Camp knife dimensions

[skillgannon]

I'm trying to come up with a good pattern for a camp knife and thought I would see what you guys had to say. I notice that a lot of knives are in the 9-10" range. Is there a reason ? I find that I can get 3 12" blades out of a 48" piece with no waist. For very little extra weight 12" seems to be a big step up. Way more tip speed and maybe better at camp knifey things. When and why do you add a fuller(other than to make a thick blade stiffer )? What are your goals for the blade design. What are your thoughts on this blade style? Pics would be great.

 

[Ian Fifelski]

Something I did when making my first camp knife was watch some videos of people using knives while camping. I wish I could find the one I am thinking of..
It shows what a camp knife is normally used for and what is desirable.

I like a slightly smaller more compact camp knife so about a 6 inch blade length with a FF grind. A 12 inch would be more of a camp chopper, which is great if that's what your going for.

 

[Laredian]

I think the size and blade style really depend on what specific tasks you have in mind for the blade. Will it be a dedicated chopper or should it be able to handle smaller tasks also without becoming too unwieldy?
Fullers are a great way to reduce weight when you work with thick blade stock...I find it hard to do them well however. I personally like it in a camp knife or a chopper when the handle arches a little downward...so the butt of the handle would be a little lower than the tip of the knife if you were to draw a line through the knife.

 

[skillgannon]

I guess I was talking about the large chopping knives often called camp knives. They more or less fill the same nitch that a hatchet does but may offer more versatility depending on perspective.

Just a side note everything I have read has always recommend about 5" as the max woodcraft type knives do well at. After that length the knives start to become more of a weapon and I think it holds until you get enough weight to start filling that hatchet spot like say a kukry. I haven't been able to try a lot of these types of knives and thought it would be interesting to know more.

 

[skillgannon]

This is my latest attempt. About 16.5" overall. I tossed a test edge for some basic test. I dented the edge just a little on the 20d nails but the 6010 rod stubs were pretty hard on it. 80CrV2 with a 425 temper.

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

My idea for a camp/hiking knife is around a 7” blade and 5” handle. Something that will bridge the gap between your “bushcraft” knife and a chopper. Something that can do both fairly well. The model I do can chop fairly well. You wouldn’t want to chop a bunch of stuff with it, but if you had to make a few chop cuts it would perform just fine. I am really not a fan of using knives for chopping as hatchets and axes work a million times better IMO. Most importantly, the knife is still somewhat nimble in the hands for carving and bushcraft type stuff. This is accomplished by removing as much weight as possible. Skeletonizing and tapering the tang helps and so does a full flat grind. I tend not to do a swedge unless it has a fighting knife aspect to it. A swedge will only serve to destroy your battoning log. Here’s my camp model knife. The specs are roughly 7”, 1.5” wise blade, .200” thick, 12” overall. Full flat ground.