Bushcraft: ESEE vs. Steak Knives

adaman04 said:
I just used the 5 as a steak knife a while ago. I had 2 frozen KC strips packed together and I used the 5 to baton the frozen steaks apart. I went "Man I wish I had something to split those with and was looking the the kitchen. Then the light came on in my head. :D
Click to expand...

All this talk of steak has got me wanting to fire up the new grill I bought tonight.

:D
 
A majority of the knives used in south america and the far east, where a knife really is life, would be considered "kitchen knives". Thin and inexpensive.

In the Philippines the locals who live off the land will quickly discard our thick, expensive knives and pick up a "Ginsu 2000" to go along with their leafspring made choppers.

It's really not about the knife, it's about the skill of the individual using it.
 
stabman said:
Carbon steel for sure.
Otherwise I couldn't induce the all important patina.;)
Patina shows that it's Old School authentic woodsy goodness.:D
Click to expand...

But what kind of patina? Mustard? Vinnegar? Potato? Apple? Natural patina from use? And does it have any pattern made in it? How dark will the patina be?

Oh and what kind of edge are you going to be putting on these "bushcraft" knives?
 
rocketbomb said:
But what kind of patina? Mustard? Vinnegar? Potato? Apple? Natural patina from use? And does it have any pattern made in it? How dark will the patina be?
Click to expand...

Why not some in each sort?:)
Lemon juice for a uniform (and dark) patina, tree sap for the natural look, maybe a potato/apple/lemon "shishkabob" pattern...
For your $89.99 you should have options available, right?
 
stabman said:
Shh, if you keep saying that, no one will buy my jazzed up steak kni..I mean Bushcraft knives.:D
Click to expand...

I'd buy two if you can get me some handle slabs made from deck boards from Noah's Ark. I gotta have rare handle materials...that is how I roll...I mean "run".
 
Sign me up for one of those bushcraft steak knives! Saves me from buying a TOPS Tactical Steak Knife. I prefer to use the term "bushcraft" in the woods anyway.

I love to watch people misuse knives, as long as they are not mine.

But seriously, a good cheap kitchen knife to start with, the Old Hickory line. There's a knife test where the butcher knife gets hammered through 2X4's for an hour, with a 3lbs sledge hammer. Unfortunatly, their smaller "steak" knife is not full tang.
 
unit said:
I'd buy two if you can get me some handle slabs made from deck boards from Noah's Ark. I gotta have rare handle materials...that is how I roll...I mean "run".
Click to expand...

How about pieces off a canoe from a guy named Noah?
:D
 
stabman said:
I think the accepted wisdom would suggest that people want a convex edge.
Click to expand...

Depends on the flavor of bushcrafter, although most knives labelled "bushcraft" knives that I know of have scandi ground edges on them. They better not have a microbevel either, because that's not a *real* scandi grind!
 
foxx said:
But seriously, a good cheap kitchen knife to start with, the Old Hickory line. There's a knife test where the butcher knife gets hammered through 2X4's for an hour, with a 3lbs sledge hammer. Unfortunatly, their smaller "steak" knife is not full tang.
Click to expand...

Some kitchen knives are surprisingly tough.:)
I think I'll start looking for some full tang steak knives in carbon steel when the next round of student lons comes in...
 
rocketbomb said:
Depends on the flavor of bushcrafter, although most knives labelled "bushcraft" knives that I know of have scandi ground edges on them. They better not have a microbevel either, because that's not a *real* scandi grind!
Click to expand...

It might be harder to find steak knives that could be scandied up though.:(
 
Yeah a hardcore bushcrafter might not like a bushcraft knife that isn't scandi. Flat grind with convex edge would probably be acceptable though. Hollow grind is right out!

All this pedantic bushcraft knife talk has got me tired of my own attempts to parody the bushcraft scene.

