When it comes to using your Survival Knife, proper training is a must. Read whatever you can about survival skills, watch videos and sign up for classes at your local outdoor store. Education not only ensures your safety but also makes you effective when using your survival knife. There are 4 important purposes you can use your survival knife for and you should learn how to do all 4 to ensure your survival if the need arises.
Hunting
Should you have the need, your survival knife can be used to create weapons like spears or arrows to hunt food or even fish hooks to catch fish with. You can use your knife to make traps or snares to capture your food. And of course you need a knife to skin or clean your catch to prepare it for eating. You can also use your Survival Knife to gather edible plants if your hunting/trapping skills aren't up to par or just have a hankering for a side salad to go with your possum. If you can't sign up for hands on training to learn these skills then you should at least watch videos, or purchase a book. Being able to obtain food in a survival situation is hugely important. If you can't acquire food sources then none of your other survival skills will matter. Sure you can last weeks without food, but lack of food will bring out a number of side effects like weakness, disorientation, confusion and physical weakness to name a few. In other words bad things are more likely to occur when you can't feed yourself and I'm not talking about a case of the Mondays.
Build a Fire
Being able to create a fire is very important. You need to be able to cook the animal or fish you bravely trapped. You can use your Survival Knife to cut branches for firewood, collect kindling or make shavings to use as tinder. You can even use a carbon steel blade using what's called the “spark-rod” method to create a spark. Again if you can't sign up for local training to learn how to make a fire, then read or watch a video and practice, practice, practice. When you're stranded in a survival situation, that is not the time to practice making a fire. You don't need to be the guy who can start a fire by rubbing some spit between the palm of his hands, but you won't regret learning the skill to make fire using your Survival Knife. At the very least you can astonish your friends who really like fire.
Self Defense
Self defense doesn't necessarily mean you have to hide Rambo style against a wall of mud and slice someones neck, commando style. You can use your survival knife to create traps or weapons that help keep distance between you and whatever is trying to put a hurting on you. Of course a survival knife can cause some damage of it's own, however training is as important as ever when it comes to using a knife in self defense. Hacking and thrashing wildly probably isn't going to be too effective. If you're serious about self defense then I advise that you take classes that teach close quarters combat. Try to find some that will address the use of weapons like knives. This can be a great skill even outside of a “lost in the woods” survival condition.
Build Shelter
Building shelter is important for a number of reasons. A decent shelter can protect you from the elements, protect you and your gear from unwanted guests and can help keep that “great hair day” you're having, last a little longer. Again, you should read what you can, watch videos or take a local class on building a shelter if possible. Having a good survival knife with you can help make this process much easier when you need to cut rope, branches and any other materials you are going to be using for your “fit for a king” survival shelter.
A few other things you can do with your Survival Knife might include, cutting or fashioning bandages to dress wounds properly. (First aid training wouldn't hurt either.) You might even be able to signal distress if your knife is shiny enough. Since you went and got training and are so good at the fundamental survival skills listed above, you will have plenty of time to carve miniature wooden figurines with all your spare time.
With a good Survival Knife you can make or secure just about anything you need to live and even prosper in the outdoors. Heck you might get so good at survival skills, you won't be in a hurry to get back to civilization.
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