THE COMPLETE OUTDOORSMANS HANDBOOK.pdf - Doczine

handle. Some longer and heavier folding knives are also carried folded in a sheath.Folding knives are nearly always general-purpose knives. They have no specialized tasks. Sheath knives,on the other hand, come in different styles and are for different purposes. The most common is still asort of general purpose knife, but we also have filleting knives with long, thin, flexible blades; skinningknives with broad curved blades; caping knives with thin, fine blades and blunted points for caping orskinning out the heads of big-game animals. There is a special dressing knife with a short blade and aheavy knob on the point for dressing big-game animals which lessens the risk of puncturing theintestines. You can even buy an Eskimo oo-you, a skinning knife with a semicircular blade.Moreover, when one considers styles; shapes of blades; styles, shapes, and materials of handles; types ofsteel; and methods of manufacture, the choice is staggering and at times bewildering. Choosing a knifeis not difficult once you have established some basic criteria. By far the most important consideration isthe knife's purpose. The next may be cost. The third criterion may be personal preference - the style ofthe blade or design of the handle. To some people, this criterion may be even more important than thatof cost.But the most important factor when choosing a knife is quality. Often the high price of an item is notnecessarily indicative of a good product. In the case of knives, however, it generally is. There is a bigdifference in quality between a fine, custom-crafted knife made by one of two-dozen custom knifesmithsand a $4.95 knife that you may find at the sporting goods counter of a discount department store.Signs of good quality are not always easy to detect in knives. In sheath knives, look at the way thehandle is attached to the blade. Bolt rivets running through the handle are an excellent way of keepingthe handle firmly attached. A bolt which is part of the knife blade is-also excellent. Beware ofembellishment on the blade. It is useless and may have been put there to distract the purchaser fromflaws and poor quality. There should be no gaps where the guard meets the blade. The finish shouldshine. The lines should be clean and smooth. The knife should feel and look solid, even if it is adelicately bladed caping knife.A good hint of a knife's quality lies in its sheath. A manufacturer or maker of a good knife will notsupply it with a sheath of poor workmanship and quality. However, not all sheaths of high quality knivesare practical for field use, so choose one that can stand wear and tear. When you see what appears to bea good quality knife in a cheap and shoddy sheath, don't gamble. Leave it alone.A good quality folding knife is easier to recognize than a sheath knife. Look for a smooth spring actionwhen the knife is opened and closed. The blade should click audibly into the open and closed positions.When a folding knife is closed, the point of the blade should be covered by the sides of the handle.When the blade is opened, the blade should not move from side to side. Such a movement indicates aloose pivot rivet. The handle, or rather the covering on the folding knife's body that serves as a handle,should be firmly attached. If it looks rather flimsy, don't risk buying it.To fully understand the underlying features of knives, one should know a little about how knives are