Any of y'all use a sub 4" blade for bushcraft/camping?

Our ancestors used flakes of stone to skin and eviscerate everything from squirrels to mastodons, so sub 4" blades work fine for most any cutting. My fav's include a Dozier K1, Marbles Fieldcraft, Roselli Carpenter, Russell Canadian Belt Knife, Buck 110, Bark River Woodland, BM Mini-Rukus, Falkniven F1 and H1... and probably several others.
 
My primary bush knife is a BR Aurora in 3V. It's near indestructible and does lots of things well. I've used it to whittle, carve, slice, clean, cut, chop, split, you name it and it just works. I will definitely say it's a little long for some things and then I find myself reaching for a knife I am seldom without, my BR Bravo Necker II, also in 3V. This knife is capable of so much more than it's diminutive size reveals. For such an easy carrying knife, it's quite something.

I also use a BR Gunny in A2, but mostly for cleaning game. And I have no trouble using good folders either. My SAK Electrician gets a lot of use, as do a bunch of my BM AXIS folders like my Ritter Grip and others.
 
I always have a little necker, either the AG Russell WoodsWalker or the Izula. They do almost all camp chores with ease.
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I prefer a sub 4-inch blade. It is sufficient for shaving, carving, and notching, and I find that a shorter blade is more manageable when cleaning game. I can carry it in my pocket all day every day and not have to worry about putting a knife on my belt before I go out.

Pair it with the chopper of your choice, big knife, axe, machete, or tomahawk, and I'm confident I can do anything that needs doing.

Fire102.jpg
 
sisk61 said:
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?
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In hand so far, it's great. I haven't really used it that much though.
Tomorrow, I have a Kelly Kettle coming in, and I plan to take both Hunt knives out to do a review with the kettle.
 
I'll be honest. All of my chores are accomplished with a folder during my hunts, hikes, camping and survival training. I don't baton with a knife. I just pick up dead fall. That is easier and burns less energy. I can find all I need for a debri hut on the ground. Anything that needs to be chopped is done with a hawk. Though I do carry a fixed blade always, I hardly use it. I grind a firesteel notch in all my folders too. Helps get more sparks.

Some of my fixed blades under 4":
Buck Alpha Hunter
and a number of kitchen knives I've scrapped to make small PSKs.

Folders:
Kershaw One Ton
Buck 442
Buck Vantage Pro Avid
GEC Yellow Rose Cattle Baron
Schatt & Morgan Heritage Woodsman

These are the most used right now.
 
I'm quite surprised just how much the 4 inch Condor Kephart has grown on me. Great value for the $30 bucks I spent with none of the safe queen angst.

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I'm with most folks here, and consider a sub-4" knife fine for most tasks. I backpacked for years with only a SAK and a Dozier Yukon. Never had a problem doing any bushcraft tasks. Back then I just called them tasks. Not a lot of folks still tout the hollow grind, and I have gone away from them almost entirely in favour of Scandi and convex, but truth be told, nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever produced the fine shavings that my Doziers have. Ridiculous, really... I wouldn't want to put a whole lot of lateral stress on the edge, but for any hunting or wood shaving task, they are about the best, IMO.
Bottom line, if I'm camping and bushcrafting, a nice sub 4" Scandi like my newly acquired Enzo or a BHK, and I'm set. Add a folding saw or one of the GB axes. For hunting, it's gotta be Dozier.

For better or worse, these days I have more knives than time to test/use them, so I usually have an arsenal with me anyway. Heavy, sure, but I gotta play with my knives...
 
Some of my favorite Sub 4"

Adventure Sworn 3 1/8"
carver5.jpg


Enzo Birk (on the bottom)
puk1.jpg


I love this little blade, 3 1/4 Brian Andrews in D2. Actually this is a really fantastic deer gutting blade.
bga.jpg



love this little Aito Pukko. Sub 4" and VERY light due to the birch bark handle.
ap5vh.jpg


I haven't used this one so much cause it's so hard to sharpen but it's one I put together using one of the Lauri progressive tempered blades 63! and a block of micarta.
lauri.jpg



A little blade Wolwend made me:
pocket1.jpg
 
hollowdweller said:
Some of my favorite Sub 4"

Adventure Sworn 3 1/8"
carver5.jpg


Enzo Birk (on the bottom)
puk1.jpg


I love this little blade, 3 1/4 Brian Andrews in D2. Actually this is a really fantastic deer gutting blade.
bga.jpg



love this little Aito Pukko. Sub 4" and VERY light due to the birch bark handle.
ap5vh.jpg


I haven't used this one so much cause it's so hard to sharpen but it's one I put together using one of the Lauri progressive tempered blades 63! and a block of micarta.
lauri.jpg



A little blade Wolwend made me:
pocket1.jpg
Click to expand...

That Adventure Sworn is a neat knife! Does it work well for other tasks than whittling? I have a Wohlwend pukko, but i do not like the grind on it.. i think it was one of his earlier knives. Its an awesome design though
 
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