Being "prepared"

overnight pack, B11 or mistress

Day pack, probably B10, SHe, or maybe NOe, or ZT's

I always have a pretty good folder on me, but I still almost always bring my CABS too.

It will be fun to get the Kill Devil and Scrapmax out there to try out. I always carry more blade than I need, and never mind the weight.
 
For the better part of two years now, if I have had on pants/shorts and a belt I have my meaner HACK on that leather belt which also doubles as a strop. It has chopped, sliced, hacked, split, pried, screwed, shaved and hammered it's way into being on my person more often than my wallet or keys, so I don't buy the "fixed blades can't be an EDC mentality" one bit. I will admit that the right sheath and overall length of the blade is the key, along with a good little lanyard to let you choke back and simulate a couple of more inches of handle when chopping. The SAR 3, S5LE and BAD all preceded this HACK, but have not been able to topple it from 1st choice.

For EDC Bussekin:
1st choice Meaner HACK (or an AD or GW HACK for shorter blade restricted states)
158b3t5.jpg


2nd choice SAR 3
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3rd choice BAD, AD, Meaner/High Street/Sus Scrofa (all with the bird's beak removed AD style, they hurt something awful if you get poked by them) or Game Warden.
Maybe a BOSS Street/CABS if the butt was shortened a bit as it seems a little too long even in my hand for such a short blade.
4th choice S5LE or SS4 (the lighter weight handle really takes away from the chopping ability)

If you are talking about in a small pack that you don't wear but keep with you then I would say any SAR shorter than the 8 (4,5,6,7 or squatch) or a Camp Tramp/711/Basic 6/7, but a BATAC/SJTAC/TankBuster are great too.
If your pack can fit longer or heavier than those, SAR 8 or B9/10 (same size blades essentially) or Battle Rat/911 or ideally a B11, but I would not pass up a Team Gemini for this task either.
In that range many choose the NMSFNO, but it's heavier than I need for a EDC pack and that pointy butt is dangerous to the user.
Anything bigger or heavier than 22 ounces is likely not to be found with me if I have to carry it for a long distance and will remain in the vehicle, which is why I am so excited about the new SHBM with a full tang and round butt at only 21 oz.:thumbup:
 
AZTimT said:
so I don't buy the "fixed blades can't be an EDC mentality" one bit.
Click to expand...

It is not a mentality for all of us Tim, it is a difference in local. It is like you trying to describe the best gun to hunt deer where you live but that gun is illegal to hunt with where I live. It is virtually illegal to edc a fixed blade knife in Ohio in my jurisdiction anyway. If it is concealed it is considered a weapon and no your CCW permit does NOT apply to knives in Ohio. If it is exposed on your belt and you go to the store.....it is not something that people see here outside of hunting season. The police will likely get called and you will likely be cited for inducing panic. That is if the store manager does not ask you to leave with threat of trespassing charges before then.

Irony?....Busse is from Ohio so they make the best knives that I cannot carry ever day in the same state.

I personally have carried a Spyderco Endura every day since about 1992.
 
Sad but true, Jerry is right. Locale DOES dictate what you can EDC; that's why I love living where I do!.;):thumbup:
 
I live in an urban environment, so my situation differs in that I don't carry a pack around with me.

But I do drive a lot. Consequently, I leave an 8-10 inch (not sure of the dimensions) K-Bar in my car at all times. Now, I'd like to leave my Busse (MOJO) or my SW (RMD LE) in there, but I couldn't stomach losing a busse or SW if someone broke into my car. So, in a way, the cost of the Busse and the SW make it a burden in a "always have with me" sort of way.

Does anyone else feel this way?
 
Very true Terry . I have thought several times about leaving a Busse in my car , but like you I'd be affraid it would be found and stolen if my car got broken into .

I use one of the new Magnum Bear Cubs as my EDC these days . I just stand the sheath in my front pocket and leave the lanyard hanging out of my pocket . This seems to keep the knife straight up and down in my pocket , making it carry much like a folder with a pocket clip . I feel that the MBC altough not very big , would be much stronger than most any folder if hard pressed .

However what I was really askng is what people would consider the optimum knife size to toss in a day pack that you would bring with you not only on outdoors hikes , but city trecks , road trips or what have you . I have just a small none military looking pack that also has place for water bottles that I used to use when cycling . Now I keep a few things in it (including a knife) that I think I could use if I was ever away from home and caught in some sort of disaster that made having some syrvival gear a big plus .

BUT this is gear that I hope to never have to use , so I'm not going to carry the weight of my Dogfather knife , folding saw and enough tarps and gear to build a small town . But I do feel a little better carrying a knife that I know I could do some tough cutting with and some pretty serious prying or digging if need be . Isn't that part of being prepared ?


............................................
HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
 
I am in a similar position to the guys in Ohio but even more so ... here in the UK an EDC is legally limited to a sub 3 inch slip joint ... so I carry a Spyderco UKPK.

