A good knife is an essential tool for camping, hunting, fishing, self-defense, cooking, and so much more. A great knife is a thing of beauty to be used and treasured for a lifetime. Using one takes knowledge and skill, and Eddie Nickens, author of the bestselling Total Outdoorsman Manual, is your expert guide.

Whether you’re hunting, fishing, camping, cooking, or facing a life-or-death survival situation one thing is certain: you need a good knife. In this authoritative book, Eddie Nickens, Field & Stream editor at large and author of The Total Outdoorsman tells you everything you need to know about choosing the right knife for the job, using it correctly, keeping it sharp, and more.

Detailed “design workshops” provide an in-depth education in what makes a great knife, as well as how to choose the right knife for the job. Hands-on practical tips detail how to use your knife in a wide range of everyday, on-the-go, and even life-and-death situations, from whittling a tent peg to dispatching a wild hog.

Special features celebrate the greatest knives ever made, and the craftsmen who changed the game forever. For everyone from the casual camper looking to find the right all-around tool to carry on his belt to the connoisseur and collector who can tell a Victorinox from a Wenger at 100 paces.

In this authoritative book, Eddie Nickens, one of Field & Stream magazine’s top knife experts, gives you his 141 top tips, tricks, and skills, including:

Choosing the right knife for the job

Cooking knives in the kitchen or in the wild

Butchering and filleting game and fish

Knives for survival

Camping and outdoor uses, expected and unusual

Sharpening and caring for a knife

Knife tricks to amaze and amuse

Forging your own blade

Other bladed tools to consider

 . . . and more

Packaged in a durable, wipe-clean flexicover with metallic corner-guards, this practical manual withstands heavy-duty use indoors and out.