A big knife for survival? Really?

I think and this is my opinion , that you should have two knives on you ! I always have a neck knife ( Tom Krein DogFish ) and a larger blade like Busse Sar 6 when i go up north in the woods , but than again this is just me !
 
XanRa said:
I always have multiple knives so your point is moot

I don't even leave my house with no less than 5 knives- and I usually carry 7 on average ranging from one inch to about six(blade length) more If I'm outdoors
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I've never understood this but to each their own. I personally have never used more than two blades on any given outing. Small knife for food and whittlin' and a chopper for chopping. The times I carry an in between knife, it never gets used. I wonder how many of the people posting about large knives actually do a lot of hiking. Any of you guys lug around all that steel on 10 mile a day multi-day hikes? I wouldn't and won't. On outings like that a chopper has zero use for me and really the chopper is for convenience when car camping.
 
XanRa said:
I always have multiple knives so your point is moot

I don't even leave my house with no less than 5 knives- and I usually carry 7 on average ranging from one inch to about six(blade length) more If I'm outdoors
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No less than 5 and 7 on average!!!....what do you need 5 knives for...?? I'm seriously curious....
 
It depends on where you're going. For example, if you're in a cold or wet environment, you won't be able to get dry wood without splitting some logs, which requires a lot more work/energy with a small knife. A larger knife/machete/axe gives you different capabilities than a small knife. They can make your life a lot easier and require a lot less energy in a survival situation for a myriad of tasks. And minimizing energy expenditure is key to surviving that kind of crisis. A small knife is almost universally useful, but there are plenty of places/situations where the larger blade will be worth the weight.
 
Yes I like the big ones but to be honest a good combo would be a small knife with a very large knife, A good example would be the Izula II with paired up with a Junglas.
 
My CRKT STIFF KISS, about 8" overall would definitely be my go-to in a survival situation, next to my BM551 or my Kershaw Scallion.
 
I haven't read all the replies, so my views may be a repeat. But this is my perpective.

A. Very few people, espcially non-combants, actually wind up in 'true' survival situations...at least the situation doesn't start out that way. They're usually involved in some kind of recreational or travel activity where things go wrong. In a true 'survival' situation, you're gonna use what you got, which is for most, at best, there EDC knife, which is probably a folder or small fixed blade. If you're with your personal car, whatever you might have in your trunk. I don't know too many people that pack around a $600 10" Busse FFBM on a daily basis.

Now, say you're planning on an outdoor activity (camping/hunting/etc) where you want to take along something, "just in case," It will LARGELY depend on what else I have with me or my companions have. If you've got small survival folding saw or hatchet, you probably wasting energy by packing a 10" whopper knife. But if a knife is all you got, and you're planning on hiking a few miles from camp, yeah, a bigger blade might not be a bad idea. But ultimately, no, a small Swiss Army folder would not be my first choice. For me, it would fall somewhere in between in most cases. If a knife is all I have, probably at least a 5-6" blade, stout, at least 3/16", preferably more along a 1/4" thick. If its particularly rough territory, and I might have to make a camp/fire etc. Something in the 8" range probably gets the nod from me (again, with no other cutting tools).

Like many, I'm always looking for the 'perfect' knife. But its tough as the 'perfect' knife for one situation may not be 'perfect' for another. If I were in a 'this is gonna get ugly' situation and had to pick, I'd probably take a Busse Tankbuster or Steel Heart variant, among other items. If it were gonna be a 'social' outing with the forcast calling for minimal chance of 'zombie attack,' I'd probably take a NWA Scout, Dozier Wilderness Survival, or similar. I wouldn't feel under equipped with the good ol Buck 119 Special either.

FWIW, whenever I go to the woods, I usually have at least one good fixed blade as well as some type of folder and/or multi-tool.

YMMV,
BOSS
 
I have been spending thousands of hours and hundreds of days outdoors in my country, and truth be told I could have managed just fine without any knife, even without a knife for food preparation now that I think of it. However, a good knife, or even better a BIG good knife gives you ease and additional options. It makes things "nice" and "neat". Same goes for a saw or an axe. The only thing truly needed in the wilderness is common sense and love for nature.
 
numbersman said:
Has anybody considered a smatchet?
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It's always on the top of my "must have" survival knives. :D

Seriously, I like the argument that you should have an idea of your needs first.

I also carry a Junglas and an Izula when camping, but feel almost as comfortable with a USMC Ka-Bar and my XM-18 or Sebenza in pocket. We live in an area where wood is easily obtained from scavenging so the need for a lot of shopping is rare.

Our two cars both have large fixed blades in the glovebox and my wife and I are carrying folders and sidearms, so that takes some of the thought out of the equation.
 
The people that actually depend on their blades for survival usually have some sort of a machete, and they are skilled enough to use them for small jobs.
 
TwinStick said:
RickJ
I agree 100%. Funny how some always bring the " BIG" thing into conversation, is'nt it ??? I once had a woman screaming at me at the gas station when it was first over $4.00 a gal for gas. She said i must have a "small **** because i drive a big truck" & it was people like me, why gas was so high. I just laughed in her face. She was driving a Priass. So I asked her "what show up when disaster strikes ?" Is it a Priass fire vehicle, is it a priass snowplow, a priass ambulance---NO, THEY ARE ALL TRUCKS. So she finally asked me politely, "why do you drive such a big 4x4 truck ?" My reponse was simple---"because trucks get sh** done !" Then i told her there was LOTS of reasons. Our safety, hunting, fishing, bad weather, towing, hauling, camping, ect...

I'll take a Becker BK9 into the woods anytime. With some care, it can do anything a small one can, but a small one can NOT do what the "big" one can (unless it is a BK2), pure & simple.
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I agree 100% as long as its diesel otherwise I have lost all respect for you:P
 
This is a debate that will never end because it is built upon an individual's opinions and personal needs. I have been backpacking the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains for over 20 years and I am always solo, so I have to be well prepared. I am usually off trail and love to bushwhack so I have to put up with a lot of undergrowth and deadfall. Carrying a large blade is a necessity for clearing a path. For 15 years I have used a trusty CS Light Terrain Chopper. It has done a great job for me and on occasion when I left it home, a Recon Scout was used in its place. I also carry a 3" to 3 1/2" scandi ground blade on my belt and a pocket folding saw, like I said I have to be prepared. Though I would prefer a light belt knife, I couldn't get very far without the chopping power of a larger blade.
 
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