[烛光生存狂]-（转帖）翻译：如何选择生存刀

如何选择生存刀

生存刀是你生存装备里最重要的工具。

你需要最好的生存刀。选择合适的生存刀比发展你的个性更重要－你的生命很可能取决于对它的正确选择。

有过丰富户外经历的人会推崇一把好刀的用处，但对生存专家而言，他的刀就是他最好的伙伴之一，并作为生存装备中最谨慎的保管部分。他的生存刀就像他的好朋友，是从不会让他失望的。

一人一把刀

一人一把刀的时代越来越近。尽管在城镇的时候，只是带一把小口袋刀。进入野外的人，他们的猎刀－他们叫它猎刀，无论什么时候，总是就在身边。

在你的求生装备中，生存刀是最重要的工具。今天，许多人已经忘记了随身带刀的必要性。事实上，遇到一个对刀恐惧或质疑带刀的人是很普遍的事。现代生活中大多数人都没有意识到拥有一把好刀的种种好处，这是一个令人沮丧的事实。

在外的行程中，我经常遇到人问我悬挂在我肩头包上的刀是做什么用的。通常我会回答，“你不知道那是做什么的吗？”。他们认为自己知道。我更清楚，他们不会问比这更笨的问题。

生存刀是必需的装备

一把好的生存刀是在你生存装备中是最重要的生存工具，是所有生存者应该拥有的15个最基本工具之一。带着一把好的生存刀，你能够制造或者获得你生存需要的任何东西，甚至可以在户外过丰盛的生活。带着这种想法，你选择的最好的生存刀，应该具备牢固的结构，适当的材料、做工和功能。

选择生存刀要避免的事项

对没有经验的人来说，一提到生存刀，就立刻想到因好来坞电影而知名的巨大的兰博刀。那些更像是作为强力武器呈现在世人前的特大型刀，与生存专家所用的最好的刀相去甚远。你要忍受大刀的笨重和庞大，并且难以操控。许多生存者需要的精细工作超出了这些大刀所能圆满完成的范围。

双刃刀主要是用来刺，这种刀的刀尖尖薄容易折断。另外，第二道刃容易导致受伤，是不需要的。

许多出售的生存刀手柄被挖空，其想法是让你可以存放火柴、指南针等工具在密闭防水的手柄内。但这出现一个问题，那就是空的手柄比实心手柄更容易损坏。反对者认为，一般情况下，你可以在别的地方很好的存放你的生存工具。并且还有个好处就是，你丢失了你的生存刀，也不会同时失去其他生存工具。

生存刀最适合的刀身长度

最好的生存刀是在你所遇到的大部分工作前都可以通用的刀。同时，大小和重量是作为生存工具要考虑的重要方面。

根据我的经验，理想的生存刀刀身长度是在4到6英寸之间（约10到15厘米）。这个尺寸的刀身综合了大小和操控性。超过这个尺寸的刀，具有过度的杀伤力，仅仅是增加了携带生存工具的重量和体积。

假如你的生存刀需要更大的刀身，那携带弯刀、斧头、印第安战斧或廓尔喀弯刀可能更适合你。无论如何，你仍然需要携带一把个人标准尺寸的生存刀。

除了携带一把刀身5英寸左右的生存刀外，我还喜欢带一把小的折叠多用工具刀。这样的小刀用来对付那些大刀不适宜做的精细工作迟早会派上用场的。

柄芯

最好的生存刀是在一块钢材上贴上手柄材料，形成舒适的手柄构成的。这种结构的刀，用刀的术语叫“等宽全龙骨柄芯”或“鼠尾全龙骨柄芯”。

等宽全龙骨柄芯生存刀是刀片贯穿整个手柄。通常是两片柄材夹在刀片的两面形成舒适的手柄。为了状减少重量和体积，一些刀常露出手柄内金属。

鼠尾全龙骨柄芯生存刀减少了柄内刀片的尺寸。柄材完全包住了柄内的狭窄的刀片。通常柄由圆柱形的皮革构成，这个安装有一定技巧和自身的特色。鼠尾柄芯刀有时在刀尾安装有圆头。

便宜的生存刀通常是刀片与刀柄分开的。这种粗制刀的薄弱处在用螺丝和胶水将刀片与刀柄连接在一起的地方。你应当选用等宽全龙骨柄心和鼠尾全龙骨柄心的生存刀，不要选择那种便宜的生存刀。

