4 Inches an Adequate Woods Knife?

james terrio said:
3-4" blades are very handy and are the ones I use most often when camping and whatnot. I find 5" to be a bit long for many tasks, and I really don't like 6-8" blades... I think it's a bad compromise that gives the worst of big/small, not the best of either. But that's just me!

I do agree that a simple tarp goes a long, long way to providing adequate shelter. But hey, building lean-to's is fun! And YES you can build one with a 4" blade. Batonning, folks (now there's a whole 'nother can of worms :D)
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My Becker BK-7 is REALLY good for batoning - but I agree that it is a compromise and I find my BK-9 is quite a lot better at chopping. For sharpening a stick to use as a tent peg I find my Mora with its scandi grind really works much better. I like my stainless Mora for food prep, it is easy to clean afterwards and easy to keep in good condition.

My point? Think hard about the tasks you will be expecting from the knife and then choose a knife that will do those tasks easily & well.
 
I feel that a 4" blade is enough as well. Why is it so? Maybe because your hand is about 4" across so the knife is half blade, half handle.

Also a 4" blade is what can be considered political correct if carried in urban settings. It can be hidden without necessarily being called "concealed". If you have it on your belt, just tug on your jacket and the tip of the sheath shows, thats it.

But as always, you choose whatever knive you like. I choose the Fallkniven F1 or H1.
 
Yes, a 4" blade is plenty big for pretty much every likely scenario almost no matter where you live unless you're one of those who likes to beat up the landscape with what I feel are generally useless knives - choppers.
 
CSG said:
... unless you're one of those who likes to beat up the landscape with what I feel are generally useless knives - choppers.
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Why do you say that?:confused: What's the difference between chopping an already dead tree with a chopper knife versus using an axe? It is just another cutting tool. Your post insinuates that people who like large chopper knives just like to destroy landscape, which is not true. Chainsaws and quad 4-wheelers are capable of doing much more damage to the environment when used in a disrespectful, ignorant manner...but not everyone who rides a quad or uses a chainsaw is disrespectul either. How many frontier re-enactors with large bowie blades or camp knives do you see driving quads or using chainsaws...if anything they are more likely to be concerned with preserving what little of the natural (way it used to be) woodlands (frontier) we have left. And furthermore, large chopper knives are not useless...there are those who do not know how to use them, or yet again, those who just prefer smaller blades. I like smaller blades for some things as well....every size blade has it's uses.
 
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The Eskimos say, "With a big knife you can survive...without it you can not."...that is because they use a big knife as a snow knife to make their shelters. Try to build an igloo with a 4" knife or an axe. The people of the jungle would probably say something similar in regards to their use of the machete. There are uses for large knives...and depending where you may live, you may even use it on a daily basis. For general camp use though, a 4" knife should be just fine, but a lot of people in different places do use these large knives for day to day living and the larger knife makes living just that much easier. NO...they are not useless.
 
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"...what I feel are generally useless knives..."

Sorry you don't like my opinion. We don't build a lot of igloos here in Idaho...

However, I stand by what I said. Most people I've seen posting on this site like big knives because they're big, not because there terribly useful to most of us. We see lots of pictures of how great they are to chop stuff down, build shelters, etc. You like 'em? Great. I carry a small Gerber pruning saw for those needs. You don't need to be so defensive.
 
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A 4" is like an EDC. It does standard tasks.
Beyond that you will probably need a saw and a 7-12 inch knife with a thick spine OR an axe/hatchet/hawk
 
R.C.Reichert said:
The Eskimos say, "With a big knife you can survive...without it you can not."...that is because they use a big knife as a snow knife to make their shelters. Try to build an igloo with a 4" knife or an axe. The people of the jungle would probably say something similar in regards to their use of the machete......
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Since the title of this post is "4 inches an adequate woods knife", I've got to ask....

Apart from trying to justify the use of a large knife, what does eskimos/igloos and the jungle got to do with the suitability of a particular sized knife in the woods? :confused:



Kind regards
Mick
 
SouthernCross said:
Since the title of this post is "4 inches an adequate woods knife", I've got to ask....

Apart from trying to justify the use of a large knife, what does eskimos/igloos and the jungle got to do with the suitability of a particular sized knife in the woods? :confused:



Kind regards
Mick
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Just quoting the original post...

"Some people say for general outdoors/survival use, a 4 inch knife is all you need and anything larger is just extra weight. Does anyone think a 4 inch knife can generally do everything a larger knife could do reasonably well?"

It is my opinion that a 4" knife can not do anything a larger knife can do. I was simply giving some examples of what large knives can do that small knives cannot.
 
