You might think that you are safest when you are at home, but home invasions can happen without warning and at any moment. Fortunately, since no one else knows your home as much as you and your family do, simply put, you have the home advantage. There are many everyday items in your house that you can use as improvised weapons to protect yourself. If an intruder attacks you in your own home, head for your kitchen and grab a knife to defend yourself. Here is a quick guide on how to use a simple kitchen knife for your survival. (h/t to Survivopedia.com)

Knives come in many different forms, shapes, and sizes, with each having their own advantages and disadvantages depending on their designated use. A butter knife would make a terrible weapon against an attacker. Its dull and blunt edges will prevent it from causing any serious injuries. Similarly, by their very nature, kitchen knives are designed not to cause injury, but to prepare food. They might not be as durable as survival knives, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be useful. Familiarize yourself with the different kinds of  kitchen knives so that you know which ones are the best to use as improvised weapons for your survival needs. (Related: Improvising while prepping: Everyday items that can double duty in an emergency.)

Kitchen knives often come in three different types of knife edges. Straight-edged knives are excellent for clean cuts that require heavy pressure. Serrated knives are ideal for cutting with slicing motions. Granton knives have grooves on their edges to help carve even cuts of meat.

Butcher knives

These knives have a reputation for being able to cut through anything. For that reason, you’ll want to keep these at the very top of your survival cooking knife list. Similar to Bowie knives, butcher knives feature large, thick, and curved blades that can efficiently split, strip, and cut portions of meat. Since these knives are meant to cut through meat with ease, the design of their blade and tip allow them to be utilized as effective self defense weapons. Use them to slice at a potential attacker. Butcher knives are dangerous instruments in the hands of a skilled user. The curved blade can easily be used to sever connective tissue.

Chef knives

One of the most popular cooking knives, a chef knife has a strong blade and is heavy to hold. The average length of the blade can vary from anywhere between six to 12 inches, which should give you a decent amount of range. You can use it for all your chopping and slicing tasks, including fruits, vegetables, meat, and even bones. This makes it a highly versatile knife and it is often considered a workhorse knife due to its range of functions. It is also a very sturdy knife, which makes it a feasible weapon for self defense. To maximize your use of this blade, avoid stabbing your attacker with the tip of the knife. Instead, learn how to make use of the blade’s shape to slash at your opponent.

Cleaver

Cleavers are large, sharp, and heavy. Their blades can be around 10 to 14 inches long and they also have long handles for better leverage. Their rectangular shape makes them suitable for splitting large cuts of meat and ribs without cracking, splintering, or bending the blade. It is also a very sturdy knife as it is designed to cut meat cleanly in a single stroke. The advantage of using a cleaver as a defensive weapon is that you can easily use it with little to no training.

Find out what other home items you can use for your survival needs by going to Survival.news.

Sources include:

Survivopedia.com

ModernSurvivalBlog.com