Camp knife or cutting comp. knife

R

Reggie Barker

Joined
Jan 26, 2005
Messages
146
I have often wondered what a customer or fellow knife maker would want from a camp knife. Blade length,handle material, ect. I test my knives in the woods every year at deer camp and during squirrel season.I find that by doing so I can tell how the knife will perform when I send it to a customer who plans to use one in the same way.What are some of ya'lls thoughts on this subject.My camp knife and comp. knife are the same.
Reggie Barker
 
Reggie Barker said:
My camp knife and comp. knife are the same.
Click to expand...
I would say that is exactly what anyone should want. :cool:

There is probably a market for a slightly more compact and lighter version.

Do you feel that the effectiveness of the knife is reduced in any way by the artificial length restriction of the competition?
 
There are probably two schools of thought (well, at least..) on the camp knife. One would favor a big knife - 10-11" blade that can handle any edged chore, including heavy chopping / brush clearing and the like. Fisk's Arkansas Camp Knife and Rojo spring to mind, and the varied cutting competition knife designs would work very well within this design philosophy.

Another school points to practical versatility with an emphasis on portability and light weight - and favors a smaller (6-7") thinner blade, realizing that said knife won't be up to real heavy chopping, but accepting that chopping won't be a frequent requirement and relying on a hatchet if it is.

If limited to one knife only, I would place myself squarely within the large-camp knife school of thought. Stephen Foster and I have a camp knife project design in the works that hopefully will come to fruition in the next month or so - that will show our thinking on the subject.

But, my idea of the ideal setup is a two knife rig, similar to your Border Guard camp knife set (I was looking for it on your site and couldn't find it Reggie) - or this attractive rig from Burt Foster:

orig.jpg


I'll take this over a small / medium size knife and hatchet any day.

Roger
 
I think you've proven that your comp/camp knife would be an effective tool in the woods. :cool:

I'm with Roger though, I think a good combo is the best route (for me).
 
To me a camp knife is best defined as a "one knife does it all" type of blade. The type of blade you might drag to the woods and accompany with a folder. It's not strictly a chopper as it will be for a variety of cutting tasks. If hiking or backpacking is on the agenda, there is also the issue of portability, you don't really want a 10" hanging from your hip and getting in the way. This pretty much dictates that blade length be kept manageable and in the 6"-7" range.

Regardless of blade length, there are a couple features a camp knife needs. It should be designed to allow choking up on the blade if needed. Either a deep choil as on Burt's knife, or if a guard is used, a long enough ricasso to allow a finger in there. Ergonomic handle with a palm swell that is comfortable in various grips. Slight drop at the butt with a little flare at the end. Spine should be rounded for comfort and to facilitate the use as a draw knife if desired. 3/16" is a good blade thickness and I also prefer a drop point.

There are also a couple of things I don't favor. I see no practical use for false edges (which hamper use as both a draw knife and when using a baton to split wood). If a guard is to be used, a minimal single guard will suffice.

Handle material is a toss up. Micarta or a good, tough wood are both OK with me. I have found the stabilized woods (especially burls) are more brittle than traditional woods like maple, walnut or osage orange. Mortised tang construction is preferred and a thongtube is nice as a cord is practical during use and also is great for hanging the knife on a branch or on a nail inside the camp when not in use.
 
I have a Border Guard Camp knife set on my web page. reggiebarkerknives.com I also agree that a false edge or clip on the top would prevent the knife from being used with both hands. I use mine as a chefs knife in camp so I don't like the clip. Also a guard is in the way for chopping.I would also like to have aset of two knives instead of a lite weight camp knife. Just my thoughts though.
Reggie
 
I fall more into the "a camp kinfe should be a midsize fixed blade" camp on this debate. Personally, when I go in the woods, my chopper would be one of my giant HI khukuris. I'd also probably carry my Spyderco Military and then something along the size of a Bark River Northstar. Tough, yet compact. If I could only take my folder and one knife for the larger chores, though, I'd go with something in the 8-10" blade range, probably 3/16" stock (maybe a little thinner) and a broad blade as is being described. No false edge, either, for me.
 
In all my camping and hiking, I've never had to chop anything. I also think that a big knife is a huge drain if you actually backpack. If I were camping with a horse, I wouldn't mind a large blade, but if I'm by myself, I want a knife with a blade in the 6 - 8" range. If chopping becomes a life or death issue, then I will use a log to beat on the back of the blade.

Finally, I'd favor a straight back or spear point, no false edge, single guard, and synthetic handle material.
 
I seem to be in the minority here, but my preference is for a 6" to 7" blade in a camp knife. I carry a small axe and prefer it over a long knife for chopping and other types of heavy wood work (sharpening pegs, etc.), and a folding saw for cutting jobs when the axe is not the optimal choice.

