? about Bamboo as a cutting implement

[FortyTwoBlades]

Well, if you're going to miss something it might as well be because you were on a cruise!

 

[untamed]

I guess we are NOT on the same page. The one I made quartered two chickens. Clean slices, not tears. Before that I sliced up a tomato. I had to scrape the edge while cutting up the chickens, but looking at the meat you couldn't tell it had not been cut with a metal blade. I'll post a vid soon, but there is a vid on one of the links that has a guy slicing a chicken drumstick from the thigh, cut through the cartilage too.

I'm gonna have to disagree on that one. I was making this fish spear for a thread a while back. and got MANY razor sharp cuts while doing it. Some even cut through some light calluses. All cuts were thin and precise, just like a sharp knife, most didn't even hurt till after I noticed the blood.

This forum is not wont of talent or skill, some greater than mine, but bamboo I know.

Having grown-up with this very tall grass (literally half of my life in the province in the midst of a very large grove in my grandfolks property), I completely understand the validity of both points. It is also material you could literally make dozens of other items the local folk use in their day-to-day lives such as clothespins, furniture, all manner of containers and the very houses themselves. I made a few kitchen utensils for my grandma when I was younger and grandpa used to make walking canes from them.

The point I was coming from though was expedience vs. novelty vs. the right tool.

In rephrasing my previous post to clarify what I mean: Can bamboo cut? Yes, possibly, as with any material that's hard enough and cut at a certain angle and given an edge. However, a clean, efficient and usable cutter that cuts consistently when compared to knife? Nope.

Bamboo's cutting ability is still marginal when compared with a knife. I prefer to use a knife, just as the folks here do as well.

 

[pict]

I agree with Untamed on this one. Getting bamboo to cut is not the issue, it cuts, it can cut deeply, I have personally been deeply cut by it. If you need to make a cutter out of bamboo you can expect to get an edge that will cut flesh for a while, but it won't hold up to continued use.

I'm not saying that a bamboo 'knife" is not something that should be explored or is useless. I am convinced that I could make a very dangerous weapon out of bamboo that would both cut and stab in the short run. I certainly wouldn't want someone going at me with such a thing. Don't kid yourself though, such a weapon would be a short lived, disposable improvisation much inferior to a machete. Mac

ETA - putting my money where my mouth is, I had a section of bamboo in the shop and turned this out using the same tools I normally have in the bush, a machete and a Mora. Not in the photo is the saw I used to cut it to length but my SAK or folding saw would have worked fine for that. The edge was sharp enough that I had to use a glove to keep from getting cut. I did use the bamboo edge to cut the Jute twine and made it through in two passes.

What would I expect from such a blade? DEEP penetration on a stab. Slashing ability if the full length of the blade made contact or was pulled free from a grasp. No chopping ability at all, the blade is just too light and dull for that. The edge and point will only hold up until they make solid contact with anything harder than bamboo. The tools used to make it are better weapons/cutters. One advantage that I can see is that I have now "armed" a third member of the party, but I'd be more inclined to make everyone a fire hardened spear.

 

[zombie_killer]

mcusta make knives that look like bamboo but are in fact steel

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

What would I expect from such a blade? DEEP penetration on a stab. Slashing ability if the full length of the blade made contact or was pulled free from a grasp. No chopping ability at all, the blade is just too light and dull for that. The edge and point will only hold up until they make solid contact with anything harder than bamboo. The tools used to make it are better weapons/cutters. One advantage that I can see is that I have now "armed" a third member of the party, but I'd be more inclined to make everyone a fire hardened spear.

A fire hardened BAMBOO spear?

 

[pict]

A fire hardened BAMBOO spear?

No, I'd use hardwood, we have lots of it here. Mac

 

[untamed]

I agree with Untamed on this one. Getting bamboo to cut is not the issue, it cuts, it can cut deeply, I have personally been deeply cut by it. If you need to make a cutter out of bamboo you can expect to get an edge that will cut flesh for a while, but it won't hold up to continued use.

I'm not saying that a bamboo 'knife" is not something that should be explored or is useless. I am convinced that I could make a very dangerous weapon out of bamboo that would both cut and stab in the short run. I certainly wouldn't want someone going at me with such a thing. Don't kid yourself though, such a weapon would be a short lived, disposable improvisation much inferior to a machete. Mac

ETA - putting my money where my mouth is, I had a section of bamboo in the shop and turned this out using the same tools I normally have in the bush, a machete and a Mora. Not in the photo is the saw I used to cut it to length but my SAK or folding saw would have worked fine for that. The edge was sharp enough that I had to use a glove to keep from getting cut. I did use the bamboo edge to cut the Jute twine and made it through in two passes.

What would I expect from such a blade? DEEP penetration on a stab. Slashing ability if the full length of the blade made contact or was pulled free from a grasp. No chopping ability at all, the blade is just too light and dull for that. The edge and point will only hold up until they make solid contact with anything harder than bamboo. The tools used to make it are better weapons/cutters. One advantage that I can see is that I have now "armed" a third member of the party, but I'd be more inclined to make everyone a fire hardened spear.

Ooooh lordy! (pardon my drool) At the right hands, that is a very functional weapon; point stabs, scrapes and like I said, pierces good while the flat side whacks! Sweet man! :thumbup:

 

[fishshooter]

What interests me about the use of it as a knife is the fact that local native Americans used it. There are very few sources of chert or flint in the area, and they used knives made from this stuff to process game and in pottery making. It was a common tool for tribes throughout the Southeast. I'm not saying it approaches a modern knife for durability or performance. What I'm thinking about is a situation where you may not have a knife, or a very small knife, and being able to produce another means to process game or fish. I've got a short vid uploading right now, should be up in a bit.


ETA: Here is the video. I hope to make a longer one using it to skin and quarter a squirrel or rabbit. Maybe this weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaGfRzDh71w

 

[Md 25v]

nevermind, computer problem, your link is fine

 

[pict]

Fishshooter,

Good video. That certainly is sharp enough to process fish. It looks like it would easily handle gutting them as well. If all I had was my SAK I could see making a knife like that. Mac

 

[untamed]

I was wanting more; maybe some secret recipe and food porn! Damn that looks like tasty piece of fish!

 

[fishshooter]

I was wanting more; maybe some secret recipe and food porn! Damn that looks like tasty piece of fish!

I cooked that last fish night, but I've got a lot more in the holding tank. This weekend I'm going to blacken some fillets and make a cream sauce, with scallops I dove up over the summer, to top the fish with. I'll post some pics.:thumbup:

 

[untamed]

^ You got me drooling! Please do!