Like many survival tools, you can, in fact, create your own.
It likely won’t be made of high-tensile, durable materials like stainless steel and polypro.
Here are a few tips and tricks to home-making your own:
- Sharpen A Card’s Edge
The first step is to carve out the knife’s edge.
Take a used credit card (one you can’t use anymore), and mark two opposite corners with small pieces of tape.
Using a whetstone, run the edge you plan on sharpening along the stone’s length. This process will shave away some of the plastic.
Alternate which side you sharpen until the edge is evenly sharp.
↓ Make a Credit Card Knife
BE CAREFUL, THOUGH!
Once sharpened, the edges will be razor-sharp, sharp enough to slice through paper, tomatoes, and skin.
- Attach Things
Using tape, you can fasten fishhooks, flat arrowheads, sewing needles, etc., to the front and back of the card.
This improves your usefulness by making it a survival multi-tool.
Get creative with what you attach! If it’s small and useful in a pinch, do not hesitate to stick it on there.
- Incorporate Cordage
With a small file, you can make a couple of notches on opposite ends of the card.
Those notches allow you to wrap a length of cordage or fishing line around the card.
Paracord is highly useful and should always be part of your survival gear.
- Add a Ruler
Along the edge that’s not sharp, mark out inches and centimeters with a sharpie.
This is an easy way to ensure you’ve got a small ruler on you and a survival knife.
Each should have about three inches of space for this
The Downside of DIY
Unfortunately, most homemade survival weapons are not as well-made as the ones you can purchase.
Also, with homemade credit card knives specifically, the blade is outward facing, which can damage your wallet or pocket.
And since the cordage is wrapped around the card, there can be some issues fitting it into a wallet.
Even so, they are simple to make and made of minimal, cheap materials.
You could easily make a bunch of these as homemade survival gifts.
And beyond making good gifts, knowing how to make a multi-tool is always useful survival knowledge.
The Legality Controversy
Since they are technically considered “concealed” weapons, the legality of carrying such a knife is tricky.