The Make-It-Yourself Copperhead Survival Knife

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The copperhead, a knife of many uses.
The copperhead, a knife of many uses.
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Solder secures the loop at its base.
Solder secures the loop at its base.
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When the sheath is flattened, the blade (B) and loop (L) sections are compressed to different degrees, because these pieces of coat hanger keep the former from closing fully.
When the sheath is flattened, the blade (B) and loop (L) sections are compressed to different degrees, because these pieces of coat hanger keep the former from closing fully.
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Cutting away half of the tube to form the belt loop.
Cutting away half of the tube to form the belt loop.
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Fig. 2: Hand guard
Fig. 2: Hand guard
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Fig. 3: Assembly
Fig. 3: Assembly
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Fig. 1: Shaping the blade
Fig. 1: Shaping the blade
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The finished sheath.
The finished sheath.
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Fig. 4: The Scabbard
Fig. 4: The Scabbard

My first “copperhead” survival knife was born of necessity and chance–with, perhaps, just a little assistance from ingenuity–back in 1977. At the time, I was repairing and replacing cable along a railroad. In order to get to that heavy wire–which, for the most part, was buried under crushed stone and cinder–I had to make my way through the roots, limbs, and thorns of the abundant trackside brush.

As you can imagine, the insulation used on the cable had to be pretty sturdy to survive in that setting, and I needed a tool that could strip off the insulation when I had to make a connection, and that could also cut through the briars and such surrounding the cable. Furthermore, since all of the cutting would be done very close to the wires that I was repairing, a chopping tool was out of the question. What I needed, it seemed, was a good, sturdy blade for stripping the cable and a small saw to clear the way, and they both had to be able to tolerate getting jabbed into the gravel every now and again.

As it happened, chance stepped in. While I was walking along the track, I came across a broken power hacksaw blade, discarded, no doubt, by a rail repair crew. Its teeth were in good shape, and the hard steel cut through saplings and roots easily, without seeming the worse for the abuse. It did, of course, need a handle. And I thought–as I headed home that evening with my find tucked in my back pocket–that if I could also give it a sharp edge for stripping cable, I’d have both of my “dream tools” in one.

I made the knife that same evening. It did the jobs I’d hoped it would, too. What’s more, though my railroad repair days are over, I still get a lot of use from my copperhead. I’ve toted it along on fishing, backpacking, and prospecting trips and found that–in addition to being suited for the tool’s original uses–the saw edge makes a darn good fish scaler, and the hard steel blade is more than adequate for prying an occasional “promising” rock from the ground.

Shaping the Blade

  • Published on Sep 1, 1983
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