Posts Tagged ‘knives’

Survival Knife – Why you Need One

If it’s that time of the year again and you want to pit your skills against the forces of Mother Nature, make sure you don’t leave the safety of your home without your old, trusty survival knife.

How Far Will Your Resourcefulness Go?
Survival knives are your #1 tool to support your resourcefulness. You can accomplish a lot of things just by letting your common sense, imagination, and resourcefulness work together. Survival knives can help you build fire, traps, rafts, and so much more. You just have to find a way to maximize on the resources you have in the wild.

Health and Safety
Contagious diseases are just as dangerous as wild animals that roam in the dark, but you can use your survival knife to make your camping trip as healthy as possible. You can create provisional mosquito nets and herbal remedies. You can ensure that your food and water remain sanitary with containers and covers made from wood, leaves, stones, and whatever else you can find of use in the woods.

Building a Home
In the even that you lose your tent and sleeping bag, your survival knife can be of help to build you functional shelter. It won’t be as luxurious, but it can at least give you protection from storms of all kinds.

When building a makeshift shelter in the wilds, be sure that you choose the ideal location. Even the sturdiest shelters won’t make a difference if you build them directly out in the open. Try to look for areas where you can use a solid surface to serve as at least one side of your shelter.

Feeding Yourself
If you run out of provisions, you need to find a way to get yourself food and water and again, your survival knife can help you with that. You can build traps on the ground or hanging from trees. You can spear fish with your knives and gather fruits from trees.

Defending Yourself
Last but not the least, a survival knife can do what it’s meant to and that’s to ensure you survive. If someone or something attacks you, use your knife.

An Important Reminder
Before leaving home, make sure that your survival knife is still in good working order. Be sure that its edges are still razor sharp and without any rust. It must also come with full tangs; if its handle was to break for whatever reason, its design allows you to use a makeshift handle for your knife.

What You Need to Know About Self-Defense Knives

Self-defense knives are not created equal.  Learn how to find one that fits your needs and keep you safe.

There are several factors you need to keep in mind when buying and using self-defense knives. Here are some of the most important things for you to consider:

Choose the right design and make
Self-defense knives come in a wide variety of designs. When buying or choosing one, first consider its use. Look at the shape, length and width of the blade, the design of the handle and its weight. Basically, you’ll find two major types of self-defense knives: one is the fixed blade type and the other is the folded type.

The fixed blade has a permanently set blade onto the handle while a folded type has a blade that folds into a sheath hidden in the handle itself. Either one has its own pros and cons and can be quite effective, depending on your skills and preferences.

The type of steel used will also matter, although there’s no need to purchase the most expensive alloy you can find. A solid, sharp and corrosion-resistant steel should suffice. Look for a sturdy handle that’s comfortable to grip along with a no-slip handle and a solid connection to the blade.

Self-defense knives do not make you safe
But the knowledge and skills you have to defend yourself will. Many people purchase self-defense knives thinking it will automatically keep them from danger. Do not make this assumption. Just because you’re carrying a self-defense weapon does not mean you’re safe. Self-defense knives do not work by magic; you still have to know how to use them properly, particularly during an attack.

For your own safety, it’s best that you practice using self-defense knives. Do not wait for the moment when you actually need to use them to learn what your self-defense knife can do. You will be putting yourself in danger if you do. Instead, get to know your knife — how it’s designed, how to open it (important if it’s a folding knife or if it comes with a sheath), which side of the blade is sharp, how heavy it is and how much force you need for an effective strike.

Self-defense knives require self-discipline
Self-defense knives are designed to ensure your safety but they are still weapons. They can cut, stab, slice and sever. If you are inexperienced and unsure, you could even end up hurting yourself

There are also laws that cover the use and ownership of self-defense knives. Make sure you are aware of your state’s regulations. There are certain types of knives that are restricted, such as the balisong and the karambit. If you own or are planning to buy any of these, make sure you understand what the laws in your region allow you to do.

