Recommendation? Camp knife?

I think my Bark River Bushcrafter in 3V is the most sturdy and tuff knife I have in my collection.

Lots of batoning, chopping and used in a recent set up of a new cabin.

What amazes me is that the edge seems to have the exact same crispyness as it had when I first set my own edge on it.

It feels like its "untouchable".

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I'm thinking I'd like something with around 4 to 5 inches of blade, reasonably lightweight for backpacking. The Bradford Guardian 4.5 or 5.5 seem great, as do the Bark River Bravo 1 and Aurora. It seems my tastes may exceed my budget. Though I might be okay with this haha. If it costs a little more to get something I won't regret buying later (or can at least resell easily), so be it. With Bark River, what steels would you guys recommend? And with Bradford, what do you guys think between 3V and Elmax?

From the rules, it seems that I shouldn't directly ask here which custom makers here to buy from, but how do I go about that in the exchange forum?
 
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Bh2019 said:
Hi everybody, I'm new here and looking for a knife for camping, making fires, nothing too crazy. I bought into the Gerber Strongarm hype a few years ago, but it seems far too thick to really be a good cutting tool, and I really don't like the rubber handle. The Lionsteel B41 has caught my interest, but I haven't found many reviews of it, and I'm not very familiar with Sleipner steel or how it compares to well executed CPM 3V that seems to be the de facto standard. What do you guys think? And what would you recommend under about $150 or $200? Or maybe a little more if you really think it's worth it. Thank you so much for reading, and I really appreciate your input!

Ben
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The ESEE-4 is available in S35VN for $140-$155 right now. You won't find a better knife.
 
Many of the knives suggested for camping are too me, too big and clumsy for more common camp chores. The only value of a big knife is for batoning wood, but for me, I prefer using an axe to chop wood into smaller pieces. For cutting thicker wood a small camp saw does the job. For me, a camp knife is mostly used for food prep. I like a longer, thinner, flat blade that excells in slicing, and when necessary, fish cleaning. Slip joints are OK but gunk that gets into them is hard to clean, so for camping I do prefer a fixed blade. It can be small such as a mora, a fish/bird knife, a filet knife, or a modified kephart. I have a bark river kephart in 3v that fits this description well. My type of camping is of the wilderness variety using a canoe. I have been to Canada and the northern tier states many times. Again, I prefer knives that are highly practical and light weight. My assumption would be that backpackers would even be more concerned about a very small, lightweight knife. The only campers who would need large bushcraft knives are those heavy into bushcraft (primitive) camping where they use their knives to baton wood. I am OK with this, but this kind of camping is not what most people do.
 
FWIW, when I think of "camp knife," I actually think in pairs -- a folder and a fixed blade.

There are all kind of combos that I could carry.

An obvious combo would be a Buck 110 and 119. Another combo for me would be a Cold Steel Code 4 (CTS-XHP) and a CPK DEK 1 (3V) or the Cardman (4150) "survival knife" w/a firestarter and sharpening stone that I also purchased recently.

And these don't begin to exhaust the options that are available to me, given what I have available in my collection but the options are truly endless given all of the great camp folders and fixed blades available out there.

Oh! And, don't forget a Swiss Army Knife -- my favorite is the Explorer -- which I always carry somewhere in my "kit" when I'm camping or hiking, whether I'm carrying another knife or not. ;)
 