CSG said:
"...what I feel are generally useless knives..."

Sorry you don't like my opinion. We don't build a lot of igloos here in Idaho...

However, I stand by what I said. Most people I've seen posting on this site like big knives because they're big, not because there terrible useful to most of us. We see lots of pictures of how great they are to chop stuff down, build shelters, etc. You like 'em? Great. I carry a small Gerber pruning saw for those needs. You don't need to be so defensive.
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I never said I did not like your opinion. I appreciate your opinion...a 4" knife is a good all round size...but people who like large camp knives don't necessarily go around just "beating up the landscape". I probably just took you comment the wrong way, I am sorry. I like big knives because I like the history behind them and I do find them useful. The historical large knives are basically the only large knives that I like. I like being able to carry around a piece of history. I love that "being back in time" feeling of it all. Even if I had no use for a large knife in a given situation, I still would not consider large knives to be useless. I know what they are capable of doing if need be....chopping fire wood, building shelters, etc....and I respect that fact. Even the early frontiersmen did not use their large knives for everything....they also frequently carried small knives and axes for various purposes. Daniel Boone was said to have carried an 11" knife comparable to the Viking scramasax, along with a carpenter's hatchet. I guess they understood even back then, the notion of being prepared for any situation. A pruning saw probably works great, but I don't think it would look good next to a 18th century trade knife.:D Nevertheless, you like what you like and I can appreciate that.
 
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G'day R.C

R.C.Reichert said:
It is my opinion that a 4" knife can not do anything a larger knife can do. I was simply giving some examples of what large knives can do that small knives cannot.
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No worries :thumbup:

Although I will point out that the examples you have given are really specific and therefore limited in their applicability.

It is my opinion that a large knife (ie 8 inch plus) can't do everything as well as a smaller knife.

Ever tried the difference between skinning small game like a rabbit with a small knife v's a larger knife.

I have.

It can be done, but why bother :thumbdn:

IMO, it is only worth trying if a large knife is the only one you have with you.

Pretty much the same as using a small knife in a task that is better suited to an axe.

A small tree can be felled with a small knife, but IMO it really is only justified if it's the only edged tool you have on you.

Just goes to show, that there is no one knife that can be the best at all tasks :D

IMO, the real trick is in matching the users skills, to their location and what realistically needs to be achieved.





Kind regards
Mick
 
Obviously a 4" knife will not do everything a large knife will do, and a large knife will not do everything as well as a 4" knife can. Again, using the kitchen as an example, it would be pretty time consuming and difficult to use my 4" paring knife, which is designed for intricate work like peeling, in place of my 8" chef's knife for more heavy duty slicing and dicing, as well as light chopping. The Chef's knife multi-tasks much better than a paring knife. In general it's easier to adapt large knives to small knife tasks than it is to adapt small knives to large knife tasks. I can peel an apple with my chef's knife but I'd be struggling to effectively dismantle a chicken or cut through bone with my little paring knife.

On day hikes most of the time I carry knives that are at or under the 4" mark. For over-nighters, when anything beyond simple food prep is involved, or if I think I'll need to do some light chopping or make kindling, I bring a larger blade. On motorcycle/camping trips I take a BRKT Golok because of it's versatility. Sure, I could carry an ax and a 4" woods knife, but when weight and space are an issue I go for the one tool will cover the most ground in an acceptable manner.

We all have our preferences, and to each his/her own, but to say that a 4" knife will pretty much do everything an 8" knife will do is just silly.
 
CSG said:
Yes, a 4" blade is plenty big for pretty much every likely scenario almost no matter where you live unless you're one of those who likes to beat up the landscape with what I feel are generally useless knives - choppers.
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CSG said:
"...what I feel are generally useless knives..."

Sorry you don't like my opinion. We don't build a lot of igloos here in Idaho...

However, I stand by what I said. Most people I've seen posting on this site like big knives because they're big, not because there terrible useful to most of us. We see lots of pictures of how great they are to chop stuff down, build shelters, etc. You like 'em? Great. I carry a small Gerber pruning saw for those needs. You don't need to be so defensive.
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Please, don't take this wrong because I don't want you to feel the need to get defensive, but your bias is pretty obvious and it certainly doesn't seem (to me) to be rational. Are you just not familiar with anything other than small knives, or is it one of those Ford vs. Chevy positional type of attitudes.
 
I'm impressed this post has gone on for a while and has stayed relatively polite in nature. Just thought I'd add this light hearted sentiment.

A wise woman once told me that 4" is rarely adequate but with the right knowledge and skill it can get definitely the job done ;)
 
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