Let's grill some steaks and eat them. I don't give a flying ferret what kind of knife we cut them with.
 
rocketbomb said:
Let's grill some steaks and eat them. I don't give a flying ferret what kind of knife we cut them with.
Click to expand...

that's the plan for this evening. will be using a Victorinox kitchen knife.

hmmm, i need to go get some more potato salad before dinner! :D
 
I like to take a MINIMUM of 3 knives with me into the bush - something big & full tang that can handle the 'hard use' tasks, I have several candidates for this:
BK-9
HI Khukuri
ESEE Lite Machete
KA-BAR Kukri Machete
BK-7

Secondly:
I also like to have a smaller knife with scandi grind for carving and finer work, that would be one of my Mora knives.

Thirdly:
I like to take a SAK for the multiple useful camping tools - saw, scissors, small knife, file, can opener, bottle opener, tweezers, etc.

Then once I have my 3 core knives sorted then I'll add 2 or more other knives to take for playing with/backup/certain tasks. My steak (food prep) knife might be one of my stainless Mora knives or an Opinel knife.

Of course there is nothing to say that my steak knife at home wont be something other than a cheap serrated steak knife from the kitchen drawer. I actually prefer to use a 'sharp' plain edge blade to cut my steak anyway. I am happy to use one of my Opinel knives to eat steak at home, my fancy one is the #8 stainless with walnut handle - it slices steak just fine! Last Xmas at dinner with the family I checked mum's drawer and found that all the steak knives were in use and the drawer was empty, I fished in my pocket to see what I could find and pulled out my Opinel #6 carbon - that sliced my steak quite nicely thank you! I'm sure I could have gotten by with using my Izula as a steak knife, of course.

The obvious question for the OP is what knives in particular are we talking about when he mentions knives for bushcraft that look like cheap kitchen steak knifes?
What bushcraft tasks are these knives intended to be used for? Food prep? Carving? Skinning?
If someone goes into the bush with an axe and a knife then what tasks will that knife be needed for?

If you are buying a knife then you need to consider what the various tasks are that you will use the knife for and buy something that can handle those tasks & more. If you carry a SAK that can handle fine cutting then maybe a larger stronger knife will handle everything else or maybe you don't want so much weight if you are hiking long distances? An ESEE-3 or ESEE-4 might be the idea general purpose knife without too much weight or you might want something stronger like an ESEE-5. They are all good and which is best depends on your needs & wants.
 
If you were caught up in some epic survival struggle in a harsh wilderness, you might want the best gear available ... but you might not have brought that along. Would a Mora be nice to have, or one of the current bushcraft knives? Of course. No axe, no saw, no machete, -- no Busse? A good puukko looks a lot like a steak knife, and that's what most of our fairly recent ancestors made sure they had with them all the time.

As shotgunner11 said, "A majority of the knives used in south america and the far east, where a knife really is life, would be considered "kitchen knives". Thin and inexpensive.

In the Philippines the locals who live off the land will quickly discard our thick, expensive knives and pick up a "Ginsu 2000" to go along with their leafspring made choppers.

It's really not about the knife, it's about the skill of the individual using it."
 
Most of the bushcraft work I have seen done in the jungles of South America was either done with a machete or some old tramontina steak/kitchen knife. They're is no such thing as a perfect bushcraft knfie just like there's no such thing as a perfect killing knife. Anyone who tells you otherwise is 100 percent full of shit. I hate freakin' purists. I use to run into the same type of weirdo purists when I was caving (spelunking). They would get all pissed off if you left a footprint where it wasn't suppose to go or using the wrong damn petzel ascender. Just like the purist "bushcraft" guys I pretty much told them to f**k off and did it my own way. Needless to say there were a lot of pits and caves I never got invited to explore.
 
I like using cheap knives in a way. I focus on the task, and my skill rather than the tool. It's the same with guitar, for me. I have owned Martins, but I've had a $40 acoustic as well.
I guess there are tools that are just crap, that will break. But, getting out there is the point. Like many have pointed out before, Man has survived without steel for thousands of years. Sticks and stones can break bones, and cut your steak!
 
I figured the OP was talking about Moras. Ain't nothing wrong with a Mora.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top