Camping/Hiking: Knife or Axe?

S

Skunkabilly

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Jun 29, 2002
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For outdoors use, will a Benchmade Outbounder be enough, or am I better off with an axe or hatchet (and what the heck is the difference?)

I saw a neat little Gerber axe, but don't know if it's any good or not. Not sure what I want to use the knife for, but the last camping trip my friends were having a miserable time making firewood by dropping boulders on a log :) I wish the pictures turned out it was hilarious.
 
For outdoors use, will a Benchmade Outbounder be enough, or am I better off with an axe or hatchet (and what the heck is the difference?)
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An axe is two handed; a hatchet is one handed. There are pretty good substitutes for a hatchet many of which are more verstile but I don't believe there really is a substitute for an axe.

Have you considered adding a saw to the outbounder?

Ben
 
Outdoors like hiking? I think you would be glad you had a hatchet/axe if you are cutting a lot of wood, but that would be best for short-range trips. A folding saw would be lighter and possibly as fast.

I am biased - I would rather not carry a knife big enough to chop with.

Scott
 
I asked a similar question recently, but finally went out and figured the answer out for myself. Unless you're planning on homesteading or somethin' I don't think there's much merit to the concept of carrying an axe, hatchet, or large bowie knife. I think your outbounder and a decent folding saw should be able to take real good care of ya'.
 
I have seen many a feller try to break wood with rocks and it really got me thinkin.I have always heard people say "an axe or machete is to dangerous for them younguns to be playin with"When all the while I saw more bloody lips broken fingers,and general pain from tryin to break wood with rocks,or bouncin up and down on trees tryin to break them.A saw is also something thats useful and not to be underestimated however I always found its uses to limited and no versatile enuff for a good survival tool.A saw just saws and thats it,A knife and hatchet does so much more.The perfect combination is the gerber hatchet and a good 5-7 inch fixed blade topped of with a swiss army.
 
Considered trying a Khukuri?

It's a great chopper and does double duty in kitchen chores.

Look for Himalayan Imports for the best khukuris money can buy.

If that's not your thing, try a large Busse - also great choppers.

Either one of these would be much easier to carry than an axe or hatchet (except a belt hatchet, but then again, a khukuri would outperform it 10:1).

my 0.02
 
A hatchet or small ax is versatile tool in EXPERIENCED hands, however it is also the most dangerous tool in INEXPERIENCED hands. Saw is lighter and far more eficient lb. for lb., it's only drawback is it can't be "field sharpened" therefore bring an extra blade if you plan to use extensively. I have never broken a saw blade in the field, however.
Yes, you can still injure yourself with any tool, however hatchet or ax injury is usually FAR more severe than anything caused by knife or ax. Hatchet is also more dangerous than bigger ax, it is not difficult to misjudge distance and place it's blade in your shin:eek:
If firewood is all you need for, most drywood can be broken by stomping on it or breaking with your foot. Anything bigger, small folding or collapsable saw will do well-
Martin
 
So am I better off with a saw and knife or a saw and hatchet? Methinks knife, still not sure which knife, probably the Outbounder or something. In otherwords the saw is indisposable if I need to make firewood, right, and the blade (or hatchet?) will be used for everything else?
 
the saw is just a saw, it wont replace any other tool that you carry. it is safer than the axe or hatchet, or a large chopping blade. you may also do as well with a blade that you can baton to split wood, like a patrol machete or becker brute. an axe will definately cut your wood, and split it, but is again more dangerous. i have never been fond of the small hatchets, i would prefer a saw and a 8-10" blade for my fire and camp making chores. i would agree on the swiss army knife, preferably one of the lock back ones for the other camp chores.

alex
 
Forgot to ask, am I talking an actual saw or one of the ones that are like a chain and roll up, or one that is like a folding knife?
 
Whoever that said that an axe or hatchet in an inexperienced hand is bad news is wise.
I was using a hatchet and I was chopping something. Somehow I misaimed and the blade got close enough to cut the leather gloves but missed my finger (the glove is bigger than my finger)
Use a saw if you don't know how to use the axe and the like.
The question is, how do you get experienced with an axe?
 
