A knife that can both fillet a trout, and baton a decent piece of wood...?

[expwmbat]

I'm not sure the Southfork is for batoning, but it would be great on fish.

I'm still stuck on the trout thing--I mean, I've cleaned a trout well enough to cook with my bare fingers. But it sounds like you want a typical bushcraft kind of knife, unless you are really concerned with precision cuts into very sift fish flesh while in the back country. Backpacking Top Chef?

DJK

 

[PatrickKnight]

I have used my ESEE 3 mil to do both on many different trips. That little knife is tough as nails and at 1/8th inch thick can fillet just fine while be it not nearly as good as the Southfork would be at it.

 

[burns]

I use a mora stainless as my fishing knife.

At $20 bucks doesn't matter if I lose it in the drink.

If I broke it batoning, then there's no stress (maybe some tears).

Yeah but moras SUCK for batonning anything more than a couple inches in diameter. At least the clippers do, there may be thicker models that aren't too bad.

 

[burns]

There's nothing like the "perfect" fixed blade and when I have been doing the same thing as You describe,I have had 3 differrent knives with me.

1. A Leatherman Charge,perfect for many things when fishing!
At one occasion I was unfortunate to hook a watersnake (not a venom specie) in the skin and succesfully unhooked the snake with the LM pliers.

2. A small 3" blade for foodprep at camp.

3. A Fällkniven S1 together with the Laplander saw worked very well on both batoning firewood and cleaning Trouts.


Today I use a rehandled Fällkniven F2k for both batoning firewood and preparing the Trouts.
The F2k is the older discontinued version, with 4,5 mm spine.
It is smaller than the S1 but in my custom version it has a 4,8" bladelenght.
I just love the feeling of the Sambar stag and nickelsilver fittings, inspired by the Scagel knives.

The pic is from a daytrip to a Rainbow Trout lake 3 weeks ago.

Regards

Mikael

Great photo! The S1 looks like a solid option.

 

[FTR-14c]

If you can find one, the Matt Caldwell 5-1 might be the knife you are looking for.
154cm 5" blade just under 1/8 thick.
I think Vintage knives has some left with Leather or Kydex.

Edit for pics.

This is the 1-4, I had the 1-5 but wanted something a little smaller.

This is a great knife, it just really works well as a cutting tool.

 

[CWL]

Yeah but moras SUCK for batonning anything more than a couple inches in diameter. At least the clippers do, there may be thicker models that aren't too bad.

You sound like you don't know knife techniques. You can cut a 6" sapling in half with a Mora without needing to baton it... you can cut down a 12" tree with a Mora...

You think you can survive in the wilderness just by batoning?

 

[fielder]

As I've gotten more into knives over the last year, I've been looking for the "perfect" fixed blade. I have recently gotten into ultralight backpacking, and taking a Handsaw, large survival blade for batonning, and small blade for food prep and general use, is less than ideal. Ideally, I would carry one fixed blade that could handle both the batonning of good size wood (4-5" at largest) but can also fillet a trout pretty well, and weighs well less than a pound (around a half pound would be ideal). It will not need to be a chopper as I do not chop, my Laplander saw uses far fewer calories and is very effective, and light.

My Moras are great for food prep and general use but are less than ideal for batonning big wood. My Beckers (7 and 2) and Hoodlum are great big blades and baton very well but are a little heavy and less than ideal for food prep (I eat lots of trout on the trail) due to thickness and width (I find the ESEE knives to be a bit too wide).

I should add that, in my limited experience, batonning wood is far easier with a blade that spans the width of the wood.

I'm looking for suggestions. I've been considering the Buck Punk (current leader), the Becker BK-15 and the Survive! GSO-5.1. I'm looking for input on how well the punk would work for food prep, how well the BK 15 will baton etc. I'm also just looking for other ideas that you might have.

Regards,
Burns

Bark River Aurora

 

[Mikael W]

Yeah but moras SUCK for batonning anything more than a couple inches in diameter. At least the clippers do, there may be thicker models that aren't too bad.

