Cutting tools are an essential part of any hunting, camping, and survival gear. A good knife can save your life in a pinch, so it’s crucial to understand the differences between these three hunting knives.
Hunting Knives vs Camping Knives vs Survival knives: what is the difference? A camping knife is lightweight, compact, and meant to be used in the backcountry as a tool for light-duty tasks like cutting food or making kindling. A survival knife may be rugged enough for daily use and have features that make it distinct from other types of knives, including being made of durable material such as stainless steel or titanium; having a specialized blade design such as serrations for cutting rope; having differential heat treatment on the blade edge to prevent corrosion and facilitate sharpening; etc. make quick work of some tasks, and provide a safety net in case your plans go astray. From all the types of knives on the market, which one is right for you?
What Is A Camping knife
Camping knives are lightweight, compact, and very easy to use, making them easy to carry around in your bag or purse when you go camping or backpacking. They’re also great for cutting the tops off of drinks without spillage. There’s one drawback to using a knife for this type of activity. However, the blade can wear quickly and need sharpening.
The Best Camping Knives
1. Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife
The Bear Grylls ultimate survival knife is an excellent choice for anyone who wants a good camping hunting knife that is durable and easy to use. The Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival knife uses a 4-inch 420 stainless-steel, double-ground and bead blasted blade with clip point for quick and easy sharpening.
2. Kershaw 1670ST Ken Onion Leek Folding Knife
The Kershaw Leek is one of the most popular camping knives on the market. It features a 3-inch blade and an overall length of 7 inches. The blade is made of 420J stainless steel, and the handle is made from aluminum.
3. Ontario Knife Company RAT 1 Tanto Blade Folding Knife
The Ontario RAT1 is a great camping knife for anyone who needs a durable and tough knife. It’s an excellent choice for daily use because of its durability. It is manufactured with a 3-inch tanto blade.
4. Morakniv Companion 10 Blade Folding Knife
The Mora Companion is a high-quality folding knife that you can rely on when you’re in the wilds of the woods. It’s made of durable laminated steel and features a 2-inch blade.
5. Schrade SCHF9 Extreme Survival Knife with Search And Rescue Folding Sheath
The SCHF9 is a convenient, compact knife that features a 5-inch long carbon steel blade. Its handle is made from glass-filled nylon with a lanyard hole that makes it easy to carry.
What Is A Hunting Knife
Hunting knives are larger and heavier than their camping counterparts. While they’re still lightweight and easily portable, they’re also much more durable than camping knives. Hunting knives are used primarily for field dressing games, cutting meat for roasting, and making decorative cuts.
The Best Hunting Knives
1. Ka-Bar Becker BK2 All-Purpose Knife
This is a drop point blade that’s super strong and made from high carbon stainless steel. It’s designed for heavy-duty work and has a plain edge that holds its edge very well.
2. Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro Fixed Blade Knife
This is a tough fixed blade hunting knife with an ergonomic handle that offers a good grip even when hands are wet or greasy.
3. Cold Steel Recon Scout
This camping knife has a 3-inch blade and a handle made from glass-filled nylon. Glass fiber is durable but lightweight, so it’s easy to carry around for long periods of time.
4. Gerber Gator Blade
It is a Camping knife that features a 3-inch blade and a textured handle made from glass-filled nylon. This camping knife is attached to a nylon sheath, so it will be easy to carry around in your bag while on tent or hammock camping.
What Is A Survival Knife
Survival knives are designed to be used in an emergency situation for purposes such as making kindling, cutting rope, or self-defense. This type of steel knife is essentially a blend between hunting knives and camping knives. They’re great for chopping, slicing, and dicing small games as well as for cutting wood for fires. They’re also very durable, so they can be used as weapons in survival situations during camping or glamping.
The Best Survival Knife
1. ESEE-5 Survival Knife
This survival knife features a fixed blade and a hollow handle that can be used to store matches, fishing lines, adhesive tape, wet wipes, and anything else you’d need in the wilderness.
2. Ontario RAT II
This is a semi-automatic knife that’s made out of 1095 Cro-Van steel. It has a partially serrated edge and a comfortable G10 handle. This survival knife will serve you well when you need it most in your tarp or tent camping adventure.
3. Cold Steel SRK
This is a fixed blade survival knife from Gerber, and it’s designed to hold an edge for a long time. It’s also a very light knife that can be easily carried around in your bag or backpack.
4. ESEE-3
This is a fixed blade survival knife made for tough tasks. It has a razor-sharp drop point blade, an ergonomic handle, and an integrated glass breaker at the base of the handle. With this in hand, you’ll be ready to handle any situation you might face in an emergency.
Type Of Knife Blade Material
Knives are one of the most versatile tools available. You can use them for a variety of different tasks, some of which you may never have thought about. The material used to make the knife blade plays a big role in determining performance and durability.
The Blade Design
A knife’s blade design is a matter of personal preference. Having a variety of options to choose from makes it easier for you to find the right knife.
Hunting Knife:Knives used by hunters have a variety of different features. For instance, they may have serrated blades for sawing through bone and also usually have long-handled to give people more control over the blade.
Camping Knife: Camping knives are similar to hunting knives, except that they can be used for different tasks. You can use a camping knife as a screwdriver and pry bar. It can be used for chopping ropes and branches.
Survival Knife: Survival knives are designed to use for a variety of different tasks. They’re also commonly used by survivalists, military personnel, and law enforcement.
The Blade Length
As a general rule, the longer the blade, the more dangerous it is. However, blade length varies depending on what you plan to use it for. Smaller knives are useful for precision cutting, such as repairing the fishing lines.
