If you're looking for a survival knife that will give you an outrageous bang for your buck, you'll definitely want to look at the Schrade SCHF3N extreme survival knife. Schrade knives are generally known providing a high quality knife at lower-end prices.

The Schrade SCHF3N survival knife, in particular, is one of the most popular ones in their extreme survival series. We’re going to look at exactly what features this knife has and how it performs in the field.

Features of the Schrade Survival Knife:

We’ve already come up with a list of the most important features that any dependable survival knife should have. If you want to learn more about what they are and why we chose them, you can read about it here. So, how does the Schrade SCHF3N rate on our checklist?

It’s always exciting to check out a survival knife that you’ve never used before. And since we’re always on the lookout for the best survival knife, it pays to know what all the ones in the market have to offer. Today, we’re going to do a Cold Steel Leatherneck review. Cold Steel is known for producing high quality knives, many of which are favorites of outdoorsmen and survival experts. How does its Leatherneck SF stand up to similar products in the market today? Let’s find out.

This Cold Steel Leatherneck SF review will discuss several important aspects that concern any knife-buying consumer. First, we’ll check to see what features of the best survival knife can be found in this particular knife. Secondly, we’ll see how well each feature “performs.” Hopefully, at the end of this review, readers will have been able to conclude whether they want to buy this particular survival knife or not.

If a huge natural disaster should strike, society should collapse, or zombies begin to take over our “world”, you’ll have no choice but to run to the wilderness in order to survive. Hopefully, you’ll have your bug out bag with you wherein you have at least 3 days’ worth of supplies until help comes. However, there is a possibility of you needing more supplies after 3 days with no help in sight. Though a more probable scenario would be that you found yourself lost in the wild with nothing but your survival knife, the result is the same thing – you’ll need to fend for yourself until help comes along. Thus, one of the skills you definitely must have is the ability to use your survival knife to procure food. 

3 Ways to Use Your Survival Knife for Procuring Food:

Finding edible insects

Though you might be cringing at the thought of swallowing a bug, a lot of insects are rich in protein and fat, two important nutritional needs that you must meet if you’re in a survival situation. Before you start digging for bugs to eat, however, you should keep in mind that the basic rule of thumb is to avoid brightly colored insects, pungent ones, and hairy ones as well. Following this rule can help you avoid eating any inedible insects. So, how does a survival knife help you find edible insects? For some insects, such as ants, you’ll have to do a bit of digging and using your hands isn’t always the most ideal thing to do. Other insects have nesting sites underground, beneath rocks, or within rotten wood that you’ll need to dig or pry through to get your meal. With the best survival knife in hand (or even just a mediocre one), you can easily forage through the insects’ hiding places and gather yourself some grub. And while Bear Grylls loves to eat bugs raw, you’d be better off cooking them (a.k.a. boiling) before consuming your meal.

Spearfishing and hunting

A spear is a perfect tool for catching some fish and game, both excellent sources of protein and fats that you will need in order to survive. Now, if you’ve watched some episodes of Bear Grylls (who is the ultimate survivor man), you’ll know that using a spear to catch food is not going to be easy, whether you’re fishing or hunting. But like with everything else, practice makes perfect so onwards we go.

You can fashion a spear using your survival knife by getting a stick that’s about five feet long. Make sure that it’s durable enough to withstand the abuse of being thrown time and again. Once you have a stick, choose the end that is more rounded as your tip. To create the pointed tip of a spear, hold your stick at a 45⁰ angle, place your knife’s edge around 4 inches from the end of the stick, and start shaving in a downwards motion. Rotate the stick frequently as you shave so that the tip stays sharp and even. Once you have a sharp point, rotate it slowly for a couple of minutes over some hot coals to dry out the wood. This makes your DIY spear much sharper.

If you need a visual of how to do this, be sure to check the video out below:

Another way you can create a spear with your survival knife is to lash it onto a stick. Some of the best survival knives have “spear-holes” which you can use to tie your knife to a stick. Even if your knife doesn’t have that feature, it’s still possible though less secure. Before you can tie your knife to the stick, you’ll need to create a shelf for your knife. For the shelf, you'll need a stick about 3-5 feet in length. Make sure that both ends of the stick are flat so cut off a bit at the ends if need be. Place your knife's handle on top of the stick to measure its length starting from the end of the stick. Mark that spot with your knife. Using your survival knife, split the stick up until the spot you marked. Then, cut off one of the split ends to make the shelf. Place the knife's handle on top of the shelf, making sure that your blade sticks out at the stick's end. Use a rope, cord, or whatever material you have handy to tie your knife to the stick. With a spear in hand, you're now ready to hunt and fish (or die trying).

Creating small traps or snares

To improve your chances of catching food in a survival situation, you'll need to do a bit of trapping to supplement your hunting (or lack of success thereof). With your survival knife in hand, you can easily create small snares and traps. One of the simplest ones you can make is the "simple snare" which is exactly what it says. You simply need to create a noose out of fine, flexible wire, twine, or some kind of cordage that easily and quickly tightens when the animal pulls on it but is durable enough that it won't snap. Some examples include shoe strings, a fishing line, and the wire in your bra (if you happen to be wearing one). If you don't have any of those types of materials with you, you can still find excellent materials from plants and trees such as milkweed, cattail, and stinging nettle. Once you construct your noose, make sure that its size is about half a head larger than your prey's. You'll also need a small stake where your noose will be attached. Using your survival knife, create a small stake which you will attach to your noose and hold it in place even if the animal pulls against it continuously. Keep the noose open (able to allow the animal to pass his head through it when passing by) with some small twigs or grass. One thing to keep in mind is to place your snare in a place where an animal is likely to stumble upon it such as a trail or near some animal droppings.

