Bushcraft?

[skypeace]

Over the years we hunted, fished, camped and hiked using our hunting knives, hatchets and axes and in Scouts we might have called it wood lore or woodsmanship, on the farm it was just living.

For the last decade or so it seems I have learned that I got it all wrong, instead of a hatchet or axe I should be using a knife to cut wood and the knives I have trusted are all wrong, I have the wrong steels and the grinds should be scandie and I need to learn bushcraft.

Can someone please help me, what did I miss? You like Buck knives, I like Buck knives, but now they are not Bushcraft and we shouldn't even try to go into the woods with them.

 

[pjsjr]

Can someone please help me, what did I miss?

IMNSHO, it's all media driven. Too many people won't or can't think for themselves. They are made to believe if you don't wear this or drink that, or use this and have that, then you are not going to succeed in life's endeavors...but you will get a participant's ribbon.

 

[_mike_]

Over the years we hunted, fished, camped and hiked using our hunting knives, hatchets and axes and in Scouts we might have called it wood lore or woodsmanship, on the farm it was just living.

For the last decade or so it seems I have learned that I got it all wrong, instead of a hatchet or axe I should be using a knife to cut wood and the knives I have trusted are all wrong, I have the wrong steels and the grinds should be scandie and I need to learn bushcraft.

Can someone please help me, what did I miss? You like Buck knives, I like Buck knives, but now they are not Bushcraft and we shouldn't even try to go into the woods with them.

Nope, you did not get it wrong, you got it correct and it seems you have an excellent grasp of the concept of using the right tool for the right job.
Mike

 

[jbmonkey]

ya didn't get it wrong, you were right all along.

 

[DeSotoSky]

 

[DeSotoSky]

I was going to just grab a screen shot but the whole video is just too much fun (or maybe painful) to watch.
...Bushcraft with a Victorinox....

 

[GPyro]

I thought bushcraft was people trying to justify knife abuse because they didn't own an axe/hatchet.
.....many knives, but no hatchet.

I have both; axes and hatchets, (not to mention 3 chainsaws), so I guess I'm immune.

 

[BP_]

There’s no reason for the newest and hottest knife/steel that isn’t really very good at any one task, unless you put a fancy new word on it and create an image based on said word.

 

[bertl]

I was going to just grab a screen shot but the whole video is just too much fun (or maybe painful) to watch.
...Bushcraft with a Victorinox....

Is this supposed to be a joke? Watching it, a couple of things come to mind. Did he use the Victorinox to get the straight clean cuts on the ends of the wood he was batoning? If he was doing something for firewood, why not pick up some of the thin dead branches and twigs on the ground right next to him? One or two minutes of walking around would probably yield a fair amount of firewood.

 

[longbow1968]

Bushcraft: The latest name for camping and general woodsman-ship. Seems to be a general heading for a lot of things I enjoy, however I have no desire to spend even one night in a debris hut, especially in the Southeast.

 

[st8yd]

Agreed!, with all the above.

 

[skypeace]

This is for Bushes...

And this is for Wood...

....and this is for Fire!

 

[wildmike]

The so called super steels offer very little in performance gain, and are harder to field sharpen.
So I'll stick to my Bucks and some others in 5160, 1095, 420HC,. I do have a few with s30 v blades but I just don't see any performance gain.

As to batoning wood it was first taught as an emergency measure.

The scandi grind they tout so highly. While it carves well, rolls and chips when it hits anything hard.

Believe it or not my Buck 119 does yeoman service as a bushcraft knife in every application.
And it cuts way batter in most uses for it isn't a thick wedge.

A decent hatchet or even light axe will out chop every knife out there, including a kukri whixh I have a lot of experience with.

Throw in a folding saw, or even better yet a bow saw for the crosscut work. Yoy'll save a lot of energy.

 

[skypeace]

The so called super steels offer very little in performance gain, and are harder to field sharpen.
So I'll stick to my Bucks and some others in 5160, 1095, 420HC,. I do have a few with s30 v blades but I just don't see any performance gain.

As to batoning wood it was first taught as an emergency measure.

