A radical theory, and leaving the world of expensive modern knives behind

To prove that it can be done. I used the blade as a chisel, gently hitting the spine with a baton, to fell the tree. Then I carved some wedges and used them with the baton to split the entire tree into quarters. Then I chiseled the quarters just enough so that finished firewood sections could just be snapped off. The knife, an old Kershaw, don't even remember what model, was a little loose after but didn't break.

The technique is much more efficient with a broader and longer blade, like one of the Old Hickories. With practice, a broad, thin blade used this way can process wood almost as fast as a chopping knife that weighs more than twice as much.

 

I've literally met maybe 2 people in real life who had ever sharpened anything, and I grew up in the country. At most, I'd occasionally see a cheap pull-through sharpener among the kit of one of my dad's hunting buddies. Sharpening is a lost art. Probably because modern knives are too thick to sharpen.

 

Maybe you could, but I wouldn't need the folding saw or a heavy, specialized shingling froe disguised as a knife. Just a tomahawk and a general purpose fixed blade that combined weigh 26 oz and cost $35.

 

Hence "radical".

 

Even among fellow butchers, they look at me like I have two heads when I start talking about "grits", bevels", "stropping", and so forth. There aren't very many people out there who know anything about sharpening. There are very many people out there who have closets full of dull knives that they think are cool.

 

How about no, since I conceded that you very well may be faster. I just don't care because I am more concerned with overall practicality and versatility, among other things, in a wilderness kit, not just speed. A saw can only do one thing and is a royal pain the ass to sharpen; I've never been a big fan of them.

 

The thanksgiving fellow was an example to demonstrate a characteristic I have observed in nearly everyone I've ever met who had any interest in edged tools. It's like they're missing a part of their brain that allows us to comprehend sharpness. A skillfully sharpened piece of mild steel can cut quite well, as I know from experience. A $3000 custom knife that has lost it's factory edge and hasn't been resharpened is useless. The vast majority of the cutting performance of any knife is in the sharpening job.

 

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There are some interesting "woods cleavers" from Italian companies like that on Baryonyx I want to check out.