I and thousands of others have successfully used various Mora models for batoning firewood.
The pic's show my Mora's in action.
The woodhandled one is a drawknife in Triflex steel, with the second handle cut off and the blade convexed.
The handle is filled with superglue.
It made that pile of Maple without any damage!

The 510 and stainless Moose antler version,batoned through spalted maple with ease.

It's as someone stated: It's about technique and that's what the middle pic show using a wedge together with the NL4.

The S1, Aurora and other beefy knives, will do the job even better due to thicker edges and spines.

The Mora's are lightweight and non-costly alternatives.


Regards
Mikael

View attachment 319723

 

[Mikael W]

Here's a pic with the Gränsfors Mini Hatchet and a Fällkniven NL2.
The NL2 outperformed the Mini as it was possible to split the wood lenghtwise.
The Mini did the job, but needed more time and effort as it only made short splinters.

The last pic shows a meal in the Mountains with a Trout cleaned by the S1.
The Trout was boiled together with potatoes on a propane burner.
The smoke to the left in the pic, is a comfy fire made with the S1 and Laplander saw.

So, there's more than one way to to do things and the Mora + Laplander are wellworking options for lightweight campers.



Regards
Mikael

 

[expwmbat]

That's a great looking meal--and you could have cleaned the trout with the Mini Hatchet--trout are easy.

DJK

 

[Mikael W]

That's a great looking meal--and you could have cleaned the trout with the Mini Hatchet--trout are easy.

DJK

That's right, I agree, I could have used the Mini!
Now, the Mini I had with me on that trip didn't work well.
The axehead was twisted and it didn't chop well at all.
The GB company took it back and sent me the one in the picture.:thumbup:
It works very well for such a small axe, but I still prefer the NL2.

Carrying a big knife isn't always popular among people I meet overhere and I tend to choose the axe,knife and saw instead.
A LM, the Moosehandled Mora, GB Mini and a Laplander are the working parts, if I follow that path.

The above shown F2 are what I actually use more in my fishing life, rather than the Mora's.
It was used also for batoning firewood as late as yesterday, for the kitchen fireplace.

Regards
Mikael

 

[dflores]

Actually the southfork has a pretty decent stock and can handle some light batoning, i know because i have one. Also you can go the custom route, this is a fixed blade made for me in m390 from otk knives.

 

[burns]

I ended up with a Survive! GSO 4.1 in CPM 3V which has been great for my needs. Took it out to the Shenandoah backpacking this past weekend and used it both to baton some wood and to clean some good size trout, as well as a few other tasks. It's not ideal for everything, but is a really nice all-rounder as far as I can tell. There have been some great suggestions here, many of which I wish to try as well including the Becker BK-15 and the Matt Caldwell 1-5.

You sound like you don't know knife techniques. You can cut a 6" sapling in half with a Mora without needing to baton it... you can cut down a 12" tree with a Mora...

You think you can survive in the wilderness just by batoning?

Just saw this.

I definitely DO NOT plan to "survive in the wilderness just by batoning". This was really a question of a good all-around backpacking knife according to MY own needs. I find Mora's to be a compromise compared to some other options for batoning camp wood (particularly hardwoods), which I do on almost every trip. Why the eye rolling?

 

[Mikael W]

I ended up with a Survive! EDC-4.1 in CPM 3V which has been great for my needs. Took it out to the Shenandoah backpacking this past weekend and used it both to baton some wood and to clean some good size trout. It's not ideal for everything, but is a really nice all-rounder as far as I can tell. There have been some great suggestions here, many of which I wish to try as well including the Becker BK-15 and the Matt Caldwell 1-5.

Sounds like a memorable trip!
Did You take any pic's You can show us?

Regards
Mikael

 

[cbach8tw]

Have to mention this even if you have your knife, just my 2 cents again, which I guess would make 4 cents I have always liked my 5 inch Koyote leuku or something from Big Chris knives. Good discussion, makes one really think about what tools they need for the type of activities they do. Have fun and include some pics from your next outing.......Fish cleaning and batoning with that knife!! Take care.