Ways How NOT to Use Folding Knives

Knives in one form or another are one of the earliest forms of manmade weapons.  As tools for self-defense, knives are considered handy, practical and with enough skill, quite effective to use.  Knives come in a variety of designs and styles and one of the most popular among self-defense enthusiasts is the folding knife.  It’s compact, lightweight and protects the user from accidental cuts when concealed in the clothing.  Unfortunately, having a folding knife does not automatically make one a self-defense expert.  Accidents can happen, particularly if the user is unskilled, inexperienced and doesn’t have a good understanding of how to utilize this tool.  Do not make the same mistakes that beginners do and learn how NOT to use a folding knife:

Do NOT keep the knife open when carrying or concealing it
The design of the folding knife is such that it conceals the blade and prevents the user from cutting himself.  When carrying the folding knife or concealing it in your purse or person, make sure that the blade is folded back to the sheath and that the lock is in place.  This will keep you secure and prevent any physical harm to you.

Do NOT show off the folding knife
The less your potential attacker knows, the better.  If you’re carrying around a folding knife, do not whip it out for no reason just to show off or perform a demo in front of your friends or co-workers.  This is probably fine for private parties but it’s best that not a lot of people know you have one.  That way, you have the element of surprise to your advantage.

Do NOT use the folding knife without practicing first
Even a Jedi had to learn to wield the light saber, so why not you with your folding knife?  With practice, you become familiar with your weapon.  The more you know how to wield it, the more confident you will be using it.

Do NOT use the folding knife without clipping the lock in place
The lock is meant to keep the blade from folding back into the sheath.  If you have to use the folding knife, make sure that it’s locked and stable.

Do NOT expose the folding knife to moisture
Some types of steel blades are vulnerable to corrosion when exposed repeatedly to moisture and/or air.  Clean it regularly and wipe any moisture off with a clean cloth.

Do NOT use the folding knife without knowing if it still works
Always keep your folding knife clean and try to inspect it periodically when not in use.  This will help prevent any corrosion that could occur, which could lead to tighter blades that won’t ’swing’.  Check the parts regularly to determine if they’re still working properly.  If you’ve been keeping a folding knife in a drawer somewhere for at least a year or two, inspect it for any damage before carrying it with you.  That way, you’ll know for sure that it will work in your defense.

Laws About Carrying Knives: What You Should Know

Carrying a knife would be considered common if you lived in medieval Japan but in this day and age, there are certain legal restrictions that you must keep in mind.  This is so that you not only avoid violating any laws, you also help ensure safety and security in your community.  There are indeed laws that cover carrying of knives that you should be aware of.  So does the right to bear arms still stands?

Are you dangerous or is it just your knife?
When it comes to carrying knives, the United States has been generally tolerant with its citizens, although there are a few restrictions depending on your place of residence.  In majority of states, people are allowed to carry a knife in their person.  That means that if you wish to carry a knife with you, you’re probably not breaking any rules.

There are certain restrictions, however.  First, there is the knife itself.  A knife is a potential lethal weapon, regardless of its size and shape.  In the right hands, it could be a tool to create, build, cook or even protect a life but in the wrong hands, it can be a deadly weapon.  A butcher’s knife, for example, that can be used to cut meat to make stew can also cut or maim an individual.

To help prevent, minimize or at least discourage any crimes or accidents involving knives, people are only allowed to carry one if it is single-edged.  The person carrying the knife should also not make it appear that the knife can be a threat.  If a knife has been proven to be carried with intent to harm another person, for example, it will be considered illegal.  This explains why people may be allowed to carry small knives such as pen knives if they can prove that their intention is for self-defense.

The location where the knives are carried into also matter.  If you carry knives around in your own home or backyard, you will not be doing anything illegal.  But if you enter the premises of another person’s property or business establishment, you may be breaking certain laws.  There are also laws that discourage people from carrying knives if they will be entering a government building.  If you have a knife with you, it might be construed as a security threat or even a terrorist one.

There are also states that have laws about carrying knives that prohibit people from carrying one in plain sight in a public setting.  If the knife is concealed, though, there should be no problem.