Hunting Knife: Hunting knives are often very short. Hunters use them to tie up the game for easier carrying and kills.
Camping Knife: Camping knives can be very long, but they rarely go more than a couple of inches. They’re used for things like chopping and slicing wood. Camping knives don’t need to be very long because they aren’t used for the same purposes that hunting knives are used for.
Survival Knife: Survival knives are much longer than camping knives. They are designed to be capable of doing various jobs, such as hunting and surviving in the wilderness. The blade is sometimes over one foot long.
The Blade Thickness
Blade thickness is the amount of material a blade has.
Hunting Knife: Most hunting knives have a blade thickness of 3/16 inches or 7.9mm. Hunting knives don’t need to be super strong because they aren’t used to chop wood or pry open doors, only to skin game animals.
Camping Knife: Most folding knives come in 3/16 inch thickness. But some collectors use 5/32 inch for their knives. Camping knives tend to be smaller, have a shorter blade, and don’t need to be super strong because they cannot chop wood or pry open doors.
Survival Knife: Survival Knife has a stainless steel blade thickness of only 0.3 to 1.2 millimeters, but this makes them an excellent choice for building shelters, cutting cordage, and even collecting firewood.
The Solid Handle Has A Hilt And A Flat Pommel
Knives that have handles that are securely fastened to the blade knife tend to be more durable than knives with only a handle. This is because when you tap on the handle with a hammer, it’s less likely to break away from the blade. Any blade with a solid handle can be used as a tool for striking.
Camping Knife: Camping knives are often equipped with solid handles and flat pommels for striking against the material.
Hunting Knife: Some hunting knives also have solid handles and flat pommels for striking and prying.
Survival Knife: Survival knives are frequently made with solid handles and flat pommels for striking.
How A Camp Knife Is Made
Camp knife is made from a single piece of steel and it has been drop forged. That means that the whole knife is made from one big chunk of metal, which is heated up and then pounded while still hot with a giant hammer. This creates really hard steel that will hold an edge almost forever.
How A Hunting Knife Work
Hunting Knife is made from high-quality stainless steel and can be used for chopping, skinning, and butchering. It is also excellent for applications that require surgical precision because it is easy to maintain a sharp edge.
How Survival Knives Work
A survival knife is made with no metal at all. It’s made of materials such as plastic, fiberglass, or stone. It has a fire starter rod attached to a small metal object and it’s blade is made of carbon steel. This knife comes with a limited lifetime warranty against any defects in the blade material or workmanship.
Types Of Knife That Are Used For Camping And Hunting
Two primary types of knives are used for camping and hunting:
Folding Knives: Folding blade knives are small knives that fold into the handle. They’re made of stainless steel, which helps keep the knife sharp. The blade of a folding knife can be single or double-edged.
Fixed Blade Knives: Fixed blade knives have a single blade. They’re often made of stainless steel. Fixed blade knives are used for heavy-duty tasks.
Differentiating Bushcraft Knife From Survival Knife
Many people use the terms bushcraft knife and survival knife interchangeably. But the two are distinct. Bushcraft knives are small knives with a sharp edge used for cutting wood, carving, and even light carpentry. They’re usually used for small tasks like sewing clothing or rope making. Survival knives on the other hand are larger knives with a longer blade and a serrated edge that can use for heavy-duty tasks such as chopping wood, opening cans, and even sawing through bone.
Is The Size Of The Knife Important
Every person has their own personal preferences as to what they like in a knife. Some people prefer knives with small blades, while others prefer larger ones. Others still have no size preference and will use any knife that’s available to them.
What Are Some of The Different Types of Knives?
There are many different types of knives designed for various purposes. These different type of knife include:
1. Kitchen Knife
2. Fillet Knife
3. Utility Knives
4. Paring Knife
5. Fish Hooks
6. Hunting Knives
7. Pocket Knife
8. Bowie Knife
9. Decorating Knives
10. Camp Knives
11. Tactical Knives
12. Pen Knives
13. Knife Fan
When Buying A Survival Knife, What Should We Look For?
- Fixed Blade
- Full Tang
- Solid Handle With Leather Sheath And Flat Pommel
- Blade Metal Is Carbon Steel, Stainless Steel, Or a quality knife construction
- Handle Material Is Plastic, Wood, Or Sturdy Textured Resin
- Blade Length Should Be At Least 3 Inches Long
- Blade Thickness Should Be At Least 4mm Thick
- Total Weight Of The Knife Should Be At Least 0.9 Pounds.
Knives Made To Order Are More Expensive
It’s common for a knife made to order to be more expensive. The reason for this is that the time and materials used to make it are more costly. However, in the long run, it’s a better deal. This is because knives made to order tend to last longer than mass-produced knives.
Conclusion
The best knives are not the only sharp blades but also tough enough to stand up to the rigors of camping life. While it’s hard to generalize about a knife that can cover such a broad range of circumstances, it’s safe to say that the best camp knives are designed to meet the needs of the average camper. Some will need small, everyday knives, while others will seek out broader-purpose tools. For those who want both from a single knife, there are many camping knives made with in-line blades that lock as they are pulled through a piece of wood that you can bring with you on the campsite.
The bottom line is that there’s no point in buying an expensive knife if it fails to perform when you need it most. The most effective way to discover which brand and model of a knife is best for your needs is to start searching online for different brands and models on sites dedicated to knives specifically. If you are also interested to know about camping axe and saw, go ahead and read Camping Axe Vs Saw, to understand the advantages and disadvantages of this tools.