A boot knife is a crucial survival tool in situations where your personal safety is under threat. Having a boot knife makes it easy to protect yourself in case of an unexpected attack. A boot knife is a preferred weapon as it’s portable and easy to conceal.
When embarking on a journey to an unfamiliar place and you don’t know what to expect, a boot knife can be an essential weapon for self-defense. Knowing how to wear a boot knife is vital to prevent you from injuring yourself.
What Is a Boot Knife?
A boot knife is a non-folding dagger uniquely modeled to be easily carried and concealed in your boot. For extra protection against accidents, you should always sheath the dagger. Further, you can easily attach a clip found on the boot knife to your shoes for enhanced safety.
When buying a boot knife, the primary consideration should be its size. Its size and nature allow for easy portability, concealment, and accessibility. Importantly, an appropriate size will capably fit in your boot and can be drawn with ease whenever you need to protect yourself.
As a caution, a large boot knife can be particularly challenging to conceal. It will not only constrict your movement but also heightens the chances of hurting you.
Advantages of Wearing a Boot Knife
- Concealment: Once you attach your boot knife to your boots, no one can tell that you are carrying a weapon unless they saw you put it or you disclosed the information.
- Comfortability: A boot knife is a comfortable fit; you will walk without the slightest discomfort.
- Peace of mind: Keeping your knife in your boot enables you to walk around without any fear. You can use the knife as a weapon for defense.
- Portability: A boot knife is small and light, allowing you to carry it comfortably.
- Accessibility: Reaching for your knife in your boot is not a hassle. You can take it out when in need.
- It is cheap: Compared to other weapons or multi-purpose survival tools, a boot knife is an affordable and convenient choice.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Good Boot Knife
Consider the length of the blade. Most boot knives range from between 2.5 inches to 5 inches. When looking for a boot knife, buy the medium size. It will perfectly fit in your boot and will be easily accessible when you want to protect yourself.
1. Type of Boot Knife
There are two types of boot knives. How they are stored is dictated by its design. These namely are:
- Folding boot knife: Parts of this knife fold towards the handle when the blade is not closed, ensuring it cannot collapse.
- Fixed boot knife: They are larger than a folding knife. Their blades extend to the handle, and don’t fold.
2. Suitability of the Knife for Your Boots
If you want to purchase a boot knife for security purposes, assess the boot knife holster before settling on a boot knife. Ensure the knife cannot pierce it, and it’s easy to extract.
3. Handle
Check out the materials used to make the handle. The handle should be tough and not slippery for easy grip. The handle should also be strong with full or hidden tangs to provide a firm grip during handling.
4. Check the Blade of the Boot Knife
The material used to make the blade of your boot knife strongly affects its durability. Consider choosing one with a coated blade for easy maintenance, reduced rusting, and durability. Also, remember to check the boot knife to ensure that it has the right blade point.
Blade points determine your boot knife’s purpose. For example, deep belly blades are usually used for slashing with an appearance similar to a survival machete. Shallow belly blades are designed for stabbing. You will also find blades with serrated edges and those with combo edges. Other common blade designs are sheep’s foot, clip point, and spear point
How to Wear a Boot Knife
How to carry a boot knife should be an essential trick for all knife enthusiasts. It is necessary to learn how to wear your boot knife properly. Additionally, it prevents fumbling when you need to use the boot knife.
There are several factors to consider before you wear your boot knife. They include the following:
- Sheath: The boot knife sheath has to be strong and durable. You can safely store the knife in the boot knife holster without the threat of cutting you.
- Boot: When choosing your boot, regarding how you are likely to carry your boot knife. Ensure the shoes are big and long enough to allow sufficient space to store your boot knife.
- String: If you consider keeping your boot knife in your boot laces, you need strong strings. You can use a shoelace, a cord, a piece of nylon, or a boot knife strap.
- Knife: To learn how to wear your boot knife properly, consider the knife’s length. Ensure it is not long and can fit well in your boots.
Procedures of Wearing Your Boot Knife
There are steps on how to wear your boot knife properly. These include:
1. Make Sure That You Know the Kind of Knife You Are Purchasing
If you want to learn how to wear your boot knife properly, it’s essential to know the kind of knife you will be using. Before committing your money, choose whether you will use a folding boot knife or a fixed boot knife. If you opt for a folding knife, you need to know that you will have to unfold it before use.
2. Put Your Knife in the Sheath
Boot knives sheath is meant to shield you from being hurt if you fall or pick up the knife in haste and indirectly. It is one of the essential items required to safely and properly know how to wear your boot knife. The sheath should be strong and thick to protect your feet from being hurt by the boot knife. Wearing your boot knife without a sheath is risky as you might accidentally cut yourself.