刀刃的类型

生存者涉及到的生存刀主要有两种类型，平刃和锯齿。锯齿刀刃擅长割人造材料、衣物、肉。对于用来自卫、伞兵等来说，锯齿是不错的选择。

锯齿刃的缺点是在野外很难磨刀。在处在生死悠关而需要保持刀刃锋利的环境里，这显然是一个很大的缺点。另外，锯齿刃也难以有效地切和砍。

平刃是大多数生存环境中的选择。这样的刀刃对于切、砍、割都是很有用的。虽然平刃对付尼龙带、衣服、肉这些东西不能像锯齿刃一样有效，但它仍然能够很快地完成这些工作。

另外一个优势就是，在你手边没有标准的磨刀石时，你可以用一块岩石或水泥板磨快你的生存刀，而锯齿刃通常则需要特殊的磨刀装置和技术。

很多生存刀的刀背上设有木锯或钢锯齿。像兰博这类刀，在很多的事例中，它背上的锯齿只能干好极少量的工作。如果你真打算在生存装备中要有一个小锯子，那你最好还是增添一个特别设计的生存工具，这比你在生存刀上设锯齿更好。

刀片的厚度

最好的生存刀的厚度一般在5/32到8/32英寸之间（约0.4到0.6厘米米之间）。太薄了刀片容易弯曲，太厚了处理生存常遇到的精细工作来缺乏灵巧性。

保持生存刀的刀尖强壮是很重要的，刀尖常常是刀子容易出问题的地方。

刀刃的材料

有两种主要的材料用于制造高品质的生存刀。

不锈钢刀片抗锈性好，在潮湿的环境中能很好的工作。它比碳钢需要更少的维护。缺点是更贵、更难磨快、刀锋保持性不够好。

碳钢刀刃如果不正常使用或没有涂层容易生锈。多数碳钢刀的保持性比相似的不锈钢刀好。

一些最好的生存刀

在后面的生存主题里，我将介绍一些经过检测的生存刀给你。欢迎生存主题的读者发表他对优秀的生存刀的个人选择。

一些被强烈推荐的优秀生存刀：

Fallkniven H1

Fallkniven A1

Fallkniven F1

Fallkniven S-1

SOG Seal 2000

SOG Seal Pup

Becker BK10

Becker BK9

Becker BK7

Bear Grylls Knife

Survivormans Knife

在选择生存刀的时候，你不要节约。拥有你需要的最好的生存刀，它将在未来的日子里和你相伴，它也许会拯救你的生命。

原文：How to Choose a Survival Knife

A Survival Knife is the most important single item of your survival gear

You need the best survival knife. Choosing the right survival knife is more than an exercise in individuality – your very life may hinge upon its proper selection.

Anyone who has ever spent quality time in the outdoors will vouch for the usefulness of a good knife but to the survival expert his knife is one of his best friends and the most closely guarded of his survival gear. Like a good friend, his survival knife should never let him down.

Every Man Had a Knife

Time was when nearly all men carried knives, if only a small pocket knife while in town. Whenever one went into the wilds his hunting knife, as they were then called, was always close at hand.

The survival knife is the most important item of your survival gearToday many people have forgotten the necessity of always carrying a knife. Indeed it has become commonplace to meet people who are afraid of knives and question those who carry them. It is a sad fact that the majority of modern day people have no idea about the many uses of a good knife.

Often while out on the trail I will meet people who ask me what the knife hanging from the shoulder strap of my pack is for. “You don’t know what a knife is for?”, is my usual reply. And they think they do. But I know better, for else they would not have asked such a clueless question.

Survival Knives are Required Gear

A good survival knife is the most important item of your survival gear and is one of the 15 essentials that all survivors should have with them. With a good knife you can make or obtain just about anything you need to live and even prosper in the outdoors. With this in mind, your selection of the best survival knife for your needs must be based on solid construction, proper materials, workmanship, and functionality.

Survival Knives to Avoid

To the inexperienced, survival knives often conjure up images of the huge Rambo type knives as glorified in Hollywood movies. Though they look like potent weapons that can take on the world, these oversized knives are a far cry from the best of knives used by survival experts. The big knives suffer from being difficult to control as they are overly heavy and bulky. Many needs of the survivor require finer detail work than can readily be accomplished with this kind of blade.

