When A Knife is More Than A Survival Tool

The first gift I ever got from my father was a knife. He gave it to me when I was young, and I never looked back. 

‘Be prepared’ is both the Boys Scout Motto and my old man’s most used phrase. He must have used that phrase over a million times. 

For him, it was important for men to stay connected to nature. ‘You never know when aliens from Mars will come for you,’ he always joked. To be fair, I’m not sure he was joking at all. Why else did he gather my three brothers and me for some ‘wilderness camping time’ at least twice yearly?

By the time I was 15, I had learned how to make fires from almost nothing and differentiate poisonous plants from non-poisonous ones. I discovered what happens to a person without shelter in three hours, without water in three days and without food for three weeks.  

All of these I learned before I even had my first girlfriend let alone my first kiss. 

I didn’t always like wilderness survival or bushcraft (as people call it these days). But it taught me many things about being a man and occasionally tapping into my primal nature. 

Most people think they can survive two weeks in the wild without some training. In one poll, only 17%1 said they could start a fire on their own. You can’t beat the wild without a fire.

Thanks to my old man, I learned the tools, tips, and tricks required to survive a week or two away from civilization and all its screens and gadgets. 

Of all the things I learned, the most intriguing thing was knives.

A knife in the wild is worth more than anything else. It is the ultimate survival tool. 

Talk to any wilderness explorer, and they’ll tell you you can lose everything and still be fine as long as your knife is with you.

Because you never know where you might need your knife, most survival experts recommend keeping one with you when hiking or exploring. 

Even in non-survival situations, a knife can still be vital. Whether fishing, camping, hiking, boating, or hunting, you’ll never regret keeping a knife by your side. It’s an extension of the self when you really think about it. 

As our ancestors/cave dwellers discovered, a cutting blade is a handy tool that can do almost anything. 

You can use a knife to cut branches, skin game and carve frames for shelter. It can cut dry stems for fire and chop fruits and vegetables. 

Not to mention for self-defense — against any beast. Once upon a time, I stumbled on a mountain lion while hiking.

At first, I tried to make myself bigger by waving my hands frantically, but the beast didn’t bulge. It looked beautiful up close, but I didn’t care one bit.   

So, I whipped out my knife and held it with all the courage I could summon. Maybe it was the shining stainless steel of my Matsato knife or my bizarre boldness, but the panther turned back and walked away once it saw the knife. 

I’ve never been so thankful in my entire life. My lucky knife and my courage defeated a worthy foe. 

So, yes, your knife comes first. No man exploring nature should be without it. The only thing more important than keeping your knife with you is having the right kind of knife with you. 

Not every knife is suitable to be part of a survivor’s toolkit. Many first-time explorers make the mistake of adventuring with regular knives. Boy, are they missing out!

Regular knives often have a dull edge with an uncomfortable grip, so they take longer to carve branches as shelter frames. Time in the wild is much more limited, and a dull knife could mean the difference between a sturdy, well-built shelter and a wobbly one. 

The uncomfortable grip is also likely to give your hands several blisters and bruises, meaning you’ll find it harder to use your hands.

Rather than use a regular knife, I always use a survival knife. Survival knives are much more helpful outdoors and can do a variety of things, including:

• Cutting/slicing
• Digging
• Splitting
• First aid
• Shelter building
• Food preparation
• Hunting
• Makeshift screwdriver

The best knife I know (and I’ve tried many) is Matsato.

Matsato is the ultimate knife and tool. It’s helped me so much on my adventures I even named it my lucky knife. Ask my wife; you’ll never catch me in the wild or my backyard without it.

The perfect survival knife must have certain critical features, and the Matsato knife has almost all of these features, including:

The ideal size for a kitchen knife is between 9-11 inches. Unlike slightly smaller bushcraft knives, survival knives must be bigger to handle more serious tasks like batoning and chopping wood.

Matsato is 11 inches and is the perfect size for me. It is small enough to dress small game and carve wood to build traps. It’s also big enough for wood chopping.

Foldable blades get all the love but don’t make great survival knives. Any joint in your knife (which every foldable blade has) is a weakness.

A fixed blade is strong and can take a really good beating. Matsato has a fixed blade you can trust to cut, pound, and thrust.

The handle of a knife is just as essential as the blade itself. Handles prone to slipping are a danger to your adventure and to you. 

I use a knife with a fitting solid grip when exploring the wild or fishing. Matsato’s handle has an ergonomic build, making it very simple to hold. 

A hole on the blade is big enough to stick your index finger through. If you like effortless, precise cutting, that feature is time-saving and may be life-saving.

There’s always a choice to make between stainless steel and carbon steel. I prefer stainless steel blades because they retain their sharpness and cutting edge longer than carbon. 

No surprise, then, that the metal in Matsato’s blade is stainless steel. Unlike many other ‘survival knives,’ the blade of the Matsato knife is hand-forged and goes through a rigorous production technique.

The makers of Matsato say they use a technique that was inspired by ancient Japanese swordsmiths that used to make Samurai swords (Katana). The precise cutting and sturdy nature of the Matsato blade means I believe them.

Style should never be chosen above functionality in the wild. But if you find a tool that effectively combines style and function like Matsato, the choice is easy. 

The Matsato knife looks like something from an ancient tribe of master swordsmen. The oak handle is beautiful to look at and really stands out. 

Plus, no one walks into my kitchen without staring at it. It gives the impression that I love mystic art. 

Plot twist:

It was a conversation about my ‘pretty’ Matsato knife that swayed my wife completely to me. I had no idea that conversations about a knife would birth a wife? 😇

There are several other features to look for in a survival knife, including blade thickness, lanyard hole, sheath design, and handle material. I never buy a knife without confirming it’s got the features I need to thrive and dominate on my adventures.

Ultimately, your knife is more than a survival tool. It can be your companion, too, giving you a mental and emotional lift when you need one.

Imagine wielding a knife with the same steel and technique that great Japanese swords were made of. That’s all the charge and inspiration you need to assert your dominance against nature’s wild forces.

Like me, you might develop a solid, unbreakable bond with your Matsato knife.

¹ https://studyfinds.org/americans-survive-2-weeks-wilderness/