Of course, there are numerous other ways your survival knife can help keep you from starving to death in the wild. But these three should be good enough to hold you until help comes or you finally reach civilization.

We all know that a knife in hand is better than none when in a survival situation. But there’s one more thing you should know: a dull knife (even if it’s the best survival knife in the world) just won’t cut it… or slice, chop, or hack. If you find yourself in a life-or-death situation, you’ll need to be able to rely on this tool. And though you’re still better off with a dull knife than no knife at all, using it will mean loads of frustration – something that you may not be mentally equipped to handle given your circumstance. If you’re lucky, you might have thought to bring a sharpening tool with you before you found yourself lost in the wilderness. Unfortunately, we all can’t rely on luck (you were unlucky enough to find yourself in a survival situation, remember?).  So, how does one sharpen a survival knife in the bush? We’ve listed three ways you can do so with only the materials you have in hand.

Sharpening a Knife in a Survival Situation:

Create your own whetstone.

Find small coarse stones that you'll find in rivers and crush them into a pulp using a big stone. Once the stones are like mush, get a piece of living wood (about as thick as the handle of a baseball bat) and strip off its bark. Wet the wood a bit and then rub the pulp around it using your hands. This "contraption" now serves as your DIY whetstone. Draw the knife's edge across the wood until you reach your desired sharpness. To ensure that you get the most out of your makeshift whetstone, be sure to hold the blade perpendicular to the wood the entire time you’re sharpening it. If you need to see how it’s done, you can check out a video of Bear Grylls making his own whetstone here.

Use a flat, smooth rock.

If used properly, a flat, smooth stone, preferably a sandstone or any other sedimentary rock, will easily sharpen your survival knife. The quality of the blade’s sharpness may not be as great as that provided by a real sharpening stone but since you’re in a survival situation, it is definitely more than adequate for your needs. You can easily find these stones in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and even under waterfalls. Sedimentary stones are preferable over other types of flat, smooth stones you’ll find because the small, abrasive grains that make up these rocks enable faster cutting action. To sharpen your knife, glide the stone along each side of the knife’s edge for an equal number of times until you the knife is as sharp as you want it to be.

Strop your knife with your belt.

Stropping is a technique used to sharpen a blade's edge by polishing it and smoothening out the microscopic burrs found along the edge. To use this method, you’ll need to use a leather belt or a piece of rubber. If a belt is no longer Hold the strop nice and taut. Drag the blade's edge back and forth on the strop while holding it at a very shallow angle. Be sure to draw the blade away from the cutting edge so that it won't cut/slice the strop or you while you perform this task. If you don't have a leather belt at the moment, you can use the edge of the rubber sole of a boot as an alternative. To see how it’s done, check out this video:

You’ve probably seen Bear Grylls win the battle between Man vs. Wild with nothing but a survival knife and his wits. This tool should be something you never leave home without – at least not when you're heading out to the woods. And that's truly great advice since you never know when you might find yourself getting lost or in an accident far away from civilization. But for those of us who are new to wilderness survival skills, our knowledge of the numerous ways to use a knife to survive in the wild is probably a bit limited. Aside from the skills that may seem obvious (cutting and chopping), what are the uses of a survival knife?

A Few Uses of a Survival Knife:

• Hunting: Survival knives are one of the essential tools for hunters. Such a knife can be used to spear prey (by lashing it onto the end of a long rod) or set up a trap. A survival knife can also be used to skin the dead animal or gutting a fish you caught.

• Digging: Even without a shovel in your pack, you can dig yourself a fire pit or some edible grub found underground (i.e. Tubers and insects) if you happen to have a good survival knife in your hands. You can also use it to dig yourself a makeshift toilet since there probably aren't any in your vicinity.

• Tool-making: While the knife itself is a tool, you can also use it to make more specialized tools. You can fashion yourself a spear for hunting or a bow drill to start a fire.

• First aid: Most people would think that a knife would be the cause of applying first aid rather than a tool to apply it. In the wilderness, however, one can use a survival knife to help cut or create bandages, take out splinters, and drain blisters.

• Hammer: It's safe to say that most people who go wandering in the woods would not have both a hammer and a knife on them. Of the two, you're obviously better off with the knife. This is because you can use it just like a hammer via its pommel (the butt end of a knife). For example, you can use it to crack some nuts or stake down your tent/makeshift shelter.

• Cutting/Chopping Wood: Whether or not you're lost in the woods, you'll need a campfire if you're planning to stay the night. A lot of survival knives are tough enough to chop through logs of a moderate size. You may also cut, whittle, or chop wood in order to build yourself a raft or some sort of shelter.

• Clearing a Path:  Should you be unfortunate enough to be stuck in a jungle with loads of plants in your path, you can use your survival knife much like a machete to cut your way through. After all, you're better off seeing where you're going.

• Signal SOS: A survival knife can be used to carve out an SOS in the snow or on the ground. You can also use the reflective surface of the knife and the blazing sun to signal your distress.

There is no doubt that a survival knife can help save your life if you find yourself in trouble while in the great outdoors. You will find that there are a great deal more uses for it aside from what was mentioned above. But you'll also want to ensure that the knife is not going to cause you to get in trouble. So always remember these 3 things: stay mentally sharp when using your knife, always keep it on you, and take good care of it.