When building any survival kit the number one priority, the first thing to add

is a knife or cutting, shaping tool of some kind. The knife is the most versati
le and necessary implement for survival in any circumstances.
Besides maybe a rock or tree limb for a club, for a weapon, the knife was the fi
rst and most usable of early human's tools. Chipped from a piece of flint, obs
idian or other fracturable stone, these tools served early man very well, provid
ing a butchering tool for food, a shaping tool for spear-javelin-lance-arrow sha
fts, also for any type of wood or bone carving.
The many types of knives produced from stone while initially very sharp and usef
ul for every thing a knife is made for, dulled with use and were difficult to sh
arpen as more chipping would be required, often shattering the knife blade.
Evolving through the millennia as humankind's technology developed, knives went
from stone to metal, the end product nowadays being razor-sharp, stainless or an
odized black steel, tungsten-carbide, titanium and numerous other alloys (many o
ther colors as well), in uncountable forms and sizes and mostly reasonably inexp
ensive.
I don't care what else you have in any sort of survival kit, you must have a kni
fe! Even if your kit is a Sucrets box or a sardine tin, a method of cutting thi
ngs must be provided. For instance, a construction razor-blade or a box-cutter
will fit handily into a Sucrets tin.
For a single person's survival kit I would suggest a multiple function tool, eit
her a Leatherman type or a Swiss Army type which include many other useful gadge
ts like pliers, can-openers, punches, files, etc,,besides a knife blade or two.
This tool could be pocket-sized or in a scabbard on the belt.
Even with this somewhat magical tool handy, it would be wise to have a good fixe
d-blade knife or hunting(tactical) knife also. One of the main reasons to carry
a knife at all is to extend your reach. A fixed-blade hunting knife can be a v
ery effective weapon, a fire starter, a hammering tool, a butchering tool and an
eating tool. So even though there is but one blade it has many uses.
There are virtually thousands of different types of hunting(tactical) knives av
ailable, some especially made for survival situations. A survival knife must be
able to take a keen edge and keep it through all sorts of abuse, intentional an
d not. A knife that loses it's edge cutting through the belly skin of a deer (w
here it's softer) is almost worthless.
I would not recommend buying one of those "survival" knives with a compass in th
e handle for the very obvious reason of not being able to hammer with the butt o
f the knife or hammer on it to split something, it would shatter the compass!
If your knife needs to be sharpened over and over again for the simplest tasks,
you got a cheap knife. The steel might take an edge but can't hold it. Of cours
e, as is the case with many amateurs who don't know how to sharpen a knife corre
ctly, the knife is worthless or even dangerous.
If the knife is dull it takes more strength and pressure to make it cut. Applyi
ng too much pressure or trying to rip through the material with strength alone i
s very dangerous as it is easy to lose control of the blade and cutting or stabb
ing one's self, possibly fatally. A dull blade has no place in a survivor's equ
ipment!
Sharpening a knife is no trick, it just takes a little patience and perseverance
. Everybody has their own methods of sharpening and it would be beyond the scope
of this article to go into it, but suffice to say that a good sharpening stone
or steel should be used for a quality edge.
In an emergency survival situation without such a good device to sharpen your k
nife, using a piece of slate, a bathroom tile, roof tiles, porcelain(dinner plat
es), even another knife can put an edge on your blade.
Your knife is your second most important survival tool, the first is your brain,
use it!