The scandi grind they tout so highly. While it carves well, rolls and chips when it hits anything hard.

Believe it or not my Buck 119 does yeoman service as a bushcraft knife in every application.
And it cuts way batter in most uses for it isn't a thick wedge.

A decent hatchet or even light axe will out chop every knife out there, including a kukri which I have a lot of experience with.

Throw in a folding saw, or even better yet a bow saw for the crosscut work. Yoy'll save a lot of energy.

*****

Thank you kindly for confirming what I have learned from my elders since I was a little whippersnapper even before being a Cub Scout.

 

[eveled]

As to batoning (fire) wood it was first taught as an emergency measure..

while I certainly agree with most of your post. If you add the fire to wood then you are spot on.

Batoning wood is a valid carpentry / woodcraft skill that goes back 100’s of years.

It’s done with a froe not a knife. Making shingles is an obvious use. It was and still is used to make tool handles, chair legs etc

By batoning with a froe you end up with a much stronger tougher handle that has a grain structure that goes from one end to the other. If you saw cut a handle you end up cutting across some of the grain. Making it weaker.

a smart person: I’m gonna take a hatchet for wood and a knife suited to cutting meat and food prep. Making my life in the field easier

the other guy: I’m gonna take a knife that weighs more than your hatchet and knife put together. (To lighten the load?)

Then I’m gonna struggle to chop wood and struggle to cut meat and prepare meals with it. Because I like to struggle with stuff and exert extra effort then post about it.

 

[skypeace]

a smart person: I’m gonna take a hatchet for wood and a knife suited to cutting meat and food prep. Making my life in the field easier

the other guy: I’m gonna take a knife that weighs more than your hatchet and knife put together. (To lighten the load?)

Then I’m gonna struggle to chop wood and struggle to cut meat and prepare meals with it. Because I like to struggle with stuff and exert extra effort then post about it.

Thanks for the belly laugh, was well appreciated.

 

[Lesknife]

I’ve seen many threads that ask ; if you only had one knife what would it be?
My question is why would someone want to limit themselves to just one knife if you’re planning to do anything that requires a knife or wood cutting tool ? I like to have at least two knives with me at all times and sometimes three no matter what I’m doing.

Like you when I’m going camping or other outdoor activities or just traveling I’m going to have in my gear storage box or bag an axe or hatchet, a machete or froe, a saw of some kind, a larger fixed blade , and a medium sized fixed blade, I already have at least two 110 folders with me, my edc flipper clipped on and a stockman in my pocket as well as a few other take alongs just in case. Along with other essential items for making camp, a fire, prepping food and cooking. I will even take a cordless 10 inch chainsaw and extra batteries for cutting firewood when we go camping or night fishing.
I know this isn’t the same as a survival kind of situation or the minimalist carrying only what’s necessary on an expedition but that’s a different matter that is very unlikely to develop. But I have the items I need in my gear box when I travel should I become stranded or come upon some kind of emergency.

I long time ago I found out it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[pjsjr]

I’ve seen many threads that ask ; if you only had one knife what would it be?
My question is why would someone want to limit themselves to just one knife

I think that it is asked as a rhetorical question, especially on forums, or to build up the post count, or to find others opinion on a favorite and then argue about it.

 

[GPyro]

It's fun to read all this.
But in actuality, the closest I get to roughing it any more involves a large RV.
Heck I even bring the gas log fire pit with me.

I work outside every day on large commercial and industrial jobsites.
Usually on top of the building, or hanging from it.
My time off doesn't involve whacking on anything with anything.
I get more exercise in one day than most folks get in a month.

There is a corkscrew that frustrates the heck out of me tho.
So I keep that around. It keeps me humble.

I'd bet most folks here, considering the age I believe most of you are, probably fall in similar lifestyles.

Just saying.

 

[eveled]

Yep it’s true. For me anyway.

If society collapsed, the first night I had to sleep on the ground I’d be crippled the next day. Then when I ran out of Zyrtec I’d be sneezing and wheezing, then when I ran out of albuterol I’d be completely done.

It just gives us something to think and talk about.