Knowing How to Maintain your Gear and Blades
When you are looking for survival gear, sometimes you fall into a get it and get it done scenario. In this case, you find yourself buying the gear, but then not knowing how to take care of it. Survival gear has a shelf life, and it is not always as long as you think. One of the key items that people often forget needs to be cared for is your bolt knife (fixed blade knife). In Survival Summit’s partnership with Top Knives, we see the manufacturers at Top Knives tell us how to deal with blade care in this blade care, survival training course.
Market
The top knives video is for people who are serious about their survival preparations. Too often you see shows where you throw a couple of bags of food into a backpack along with the cheap “Dick’s Sporting Goods” style survival items and think that you have a good bugout bag. If you took our advice and watched the Survival Summit bugout videos, then you know that this is not the case. Your bag is something that needs to be prepared and checked to make sure, at the very least that your batteries are fresh and your gear is staying clean.
In this series, the Survival Summit guys walk you through the process of keeping your knives ready for any situation. This is important as high carbon steel knives can rust, even if they are oiled and left to sit in your pouch. There is water in the air. This video is made for the type of person who cares about their gear and wants to make sure that their equipment is ready when they need it. This video speaks directly to this market, but will be over the head of most “weekend preppers.” 6 out of 10.
Content Usefulness
If you fall into the category of a person who cares about your gear, then this is a good video for you. The owner and manager of Top Knives will walk you through the steps that you need to take to care of a high-quality knife. If you spent $10 at your local Wal-Mart for your bugout knife, then this is not going to make a $10 folder a $200 fixed blade, but the skills will still keep the knife working for what you need it for.
The content is arranged in a way that a novice person can pick up the expert advice being given by the team at Tops Knives. They walk you through, cleaning, sharpening, and even prototyping the knives. It a good lesson for new people and a good refresher for those who have been around knives their entire lives. 7.5 of 10.
Utility
Is this a valuable skill to have in your toolbox? Yes, it is. Not much to say about the skills you need to keep your gear working well except that you should have them. 8.5 of 10.
Watchability
Watching someone sharpen knives for two hours could make you want to jam the knife in your ear. The producers at Survival Summit did a good job keeping the videos interesting. The manager at Top Knives taught the course very well and immerses you in the basic skills around the trade. While it is not a “thriller” video, it keeps your attention and helps you learn your skills. 6.5 out of 10.
Cool Factor
This is a training video in caring for knives that cost more than some people’s tablets, and you have one of the upper brass at the company teaching you the skills to boot. This video is very cool because it is teaching you the skills the way that the pros do it. You are not learning how to clean and sharpen your knives from “Joe Schmo of the Street” you are learning from a skilled professional who does this every day. This gives you an edge in how to safely and effectively care for your gear, 8 out of 10.
Overall, this is a great short series that can open you up to how the professionals care for their knives. With an overall score of 38.5, this is a good series that will teach you the basics of a skill that we all need. If you are looking to get a good knife for your gear bag, make sure to get a high-quality knife. It is possibly the second most used tool when you are out, right after your mind.
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