a heavy tool for survivng th first 24

[crossada]

Just trying to get to grips here.
what is everyone doing when they've got the choppers and axes on their belts? Hiking, Hunting?

I more times than not take a large knife while hiking. When i do some overnighters i will take a hawk. Those are the only times i get to use these kind of tools anymore so i make sure to have fun with them.

 

[RescueRiley]

i don't wear any of these things on my belt...
I wear a lumbar pack witht he tool attached horizontally.. so it is accessible yet out of the way.. Like I said these items are usefull when making camp. but once that is done they usefullness becomes proportionatly less esential as finer tasks rise to the fore front.
! isues I wrestle with is the legality here in the US while my own state has no blade length limit on knives.. other places I travel to do..Most states make allowances for hunters and fisherman,, but there is often not a stipulation for hikers or campers

 

[kgd]

Just trying to get to grips here.
what is everyone doing when they've got the choppers and axes on their belts? Hiking, Hunting?

To be brutally honest, most people are sitting by their camp chair and fire and don't really move from that spot except to show their wife where the park showers are located (No - Sh%t half the people drive from their campsite to the camp toillette/shower!!!!).

Personally, I can't stand wearing anything longer than a mid-sized blade (6-7") on my belt. I hate the slappity slap of a long blade on my leg nor do I like the feeling of being 'Timmy from Scrooge' an effect created by tying up the blade to your leg. If I have a big chopper it goes in/on my pack or in the canoe or on the sled. A machete is okay to wear in the sheath while you are using it, but I sure as heck wouldn't walk around all day with it on my belt if I'm only using it sporadically.

 

[Zombie Zeke]

I will ALWAYS believe that a Big Knife can do things a Small knife can do "better" than a Small Knife can do what a Big Knife can do.

Especially when it comes to making shelter..

YMMV

I was going to write something but Doc summed it up...

If things went south quick, I would always have one big on me and a folder.

There is a Tram Cane Knife in my truck, a Tram 22" machete in the back of my car, and a pocket knife on me, so if away from home in a pickle there is always something.

 

[crossada]

To be brutally honest, most people are sitting by their camp chair and fire and don't really move from that spot except to show their wife where the park showers are located (No - Sh%t half the people drive from their campsite to the camp toillette/shower!!!!).

Personally, I can't stand wearing anything longer than a mid-sized blade (6-7") on my belt. I hate the slappity slap of a long blade on my leg nor do I like the feeling of being 'Timmy from Scrooge' an effect created by tying up the blade to your leg. If I have a big chopper it goes in/on my pack or in the canoe or on the sled. A machete is okay to wear in the sheath while you are using it, but I sure as heck wouldn't walk around all day with it on my belt if I'm only using it sporadically.

KGD did you ever try a traditional sheath with the frog stud like what the Cold Steel Laredo comes with? I find those sheaths allow easy carry of a big blade.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

There was a time before the web when I spent nearly every weekend in the woods back packing, fishing or hunting. My tools where that Skachet, a USAF pilot's survival knife, folding camp saw and a folding Buck knife.

It's funny how things that used to work great all of a sudden become useless crap as soon as we post them on the internet, eh?

Some days I wish I never logged on. . .but what a ride it's been!

Just trying to get to grips here.
what is everyone doing when they've got the choppers and axes on their belts? Hiking, Hunting?

If I carry an axe, it's in/on my pack. My "big knife" is usually my kukri, riding in a baldric rig.

What am I doing? I usually go out to hunt and camp. There's certain animals we can hunt year-round here.

I use my big choppers to process wood for the fire, make my campsite a little nicer (I bushwhack so I don't have to be around people that need a map and 4x4 go get to the crapper.)

I often chop up fallen trees -- the big logs if the branches are gone. A lot of people won't use such wood because they won't carry tools to process it. To me, it gives me some exercise and a taste of primitive living that, by the end of the weekend, reminds me of why I like electricity and supermarkets.

 

[adaman04]

I have never been a fan of large knives and in fact I didn’t really own a knife over 4” or so until I won an ESEE-6 in the pack kit last year. It really is a great knife. What I get in to is working on skills with the knife I will generally have on me the most. In the woods, it’s an ESEE-4 most of the time. It is worthless at chopping, but is stout enough to baton with and small enough to do finer tasks. There are lots of times that a larger knife would be great, but I rarely want to carry a larger knife with me on a regular basis. Just a personal preference thing I guess. Now, you could have gamed it up and taken that larger knife for your 24 hour, but if you were stuck out there for 24 hrs in an emergency would that large knife be what was on your belt?

 

[Rick Marchand]

KGD did you ever try a traditional sheath with the frog stud like what the Cold Steel Laredo comes with? I find those sheaths allow easy carry of a big blade.