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moonpath said:
Many of the knives suggested for camping are too me, too big and clumsy for more common camp chores. The only value of a big knife is for batoning wood, but for me, I prefer using an axe to chop wood into smaller pieces. For cutting thicker wood a small camp saw does the job. For me, a camp knife is mostly used for food prep. I like a longer, thinner, flat blade that excells in slicing, and when necessary, fish cleaning. Slip joints are OK but gunk that gets into them is hard to clean, so for camping I do prefer a fixed blade. It can be small such as a mora, a fish/bird knife, a filet knife, or a modified kephart. I have a bark river kephart in 3v that fits this description well. My type of camping is of the wilderness variety using a canoe. I have been to Canada and the northern tier states many times. Again, I prefer knives that are highly practical and light weight. My assumption would be that backpackers would even be more concerned about a very small, lightweight knife. The only campers who would need large bushcraft knives are those heavy into bushcraft (primitive) camping where they use their knives to baton wood. I am OK with this, but this kind of camping is not what most people do.
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I would say that, these days, most *backpackers* (as opposed to campers or hunters, or other types of people recreating in the out-of-doors) are not really particularly interested in carrying even a Swiss Army knife, because the ultralight mentality has really taken over, and in most places, traditional bushcraft skills can’t be practiced, anyway. There’s not much point in bringing wood processing tools if wood processing is disallowed.

I’m very much a believer in Leave No Trace, and even though I think traditional bushcraft skills are important to learn, the fact remains that they are not low impact and large numbers of people practicing bushcraft in a small area quickly compound their impact.

For a lot of types of backpacking and camping, a knife isn’t necessary, or a 58 mm Victorinox will do any job likely to come up.

That being said, most people with extensive backcountry experience will generally agree that you don’t really need or even want a knife with a blade longer than 5” for backcountry survival. The 3.5” to 4.5” range is hardly “too large”, by most people’s experience in the woods.
 
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I lived for a whole year in an off-grid cabin in Northern New England with only a woodstove for heat. My Gerber Pro-Guide II Drop Point Hunter, with its 4.375” blade (scales to tip, actual sharpened length is 3.625”), was never too big or too little for processing the ton of kindling that got me through a Winter where temps dropped as low as -25°F with -50°F wind chills.

I also used a Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet, a pair of Stanley carpenter’s toolbox saws (9 tpi and 11 tpi, I think), a Fanno Saw Works 30” log saw (4 tpi heh heh), and a Husqvarna 26” axe. No electricity, no cell coverage, no plumbing, no refrigeration, for a whole year, and I had to park on the roadside and haul everything back through the woods about 1/4 mile in a pulk or on foot to the cabin. I had one small solar panel and a car battery to charge my laptop/phone to watch movies I downloaded at the library downtown, run my ham radio set to check the weather and hear the news, and power a couple of 3V LED lights at night.
 
This one might hit 1000 posts, very different terrain/uses from user to user across our country. Depending on my needs (skinning/chopping/precise cutting) and conditions, I’ll choose from a Hinderer Emmett, TOPS Bob Fieldcraft (best bang for the buck), ESEE 4-6, CPK FK2, CPK BFK and/or Hinderer Ranch. Found myself over time preferring 3.5-5” blades. Spent way too much $$$ in the past on “big” knives that do not serve the purpose that I bought them for. Will not bring up the necessity of tomahawks, axes and hatchets! Love my friends Cuddles, Raven and Lil Bird😁. I hope that your family, friends and you had a beautiful Christmas. Best wishes for a wonderful 2022!
 
moonpath said:
Many of the knives suggested for camping are too me, too big and clumsy for more common camp chores. The only value of a big knife is for batoning wood, but for me, I prefer using an axe to chop wood into smaller pieces. For cutting thicker wood a small camp saw does the job. For me, a camp knife is mostly used for food prep. I like a longer, thinner, flat blade that excells in slicing, and when necessary, fish cleaning. Slip joints are OK but gunk that gets into them is hard to clean, so for camping I do prefer a fixed blade. It can be small such as a mora, a fish/bird knife, a filet knife, or a modified kephart. I have a bark river kephart in 3v that fits this description well. My type of camping is of the wilderness variety using a canoe. I have been to Canada and the northern tier states many times. Again, I prefer knives that are highly practical and light weight. My assumption would be that backpackers would even be more concerned about a very small, lightweight knife. The only campers who would need large bushcraft knives are those heavy into bushcraft (primitive) camping where they use their knives to baton wood. I am OK with this, but this kind of camping is not what most people do.
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Check out the LT Wright Traveller knife.

It checks off all your boxes.
I love mine...... But for some reason I keep buying knives
 
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