alittle rant of mine

i understand exactly where you are coming from.... but the fact of the matter is, I/we LOVE KNIVES... very rarely is weight ever a concern for me (with knives or tools), when going into the backcountry... i carry what i feel comfortable with..... bushcraft knife or not... it's usually a med. sized fixed blade and a SAK or multi-tool....

i never carry a knife bigger than 4 in... and i would much rather carry a small hatchet, than have some big ol' hunken chopper...
 
macgregor22 said:
Pilots are perfect examples, they can not carry an axe with them.
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I am not certain where this came from, but speaking as someone who works out of aircraft/helicopters, I don't think I have ever been onboard an aircraft that didn't have an axe as part of the standard survival gear.

I agree with many of your other points, infact most people that make a living in the bush are actually not too concerned with their knife, everyone has one, but not too many people get excited over what they carry (like us knife lovers), it's usually just a Leatherman or a sak.
 
The word description is : jerkit :
I think this gets misused OR misinterpreted in equal mismeasure.
 
Lots of good points, but one thing I must take issue with is the way the statement "your mind is your best tool" is used. Often this statment is made in such a way as to imply that you can leave your mind disengaged until your in a survival situation and then engage it to save yourself. It seems better to engage your chief tool from the very beginning (that is PLAN). And, of course, a good plan includes bringing along the tools that are least likely to fail and with which you individually are the most comfortable and skilled in their use. Just because a person 'knows' alot about survival, especially in the sense of adapting to circumstances, doesn't mean it wouldn't be stupid of them to bring a steak knife along as their only blade.
 
XMP said:
Lots of good points, but one thing I must take issue with is the way the statement "your mind is your best tool" is used. Often this statment is made in such a way as to imply that you can leave your mind disengaged until your in a survival situation and then engage it to save yourself.
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:confused:huh?:confused: I would be very surprised if Tarmix meant it in that way - I certainly didn't. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard anyone use it in that manner.

The point is that all of the "best gear," the semantics of "axe vs. chopper vs. SAK vs. Mora" are all useless. Useless unless you've actually got some training/experience in outright survival/outdoors/woodcraft, just something other than couch-potato'ing it.

I'm saying (and I bet Tarmix too, $5 + 3.5% for Paypal ;)) is that no tool alone will save you - your knowledge and state of mind will. (if you prefer a different word other than survival, then exist in the elements.

Best tool, etc., are often esoteric. Your state of mind and actual behavior in a situation-gone-bad - those are the most important facets to breathing another day. They will also keep the situation from getting bad in the first place.

The mind is the most important tool when existing away from the creature comforts of home.
 
True enough, Paddling Man. But our man tools give of hope and comfort. With our mighty Excalibur's we will live another day!

I do it just as much as the next guy. Guns, knives, water bottles, always near by. I have plenty of knowledge, but knowing I have my gear it becomes a camping trip instead of a "situation". So I lug around a Gerber gator in my pack.

For this part of the country it makes sense.

Farther South I'd probably go with a machete.

To each his own. Whatever bladed security blanket makes you feel best, take it.
 
Ive always found these kind of threads kind of interesting where all the guys who like their big knives love to shove their opinions on others... dont see much of that from the bushcraft guys.
I mean does it really matter what Joe on the other side of the country likes to carry, if his thin, 4in blade works well for him- good for him. But if Bob on the other side can only work well with his big 8in blade and this is what works for him - good for him.
I doubt either parties would want to step out of their comfort zone and pick up a different blade that they dont find practical for their use just because some one on the internet said his knife is better than your knife.
 
I hang out a lot on British Blades and those boys love their bushies. I have never really used a knife with a scandi grind, but I just don't like the way it looks. I am sure that it works. The other thing that I don't like about a lot of the knives is NO GUARD!!!!!!! I don't make a knife with a blade under 4 inches or so and most of the few "users" that I have made have either been hunters in the 4-5 inch range or clip point bowies/ fighters in the 5 1/2 to 9 inch range. Several of them are being used in the UK by bushcraft afficionados. If a mid sized knife in the 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 inch range is too heavy, then the blade is too thick or has not been tapered properly. I also haven't done any full tang knives so far, so weight in the handle area is definately not an issue.
 
About the mind being the best tool. Some of the best advice I ever read was in a desert survival book (I forget the late author's name; he was in S. Texas). In a discussion of 4WD vehicles, he points out that having a 4wd won't keep you out of trouble if you don't pay attention to where you're going. The best survival tactic I know of is to try to avoid survival situations. Then, when they happen, be prepared.
 
I like threads where the poster says go out into the woods with all your regular gear, plan on having a good time, but ... only use your Mora, or only use your SAK, or only use your big chopper this time out. See how it works for you, learn how to make it your One Knife.

Then when you get up in the morning, switch to the next knife in line as your One Knife for that next day. :)

We can talk at each other all we like, but as nick-nack said: "I doubt either parties would want to step out of their comfort zone and pick up a different blade that they dont find practical for their use just because some one on the internet said his knife is better than your knife."

It's good clean fun to toss ideas back and forth, but some guys seem offended when others prefer their own toys to play with. After all, one of the reasons we do go out there is to play with them, to check out equipment before we get stuck in a hurricane or the car breaks down halfway up the mountain.
 
Lorien said:
Categorizing usage is :jerkit: to me.
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Unlike many others I love that little icon. I suspect the averstion has to do with some latent puritanisim;):thumbup:

But seriously some were speculating on the meaning in this particular instance.

I had a friend who called when a person excessively ruminated about some inconsequential thing "jacking off in the mind":p

I think this was Lorien's intended meaning:thumbup:
 
If you want to learn more about 'bushcraft', visit the bushcraft (UK) forums. Nice folks - great sub-forums. If you are a Bear Grylls fan, best keep that to yourself, however.

