Blade size necessity

BOSS1

BOSS1

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Sep 16, 2008
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Greetings,

With all the grande-sized loppers and choppers on the market, I'll throw this out there:

What's your typical outting? Hunting, hiking, etc?

How big of a knife do you NEED on your typical outing?

What what other cutting tools (saw, axe, etc) do you carry?

If you only carry one knife, what else do you use it for (food prep, etc)?

About the biggest knife I have is a older Carbon V Trailmaster. I've carried it on the trail, and yeah, it's a bigger knife that I can use and if not carrying anything else might choose first. But most of the time, I'm more likely carry something in the 5-6" in range. I plan on adding a small Sawvivor or similar to the kit, and I think I'd probably be pretty well set for just about anything cutting related in the woods. All things being equal, you probably get more efficient energy use from a good saw than swinging a blade which is a less than ideal chopper (compared to an axe/hatchet anyway).

What say you gurus? Can you survive with a less 'manly'-sized blade?

BOSS
 
Well i'm no guru but when ever I go hikeing and camping i tend to carry a BK9 as my primary belt blade. Works real well for most camp chores. My Barry Dawson custom made hiking staff has a real handy blade in the handle which is good for all smaller chores, and I always have a BM 710 in my pocket as well as my BS SAK on a carabineer on my pack.
 
Honestly, the only time I've ever wanted a knife with a blade bigger than 3-4" was when I needed something to clear some brush, which would have been a task suited to a Machete. For chopping I prefer hatchets or axes, and splitting is best done with axes or splitting mauls, imho.
 
The first knive I purchased for hunting had a think 5" blade on it. It hasn't been used in over 20 years even though it is razor sharp and would be good at splitting wood. Knives that big are just way to much trouble to be used as a hunting knife.

In the other side, I carried a slip joint folder while hunting for about 5 years and found it did everything I needed. It didn't hold an edge all that well compared to the blades I have today. I even completely processed deer with it, deboning, cutting up the roast and steaks, etc. The blade was 3.5" long on that folder and it was almost perfect. What it lacked was a little longer blade for processing, a non slip grip, like G10, bone, or checkered wood, maybe even ruber. I also prefer a little stronger design for just in case you need the knive to survive a few days in the woods. For normal field/hunting use you couldn't ask for a better design though.

What I've settled down to is a 4" thin and narrow fixed blade, much like the Benchmade Bone collector caper. I have a few examples from Schrade, Buck, etc. and they pretty much all are prefect and give you that extra robustness you might need if you became lost or stuck in the woods for a few days. They are flat out great for processing big deer and way more knife than is needed for filed use.

Most of the wide thick blades sold today are a real pain to use and I've given most all of mine away now.
 
State park /national forest type hiking and camping is probably my most frequent "outing", always with dogs, sometimes with wife. I take a 3" - 3.5" folder (usually a Para-Mille) for most tasks, and a 4" bushcraft type FB made by Twin Blades in Statesboro, GA for non-folder work. They've always done everything that I needed to do with a blade.

If I traveled in a more primitive environment, I'd probably take something heavier for real chopping.
 
Last time I was hiking, I did everything I needed with Fiskars Handy 600 axe and Bark River Woodland Special with 3" blade. I had Full Tang Kephart with me JIC but everything was easily done with axe and 3" fixed blade.

I rather take knife + axe than chopper + knife combo. My axe is light, handy and weights around as much as my BK7 and is lighter than my Nepalese Khukuri.

For clearing bush or if going camping, then I would probably pack my Becker BK7 too... but Generally 3"-4" is everything I need.
 
When I'm just out hiking for fun all I carry is a large stockman. If I plan on being out overnight or all weekend I also bring along a hatchet. I've brought along fixed blades before but I don't ever do anything with them that couldn't be done with either a hatchet of slipjoint.
 
I like small fixed blades of the RC-3 / RC-4 size and large folders like BM 710, ZT 0301, XM-24 generally.

If camping I'd have my trusty Ontario RAT-1 (about 3.5" + or - blade) for beating up, an RC-4 and a very sharp machete like the ESSE which will go through about anything right up to shelter making size and then some - which I probably wouldn't need, but is nice to have.

I don't take saws or hatchets - I don't do any camping or hiking that requires them. :)
 
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Well, I see a knife that is 6-8" as being a "bigger" blade. You might be able to get away with such things like chopping and batoning with it, but on the other hand you might find that some tasks require a more delicate blade. However, if I'm just going for a small wilderness excursion into not-so-heavy wildlife area, I think this is the right size knife to take. Since I wouldn't personally be using it so much that its size would get in the way that is not much of a concern; however, the only reason having it on me being if "the shit hit the fan", it would be nice if it was big enough to be capable of some of the things that a smaller knife wouldn't be.

Otherwise, for planned trips of heavy hiking or camping, picking out an assortment of the right tools is a good idea, but I personally always carry a 6-8" fixed blade on me. I suppose maybe it's just my romantic notion of, "Well, if something happens, this is the one thing I can count on," but it just makes me feel safer that if I fell down a hill and my pockets and pack got tossed, that my fixed blade would still be attached to my hip.

That being said, depending on if I"m hiking or camping I'll take a machete or a saw and axe along with me. Sometimes when I go camping I'll take a machete anyway since it kind of goes with the territory of camping, but if I'm just trying to get a nice hike in carrying an axe and a saw is too much, so I just stick with the machete.

Of course, camping or hiking, I always have that 6-8" fixed blade for backup, and a smaller 3-4" folding knife in my pocket that generally sees the most use.
 
BOSS1 said:
What say you gurus? Can you survive with a less 'manly'-sized blade?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think so. A number of "professional" survival gurus seem to favor "bushcraft" or "puuko" style blades in the 4-5 inch range and, based on several decades of wandering the woods, I tend to agree. Of course this is even better supplemented with a small axe, but with knowledge, skill and enough patence, there is a lot you can accomplish with just a simple, medium sized knife in emergencies. ;)
 
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