-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Any of y'all use a sub 4" blade for bushcraft/camping?
- Thread starter sisk61
- Start date
That's the bark river bushcrafter 3v with impala horn scales.
Its a nice combo and lots of friends have commented on it.
I carry a benchmark Backpacker with me almost always along side my F1 and Vic Huntsman. I like to have a smaller fixed blade on me for alot of smaller work. I chose the Benchmark Backpacker because its just cheap enough not to worry about. Ive already lost an Izula in the bush once. if it happens again i might just tear up.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2006
- Messages
- 7,038
You will love this axe. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Fiddleback Forge Hiking Buddy
Takes care of small tasks including fish and feather sticks:
Dang i need to get one of those.. Ive been wanting one for a while.. I had a Fiddleback Bushcrafter at one time, and i regret trading it away.. Awesome pics!
I know how to sharpen and maintain a convex, ive just heard some people have a problem with the F1 for some reason.. I need to get an F1 AND a Hiking Buddy!
I learned to be a low impact backpacker 20 years ago. That style of backpacking doesn't require much of a knife, mostly you are opening food packs, maybe cutting a string, things like that, and certainly no bushcraft. And for multi day backpacking trips you certainly don't want to be carrying much weight. For most of my backpacking I carried a very lightweight folder like the original Gerber LST. We carried our food, our shelter (tent) and our cooking utensils (backpacker stove).
I don't anticipate any backpacking where I would need to do bushcraft but while car camping I generally carry a heavier duty knife. I have a bigger selection of knives now and for future car camping I would carry a bigger knife than before. Actually I would carry my standard folder such as a Spyderco Para 2 or a ZT 0561, but I would carry a larger fixed blade just for grins such as a Cold Steel GI Tanto.
I don't anticipate any backpacking where I would need to do bushcraft but while car camping I generally carry a heavier duty knife. I have a bigger selection of knives now and for future car camping I would carry a bigger knife than before. Actually I would carry my standard folder such as a Spyderco Para 2 or a ZT 0561, but I would carry a larger fixed blade just for grins such as a Cold Steel GI Tanto.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2006
- Messages
- 5,944
svord peasant knife.. friction folder.. 3 inch blade.. can safely be battoned to split modest kindling. sharpenough for everything else.. suitable for a walk in the park, or the deep woods. (especially if you have a chopper)
Ive been meaning to get one. They seem perfect for a bushcraft folder. great price too.
Lightleak: How does it work wood? those are great looking knives.
Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,053
Most of the knives I carry for hiking are over four inches, ususally 4.25 to 5 inches. But I do have a couple that are less than 4 that I really like. I prefer to back them up with something larger on longer hikes into deeper woods or if camping, but both have been great for smaller chores on day hikes.
One is a Fiddleback Hiking Buddy. As previously mentioned by Schmittie it's an awesome little knife that is a very capable tool that has about a 3-1/8 inch blade
The other is a Humpback by Chris at KFU knives that I really like a lot. It has about a 3-3/4 inch blade
One is a Fiddleback Hiking Buddy. As previously mentioned by Schmittie it's an awesome little knife that is a very capable tool that has about a 3-1/8 inch blade
The other is a Humpback by Chris at KFU knives that I really like a lot. It has about a 3-3/4 inch blade
- Joined
- May 5, 2003
- Messages
- 2,493
I'd pick the Fallkniven F1 in an instant if the handle was larger! I'm a big guy and the grip is just too small to be comfortable and safe-feeling for me. I still love mine, though. But my favorite all-around sub-4" woods-bumming knives are a Busse BAD and a Randall Trout and Bird (both are pricey and difficult to procure).
If I knew I was going to be carrying a hatchet or small axe, I would not hesitate to carry a Mora: best bang for the buck, by a long shot! Even without a hatchet on hand, I wouldn't feel disadvantaged with a Mora.
Stay sharp,
desmobob
If I knew I was going to be carrying a hatchet or small axe, I would not hesitate to carry a Mora: best bang for the buck, by a long shot! Even without a hatchet on hand, I wouldn't feel disadvantaged with a Mora.
Stay sharp,
desmobob
Last edited:
Most of the knives I carry for hiking are over four inches, ususally 4.25 to 5 inches. But I do have a couple that are less than 4 that I really like. I prefer to back them up with something larger on longer hikes into deeper woods or if camping, but both have been great for smaller chores on day hikes.
One is a Fiddleback Hiking Buddy. As previously mentioned by Schmittie it's an awesome little knife that is a very capable tool that has about a 3-1/8 inch blade
The other is a Humpback by Chris at KFU knives that I really like a lot. It has about a 3-3/4 inch blade
Dang i wish i had more money! I wish i could buy all these knives mentioned.. Ive had both a KFU and a Fiddleback, and i loved them. The blade geo was spot-on
desmobob: Both of those knives are on my long term list.. But i feel like if i was able to spend that much on a randall or busse, id be way too scared to use it..
- Joined
- May 5, 2003
- Messages
- 2,493
I never felt that way about the Busse, but still do about the Randall. And that's a shame, really. I am starting to carry it more often, but am still leery about doing any "hard use" kind of stuff with it. The idea of a stick tang in a stag handle just seems fragile to me, although I'm sure it's much tougher than I think it is. I usually carry it on casual hikes or while grouse hunting. It's almost too pretty to use! The photo I posted just doesn't do it justice.
Stay sharp,
desmobob
Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,053
Andy and Chris both make great knives, and both really impress me with what is gotten for the money spent.
I sort of feel the same when I am standing at a booth looking at the prices of Randalls, but I can still remember my first serious lessons in knife skills in the bush. They were taught to me by a close friend of my mother, a man whom I saw as an uncle, when I was twelve years old. He taught me skills using a Randall 1-6 with a stacked leather handle that had seen three tours of Vietnam and had a lot of scars to show for it. He didn't exactly baby that knife. Now stag has limitations all it's own when it comes to fragility and temperature sensitivity, and yes stick tangs have their limits, but well made stick tangs are very serviceable knives. I still catch flack from some friends and family about me using a Catteraugus 225Q for teaching classes on wet conditions fire starting, and beating on a 70 year old antique, but it handles the abuse just fine. I just make sure I am holding onto the back of the blade when I am prying and not the handle.
I live in a dry climate where rust is not an issue, but have had times in the woods where I couldn't avoid being wet for long periods of time hunting. Blade coatings will help with rust prevention in those situations. I don't care if something looks tactical or not, if it works, I usually like it (form follows function for me).
I've never bought into the whole line of thinking that blades without coatings cut better. Once I thin my edges out - which I do much more drastically than most people, I sincerely doubt the human hand would be able to tell the difference. I have lots of knives that cut extremely well, both coated and uncoated.
If it bothers you, you can either strip it, or simply not buy the knife. There's lots of finishes on blades that I don't like. I can't stand highly polished blades, or on the other end of the spectrum, blades with hammer marks and black marks to make it look ancient or unfinished. I think a well coated blade looks nicer. YMMV.
Lots of sub-4" blades go afield with me.
T.M. Hunt "Magua" (bottom knife).
Ive been wanting a T.M. Hunt knife for some time.. I Just havent heard enough about them to make me pull the trigger. How do you like it?