Yes he has...

Riley,
You say the first 24hrs is when you need your big knife the most... does your wood begin to chop itself after that? Yes, you could fiddle with a 4" blade or use trees/rocks to break wood but at what cost? A lot of folks seem to see the large blade as a convenient addition to the "4inch EDC". I see it the other way around. When it is convenient, carry a smaller blade to fill the gaps... for survival training and deep treks where you will be putting yourself at risk, carry a large blade that will do the work for you. You expend a ot less energy doing little tasks with a big knife than trying to do big jobs with a small blade. I struggled with that for a long time and finally caved. Even the experienced pro's get caught up in the "less is more" trap sometimes. My mentor brought me out for a week survival trek. He began by telling me my knife was too big and within the first day we were trading my 8 1/2" blade back and forth. (He had an F1 and a Gerber folder.) Laziness is the perfect tool to base a decision on. When you are a lazy survivor (like me) you tend to gravitate toward the tool that gets the job done with the least amount of effort.... It may add onces to your belt or spank your ass as you skip down the trail but you'll be contently stirring the pot with your giant chopper while Mora-Boy is over there wrenching on a 4foot log wedged between two trees...

Rick

 

[sicily02]

Rick I really enjoyed you post. Well said.

Bryan

 

[Pritch]

mora-boy

lolz!

 

[GRIM 62]

Great post Rick!

 

[Shotgun]

Yes he has...

Riley,
You say the first 24hrs is when you need your big knife the most... does your wood begin to chop itself after that? Yes, you could fiddle with a 4" blade or use trees/rocks to break wood but at what cost? A lot of folks seem to see the large blade as a convenient addition to the "4inch EDC". I see it the other way around. When it is convenient, carry a smaller blade to fill the gaps... for survival training and deep treks where you will be putting yourself at risk, carry a large blade that will do the work for you. You expend a ot less energy doing little tasks with a big knife than trying to do big jobs with a small blade. I struggled with that for a long time and finally caved. Even the experienced pro's get caught up in the "less is more" trap sometimes. My mentor brought me out for a week survival trek. He began by telling me my knife was too big and within the first day we were trading my 8 1/2" blade back and forth. (He had an F1 and a Gerber folder.) Laziness is the perfect tool to base a decision on. When you are a lazy survivor (like me) you tend to gravitate toward the tool that gets the job done with the least amount of effort.... It may add onces to your belt or spank your ass as you skip down the trail but you'll be contently stirring the pot with your giant chopper while Mora-Boy is over there wrenching on a 4foot log wedged between two trees...

Rick

I agree with this completely. The two most used tools when camping is my chopper(trail hawk/gb mini) and my bottle opener. I have never once needed a belt knife. The only reason I carry one is because A) I carry my chopper in my pack so it's nice to have something a little more then a SAK on my person and B) I wear it because I just really like knives.

 

[Evolute]

The notion that there's an important place for larger blades, to get things done quickly and efficiently in a wilderness emergency situation, seems obvious – but it's refreshing to see a thread that credits the relevance of larger blades, rather than this forum's more typical attitude these last few years of "Choose the smallest knife that you can force to inefficiently handle the job". (Of course, there's a place for both big and small knives.)

For me, I find that a middle ground is best. I prefer large knives that are in the 8-10" blade range for this kind of use. When I start getting larger than that, my arm tires too quickly, my hand gets too pounded by shock, and my control in aiming the blade drops. So, I'd rather use a knife like a Scrapyard Dogfather, Essee Junglas, Becker BK9, or Busse NMSFNO than something much bigger, like a golok, Khukri, or large machete.

 

[cramsey3006]

Rick, that post may be one of THE best I've ever read on this forum!:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Yes he has...

Riley,
You say the first 24hrs is when you need your big knife the most... does your wood begin to chop itself after that? Yes, you could fiddle with a 4" blade or use trees/rocks to break wood but at what cost? A lot of folks seem to see the large blade as a convenient addition to the "4inch EDC". I see it the other way around. When it is convenient, carry a smaller blade to fill the gaps... for survival training and deep treks where you will be putting yourself at risk, carry a large blade that will do the work for you. You expend a ot less energy doing little tasks with a big knife than trying to do big jobs with a small blade. I struggled with that for a long time and finally caved. Even the experienced pro's get caught up in the "less is more" trap sometimes. My mentor brought me out for a week survival trek. He began by telling me my knife was too big and within the first day we were trading my 8 1/2" blade back and forth. (He had an F1 and a Gerber folder.) Laziness is the perfect tool to base a decision on. When you are a lazy survivor (like me) you tend to gravitate toward the tool that gets the job done with the least amount of effort.... It may add onces to your belt or spank your ass as you skip down the trail but you'll be contently stirring the pot with your giant chopper while Mora-Boy is over there wrenching on a 4foot log wedged between two trees...

