Survival Knife with Fire Starter and Sharpener on Sheath
A survival knife along with a fire starter is a highly recommended combination for bushcraft, wilderness activities, hiking, camping, and general survival preparedness.
Some may prefer a survival knife combination where the sheath includes a holder for a fire starter such as a firesteel / ferro (ferrocerium) rod.
Morakniv Bushcraft Carbon Steel Knife with Fire Starter
(The spine of the knife serves as a striker for the fire starter rod.)
The survival knife shown above is manufactured by world renown Swedish manufacturer, Morakniv (often called a ‘Mora’ knife).
Here are the attributes of this particular Mora knife design:
(UPDATED 2018 from original post last year)
Survival Knife:
Specially Ground Spine for Fire Starter
The spine of the blade has been specially ground (flat with sharp 90-degree angle) so that it can be used effectively with the fire starter.
It works by pulling the spine of the knife slowly and forcefully down against the fire starter. The action will shed 3,000 degree sparks to light your tinder bundle or even your camp stove. The included fire starter will yield ~7,000 strikes.
Related article: Tinder For Building A Fire
Survival Knife:
Batoning
Batoning is the action of striking the spine of a knife forcing it into the end of a piece of wood in order to split it. This enables getting to the drier wood inside or simply for splitting into smaller pieces for kindling.
The Mora family of knives are some of the most popular and modestly priced bushcraft knives out there. They create a very good knife that anyone can afford.
– If you want to chop a tree down with a blade, buy an axe.
– If you want a good affordable knife that can handle any task a reasonable person would use it for, a Mora is a great choice.
More: The Best Knife For Batoning Wood
Survival Knife:
Carving
A survival knife might be used for all sorts of carving. It’s a tool that will enable tinder preparation and processing wood for all sorts of uses including shelter stakes, camp tools and whatever else comes in handy.
Tip: Use a survival knife to make a “feather stick”. When wood is damp and you don’t have tinder, carving a feather stick may get that fire lit…
Survival Knife:
Integrated Diamond Sharpener
This particular Mora knife integrates a diamond sharpener attached to it’s sheath. While you may have your own preferred knife sharpener, this one will serve as an emergency sharpening tool.
More: The Secret To Sharpening A Knife
SUMMARY:
You might ask a hundred people “What’s the best survival knife?” and you might get a hundred different answers.
We can all agree on this though, “It’s the one that you have!”
That said, most will agree that the Mora knife (the Morakniv) is a quality brand and excellent mid priced choice. I happen to like this ‘Bushcraft Black’ model given it’s integrated fire starter / sharpener coupled with their reputation.
