The “Ultimate” survival tool – a spoon

Survival tools have been made for centuries. Knives, paracord bracelets, and instant dinners all fall under this category. Sometimes, though, we ignore what is plainly in front of us. In this case, the humble spoon.

The “ultimateness” of an object is not necessarily determined by the object itself, but, rather, by the user who wields the object. It is the same in this case. You can find many more cool projects by this author here

This survival tool, pounded from the dead remains of an old spoon, is a very useful object, but its usefulness depends on the imagination of the user. It can do many things which will be listed later in the Instructable.

Enjoy this instructable, and have fun making your survival tool from an old spoon!

Note: I want everyone to know that I don’t believe this is the “make-all-end-all” tool. In fact, I use the word “ultimate” as a synonym for “awesome.” I know that there are many good, interesting, and useful survival tools to enjoy here on Instructables, and I hope you also enjoy mine as an individual, unique survival tool!

Step 1: Preparing the Spoon

Take an old spoon (not your wife’s best china) and cut off all of the handle except 1″ using a hacksaw. Using pliers, curl what’s left of the handle into a enclosed circle/oval. Place the bowl of the spoon between two rags on a solid surface, and hit it with a hammer until it is flat. Hopefully the rags kept it from being scratched significantly, but if they didn’t, you can use a metal polisher to shine it up again.

Step 2: Sharpening the Spoon

Using a metal file, grind down one edge of your flat spoon until it is reasonably sharp. This step is optional, and should not be done if the tool will be within reach of small children. Also, if this step is done, you must be sure to remember at all times that you have a sharp, dangerous knife hanging around your neck, and to act accordingly.

If you complete this step you can also sew a small leather holster for your survival tool. If you do post a picture and tell us how you did it!

Step 3: Adding the Neckstring

Cut a piece of leather about 2′ long, run it through the hole in the spoon, and tie it off. If you don’t have leather you can use yarn, shoestring, etc…

Alternate Method: You can use a 10″ long string instead if you are going to make a bracelet.

Step 4: Possible Uses

As I said at the beginning, the only limit is your imagination. Other than science, that is.

Sun Reflector (morse code)
Digging Utensil
Wilderness Silverware (Knife, spoon)
Weapon (If held by the leather and swung hard.)
Knife/Carving tool
Prying tool
Maintaining Proper Wilderness Etiquette 🙂