While it might seem like there is an abundance of tools and supplies you need to survive a SHTF scenario, most of them are affordable, and a perfect example of that is a good Swiss Army knife. Swiss Army knives are a versatile and compact tool, and they also conveniently fit nicely in a bug out bag, or heck even in your pocket! When tools are both affordable and compact, they are worth looking at adding to your prepping supplies. A Swiss Army knife ticks both of those boxes for sure, and can serve a purpose and many functions during times of survival.
Check out the price of this Swiss Army knife with 33 different functions here:
What Can A Swiss Army Knife Do?
Aside from the common uses most people think of when it comes to Swiss Army knives like opening up packages or tightening screws, it can also be very useful for many different things in the great outdoors. I remember when I got a Swiss Army knife as a Christmas present when I was 11 or 12 years old. When I think of all of the things I didn’t know about its functionality it’s pretty surprising.
Some things I did intuitively figure out though, like sharpening the tip of my walking stick in the woods, which was a 5 foot long straight branch with about a 3/4 inch diameter. I also instinctively knew I could cut my fishing line with it…..but other than that I was pretty oblivious as to how much I could do with it, if we don’t count carving my initials into a tree. The Swiss Army knife I got when I was a child was a nice model, but in the 30 years that have passed since then they have improved in features and quality considerably.
Here are just a few out of many functions:
* With the can opener you can open your canned foods
* With the corkscrew you can open bottles
* With the tweezers you can perform various first aid procedures
* With the toothpick you can remove food stuck in your teeth
* With the multipurpose hook you can hook onto things
* With the fish scaler you can remove the scales from any (fish) you might catch
* With the ruler you can measure things
* With the magnifying glass you can magnify things, or kill ants
* With the scissors you can cut any cloth or fabric
This is just a sample of the over 33 built in tools a Swiss Army knife has. It is truly the King of (compact tools) when you think about it. What other tool can perform 33 different functions? It’s really astounding when you think of it!
A History Of The Swiss Army Knife
The Swiss Army knife was invented in Switzerland in 1896 by a man named Karl Elsener. Using a spring mechanism, Elsener was able to create a design in which numerous tools were attached on both sides of the handle. The perfect example of a compact multi-use tool. The knives have been issued to the Swiss Army from 1908 to the present day. The name Swiss Army knife was coined by American soldiers who had difficulty with the German pronunciation of Schweizer Offiziersmesser in the Swiss-German dialect.