Rick

You Sir---are not LAZY

You are EFFICIENT.

Lazy people do not get much if anything done.

Efficient people(Like You) get a lot done--with as little effort and wasted time as possible.

and "Mora Boy"---now that's a classic!!!!

 

[beef]

If the big knives aren't on your body while traveling, I'm trying to understand how you would be separated from your pack/ gear but not the big knife?

This is not intended as a slight against the OP, but a serious question. Have I misunderstood?

 

[TheGame]

Riley,
You say the first 24hrs is when you need your big knife the most... does your wood begin to chop itself after that? Yes, you could fiddle with a 4" blade or use trees/rocks to break wood but at what cost? A lot of folks seem to see the large blade as a convenient addition to the "4inch EDC". I see it the other way around. When it is convenient, carry a smaller blade to fill the gaps... for survival training and deep treks where you will be putting yourself at risk, carry a large blade that will do the work for you. You expend a ot less energy doing little tasks with a big knife than trying to do big jobs with a small blade. I struggled with that for a long time and finally caved. Even the experienced pro's get caught up in the "less is more" trap sometimes. My mentor brought me out for a week survival trek. He began by telling me my knife was too big and within the first day we were trading my 8 1/2" blade back and forth. (He had an F1 and a Gerber folder.) Laziness is the perfect tool to base a decision on. When you are a lazy survivor (like me) you tend to gravitate toward the tool that gets the job done with the least amount of effort.... It may add onces to your belt or spank your ass as you skip down the trail but you'll be contently stirring the pot with your giant chopper while Mora-Boy is over there wrenching on a 4foot log wedged between two trees...

Rick

Great post, Rick.
:thumbup:

 

[RescueRiley]

Rick Great post...
By the first 24 hours I meant that once your shelter and fire are established they can be amintained (all beit through hard work) with a smaller knife, and with those top priorites out of the way... detailed tasks may start to arise... Now it;s no secret I like me a 7 inch blade and a folder..but I've also been called mora boy from time to time.
But the only knives used on this particular trip where an esee 5 and an izula, so before anyone goes thinking my hypothesis might be skewed by me using a chopper, It wasn't... because we didn;t have one.. and the absence was missed.. of course we adapted and made things work, and where rather comfortable, and know that it clearly can be done without one... But it sure would have been nice to have one.
beef the gear we had that we allowed our selves to use where the clothes on out back. a knife each and the contents of an altoids tin.. The other gear we carted in was in case someone got hurt or sick or some other unforseen circumstance.. to put youself in a practice situation without a safety net is irresponsible I think, you just need the discipline to force yourself to believe that the net is not there.
Rick again thanks for your post.. your wisdom as always shines though... I wish I could wrangle me a wilderness mentor.. but they are few and far between down here..
Thanks everyone for the great contributions

 

[pitdog]

I think what we need to carry is very much dependant on factors such as our location and the time of year etc.
As much as I agree with the large knife/small knife combo I personally would find myself leaving the large knife behind more often than not .
For this reason I gave a lot of thought into what would be the largest knife that I would be perfectly happy to carry around all the time, size, weight etc and I studied all my existing blades to come up with an answer. That was how my Booshway design came to be, large enough to chop okay with my hand at the back of the handle slabs yet small enough to carry easy on my belt and work for finer tasks. For me this obviously worked as I have it with me for nearly every hike and only change it up to provide a little variety for my pics on here !

By pitdog2010 at 2010-08-10

By pitdog2010 at 2010-08-10

By pitdog2010 at 2010-09-08

I think maybe I could go another 1/2"-1" longer on the blade and would still carry it as much.......maybe I'll try that the next time !

In fact maybe after I try out the new Mark Wohlwend camp knife I'll become a convert to the larger blades and might even leave my Booshway behind from time to time !!!!:thumbup:

 

[Shotgun]

I think what we need to carry is very much dependant on factors such as our location and the time of year etc.
As much as I agree with the large knife/small knife combo I personally would find myself leaving the large knife behind more often than not .

That's very true. In the summer I don't even carry a chopper because I don't need it. Overnight lows in the mid 60's and so dry you have a hard time NOT starting a fire, a chopper becomes unnecessary for me. Then a small fixed blade makes sense. Small, light, and still able to baton a branch for a splint if someone turns an ankle etc. I'm really coming to the conclusion of two sets of gear. One for summer and one heavier set for the other three seasons.