7 Tips for Using a Survival Knife in Freezing Conditions

Even if you consider yourself a pro at using your survival knife in warm weather, you might be in for a shock during winter. In freezing conditions, knives become much harder to use and the blade can even behave differently than you are used to. But these tips will ensure that you can still use your survival knife in sub-freezing temperatures.

1. Know Your Steel

Knife metals have a ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT). At temperatures above the DBTT, the metal is able to stretch without breaking, making it better capable of absorbing energy.

But, when temperatures drop below the DBTT, the metal becomes brittle and more prone to breaking. Because of this, cheaper knives that perform well in warm temps might fracture in the cold.

Several factors influence a metal's DBTT, but as a general guideline for winter use, choose a blade with:

• Lower carbon content and higher nickel content
• Finer grain structure
• Steels like H1, A2, O1, L6, 3V, VG10, or 1095

These blades are better suited for colder conditions and less likely to fracture when temperatures drop.

2. Carry Your Knife Close to Your Body

If your blade doesn’t have a low DBTT, carry it close to your body. Your body heat will keep the metal warm so it is less likely to fracture.

An inside jacket pocket is ideal for this. Alternatively, get a longer-style coat that extends below your knife on the belt. This makes it easier to access but still keeps it warm.

3. Cheap Gloves Won’t Cut It

You might be able to get by with cheap surplus clothing in freezing temps, but don’t be stingy when it comes to buying good gloves. As talked about in this winter survival guide, frostbite is no joke.

You’ll want expedition-style gloves as they allow for good finger dexterity. Mittens with fold-back finger flaps are also a good option if you won’t be using your knife for extended periods of time.

For cleaning and gutting game, latex or rubber gloves work great. Your hands won’t be cold from the environment, since the game will still be warm. Rather, it’s washing your hands afterwards that will freeze your hands.

4. Keep Your Gloves On

Don’t make the mistake of taking off your gloves so you can do tasks with your knife. Once your fingers are cold, it’s hard to warm them up again–and holding a knife with cold fingers is even more difficult than with gloves.

5. Get a Good Grip

Wood handles are best in winter temperatures. They don't feel as cold on your hands, and generally provide a good grip, with or without gloves on. You’ll want to avoid metal, rubber, and micarta handles.

If your knife handle doesn’t have a good textured grip, you can use this trick: Put textured dots on the glove in the areas which will be gripping the knife. There are a few ways you can make the dots, such as with:

• Hot glue gun
• “Liquid applique” fabric glue
• Silicone caulk
• Puff paint from a craft store

6. Hide the Tang

Even though you shouldn’t do it, you will probably remove your gloves when using your knife. And, when you do, any exposed tang is going to feel freezing cold on your skin.

A hidden tang is a much better choice for cold conditions.

If you don’t have a hidden tang knife, then consider wrapping the exposed area with paracord or other material. It will act as insulation so your skin doesn’t touch bare metal. Wrapping will make the handle bulkier, though, so you’ll only want to do this on knives with slimmer handles.

7. An Ax Might Be the Better Option

When temperatures drop below freezing, everything gets tougher—literally. Tree branches that you could normally baton or cut with ease will require significantly more force. Combine this with cold fingers and a poor grip from wearing gloves, and you’ve got an injury waiting to happen.

For this reason, an ax is probably the better option for most winter bushcraft and survival tasks. True, you can’t (easily) make a featherstick with an ax, but it was going to be difficult to do that with gloves anyway. Just bring a firestarter instead. Save your knife for other cold-weather tasks, like processing kindling for the fire you’ll need to stay warm in these conditions.

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