My preference is also for a small choil and as much cutting edge as can be fitted on a blade. Not quite Finnish Pukko style, but darned close. The knife below with a single guard at 6" to 7" blade would be just fine.

bowie-009-large.jpg
 
Here is Reggie's Border Guard set:

orig.jpg


All things being equal, I prefer the look and feel of a hidden tang versus the full exposed tang.

Roger
 
Going out on a limb here but I never use a thong on a knife except in competition. It is too much trouble to take it off my arm every time I need to when I need to move a limb or small tree that I have cut. On a hunting knife I don't need it and it just gets bloody if it hangs on the handle in the way . As far as being too heavy one of my camp knives in a sheath straped to a backpack would not be noticed until needed then it would be greatly appreciated.
Reggie
 
My preference for an extended (3 days plus) camp is a set - Large 10-11in Camp knife and a nice 4in +/- utility/hunter. On both I like a short asymmetrical or single guard with a large radiused choil to choke up on. Contoured grips, hidden tang, no clip on the large blade, a gently radiused spine to allow the application of weight (hands/fingers) to the blade, a gentle and subtle drop point, with some belly in the blade. The utility/hunter would follw the classic design, drop point, accelerating distal taper, thinner, sharper profile for finer work, slicing and filleting. This combo should be piggy backed in a nice low riding leather rig with leg ties ............. a thong hole on the large blade would be good as you can choose to use one or not then.

For a day out or over night excursion something mid-sized would be good .... matching the above pair obviously :D

Given the undoubted quality of your knives and your success in the cutting comps Reggie I would suggest there could be quite a market out there for you in this area.

Stephen
 
I like the competition style camp knives just not quite so thick along the spine. The extra weight must really help for speed and to conserve energy when you're chopping through a 2x4 and the clock is running but maybe a bit lighter would be better when you can work at a more leisurely pace.
 
I do not recommend chopping at the pace that we do in a comp. If you are in the woods slow and easy safety is first.
Reggie
 
Geode said:
I seem to be in the minority here, but my preference is for a 6" to 7" blade in a camp knife. I carry a small axe and prefer it over a long knife for chopping and other types of heavy wood work
Click to expand...

Me too, I use a 6.5", a small Wetterling hatchet and a 3.5" hollow ground drop point for finer jobs.
 
This is a good question.

Honestly, I love big knives. Not really sure why, just do. Even when I go fishing...I have a 15 inch khukri in my day bag...most of the "outside" time we do is miles from a paved road...and as far off the beaten path as we can get.

That being said, who needs 'em? So often knife testers and reviewers go out into the field to prove a knife will "go" by chopping a bunch of trees. I see it on a lot of makers websites.

What may be an ok test for a knife, shows the man is not much of a woodsman.

A "camp" knife in my world means a knife that stays "in camp". It gets used for everything from spreading peanut butter....to slicing a rasher of bacon from the slab. It is the outdoor Chef's knife...used by everybody who needs it...

I don't guess you need a guard or a lanyard to do camp duty...thin and light is the rule for me.

In our camp...each of us has a personal knife for doing "chores".

Just an opinion.

Shane
 
Mr. Barker,

Glad to have met you at Blade and see your knives although I missed the cutting competition.

I favor a large knife and a small knife setup for the woods, and I believe the large knife should have the features of your cutting competition knife if it is meant to be used. Wood handles are OK, but I rather have micarta, G10, Fibermascus, or the rubber you use. I like beautiful wood on knives I mean to keep at home and admire.

Does your cutting competition knife use 5/16" stock, instead of 1/4"? What about the Border Guard Camp knife shown on your website? I thought I noticed that your cutting competition knife had a wider blade than the Camp knife also.

Hope that I will be able to get one of your knives in the future. Keep up the good work.
 
On the handle material question I will say that I have no interest in synthetics whatsoever. I just don't like the way they look or feel. Now I held Reggie's competitoin cutter at Blade and there is no doubt that it provided a comfortable and secure grip. And you all don't need me to tell you all that it flat out worked.

But if Reggie were buiding me one, I'd specifiy a nice dense, stable wood for the handle. Now I know that these synthetic materials are more durable, weather resistant and will live longer than me - but since they are going to be (in my case anyway) attached to a forged carbon steel blade, it's not like the knife is going to be left out in the mud for a couple days. You're not going to need to give the handle any extra care beyond what the blade requires. And let's not forget that natural handle materials served exceptionally well on working knives, swords, assorted weapons and tools for several centuries before G10 was anything other than a letter and two numbers. ;)

But the good news, of course, is that the customer can specify exactly what he wants and find knife satisfaction for years to come. :)

Roger
 
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