Double edged knives are used mostly for thrusting. Because their tips are relatively weak they are prone to breaking. In addition, the second edge is an unneeded edge that can lead to injury.

Many survival knives are sold that have hollow handles, the idea being you can store survival essentials like matches and compass inside the water tight handle. One problem hollow handled survival knives have is that they are prone to being weaker than the solid handle variety. There are exceptions, but generally you are better off storing your survival gear elsewhere. One advantage to this is that should you loose your knife you will still have the remainder of your survival gear to rely upon.

Optimum Blade Length of a Survival Knife

The best survival knives neet to be versatile in the number of things they can be called upon to do. At the same time bulk and weight are important considerations as with any survival gear.

It has been my experience that the ideal survival knife blade length is somewhere between four and six inches. This size blade offers good mix of size and control. Any blade larger than that is overkill and merely adds to the weight and bulk of the survival gear I am carrying.

If a larger survival blade is needed then you would probably be better off packing a machete, axe, hatchet, tomahawk, or kuris. In any case, you would still do well to also have on your person a regular sized survival knife.

In addition to a survival knife with about a 5-inch blade, I like to carry a multi-tool that has a smaller folding blade. This blade comes in handy for finer detail work that would be too cumbersome for the large knife.

Knife Tang

The best survival knives are constructed of one piece of metal, to which there may be slabs of material attached to form a comfortable handle. This kind of construction is known in the knife world as “full tang” or “narrow tang”.

Full tang survival knives are made so that the blade merges into the handle. Often two slabs of material are attached to either side of the metal to make a comfortable handle. In order to economize on weight and bulk some knives eschew the addition of handles and the metal is left bare.

Narrow tang survival knives reduce the size of the blade material as it enters the handle of the knife. A handle is then attached over the narrower piece of the knife. Often the knife handle is composed of leather disks, the placement of which is a skill in and of itself. Narrow tang knives sometimes have a pommel attached to the handle end of the tang.

Cheap survival knives are often made so that the metal blade is separate from the handle. The weak point on these badly made knives is where the blade and handle are bolted and glued together. You would do well to avoid such a cheap knife in favor of the superior full tang or narrow tang models.

Types of Knife Blades

There are two main types of knife blades that the survivor need concern himself with, namely smooth and serrated. Serrated survival knife blades do well at cutting synthetic materials, clothing, and flesh. For self defense and paramedics, etc, serrated edges are a good choice.

A drawback to serrated cutting edges is that they are difficult to sharpen properly in the field. This is certainly a major drawback in a survival situation where maintaining a keen edge during hard use is vitally important. In addition, serrated knives do not have an efficient blade for carving and chopping.

A plain smooth edged blade is the blade of choice for most survival situations. Such a blade is useful for carving, chopping, and cutting. Though it may not slice through nylon webbing, clothing, or flesh as efficiently as a serrated blade, the straight bladed knives will still make short work of these materials.

The added advantage of the regular blade is that you can sharpen your survival knife on a rock or piece of concrete should you not have a regular sharpening stone handy whereas the serrated blade generally needs a special sharpening device and technique.

On the back of many survival knives are a saw meant for sawing through metal or wood. In too many cases, as in the Rambo type knives, these saws only do a poor job at best. If you require a small saw in your survival gear you would do well to add a tool specifically designed for this rather than use your knife for this purpose.

Knife Blade Thickness

The best survival knives generally have a blade thickness of between 5/32 and 8/32 of an inch. Any thinner and the blade becomes too flexible and thicker blades lack the finesse for the finer work that knives for survival are often called upon to do.

It is important that the tip of the knife maintains its strength, as this is a likely area the knife is likely to fail.

Knife Blade Materials

There are two main types of steel used in making high quality survival knives:

Stainless Steel knife blades are rust resistant and work especially well in wet environments. They require less care than the carbon steel knives. Drawbacks to using stainless steel in knives is that they tend to be more expensive, are more difficult to sharpen, and may not hold an edge as well.

Carbon Steel knife blades will rust if not used regularly or coated. Many feel carbon bladed knives hold an edge better than their stainless steel counterparts.

Some of the Best Survival Knives

In future Survival Topics I will explore a few of the proven survival knives that would serve you well. I welcome any input from Survival Topics readers about knives and their personal choices for the best survival knife.

Some of the best survival knives that come highly recommended include: