4 Inches an Adequate Woods Knife?

This to me would make a nice survival knife... It's a Sheffield British MOD Survival Knife. From what I understand they designed these especially for soldiers in survival situations. It might be too big for the average hunter to carry around, but it would certainly fullfill it's duty as a survival knife I think....looks kinda cool too.:cool:

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Looks rugged.

But it seems like a strange compromise. A bit bigger and you'd have a decent hacking/chopping blade. Yet it's to big to be a nimble small blade. I doubt there's much you could do with that MOD knife that couldn't be done with a 4" knife. Maybe baton bigger wood. Have to think about that a bit more. The weight cold be an advantage in some respects, but then it's also heavier to lug around.
 
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Rotte said:
Looks rugged.

But it seems like a strange compromise. A bit bigger and you'd have a decent hacking/chopping blade. Yet it's to big to be a nimble small blade. I doubt there's much you could do with that MOD knife that couldn't be done with a 4" knife. Maybe baton bigger wood.
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Yeah, you're probably right. If I were to make one myself, I'd make one with a 8" or 9" blade maybe 3/16" thick or so just to give it a little more ooomph. What I really like about it is the design of the knife and width of the blade near the tip...like you said, it looks rugged, but a 7" blade is a little short for a good chopper I think. People seem to have no problem lugging around heavy guns...so if in a survival situation you did not have a gun or an axe, perhaps the extra weight of a big knife would not be such a big deal.
 
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A bloke on the bushcraft site recently modded one of these, got rid of the guard, gave the blade a mirror finish. Looks like a nice project knife.
 
That's a beauty. I've got an 8" version from Matt at ML knives. More of a butcher's knife. I think 9" starts to give one some real chopping potential.
 
Rotte said:
That's a beauty. I've got an 8" version from Matt at ML knives. More of a butcher's knife. I think 9" starts to give one some real chopping potential.
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I've seen Matt's work at ML Knives....I love the look of his camp knives.:thumbup: I actually prefer Matt's rugged forge finish look much more than the shiney finish on the Bark River knife.
 
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tknife said:
After many years of being a chopper guy, I settled on 3-5" blades for my woods use. I have at least a dozen knives with 4" blades because that's what works for me and my area.
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I'm with tknife. I used to have a few Busse choppers and now have a few 4-5" customs and a Small Forest Axe. This setup works better for me. I rarely even carry the SFA actually.
 
JCavSD said:
It's a bit like motorcycling. You start out with a smaller bike and it handles most of your needs. Then you get passed in the twisties by a larger, more powerful, more comfortable bike. Then you get one of those. Sure, you give up a little flickability, but if your skill level increase to match the size of your bike, and you learn to be comfortable with more power, then you have much broader range. Then you get old and get some big old snarly cruiser or goldwing and ruin my analogy. Damn you people!
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Here, I thought you guys just liked the vibration 'tween your legs.....:D
 
bladz said:
I'm with tknife. I used to have a few Busse choppers and now have a few 4-5" customs and a Small Forest Axe. This setup works better for me. I rarely even carry the SFA actually.
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That's what it's all about...what works best for you. :thumbup: Everyone has their own preferences, likes and dislikes. There's nothing wrong with choosing a particular knife size if that's what works better for you.
 
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jackknife said:
Do ya think there's just a wee bit of possability, that having a single shot flintlock rifle that may not even fire on a damp day, had anything to do with their choice of cutlery?
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Which puts them right with guys that carry no gun at all, eh, except they might have had that ONE shot?
 
R.C.Reichert said:
I've seen Matt's work at ML Knives....I love the look of his camp knives.:thumbup: I actually prefer Matt's rugged forge finish look much more than the shiney finish on the Bark River knife.
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We've wandered away from the OP's question a bit, but here's a shot of my HB as made by Matt:

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Absolute beast and scary sharp, as is typical of Matt's work. This one needs to get out more. In reference to the OP's question though, this knife rides best in a pack. It's a bit big for a belt. And the times I have taken it on trips, it has stayed in my pack, and a SAK or small (~4") belt knife has been used for the mundane tasks like slicing cheese, opening food packages, or starting the camp fire.

A big knife like this does impart a sense of confidence, but never really seems to be needed. Or maybe I just don't use knives much.

I keep thinking that an even bigger knife would be more useful yet--like a machete or axe--but only to augment a smaller knife or two. In this sense, the Nessmuck trio of folder, small belt knife, and axe continues to seem like the optimal combination of tools.
 
Dang Rotte, I love the looks of that one!Been thinking about ordering one of Matts knives.
 
GRIM 62 said:
Dang Rotte, I love the looks of that one!Been thinking about ordering one of Matts knives.
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I don't see what there is to think about....:D

You have to use one of Matt's knives to appreciate them. He keeps the lines simple, and they are really comfortable to work with. Here's a shot with a SAK to give you a sense of scale. (It's bigger than 4". ;))

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This actually would make a nice combination to carry now that I look at the picture.
 
i want to get one of Matt's hudson bay knife, but it will have to wait. It would also depend on what kind of outdoor adventure and where you are going that would help. I am a pop-up type of camper so I am not going out to the boonies and I do not have to carry such a big knife that far. I love big bad blades, so I am around the trailer and can just stow a big knife in my duffel or the drawer of the camper. At most, I may do a little hiking so I would keep my SAK in my pocket or pack, then maybe a larger 3-5 inch blade
(RC/ESEE 4, short kabar w/kydex or my fallkniven f1 or s1) , because I know I will not have to set up camp in the boonies, I have a nice warm or cool with AC, trailer waiting for me! Mall ninja, no, serouis camper, working on it, but more like a weekend warrior that enjoys my trips with family and friends. I am taking more seriously those persons who have done a lot of outdoors camping and they get by with the medium blade and maybe ax combo, really read up what people do in this forum, I have found it to be informative.
 
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Oh by the way, I had a MOD 4 British survival knife , it felt like a tank, but I never took it out with me because it was too heavy and too thick for my tastes, so I eventually traded it. I am now looking at an inexpensive Condor Hudson bay knife to fill that big role that I can experiment with and get experience with and not cost an arm and a leg. and it is alot of blade for the buck, as I have its younger brother, the Rodan, which is sharp and light weight. Find out what best works for you, I am doing that and having fun in the process of learning!
 
I tend to like the 5-6 inch range on a woods knife. A big part of it is that I have a big hand (I'm 6'7" 280 lbs) and prefer a 5+ inch handle. Some of the 3-4 inch blades don't sit well in my hand.
 
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