It finally clicked...

[fluKeKe]

So I started my addiction to knives with balisongs. From there I went to tactical folders and then to traditional knives. But I finally found a niche I really like.

I'm talking about the bang for your buck knives.

What I am currently carrying is a opinel #8 and a case peanut. Honestly I like the opinel more then the peanut because of the ease of deployment. I'm not a huge fan of the backsprings.

I have a camping trip coming up..and by this I mean real camping in the real woods. For a while I was planning to get something some large fixed that costs upwards of 200 dollars. I came to the realization that all I really need is a mora woodsman 2000 and a nice folding saw from bahco. That being said these to quality products are on there way to me as we speak. I also picked up a svord peasant and look forward to modding it to my liking. I love that its a friction folder that can be used somewhat as a fixed blade (considering your hand stops the blade from closing).

So less is more! took a while but I figured it out.

I'm also doing a lot of research into bushcrafting =)

[CUTS LIKE A KRIS]

Slipjoints have the largest growth of any part of my collection, based mostly on bang for your buck. A couple of weekends ago I picked up 3 knives, each around 100 years old, in pearl and stag (2). The pearl was $2.50, each of the stag were $10. Great users, some collectibility, and fantastic value for the buck. From flea markets/antique shows or stores I rarely pay more than $15 per knife. They won't appreciate in value, but I will appreciate them!!

P.S. I hope you have made your way to the outdoors forums. There knives are talked about in another traditional way- talking about using them to cut stuff!! Have fun!!

[jackknife]

Congratulations!

Don't worry, it took a long while for me to figure it all out as well. I was about 40 when I figured out I don't need that large heavy Randall I had been toting around for 20 years and never used it for anything a mora or a sak with a saw blade would not have handled. Now, a folding saw is in my outdoors kit and one in Karen's too. My edc pocket knives are what I carry into the woods as well. Our camping these days is all canoe camping, so we can carry what we like with no weight concern. But we've found the big choppers aren't needed. and a small pocket knife still cuts rope/twine, food packaging, fruit peeling, and hot dog/marshmellow sticks as well as anything else. So your traditional pocket knife teamed up with a good folding saw will do just about anything you need. With my peanut in my pocket and a Fiskars sliding blade saw in my bag, I'm ready for anything. There's videos on u-tube that shows you how to split wood with a saw. It's sooo easy.

If you really want a big blade for the emergency that may never come, try an Ontario 12 inch machete. Lots of rugged cutting in a low cost bang for buck blade. I'll always remember my old man and his little peanut in his pocket, and that homemade bush chopper he made out of a English machete. It was a 10 inch bladed sheep foot blade that had a vaguely golock shape to it. I still have it, and once in a while I'll still carry it in the canoe bag. Dad would take on any outdoor chore with that combo.

Carl.

[Django.cj]

Carl, any photos of that bushwhacker? Seen you mention it a few times and I'm curious.

[jackknife]

I've got a camera, and I'm going down to take another bit of lessons at the Apple store to learn how to post photos. I really have got to learn how to do that. But in the mean time, I can e-mail you a photo from my phone. I have leaned to do that at least.

Carl.

[Knife Crazied]

Email me a photo Carl and I'll post it for you.

Sent from Ash forum mobile

[puukkoman]

Glad you're settling into something that makes you comfortable. Finding the tools we like is part of the joy of this hobby.
Side note... and my apologies, guys, since this is the Traditional forum... but, the balisong is one of the simplest and strongest folding knife designs of all time, and despite the current trends (tactical marketing, complex construction with a million screwed-together parts, etc.), can (in the case of the more "traditional" balisongs, like the FHMs or the old-style one-piece-handle models) fit right in line with your minimalist outlook.

In any case, welcome to the Traditional forum! Hope you stick around.

[jackknife]

Glad you're settling into something that makes you comfortable. Finding the tools we like is part of the joy of this hobby.
Side note... and my apologies, guys, since this is the Traditional forum... but, the balisong is one of the simplest and strongest folding knife designs of all time, and despite the current trends (tactical marketing, complex construction with a million screwed-together parts, etc.), can (in the case of the more "traditional" balisongs, like the FHMs or the old-style one-piece-handle models) fit right in line with your minimalist outlook.

