Knives

A knife is the single most important survival tool for a Scout to have.  It enhances the outdoor experience and enables a Scout to learn many vital lessons and skills on their journey to adulthood.

There is also something very special about this tool and symbolizes a Scout's ability to Be Prepared in the Wilderness.  Because of this, it is important to have a good knife and learn how to properly and safely use one.

Scout Knife Recommendations

We recommend a small pocket knife with a non-serrated blade for new Scouts.  This will allow a scouts to perform most tasks they will need a knife for.  

General Use Recommendations

• Younger Scouts should start with a small pocket knife such as:

  • Swiss Army Style Knife 

    • Quality knife with many functions

    • Example:

      • Spartan Swiss Army Knife 

  • Medium-Sized Lock-Blade Knife

    • Great for most Scout tasks

    • Locking blade is safer for whittling than Swiss Army Knife

    • Example:

      • Avispa Folding Knife with AUS-8 Blade

Wilderness Survival and Bushcraft Recommendation

• An appropriate knife is needed for advanced outdoors skills

• Fixed Blade Knife with Solid Sheath

  • Example:

    • Morakniv Companion

      • Excellent knife 

      • Retails around $20 or less

Other Knives

A knife is a very popular tool and there are so many knives to choose from.  Other styles may be more suitable for activities outside of Scouting. 

Multi-tools are OK, but are often not comfortable to hold in your hand.  A quality multitool is often expensive and you probably don't need all the extra tools that come with it.  This is generally NOT the best option for learning basic or advanced knife skills in Scouting. 

Most other knife styles are excessive for Scout use or in some cases inappropriate or dangerous.  Knives that are determined to be inappropriate due to design, use, or age/maturity of individual scout will be confiscated and/or banned on a case by case basis.  If you have questions, please come and see our Wilderness Survival Team. 

Types of Knives

In Scouting, a scout should have a basic pocket knife.  Other knives have there place, but may become more of a distraction than a useful tool.

Basic Types of Knives

• Non-Locking Folding Knife (Swiss Army Style)

• Lock-Blade Knife

• Fixed Blade Bushcraft Knife 

• Fixed Blade Military Style Knife

• Apocalypses Knife

• Dagger 

• Chopper

Knives in Scouting

Per the Safe Guide to Scouting:

Knives A sharp pocketknife with a can opener on it is an invaluable backcountry tool. Keep it clean, sharp, and handy. The BSA believes choosing the right equipment for the job at hand is the best answer to the question of what specific knife should be used. We are aware that many councils or camps may have limits on the type or style of knife that should be used. The BSA neither encourages nor bans fixedblade knives nor do we set a limit on blade length. Since its inception, the BSA has relied heavily on an outdoor program to achieve its objectives. This program meets more of the purposes of Scouting than any other single feature. We believe we have a duty to instill in our members, youth and adult, the knowledge of how to use, handle, and store legally owned knives with the highest concern for safety and responsibility. 

Remember—knives are not allowed on school premises, nor can they be taken aboard commercial aircraft. 

Some knives are specifically designed for Scouts while others may not be suitable for any Scouting activities. 

• Swiss Army Style Excellent utility and classic knife for Scouts

• Locking Knife Excellent and Safer to use than basic folding knife

• Multitools Quality made ones offer excellent utility but may be uncomfortable to use 

• Fixed Blade Bushcraft Knife Excellent tool for wilderness/outdoor use

• Fixed Blade Hunting  Style Knife Questionable Suitability - depends on knife, Scout and intended use

• Apocalypses Knife NOT Suitable for Scouting

• Dagger NOT Suitable for Scouting

• Chopper/Hacker NOT Suitable in Scouting 

Non-Locking Folding Knife

A simple folding knife will satisfy 95% of what a Scout may need a knife for.  Traditional Boy Scout Folding knives have multiple uses and are hard to beat.  We discuss these in greater detail in our Classic Folding Knives and Scout Folding Knives pages. 

Lock-Blade Knife

A locking-blade is much safer for whittling and carving wood and therefor preferred for these tasks over a traditional folding knife.  There are also MANY quality options to choose from as popularity of locking-blade knives has surpassed other knives.   

