bushcraft folder?

N

nc527

Joined
Mar 22, 2009
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Do you guys think a ZT 0302 will do well with bushcraft tasks, such as sheltermaking and light chopping? Also would It be covered under warrenty if it breaks or messes up during this? ex. like if the handles seperate or get farther apart or somthing.
 
I hate to give a bad answer...I often use a folder for bushicraft and I have this to offer..the most important functions of a folder in bushcraft related tasks.. in volve the tripple C factor... in other words it should be able to be carried, it should be a good cutter, and a good carver.. If you are looking to chop with a folder I think you are barking up the wrong tree IMO... From what I've read about ZT blades they are tough..but I think toughness of a knife is often over rated... and we often sacrifice the functionality of a blade for it's ability to be able to dismembaer a mac truck... I think that a decent folder and a machete will get you alot further in terms of versatility for allot less dough...but that's just me.
 
I think Riley hit the nail on the head.

Folders can be great for most cutting tasks, but I don’t push a folder into chopping duty or baton work.

I’m sure there are folders that can take it, but the folders I carry are all about cutting; I use a more appropriate tool for heavy work.





Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream
 
I think RescueRiley hit the proverbial nail on the head. (Do I hear an echo?)

The reason all most everyone advocates a fixed blade bushcraft knife with a 4" blade (approximately) is that with the use of a batton you can use "amplify" the size of your knife. By that I mean use if for things that would be much better suited to a larger tool. I wouldn't say you can't batton small straight grained things with a folding knife (I have with inexpensive BM Vex and Outdoor Edge Magna), but I would much rather have a fixed blade.

How well the knife cuts and carves are primarily functions of blade geometery. All knives have a blade geometery that sacrifices something. On a knife designed for "toughness" that could be fine cutting and carving ability.

That said I'm really not that familiar with ZT knives to tell you how they work in the bush. They may be the ultimate in a pocket bushcraft knife.

Or you could spend say $60.00 on a Mora, SAK, and Fiskers Hatchet or Ontario Matchete and have a fantastic bushcraft/survival blade kit with enough cash left over to buy a really good folder. Maybe a BM Ritter Grip?

Brandon
 
I carry a ZT MUDD for work, and I have used it to chop very light limbs or vines, but it was not made for such work and of course came up short. It did get the job done, eventually, but a larger fixed blade would have been a far better tool. Nothing against the MUDD, it's a great worker, just not any kinda chopper.

Andy
 
Get a GEC, Case, or Moore Maker trapper, a Wetterlings mini, and a Mora of some sort. All thy bases shall then be covered and for far less than the ZT. ZT makes fine knives, but they are designed for things other than bushcraft. If you like the ZT, by all means get it. As I said, they make fine knives. But there are better, and less expensive, bushcrafting tools out there.

ETA: If you must have a chopping folder, then I would look at (and it pains me to say this) Cold Steel's larger folders, such as the Spartan and Rajah series of knives, or even the larger Voyagers.
 
bkduckworth said:
Mors L. Kochanski?

Just a guess.
Click to expand...

I'm quite interested in it. I'd like to know who first started that trend. My Dad did it with a stick on the back of a knife to split a deer's pelvis and there have been carpenter's tools, OLD tools, designed for this type of work but I would like to know who started the trend using smaller fixed blade knives for batonning.
 
I think I first read about it in Field and Stream several years ago and I'm pretty sure that article referenced Mors. Come to think of it I'd seen uncles batton knives through deer's pelvis with a rock! Dad didn't use the rock method, he just cut a ring around the sphincter (just saying that makes me pucker!).
 
so will it hold up to bushcrafting tasks? I just dont want to f up my $250 knife.
 
Sorry we got off topic.

I don't think you'll hurt your knife using it for bushcraft activities, just use some common sense. If its what you like by all means buy it.

