bulky, but its potentially all of your eggs in one basket. (and so very 1970/1980's! )
That's what I wan't to avoid, sheath and knife full of junk. I'm thinking knife, cord on the outside and few nececities in the handle.
Rather than a contact lens case or other box stitch together a little roll wallet, like the ones that the original Timberline knives used to have, it'll save space and perhaps make it easier to keep your doodads together.
Great idea but that would take valuable space, just like a small vial...
As with most survival kits, you need to focus on the things that will kill you fastest.
Barring bleeding out or suffocating, the cold/exposure will get you first.
so something to construct a shelter and a fire.
dehydration is probably next, so collecting and purifying water is the next priority.
food isn't really very high on the list.
Those are the priorities I have when putting a kit together.
Excellent point, exactly my approach. So far I have knife and cord for shelter, big firesteel on the outside and tinder matches on the inside for the fire. I'm trying to pack a plastic bag for water, as you said food is not that important so I only have a pill size pile of hooks (see picture).
I have compass in my watch and also I'm worried about any fragile item in the handle of a knife that will be batoned and used to hammer things in. Also not too keen on any consumables.
You could fit some 6mm lead shot in there with 2 lengths of theraband already tied up with a pouch. Then you just got to find any shaped stick for a catapult.
Now that is a great idea, theraband is something that is more of a tool than a consumable and would be really hard to substitute like fishhooks.
Keep them coming