In any case, welcome to the Traditional forum! Hope you stick around.

I totally agree with you!

Leave it to Hollyweird to pervert a very nice simple tool into a tactical cult worship item. For a while there you could hardly turn on the TV without some villain flipping one around as menace. I even had one back in the 80's to experiment with, and I have to admit for a fishing knife cutting bait and gutting, it was great. Easy to clean, easy to get out with wet hands, all plus's. Long ago, Hackman of Finland even used the design for what they called a fishing and camping knife, with red nylon handles. It was a very fine knife. Too bad the craze killed it in this country. I can only hope the practical Finn's still have it. I once used one to clean 76 spot that 4 of had caught, a fish from the Chesapeake Bay, after a day out on the boat. The Hackman was still sharp at the end. One of my friends was so impressed by it, I gave it to him. He still has and uses it to this day. Unfortunatly afterward, I found out they were not available in this country anymore, because of the negative effects of the balisong craze. A case of a few idiots ruining it for the rest of us.

Carl.

[pinnah]

What I am currently carrying is a opinel #8 and a case peanut. Honestly I like the opinel more then the peanut because of the ease of deployment. I'm not a huge fan of the backsprings.

I have a camping trip coming up..and by this I mean real camping in the real woods. For a while I was planning to get something some large fixed that costs upwards of 200 dollars. I came to the realization that all I really need is a mora woodsman 2000 and a nice folding saw from bahco. That being said these to quality products are on there way to me as we speak. I also picked up a svord peasant and look forward to modding it to my liking. I love that its a friction folder that can be used somewhat as a fixed blade (considering your hand stops the blade from closing).

So less is more! took a while but I figured it out.

I'm also doing a lot of research into bushcrafting =)

"Real Camping" (tm) in real woods can look very different depending on the frame of reference and tradition you find most satisfying. I think there are 3 primary traditions in the US:
1) Fishing and Hunting
2) Backpacking, Mountaineering and Climbing
3) Bushcraft and Survival

It's much too personal of a thing for me to weigh in on which tradition is better. Different folks and different stroke and all that. But, regarding knives, I think that these different traditions arrive at very different uses and expectations for knives, cutting tools and other tools.

While I hunt and used to fish, my thinking is much more out of the modern backpacking and mountaineering mindset. There are those in the ultra-light "fastpacking" crowd (google on Ray Jardine) who spend long periods of time in very deep wilderness settings like the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail who carry nothing more than keyring sized Victorinox Classic. Assuming that you're carrying a stove of some sort and using some what prepared food (not cleaning fish), cutting needs really settle in to nail trimming (this is important actually), bandage prep and minimal cordage and food cutting.

I personally don't go that light and find I'm pretty much in 100% agreement with Carl on this. I carry a folding locking knife with a 3" blade (the Opinel #8 is a perfect choice) in my pants/short pocket (where it won't interfere with pack hip belts), a small folding saw (mostly I do this in the winter for emergency fire, or if the party is large and I may need to make a splint) and in the 1st aid kit I carry tiny Leatherman with pliers and scissors for general equipment repair and bandages.

If we car camp and can afford extra weight and can buy firewood for a camp fire, I'll take a small camp axe which is better for battoning and fixed blade knife for the kitchen. Both are luxury items.

I'm as fascinated as the next guy by old timey woodcraft skills including fire and shelter making skills. But, the wilderness areas I tend to visit in New England (formerly in California) see so much traffic that wood gathering and fire rings have produced noticeable impacts near trails. I go off trail quite a bit am amazed by the number of non-remediated fire rings that I'll find while bushwacking. I find that to be a real bummer. Hiking along deep in the woods, maybe following a brook and you stumble across a fire ring that nobody cleaned up. Gack. If I think I need fire, I carry a stove.

