Survival Knives: How to Choose and Use the Right Blade

I respectfully disagree with the first review. I find much more value than reported there.I have three copies of the book--one for home and office, one for sharing with, and reading to, grandkids, and a kindle copy for portability. I may be biased about his work, but I do not believe that bias is necessarily misplaced. Ayres does top notch work reflecting a deep understanding of our world and our ways in it. We can benefit from both.Ayres has the demonstrated ability to take complicated topics and make them available for a wide ranging audience through a series of stories and well developed (pun intended) pictures. On page 67, Ayres makes the mundane observation that making a fire is not difficult if you pay attention to the details. He then develops the point by the story of "cowboy" and the price to be paid if one does not pay attention to details. Our culture does not seem to value attention to details. Ayres' work is a nice corrective to that. If you purchase the book, please pay special attention to the pictures linked to ML Ayres; they are very good and well integrated with the stories and display items very nicely and professionally. For example, the picture on page 26 ( a close-up of the compression lock on a Spyderco Para-Military) very nicely illustrates the discussion, and value, of locking, folding knives. The picture on page 27 (a non ML picture) fits well with using a locking knife for food processing. Did I mention it made me ready for lunch?I would especially recommend A Story of the Tao of the Hunt: pp. 110-116, for two strong reasons. First, it identifies an approach to hunting that seems to run counter to our culture's view of the hunt. It well represents Ayres' "minimalist approach" that asks us to pay more attention to the environment and less to the equipment of the hunt. Respect the environment and the animals of the hunt. Second, it identifies a needed caution to those who believe in "better living through chemistry". Ingestion of alcohol and mushrooms does not automatically lead to higher productivity in one's activities.The stories and pictures are rich and help me in my role as a grandparent and professor bring a rich sensitivity and awareness of the depth of being required for survival and success in today's world. They also help me attempt to do the same. Take the time to read deeply and one will be amply rewarded. I am not running for office, so the above might be true.

Good book. Could be great if it covered a lot more brands and models.Beautiful book for a softcover.

I was hoping for more useful information than: "carry the biggest knife you can" or "building a shelter for protection is important" or "a big sapling is better for a large spear, but it's heavier". VERY basic with little detail.

This is a really good book for beginners. Even though I am not a beginner, I found the book very helpful.I'm always looking for different ways to view a situation and if I can learn just one thing I didn't know ,then I consider the purchase a good one.

This book is filled with many valuable tips on survival and the do’s and don’ts of using a knife in various survival situations.Clearly Mr. Ayers has extensive field experience and in the use of many types of edged tools in different circumstances and locations.An excellent go to publication for those new to both proper knife use and survival techniques.It was refreshing to read an e-book that is not repetitive in content from one chapter to another, and a book which has been properly proof read and edited and is not filled with obvious typos.It would have been good to have photos for each of the specific knife makers blades that he discusses in the last chapter, as opposed to only a few.I found it a little somewhat disappointing to read a few too many self promotion points regarding Mr. Ayres previous publications within some if the chapters, preferring to see these in ‘suggested reading’ at the end of the book.Other than that, it is a book that I would recommend.

It is a big honor, duty and privilege to be the first to review James Morgan Ayres (JMA) latest book “Survival Knives”. JMA is my favorite writer and I reread his nonfiction books usually once a year to not forget his decades of knowledge and experiences from which he shares parts in his books. Usually every time I still discover some details which I did not notice before.“Survival Knives” is explaining essential questions for every knife enthusiast.As usual, the structure is thought trough very well and the topic is treated with the expected depth.The “WHY” you always should have a survival knife with you, better on you, is being made clear at the very beginning. There are eight examples that show how a knife could save lives, most of them in an urban setting.The definition of “WHAT” is a survival knife is explained afterwards. Even though this was already explained quite similar in JMA's other books it is still worth reading it.The “WHAT TO DO” with only a survival knife (and hopefully together with at least a lighter or fire steel) to make fire, build shelter, get food and to defend e.g. against feral dogs is different to his previous books. The big difference to JMA's previous and other survival books is the “HOW TO” do it approach. Of course, the “HOW TO” could have been explained in further details, especially in the urban environment, but the basic instructions in combination with some examples and the proposal to be creative and flexible is still useful enough. Of course, there are some other topics which can be seen in the table of contents.Last but not least I have the hope that more books from JMA will be publishes in the near future and will not take that much time as the above mentioned. The aspects of wilderness survival have been treated very well, let us hope there will be more on “HOW TO” in urban survival and further TAO books.