Imagine these scenarios: Your airplane went down, or your car caught fire in the middle of nowhere. You are literally hundreds of miles from civilization. You are alone, have no food, water, or shelter, and all you do have are the clothes on your back and the survival knife in your pocket. Staying alive at this point seems like a daunting task, especially if it is a colder time of year, but that said, it is possible to stay alive with nothing more than a survival knife. This article discusses how to survive in the woods with just a knife.
How to Survive in the Woods With Just a Knife
Use the Knife to Dig for Water
When it comes to survival, the most important thing you’ll need is water. The reality is that without water, you won’t survive for more than two or three days at most. Therefore, this is the first thing to look for if you are in a survival scenario. There are many tricks that can help you find water in the woods.
However, your best chance of finding water with a knife is to dig at the bases of trees, particularly on the downward-facing side of a slope or at the bottom of a hill where water collects. At the bases of trees, you should be able to dig down a few feet and find drinkable water, particularly when you get close to the roots.
Use the Knife to Forage and Hunt
After you find water, the next thing you’ll need is food. You have to decide here because if it is freezing outside, you will want to focus on making a shelter and fire before food, but that’s up to you. Just keep in mind that the human body, technically speaking, can go over two weeks without solid food.
You can either use your survival knife to forage berries, dig for edible roots and cut edible plants. Moreover, you can also use your knife to set snares for rabbits and build other traps.
Use the Knife to Build a Shelter
Although you won’t be building any full-size houses with a survival knife, you can use it to cut down twigs, small branches and gather foliage to make a decent shelter. If it is very cold, windy, and if there is precipitation, you’re going to need a good shelter to keep dry and warm.
When it comes to getting lost in the woods, exposure to the elements is the leading cause of death, or in other words, people freeze to death. You don’t have to build a super fancy cabin, just something to keep yourself out of the wind and rain.
Use the Knife to Make a Fire and to Keep Warm
Building a shelter will help keep you warm and dry. But if it is freezing outside, if you don’t have a fire, that shelter will be relatively useless. The main issue that you might face is that your clothes get wet. If this happens, the chances of you developing hypothermia and freezing to death drastically increase.
Moreover, fire is also a great way to melt snow for drinking water and cook food. Starting a fire is not going to be all that easy if it is wet outside. However, if you have a survival knife that includes flint and a striker, you are one step closer to having a fire. There are other ways to start a fire with a knife. It might also be a good idea to do some research on starting a fire in the woods without matches, a lighter, or even flint.
Use the Knife to Signal for Help
You can use your fire to create smoke to signal for help. If you’re in a clearing or on an elevated area, using the knife to reflect sunlight can grab the attention of nearby planes and boats, thus allowing rescuers to find and save you.
If Worst Comes to Worst, Use the Pointy End
We probably don’t need to go into too much detail here. Knives were primarily designed for one purpose, and it has to do with sinking the pointy end into something soft. So although using a 6” blade to fend off a grizzly bear would constitute a feat of herculean courage and strength, it is better than having no knife at all.
Conclusion
As you can see, a knife can help you find food and water, stay warm, defend yourself, and signal for help – everything you need to survive.