3. Wear Your Boots
Wear your boots, and remember to tie your laces tightly. This is vital as it conceals your boot knife and keeps it in place. Please ensure the boot doesn’t have high heels or high shafts so that you can quickly and comfortably move around in them.
It would be best if you tighten your laces. Loose laces can make the boot knife fall out. Seriously though, the boot knife may cut you when you trip on your laces. Therefore, ensure you tighten the laces. Finally, the boot should provide sufficient space for your boot knife. You don’t want it bulging out of your shoes awkwardly.
4. Know Where You Want to Place Your Knife
After wearing your boots, choose a preferable position to store your boot knife. If you are left-handed, keeping your boot knife on the outer part of the left boot or the inner part of your right boot would be ideal. For right-handed preppers, keep the boot knife outside your right boot or inside your left side boot. You can also carry your boot knife in a boot pocket if your shoes have one.
5. Place the Knife Where You Want to Store It.
After choosing your dominant side, you can decide if you want to store your knife on the outer part of the boot, the inner side of the boot, or in the boot pocket, or tie it with the laces. Ensure that you position your knife far enough to avoid unnecessary movements in the boot. Also, ensure that your knife doesn’t hinder your movement or injure your foot.
6. Attach the Knife to Your Boot with a String
Now take your knife and put it at the place you have deemed suitable. It should be easily accessible for extraction. Attach the boot knife with a string. You can tie it several times to your boot to hold it tightly in place. After tightly tying it to the boot, you can secure it with a knot.
7. Testing
After wearing your boot knife, you can try grabbing your knife and return it. This helps to prevent from wrong grabbing of the knife or to fumble when the need arises.
Ways to Carry a Boot Knife
Before you choose the perfect way on how to carry your boot knife, you have to consider your dominant hand. You will use this hand to draw your knife from your boot. Therefore, if you are left-handed, consider putting it on the outer side of your left boot or the inner side of your right boot and vice versa.
You can easily carry your boot knife in five different ways:
1. Outside the Boot
You can easily carry around your boot knife by tying it on your boots. However, be careful when carrying your boot knife in this manner, as it can be easy to spot.
Advantages
- You can easily access your boot knife.
- It’s is easy since no modification is required.
Disadvantages
- Everyone can easily see it.
- It can drop without your knowledge and leave you exposed in case there is an attack.
2. In the Boot
It is safe and easy to put your boot knife inside of your boot. However, for concealment purposes, ensure that you carry your knife like this to avoid prying eyes. You will require high ankle boots because they provide enough space to enable you to store your knife discretely.
Advantages
- You can easily reach for the knife when you want to use it.
- It can work with any boot despite its design.
- It’s a safe way of storing your boot if it’s properly stored.
Disadvantages
- This method is only suitable for carrying small knives and folding boot knives.
- It can hinder your movement.
3. In Your Boot Laces
There are boots with unique boot knife straps and inbuilt compartments that allow you to keep your knife safely. If your boots have long laces, you can just put your knife on in between the laces. Tie a knot to prevent the knife from moving unnecessarily. You can also tightly sew the laces to prevent the boot knife from falling off.
Advantages
- Minimum modification is required when carrying your boot knife in your laces.
- It is easy for you to store your boot knife.
Disadvantages
- Only suitable for small knives.
- Only works with boots that have laces.
4. Inside Your Boot Pockets
Some boots are specifically designed with a pocket on them that can be used to carry the boot knife.
Advantages
- The safest way to store your boot knife.
- Easy to store due to little or no modification.
- Easy accessibility.
- Maximum concealment.
Disadvantages
- Only well-shaped boot knives can be stored in boot pockets.
- Only hunting boots have boot pockets.
5. Keeping It Beneath Your Feet
You can also decide to put your boot knife in your boot under your feet. You have to put the knife in your boot with knife in toe and wear it.
Ensure that the knife is slim enough and the boot knife sheath cannot be worn out. It will take a while for you to feel comfortable since your foot will be stepping on the knife. If you are going to a distant place, this method is not suitable for carrying your boot knife.
Advantages
- Ensures maximum concealment.
- No modification is required.
Disadvantages
- In case the boot knife sheath wears out, the blade may hurt your feet.
- Only suitable for small and thin knives.
- Long knives can easily hurt your feet.
- It may be uncomfortable until you get used.
Takeaway
A boot knife is a versatile weapon that you can use to defend yourself. However, with the high number of boot knife sellers in the market, you can get overwhelmed when making the right choice. Therefore, determining a great boot knife’s characteristic will help you make an informed decision when making a purchasing such knives.
Luckily, there are some cheat codes that you can use to help make a choice easy. These include the following; the boot knife should be sturdy, sizeable, and multipurpose. Once you acquire your boot knife, refer to the safety precautions mentioned above to avoid accidents. Keep your family safe as you bug out and always be sure to carry a first aid kit as a part of your bug out plans.