Brandon
 
Not to be rude, but what is the point in getting a $250 blade if you are scared of messing it up? Get a mora, SAK and some sort of hatchet and it will be WELL under that and accomplish all that you want.

You want to baton, or chop, and a folder is 100% not the tool to be chopping or batoning with. Some people even think it is wrong to baton fixed blades. (I don't think any of the W&SS folks do, but..)

If you want to baton and chop, get the right tool for the job. Not just a blade you want to have and hope it can do all of the things.
 
TheGame said:
Some people even think it is wrong to baton fixed blades. (I don't think any of the W&SS folks do, but..)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it was "wrong" to baton blades and I would never flat-out state that I wouldn't do it. But I do think that a lot of blades are being judged too harshly on the ability to perform this task which, unless I am wrong, was historically performed using a froe knife to make shingles and similar things in carpentry and woodworking. I just received a Charlie Ridge Golok a week and a half or so ago and this thing looks like it would not only tolerate "batonning" but it also looks like it was made to do it. I don't care if it was or not, I'm just saying that knives like these are much closer to the original "baton blades" and one should not judge some of the other knives by the ability or inability to "baton."
 
I use a folder for 90% of the task I do while hiking and in the woods (except for hunting, I always use a FB to dress animals). I carry a Griptilian most of the time because it is easily carried and cuts well. I carried a ZT0200 last time I hiked and really liked it. The recurve is extreme enough to actually make a difference when you are slicing something near the handle (unlike a BM710). I use my folders ONLY for cutting, and even though I bring a hatchet, I only use it a few times when I'm out. I think the need for something heavy duty is overrated, if it can't cut, it better be heavy duty because I'm going to throw it.
 
Don Rearic said:
I wouldn't say it was "wrong" to baton blades and I would never flat-out state that I wouldn't do it. But I do think that a lot of blades are being judged too harshly on the ability to perform this task which, unless I am wrong, was historically performed using a froe knife to make shingles and similar things in carpentry and woodworking. I just received a Charlie Ridge Golok a week and a half or so ago and this thing looks like it would not only tolerate "batonning" but it also looks like it was made to do it. I don't care if it was or not, I'm just saying that knives like these are much closer to the original "baton blades" and one should not judge some of the other knives by the ability or inability to "baton."
Click to expand...

I agree with blades being judged to harshly based on batoning ability. I do, however expect a quality blade to be able to perform batoning, even if not heavy batoning.

Of course, that is only one mans opinion.
 
A lot of the online nonsense left a bad taste in my mouth and I sort of cringe when I hear the word "battoning," however it is spelled. When someone criticizes a knife (and a company) because it broke when they tried to hammer it through a frozen log with a knot in it - the validity of the test and the debate gets pear-shaped, real fast, to me. That's one of the reasons I was always interested in people's opinions of survival skills versus what has come to be known as "bushcraft."

Like I said up above, I'm not even saying I wouldn't do it! I'd do it if I had to but I can't see an absolute necessity to baton a knife through a log or whatever, anyway. I can see using any knife that way to hammer/baton and chunk out a section of a piece of wood to create trap triggers and the like if you didn't have a saw, etc. It seems to be the move towards not wanting to carry a hatchet or some other tool and the poor knife takes it right in the ass again, being required to do more than it should. Realize I'm talking about a lot of posts and threads and not really this one. Just got me to thinking.
 
More and more lately, I've been using my GEC #23 as my go-to knife, paired with a Vic Spirit multitool. They both fit together in a Leatherman Surge pouch, making them convenient to carry.

The big GEC is robust, but I wouldn't chop or baton with it.
 
ZT makes fine, well-built knives... that are not designed for bushcraft.

Underscoring what many have already said, buy yourself a Mora, a Grip, and a Fiskars hatchet and learn the skills. Gear is way too overrated and skills too underrated.

If you are bound and detirmined to use a more high-end folder for bushcraft, just make sure you find one with a comfortable handle--none of which will be as comfortable as a good fixed blade.
 
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