I am just simply a knife-slut - as fickle as can be. One day, I love Bucks - then, Barkies... I change with the wind. I started, as a very young man, with some kind of Boy Scout knife with bottle cap & can openers - then to a SAK - those early pull-tabs didn't work so well, and nothing is so disconcerting to a young'un in college than a can of beer you cannot ope - 'church keys', even then, were uncommon in dorm rooms. You talk about 'survival' - unopenable cans-o-beer were a horrific experience, at the least.

My first 'camp knife' was my Dad's old WWII KaBar - way overkill for kindling, stakes, etc - ahhh, the SAK to the rescue. Now I know what I was doing was wrong... and have stocked my knife collection with more appropriate choices - if I ever go camping again. Odd how, as that sixtieth hatchday celebration approaches this year, I seem to enjoy sleeping in a motel room's nasty bed over sleeping on the ground. Still, as an armchair 'bushcrafter', I must be properly prepared...

Stainz
 
Robert H said:
True enough, Paddling Man. But our man tools give of hope and comfort. With our mighty Excalibur's we will live another day!
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Oops... :o I hope I didn't give the impression that I abhor tools / gear. I'm, admittedly, a gear nut. I won't list the number of BOBs stored, CCW/EDC handguns, fixed blades, etc., but I get constant crap about it from my wife and friends. :D

Nah... I say be as prepared as possible. Make accessible as many options as you can.

I was only trying to make the point that all of the tools in the world won't help if you don't have the knowledge to use 'em and the presence of mind to make good decisions when the margin for error narrows.
 
Paddling_man said:
I was only trying to make the point that all of the tools in the world won't help if you don't have the knowledge to use 'em and the presence of mind to make good decisions when the margin for error narrows.
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Cheers, Paddling Man. You and Tarmix are hitting the nail on the head (with or without a tool). Nicely said.

We're all gear-nuts. I'm always searching for that elusive perfect knife. That's why I've collected so many over the years. The hardest thing for me to do is NOT bring 30-40 lbs of steel with me, because I want to play with my toys!
 
If pure hardcore survival until rescue is what you are talking about, I think a PLB would be a far more valuable item to have on your person than a knife of any kind.

I wonder how many here who travel into the wilds on a regular basis and have knife collections worth many hundreds of dollars have invested in one?

I believe that many people who end up in dire straits do so because they are a) lost or b) injured or both. In scenario a) a knife can certainly be of use. However, if you are in scenario b) and in a bad way, a PLB will be vastly more useful than any kind of blade (unless you're under attack by a wild animal, say).

Having a knife and being able to use it in a survival situation (which has arisen while out hiking or camping) implies that you are in good physical condition and still able to get around in order to use it. But in many survival scenarios this is simply not the case. Consider the ranger who was trapped by his own vehicle in BC as a recent example of this.

In every truly desperate survival scenario rescue is the most urgent priority, and the PLB will bring this about quicker than anything.
 
Shotgun said:
I personally don't understand the point of a thin stock fixed blade unless you're on a budget.
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Because they slice better, which is what KNIVES are for. They aren't meant for chopping down trees, splitting wood, they are meant for SLICING.





Wait. . .








What the hell am I talking about?
I carry a "knife" (kukri) that's 20" long, half an inch thick at the spine, and is over three and a half pounds. . .
Nevermind.



Esav Benyamin said:
I was wondering myself why the thread sounded like an ad for the Busse family knives.
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Want to really stir some s**t?

Put away those INFI sissy knives and get yourself a kukri!

<ducks>
 
I dunno... I like Bushcraft. It's fun. So ya, I carry my "survival knife" and my "bushcraft knife" with me. Perhaps you find reading fun, and carry a book with you. Your book may even weigh more than my bushcraft knife. To each his own. Remember that a knife is just another tool. If this forum was called waterbottleforums.com, you would hear all sorts of discussion over which water bottle is the best to carry and why.
 
XMP said:
Lots of good points, but one thing I must take issue with is the way the statement "your mind is your best tool" is used. Often this statment is made in such a way as to imply that you can leave your mind disengaged until your in a survival situation and then engage it to save yourself. It seems better to engage your chief tool from the very beginning (that is PLAN). And, of course, a good plan includes bringing along the tools that are least likely to fail and with which you individually are the most comfortable and skilled in their use. Just because a person 'knows' alot about survival, especially in the sense of adapting to circumstances, doesn't mean it wouldn't be stupid of them to bring a steak knife along as their only blade.
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That is the EXACTLY opposite of how I meant it. Using your head, and good old fashioned common sense is what will keep out you of a bad situation in the first place. Help you survive a bad one in the second.

Good planning, good kit, and the knowledge on how to implement both is what I was thinking.
 
You say you can do small chores with your big chopper, but you can't do them as easily with a smaller knife. Why not piggyback a cheap sak to your big chopper and do the small tasks much easier, with almost no weight difference?
I Will just keep using the sak and once in a while my forest small axe and 4 inch fixed blade get occasioanal use. If I have just the sak on me, if it's my farmer or OHT, then great, I would be glad to have it.
 
Ok Ill add in my 2 cents,
Sure, if I found myself in another serious survival situation, I would probably love to have a bigger blade, or a hatchet. But the truth is, I don't carry anything except a Vic. Farmer, so I would have to make do, and I have in the past. A Vic Farmer is what I feel comfortable with the most, so thats what I carry. Some may call me crazy or foolish, but it doesn't mean that I am unprepared for a survival situation because my knife choice is inferior to your knife choice.
 
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