Since I've settled on fire/shelter making as a step of the absolute last resort for my backcountry wanderings, a folding knife (like the Opinel #8) and a 7" folding saw (Fiskars, Opinel, Gerber, others) are more than sufficient for me. I've also found that fixed blades for me, need to stay in my pack, and a folder can stay in my pocket. I prefer the latter.

FWIW, if you live in a wet environment, you might do some digging on how to protect the Opinel from water damage. Poly-urethane on the handle and lots of vaseline on the pivot are traditional approaches.

[jackknife]

Carl, any photos of that bushwhacker? Seen you mention it a few times and I'm curious.

Here it is next to a Ontario 12 inch for size comparison.

[jackknife]

Here's dad's bushwhacker with a peanut. These two were his go to combo.

[pinnah]

I would find a peanut a lot more, um, sufficient with that bushwacker as my back-up!!!

Jest sayin'!

[richstag]

Carl thanks for posting those!!

[markpmc]

Depending on my intended itinerary I carry:

#1 BRKT Aurora
#2 4" slipjoint, usually a trapper

or

#1 Buck 110
#2 4" slipjoint, usually a trapper

Depends on if I think I'm building a campfire or running a stove.

[jackknife]

Carl thanks for posting those!!

Thanks. It was my first time pic. The guy at the Apple store showed me, actually talked me through it. Now if I can remember how to do it here at home is another thing. I guess I'll learn eventually. Hopefully. It's hell being an old dog trying to learn new tricks. Anyways, that was dad, a man of extremes. He figured his little edc pocket knife would do for most things, and for the few it wouldn't, he'd just have a big blade around that would do it. Whatever 'it' was. The blade of his bushwhacker is just a hair under 9 1/2 inches, and it used to have more of a taper with it being a bit wider at the tip, go lock style. But the years of use have worn down the blade a bit. It's a tad thinner than the 1/8 stock the Ontario is made from, but it chops and cuts well. It takes a very wicked edge, and holds it pretty good.

Carl.

[richstag]

Carl,

Here is my 18" Ontario. I like the 18" I grew up with them. I have the one my dad gave me when I was a kid and its like an extension of my hand and arm. Anyhow, this is my modified 18". I removed the plastic handles, ground out a new shape for the handle to fit my hand like a glove, ground the entire stock thinner, cut out a clip point, gave it a SCARY zero convex edge and then satin finished the entire thing. I made canvas micarta grips and secured them with Corby Bolts. This thing you would want to try, and if I ever meet you in MD, I will bring it for you to check out.





I have always tapped the first few inches before the edge so I can choke up during various work.

Here is a cut down one I made and gave away





I have done a few



Kevin

[pinnah]

Mark, do I guess the slipjoint/trapper is pocket carried while the #1 knife is pack carried in both cases?

As a Buck 110 (and fixed blade owner), I'm wondering why you would carry a 110 instead of that Aurora? I would think the Aurora is a tick lighter and more versatile. Just wondering.

[richstag]

I think your dad had it all figured out Carl and I can see why you admire him so

[jackknife]

Pocket knives and machetes. Gotta love it, cover all your bases with just two tools.

Carl.

[ArfinGreebly]

While I can mostly agree with that sentiment, I would have trouble turning loose a light hatchet.

Depends on how much chopping needs doing, of course, but . . . well, let me think a minute . . .

Okay, I do have an Ontario SP8 survival machete that rides in the truck. I think that with one of those I could probably dispense with the hatchet. Of course, that one doesn't have the reach of a normal machete (blade is 10 inches), but it has enough mass to do chopping.

I kinda like the G.W. Sears trio for coverage of all the outdoor needs, but I reckon I could do it with a twosome if I had to.

I prefer the Case Pocket Hunter over the Peanut because, even though they're the same size, the Pocket Hunter has two full-length blades, and both nail nicks are on the same side, so I don't need to change my grip to open the other blade. I do really wish they'd make a run of Pocket Hunters in CV steel, though. That would be awesome. Kind of a Peanut++.