Survival items!

I'm starting to think the only real items one needs for survival are a good knife and some 550 paracord. I just went out today and used my knife to chop down a sapling for a bow using the paracord as the bow string. Now I have a tool to secure meat. Using the knife again I can chop down the right size sapling for a handle to make an axe with a wedge shaped rock. Now I have a tool to chop wood more efficiently. With the axe securing a supply of wood, I can use the wood to build a more permanent shelter. Using a curved branch and paracord I can make a bow drill. Now I have a tool for making fire. The inner strands of the paracord itself can be used as fishing line. Fashion a pole and a hook and now I have another source of food. The paracord can be used to make a snare, now my chances of securing food are greatly improved. The fire can be used to boil water making it safe to drink by heating rocks in the fire and placing them into a wooden bowl shaped by using fire.

With just a knife and paracord I have the four basics of survival. Fire, water, shelter and food.

so ur going back to the caveman ages...ok..

I also carry a good hunting knife and para cord in a pack in my vehicle...only i have about 70 lbs of other items desired for survival.I wouldnt settle for knife and cord alone.good luck

Originally posted by sirnex
Using the knife again I can chop down the right size sapling for a handle to make an axe with a wedge shaped rock.

I'm trying to imagine chopping wood with a wedge shaped rock (or shooting arrows with paracord)... no I don't see that happening.

I get your point though... if I could only have a couple things a good knife and paracord wouldn't be bad choices.

Never thought of that.....Funny but oddly true.

Originally posted by SevenBeans

Originally posted by sirnex
Using the knife again I can chop down the right size sapling for a handle to make an axe with a wedge shaped rock.

I'm trying to imagine chopping wood with a wedge shaped rock (or shooting arrows with paracord)... no I don't see that happening.

I get your point though... if I could only have a couple things a good knife and paracord wouldn't be bad choices.

edit on 20-6-2011 by SevenBeans because: (no reason given)

Thank you for understanding the point, really appreciate it considering the other responses in the thread. I just figure if early man could fell a tree with a rock, then it shouldn't be that hard for modern man to do the same.

you could but you would need more like an extra knife like a machete or utility tool eg leather man($h!t as) or better yet a real Swiss army knife(no fakes allowed). utility tools are for urban survival i would rather go a machete at this point in time and as you said you are only using a knife and cord you do know cord deteriorates right using a knife and cord only you shore... put some clothes on man oh well good luck with that

Originally posted by sirnex
I'm starting to think the only real items one needs for survival are a good knife and some 550 paracord. I just went out today and used my knife to chop down a sapling for a bow using the paracord as the bow string. Now I have a tool to secure meat. Using the knife again I can chop down the right size sapling for a handle to make an axe with a wedge shaped rock. Now I have a tool to chop wood more efficiently. With the axe securing a supply of wood, I can use the wood to build a more permanent shelter. Using a curved branch and paracord I can make a bow drill. Now I have a tool for making fire. The inner strands of the paracord itself can be used as fishing line. Fashion a pole and a hook and now I have another source of food. The paracord can be used to make a snare, now my chances of securing food are greatly improved. The fire can be used to boil water making it safe to drink by heating rocks in the fire and placing them into a wooden bowl shaped by using fire.

With just a knife and paracord I have the four basics of survival. Fire, water, shelter and food.

Yeah you can do that, but with what your doing rather than having a hatchet or ax...it takes a lot longer to cut wood, an ax/ hatchet is a lot stronger and holds a better edge for cutting...also..its dull edges that usually cut you.
The guts from 550 cord is white and fish see it..many won't bit on it, so you need to make a net or other sort of fish traps.
Snares are good to use and work if you have luck on your side.
A bow is good to use but a gun is better, if you hunt..think of opening day of deer season(rifle) x100...there will be no animals left in the woods from over hunting in a matter of days or a couple of weeks...depending on where your at.

The problem with hunting and depending on it for your survival is that its hunting...if it was a guarantee to get something..it would be killing/catching...seriously, there are guys that can and do hunt a lot and sometimes during a week of hunting they get skunked.

550 is ok but with using it for everything, what do you do when you run out of 550?
I would also have several things for starting fires...matches, lighters, mag fire striker, blastmaster, magnifing glass and the ability to use tinder and sticks.

It sounds like a lot of fire sources, but it is important for life in the wilderness.

I like how your thinking, it can be done, but if you want to stack the odds in your favor, I would have more tools at my disposal for survival.

reply to post by saltdog

Yeah you can do that, but with what your doing rather than having a hatchet or ax...it takes a lot longer to cut wood, an ax/ hatchet is a lot stronger and holds a better edge for cutting...also..its dull edges that usually cut you.

I was just thinking along the lines of the absolute simplest basics one would need when I made the thread, I understand the point though. I'm less likely to have a good ax in my pocket, but I always have a knife and a length of paracord on me at all times.

The guts from 550 cord is white and fish see it..many won't bit on it, so you need to make a net or other sort of fish traps.

Really?! I didn't know they could actually see the line. How come they can see the line but not the hook?

Snares are good to use and work if you have luck on your side.

Everything I've read about them, seems best to have multiple snares set to increase your odds of success.

A bow is good to use but a gun is better, if you hunt..think of opening day of deer season(rifle) x100...there will be no animals left in the woods from over hunting in a matter of days or a couple of weeks...depending on where your at.

Unfortunately I don't own a gun, nor have the money to buy one or get a permit to keep things legal. I'm not really big on the idea of hunting with guns because I feel it gives an unfair advantage.

The problem with hunting and depending on it for your survival is that its hunting...if it was a guarantee to get something..it would be killing/catching...seriously, there are guys that can and do hunt a lot and sometimes during a week of hunting they get skunked.

I would think this is where knowledge of your local areas wild edibles come's in play. There's always plenty of tree rats to eat, so it's not a real big loss if one can't find anything larger.

550 is ok but with using it for everything, what do you do when you run out of 550?

Personally I've been practicing making cordage with natural materials around me. I've managed to make some small lengths of string which was cool. I also used a length of tree bark to tie my wife's hands together. She couldn't get out of it, but she's weak. Had her do the same and I snapped it like butter. Soo... if I ever go hunting for women, bark is the best!

I would also have several things for starting fires...matches, lighters, mag fire striker, blastmaster, magnifing glass and the ability to use tinder and sticks.

I understand that, but I don't always have those things on me. I don't even know what a blastmaster is either lol.

I like how your thinking, it can be done, but if you want to stack the odds in your favor, I would have more tools at my disposal for survival.

More is obviously better, but I do like the idea that those two things alone could save one's life if that's all one had at the time. The knife I have was a cheap walmart knife. It's taken quiet a bit of abuse and still does what I need it to do. The paracord I have made into a survival bracelet and I plan on making a belt, since I where belts all the time anyways, might as well make it useful.

reply to post by sirnex


dude, what do you meen "so the fish can see the line but they cant see the hook?"
the hook will have a worm of grasshopper on it,. do you think the fish will just randomly bite a hook? have you never been fishing before? and the inner cord can be seperated into quaters, or fifths to make it smaller and harder too see..
also.. when you are in a survival situation you dont really have time to sit in a tree stand with a bow in hand all day, there are always things that need doing, therefore if you are, for example, working on a shelter and you see a deer in the distance it will almost be imbosable to get close enough to shoot it with a bow, letalone a home made one. and even so without broad heads it would be hard to get a clean shot on any animal.
the only good the bow would be self defense ageanst animals or bow fishing..

imo you should save the cord to make a fiew deadfalls with enough weight to take a large deer.