We discuss these in our Locking Blade Knives Page and Folding Bushcraft Knives Page. 

Fixed Blade Bushcraft Knife

A fixed blade knife is much stronger than a folding knife and allows you to use your knife to make notches, split wood and even cut down small trees with a technique known as battoning.  

It is hard to beat the utility of a good fixed blade knife for bushcrafting.  In fact, in a wilderness scenario, a Fixed Blade Knife is the MOST important tool you should have in your possession.  It is vital that Scouts understand how to safely use this type of tool.

The problem with fixed blade knives is that many adults don't understand how to use them properly and are scared of them.  Some scouts will also view them as forbidden, which can lead to problems.  

With proper training and supervision, Scouts should learn how to use these basic outdoors tools before they become adults.  That said, Fixed Blade Knives are banned in many Scout Camps and by many Troops.  

We discuss these in our Bushcraft Knives Page. 

Note: if you use a Fixed blade knife, you MUST have an adequate sheath.  Flimsy ones can be easily cut with a sharp knife and cause severe injury.

Sheath Knife - aka Fixed Blade Military, Survival and Hunting Style Knives

These can make for excellent wilderness survival tools.  These type of knives often incorporate a point designed for stabbing.  This particular feature is generally not needed in scouting.  Because of their design and really bad movies depicting them as weapons, the presence of these knives will upset certain parents unaccustomed to Scout Camping and Wilderness Survival.  This is important to keep in mind and scouts should avoid flashing giant Bowie Knives at meetings or outings. Giant Bowie Knives are also impractical. 

Note: if you use a Fixed blade knife, you MUST have an adequate sheath.  Flimsy ones can be easily cut with a sharp knife and cause severe injury.

Note: Fixed Blade Knives are banned in many Scout Camps and by many Troops.  

These knives should not be brought to or worn during regular Scout meetings. 

We discuss these in our Sheath Knives Page. 

Multi-Tools

Multi-tools have been a part of Scouting since the start of Scouting.  The first Official Scout Knife came with several tools, allowing Scouts to do so many tasks with this single tool.  Over the year, multi-tools have become ever more popular and there are many quality options to choose from. 

Apocalypse Knife

Designed to look cool and modeled after weapons seen in our favorite B-Rated Zombie Apocalypses movies.  Some of these do look pretty neat, but with limited utility and poor quality to the point they can be dangerous, these are NOT suitable for Scouting use. 

Dagger or Dirk

These ARE designed to look like or be used as weapons.  The spine is ground down and narrowed or even sharpened to create a double edge made for stabbing.  

These can be an acceptable option for knife hunting animals such as wild boar.  But since Hunting is on the Prohibited list of activities for Scouts BSA, this would not be a good reason to have this type of knife on a Scouting event. 

When used for bushcrafting, the lack of a thick spine prevents effective and safe use of knife for batoning, striking ferrorods, or applying pressure on the back of the blade with your hand or thumb.  This drastically limits utility of this knife in the Wilderness. 

The combination of limited utility, safety concerns and likelihood someone will freak out if you bring it to a scout event places this design on the naughty list. 

If you bring one of these to a scouting activity, we will confiscate it.

Chopping or Hacking Knife

Several blade styles are designed for chopping and hacking.  This has it's utility but this style of knife is generally TOO Dangerous for Scout Use.  With improper technique, these can easily chop off a finger or hand or cause severe injury to yourself or someone else.  Talk to our troop medics; they have seen and treated many machete injuries in the jungle. 

Use of these types of tools requires adult supervision.  Although our Wilderness Survival Team may teach the safe use of these types of tools, it is best to leave yours at home. 

Questions About Knives

We are very interested in teaching scouts how to safely use outdoor tools, including knives and other sharp edges tools.  We also need to do so safely with a mixed group of youth and adults.  Help us help our scouts learn life skills safely. 

If you have questions about knives, come talk to our Wilderness Survival Team. We have used knives professionally and can give you the real scoop on knives.