"Bushcraft" knives

[dogstar]

I didn't want to hijack another thread so I'm starting a new one.

I've noticed a lot of "what bushcraft knife should I buy" threads on BF lately. The notion seems to be, in order to start practicing Bushcraft, one has to acquire a "Bushcraft knife." Also, I realize this is a knife collecting forum, and a "bushcraft knife" has become a class of knife to collect, like a "hunting knife" or a "fighting knife."

To quote forum member CWL: Knives are great, but "bushcraft" is a skillset. Great quote. Bushcraft is about learning by doing. Acquiring a knife is only step #1. Making notches, feather sticks, cooking rigs, etc., can be done with many knives, as long as they are sharp and comfortable to grip. The most bushcrafty think I did was carve a spoon (that gets used daily), and that was done with a $10 tacticool neck knife in 440a.

It's only my philosophy, but I start with inexpensive tools, like a Mora. If the hobby takes hold and I grow in proficiency, then I develop preferences, which will lead me to my next tool. If I become a master bushcrafter, I will reward myself with a custom knife, specified based on my experience.

Again, I understand this is a knife collecting forum, and for many, the end-goal is owning a beautiful, hand-crafted tool. I understand and appreciate that.

 

[Fancier]

Sorry to state the obvious, but the common definition of a bushcraft knife closely follows the form of a Pukko. Carbon steel, zero bevel grind, convenient handy size, rounded handle, straight spine, rounded blade profile, no guard. The biggest departure has been the full tang, which has probably been changed from the stick tang because few modern "bushcraft" knives are using in sub freezing temperatures where exposed steel might freeze to your hand/glove/mitten and some Pukkos have been broken by poor batoning technique.
To claim that a knife should not be referred to by the intended purpose unless you have a particular skill set to go with it is kind of silly.
I have a pen knife that has never sharpened a pen. Should I change the name of it?

 

[Fancier]

I have a gentlemen's folder and I am not a gentleman.
Should I purchase a less expensive folding knife to use until I refine my character?
I'm having fun with this, but I think what you are ridiculing is called "pretension", sort of like a person that owns a yacht but doesn't sail.

 

[zcd]

Not too long ago Nessmuks were all the rage too. I like doing knifey stuff outside, don't particularly care with what knife in particular. Not sure what I'm getting at, but there you have it

 

[Dorito Monk]

Dorito Monk's guide to knife buying:

Step 1: Buy what you want.
Step 2: Give zero hoots about what the internet thinks.
Step 3: Repeat as desired.

I really don't think there's anything wrong with people buying 'bushcraft' knives if they want to, whether or not they're even into 'bushcraft' when they buy them, or whether or not they even intend to use them for 'bushcraft' somewhere down the road.

At the same time, I think I can appreciate where you're coming from. I do find it a bit annoying when people get into a hobby, go looking for advice on an internet forum, and get told by all and sundry to go buy the most expensive hobby kit imagineable right off the bat, before they're even sure they want to continue with the hobby. People come onto this forum all the time asking for, say, a good knife for under 40$ to start off with, and there's always some genius who tells them something along the lines of "Skip all those cheap knives and just start out with a Spyderco Military / Sebenza / Hinderer - you shouldn't even bother with anything less!"

It's the same with any hobby - go to a forum to find out more about it, and they'll instantly tell you to go drop hundreds of dollars on kit if they're even thinking of getting into said hobby. It holds true for weighlifting, guitar playing, knife collecting, camping, hunting, shooting... What I do with just about any of my hobbies is start out with the bare minimum kit, go try the hobby, and then (if I feel the need), move on to fancier kit somewhere down the road. It doesn't really make sense to me for someone to drop, say, a couple of thousand dollars on a guitar / amp setup before they've even learned how to play, and it doesn't make any more sense to me why someone would drop 500$ or more on a knife before they've even learned how to sharpen, whittle, whatever.

 

[Thomas Linton]

This has all been discussed here several times in the last few years. Two threads active right now.

But I'll play. ^___^

Some knives are more useful than others for a given task.
Some knives are less useful than others for a given task.
The knife touted/popular as better/ best for a given task MAY actually be better/best for that task - or not.

See "Dorito Monk," Knife Philosopher. :thumbup:

 

[knifehunt]

Using the proper tool for the job at hand makes it much easier, and more enjoyable. Ever try carving a bowl or spoon with a clip point vs a kephart style blade?

 

[dogstar]

Ever try carving a bowl or spoon with a clip point vs a kephart style blade?

I did mine with one of these:

 

[jimh0220]

Bushcraft: (Def) Cheesy catch phrase formed by some Brit who wanted to make himself important by carving sticks and camping the hard way with a knife self identified as a "Bushcraft" knife, that has not real features which define it as such, all in order to sell more s**t.

You are welcome.