A word on knives.
If you are going to get one, get one with a nice grip and HAND GUARD!! This keeps your hand from sliding down and getting slice on the blade if you have to stab something hard (harder than you think it is)
Just picture your knife and a stack of pork loin or something at home. If you had to stab through it would your hand slide down the blade and you end up hurting yourself? Especially if slippery blood was involved?
(many homicides are solved this way- when a person stabs someone their hand slides down the blad and they cut themselves)
And if it is a folding knife (not preferred) MAKE SURE THE LOCKING MECH IS NOT A P.O.S.
You dont want your survival gear to help kill you, and a wonded hand can seriously put you out of commission.
I make my daughters wear gloves when helping me around the house for exactly this reason. If you hurt your hands you are useless.
damm i hate myself for not proofreading better
Lockbacks are crappy locking mechanisms for a folding fighting knife. Okay for a picnic, fugheddaboudit for a save-your-life situation.
Though I haven't even come close to evaluating all the new-fangled locking mechanisms for folders that are on the market today, my favorites are the the old standbys, the so-called "linerlocks" (also sometimes called sidelocks) from highly-regarded tactical knife makers: Benchmade, SOG, etc. Old-fashioned, I guess.
For fixed blade, it's impossible to beat a Ka-Bar for value and its almost idiot-proof indestructibility. imo.