EMT shears are handy, but it's bloody difficult to baton cut a small tree with them, fillet fish, etc.

That being said, there is a pair of them in my FAK every time I go out into the woods, or on a trip, just not EDC.

My number one tool is something that can make fire (lighter, ferro-rod, ect). A blade of some sort is #2. Usually I can improvise a somewhat suitable blade based on what I find, but generally it's much harder to make a fire from improvised materials, especially on a cold wet night. When I would need it most.

That is why you use the right tool for the job.

Jeanette Isabelle

....cut a penny in half....

The only "EMT scissors" I ever saw were in a first aid kit I bought long ago, and they couldn't cut gauze, just sort of chewed on it, so I threw them away. Must not have been the real thing.

Paul810. I'm second to that. Knife, shears, multitools... - easy to improvise functions. Fire - no easy way. I believe human became human when they found a way to make fire (which in turn provided the ways to make good tools).

Anyhow, IMHO, tool of choice - is a wrong question if it's out of context of "best for the job". We talking here not about the job, but about survival I believe?

Ouch! Around The Campfire forum section? Not the long awaited Gear Only one? Well, then my brains is my tool of choice. And this forum is the proper sharpener. So, isn't the Internet is the best tool for the job then?

frostbite said what I was thinking. I must be missing something, as the scissors I'm thinking were pretty pathetic compared to even the most modest of knives. Is there a secret that I should pursue finding out about?

Let me clarify, the best tool for the job with the job being survival.

Jeanette Isabelle

I'm not talking about what you find in in a cheap first aid kit. A good pair of EMT shears will cost around $5. Some drug stores carry them, some do not. Adventure Medical Kits has some at $4.95. http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/item_detail.asp?ID=0155-0880

Jeanette Isabelle

I bought about a dozen a few months back - 2 of them couldn't cut gauze, and went in the round file, the rest were fine. Remember that they are meant to be semi disposable - they last long enough to cut the clothes off 1-2 patients (usually 1) and you throw them away, as the cost of re-sterilizing is too high

When you buy them by the dozen, they were just about $1 each, and when you move up to 50 at a time, if I remember right, they were 75 cents

I use the AMK ones in my First Aid Kits. Tested them on leather since that's the toughest thing I'd likely need to cut...they do the job fine.



I've always found that for every day/household emergencies the small, thin blades of a SAK are better than most pocket knives. I still carry a pocket knife anytime I'm not at work because I like to have something with a blade that locks in case I need to get into something that's going to test the knife a bit like working with wood...a rare thing at home where the toughest thing I cut is the inpenetrable packaging of new gizmos.