 

[chuxwan]

You could easily carry a small axe for almost all needs along with a light fixed blade. Still, if you're going ultralight I question the need for filleting the fish. And the need for a saw.

 

[Brisket]

Mikael, that F2K is stunning. Great photo as well.

 

[burns]

I'll get some pics up of the trip soon as I can, and some of the knife though I don't know if I have both together.

A few folks seem to not understand my desire for the "grail" knife, a knife that does ideally what I want it to do for my own needs. This surprises me because while I understand that one wants the right tool for the job, a knife that can baton well AND do some delicate tasks is absolutely attainable, isn't it? I'm not looking for something that can clear bamboo in the jungle, help me cut my way out of a downed helicopter, and perform emergency heart surgery! Just a bit of batonin' and fish cleanin' y'all!

Chuxwan, I agree that a small axe, like the Gransfors Small Forest Axe is a great tool! I take mine car camping and canoe camping. However, it weighs about 36 oz. For perspective on my rig, that is a couple ounces less than my entire shelter setup (tent, rain fly, ground cloth, poles, stakes, etc.) which is the heaviest item in my pack. My pack is well under 20 lbs total (excluding water), and adding a 36 oz. item would account for an increase of around 15% in weight (yes, I'm a nerd who knows his pack weight). You notice that kind of increase when backpacking in the mountains. . I actually love that little 6-7 oz. handsaw, which IMO makes building a decent sized campfire quite a bit easier.

"Firepower vs. mobility", right?

I seriously want to try every knife in this thread.

Cbach, that Koyote looks awesome.

 

[burns]

I'll get some pics up of the trip soon as I can, and some of the knife though I don't know if I have both together.

A few folks seem to not understand my desire for the "grail" knife, a knife that does ideally what I want it to do for my own needs. This surprises me because while I understand that one wants the right tool for the job, a knife that can baton well AND do some delicate tasks is absolutely attainable, isn't it? I'm not looking for something that can clear bamboo in the jungle, help me cut my way out of a downed helicopter, and perform emergency heart surgery! Just a bit of batonin' and fish cleanin' y'all!

Chuxwan, I agree that a small axe, like the Gransfors Small Forest Axe is a great tool! I take mine car camping and canoe camping. However, it weighs about 36 oz. For perspective on my rig, that is a couple ounces less than my entire shelter setup (tent, rain fly, ground cloth, poles, stakes, etc.) which is the heaviest item in my pack. My pack is well under 20 lbs total (excluding water), and adding a 36 oz. item would account for an increase of around 15% in weight (yes, I'm a nerd who knows his pack weight). You notice that kind of increase when backpacking in the mountains. . I actually love that little 6-7 oz. handsaw, which IMO makes building a decent sized campfire quite a bit easier.

"Firepower vs. mobility", right?

I seriously want to try every knife in this thread.

Cbach, that Koyote looks awesome.

 

[meanwhile]

I'll get some pics up of the trip soon as I can, and some of the knife though I don't know if I have both together.

A few folks seem to not understand my desire for the "grail" knife, a knife that does ideally what I want it to do for my own needs. This surprises me because while I understand that one wants the right tool for the job, a knife that can baton well AND do some delicate tasks is absolutely attainable, isn't it? I'm not looking for something that can clear bamboo in the jungle, help me cut my way out of a downed helicopter, and perform emergency heart surgery! Just a bit of batonin' and fish cleanin' y'all!

To me it sounds as if you need an Enzo Camper: narrow and pointy enough to be close to optimal for cleaning fish, but long enough for easy batoning:

It's basically a longer than standard bushcraft knife, which is what you want, yes? Enzo production standards are very high and the knives are Finnish made.

Another option would be to take a small knife for filleting (Sharpfinger?) and a Mora Farriers knife - these are great for using as froes (ie splitters/batoning knives.) They're light and cheap - Ragweed Forge sells them online.