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Survival knives

Which survival knives work best for different emergency situations, or hunting, fishing, skinning, rope cutting, general purpose? Leon Pantenburg reviews many top shelf survival knives and puts them through extensive field testing.

Bamba Forge offers hope, job skills to Ugandan war orphans and great knives for the rest of us

600 356 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

A knife making group in the village of Bamba, in northern Uganda, is bringing hope to war orphans. You can help by buying a quality, handmade knife.

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Six old knives I’ll never sell

600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

I review many different kinds of knives. To stay in business, I barter, trade or sell knives to pay the bills and acquire more knives for reviews. A reader asked if I had one knife I wouldn’t part with. Actually, I have six that are not for sale..

A reader asked if there was one particular knife I wouldn’t sell. Here are six.

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This knife and The knife and cardboard sheath were made 44 years ago. The sheath still does its job quite well!

How to make a quick, safe knife sheath out of cardboard and duct tape

600 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Every one-piece knife needs an edge guard or sheath for safety if it is going to be used outdoors. Here’s how to make a quick sheath out of a paper towel roll and duct tape.

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This T-18 Mora knife has had the sheath modifed for safety and is moderately priced. (Leon Pantenburg photo)

Best beginner knife? We (video) review the Mora 840 Companion

600 335 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Take a hard look at the Mora 840 Companion if you’re looking for the best beginner knife.

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Video and review: Bark River UP Gunny may be your grail knife

600 398 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

My new Bark River UP Gunny arrived in the mail at 4 p.m., and by 11 a.m. the next day it was being used to help skin and gut a whitetail doe. I predict this knife is going to be very popular. The Gunny combines the proven Canadian-style blade and Gunny handle.

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These knives are carried by the elk hunters I hunt with. The designs and style reflect a variety of opinions on the subject of the best hunting knife!

Ten things to look for in a survival/bushcraft knife

448 236 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Everyone has different ideas about what they need in a survival/bushcraft/hunting knife. Here’s my top ten items to consider before buying one.

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Bark River Knives, Bark River Cub, best bushcraft knife

Field test: Bark River Cub proves its worth

600 300 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

The Bark River Cub is a proven design that works very well for a hunting/survival knife. Here is what I found out when I field tested one on a whitetail.

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Best outdoor/kitchen knife? We review the Bark River Petty Z

485 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

My knife testing generally starts in the kitchen, since that is where most people use knives. In some instances, you can tell right off the bat that the blade is not going to work for food preparation. In others, the knife might work so well that it never gets out of the kitchen. This Bark River Petty Z is at home in both outdoors and inside environments.

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Knife review | Bark River UP Bravo first look

519 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

All cutlery aficionados have that grail knife somewhere in the back of their minds. 
But this Bark River UP Bravo meets all my requirements for a hunting/bushcraft knife, and my search for the grail may be over. Maybe.

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Why you should carry a multi-tool and a knife

440 400 Survival Common Sense Blog | Emergency Preparedness

Best do-it-all knife? It doesn’t exist! But a combination of a fixed-blade knife and a multi-tool will probably be able to handle all your outdoor/survival cutlery needs. Here is why you need a combination of those tools.

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