In an urban environment using the "city bag" carry ... if I could I probably would keep something "stronger" on a fixed blade with me ... particularly if travelling on a train or underground tube ... something that could break a window in a crash or fire would make sense ... lot's of people in London carry a glass breaker hammer after so many underground fires and terrorist bombs where people were trapped in the carriges dying from smoke ... but for me those options of using a fixed blade all the time are illegal.
 
messer454 said:
It is not a mentality for all of us Tim, it is a difference in local. It is like you trying to describe the best gun to hunt deer where you live but that gun is illegal to hunt with where I live. It is virtually illegal to edc a fixed blade knife in Ohio in my jurisdiction anyway. If it is concealed it is considered a weapon and no your CCW permit does NOT apply to knives in Ohio. If it is exposed on your belt and you go to the store.....it is not something that people see here outside of hunting season. The police will likely get called and you will likely be cited for inducing panic. That is if the store manager does not ask you to leave with threat of trespassing charges before then.

Irony?....Busse is from Ohio so they make the best knives that I cannot carry ever day in the same state.

I personally have carried a Spyderco Endura every day since about 1992.
Click to expand...

Jerry, I get that, but I was speaking ONLY to the mentality, not legality in certain locales. ;)

Since you mentioned the legality: The problem sounds like an issue with laws passed as well as who chooses to enforce them how, which having met you, I know you are not a part of the problem so the following is not directed at anyone here.

Freedom should equally apply everywhere in this country or anywhere else for that matter, but people choose to tolerate that not being so. There was a time when you actually had to commit a crime against a body to be guilty of one, not just have the ability and means on your body with no intent. Where is the injured party in just carrying a fixed blade and without an injury, what is the crime? :confused: A victimless crime is like dehydrated water and does not exist anywhere but the mind, yet people don't argue with convictions/fines on victimless crimes (inciting panic or traffic tickets from cameras) while they refuse to buy bags/cans of dehydrated water because they know it is a joke/sham/moneygrab. Restrict my liberty because someone else is scared/ignorant/conditioned about a piece of sharpened metal... no thanks. :rolleyes: I have to wonder what happens if you go to the park with your family on a picnic and carry a butter knife in your pocket so you can make fresh PB&J sandwiches on a beautiful afternoon? Git'em:devilish: or is that not considered a fixed blade? Does it have to be metal or is plastic off limits too... how far does this get to go before we say enough of the crazy already!?:D

People thinking or believing you can't carry a fixed blade or hunt with a certain type of firearm in the first place is probably what led to the legal issues you mention. Where people live and what restrictions on freedom people are willing to accept from the highly conditioned sheeple around them is their choice, for whatever reason(s). If someone doesn't like those laws they are free to either work to change those laws or relocate to somewhere with less restrictions, if they choose, prisoners and slaves excepted. Heck, that is how this country was created in the first place, people chose to be free from others dictating all aspects of their lives and worked very hard at great cost to make it so, but the argument is that was a different time. Regardless of ease/convenience to do so or lack thereof, the ability is still there and if the individual sets them self on the intent of using that ability they most certainly can.

Funny observations from living on our place is the chickens that are free to leave anytime with no cages, pens or restrictions won't leave and in fact come back to lock themselves up in the restrictive coop every night like they were trained to while the yaks & dogs that are in their respective pens are always looking for ways to get out... I guess it depends on how aware of the fence one really is. Squirrels & ants don't need permits to gather their supplies for the winter, geese don't need FAA clearance or a TSA patdown to migrate, deer don't need licenses to travel the roads, wolves, bears & other predators don't need permits or have any other restrictions to hunt with the most efficient tools they have for the job, cougars don't need concealed carry permits for their claws... but people believe they are free. :p

In case you can't tell, being free to live the way one really wants while not harming anyone else is way more important to me than almost anything else and I am fully convinced it is the very first step to truly being prepared as being restricted just defines how unprepared you will really be when the time comes. After driving to Blade and back through 14 different states we got a taste of some of the restrictions some states have and it is really sad to see what others are willing to put up with. Notice the recent events in Aurora and now Milwaukee only seem to happen where everyone is unarmed as November draws near. We all need to be prepared.
 
If you have to settle for a folder, Spyderco just came out with a thick 3V G10/Ti frame lock called a Tuff.

[video=youtube;xyRE9rAUs7A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyRE9rAUs7A[/video]

Otherwise, a SAR4 will fit in a lot of places.

 
I'm currently living in Ireland and let me tell you, its wet, ALL THE F%"!$· TIME!! :D
Still I can reach dry wood by picking dead branches still hanging and peeling the bark off, so that's not a problem, yet still I carry a big knife. Why? Because it gives you more options, Its not just about chopping like an axe, its also about leverage to pry, dig, smash, a big knife can simply do more than a smaller one.
My Buswacker Mistress is about ideal. Big enough yet not super thick which I dont care for much anyway. The Boss Jack and Basic 6 that I bought, those two would be good general use knives, though a bit on the smaller side. I dont care for knives much smaller than that.
FerFAL
 
I carry a fixed blade whenever it's not socially awkward, although if i'm carrying a knife larger than 5" here, i had dang well better be able to demonstrate that i'm getting ready to do something "outdoorsy"

if you're carrying a sleeping bag or hiking pack, the cops don't care if you've got a machete on you, but carrying a 6" knife while wearing a button down shirt and slacks will get you a big azz ticket.
 
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