I hardly ever find it nessary to cut wood for my fires when camping or back packing; I drag the wood out in big pieces and let the fire "chop" whatever I can't beak up by hand.
Having said that, a good saw is much faster and safer than a hatchet. I have a Corona 13" Razor Tooth Pruning Saw (Japanese made with impulse hardened teeth), that cuts better than any other hand saw, that I have tried.
A hatchet is useful for such things as, making and driving tent stakes, buthchering big game, and chopping holes in ice for collecting water or fishing. Most hatchets are too heavy for backpacking IMO (my Estwing Sportsman's hatcet weighs 2 lbs).
A machete is useful for clearing a camp sites and making or maintaining trails through heavy under brush. A machete can also be used as a large camp knife and for light chopping (although I found that machetes do poorly on seasoned hardwood).

Here are a couple of reveiws I did on Barteaux machetes:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207783.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=215488
 
Originally posted by martin j
Hatchet is also more dangerous than bigger ax, it is not difficult to misjudge distance and place it's blade in your shin:eek:
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True. The "safest" axe is one which has a handle long enough it'll hit the ground instead of your foot. And one long enough to hit your foot instead of your knee will make you less handicapped.

Me, I'm looking for one with a relatively light head, but really long handle.
 
Back in the "day"I did a far share of backpacking and conoeing.Places like the Yukon,B.C.,to the canyons of AZ.Me I only brought an axe on canoe trips,then mostly for clearing sweepers.Most of our firewood was simply picked up off the forest floor.Give me a SAK w/saw,a fixed blade and a SVEN folding saw.To be honest back in the day I never even carried a fixed blade on our trips.
 
I've been hiking in the Cascades for almost 30 years with an SAK with a saw--a Victorinox Huntsman or Outrider. No fixed-blade, no axe, no saw. Maybe someday I'll regret it, but it hasn't happened yet.

Fires have been banned for years in many parts of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area where I usually hike, but even when I have had fires, making them with the SAK has not been a problem. Although I wouldn't want to rely on it daily for more than a few days, the saw on an an SAK--particularly the larger one on the Victorinox lockblades--will suffice for small logs up to about 3". I usually cut them 1/2 way and then stomp them with my boot to break them. Would a real saw, chopper, hatchet or axe do the work more easily? Absolutely. For me and my purposes, the benefits of a light (<25 lb.) pack outweigh the benefits of a real saw, chopper, hatchet or axe.

I have a "no name" folding saw and axe I use for car camping and am thinking about geting a 10 oz. Gransfors Mini-Hatchet for no particular reason except I think they're cool. If I didn't already have a folding saw, I think I'd buy a Sven Saw.
 
Originally posted by Skunkabilly
Forgot to ask, am I talking an actual saw or one of the ones that are like a chain and roll up, or one that is like a folding knife?
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I advocate taking a folding pruning saw, as opposed to the chain/wire roll-up saws. Pruning saws are available at gardening shops, your local home center (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc), some hardware stores, or online. They are available in either folding or fixed blade configuration. I recommend the folding ones because they become shorter for throwing in your pack and when they are folded the teeth are covered. Some pruning saws have replacable blades, which is a very nice feature.

FrankK's suggestion for Japanese saws (cut on the pull stroke) with induction hardened teeth is on the money. My favorite one is from Frank Tashiro in Seattle and costs $30. His homepage is http://www.tashirohardware.com/ Info on his folding Pocket Saw can be seen at http://www.tashirohardware.com/special.html

I line up with the others who have suggested a three-tool setup:
1. folding saw for felling/sectioning bigger branches
2. midsize fixed blade for batoning split wood out of sawn rounds and other heavy cutting/chopping tasks
3. SAK or other small thin blade for more delicate cutting chores

Another point that was hinted at, but I don't think was specifically stated, is that wood that is dry enough to burn and small enough for firestarting should break when it is bent, not flex or bounce. If the branch is so big it won't break under body weight, use smaller wood to get your fire going and simply feed the end of the "too big" log into the fire. My experience has been that most folks try to use "too big" wood too soon in their firemaking. There was an old saying about fires used by indians and white settlers that makes sense to me. "The indian makes a little fire and stands close to it. The white settler makes a big fire and has to stand back from it." ;)
 
Thanks for the Tashiro link! That folding saw would be perfect for beach hikes (Olympic Coast) where I almost always have a fire. (I don't like to burn the logs in half there--I'm nervous enough about the kids around the fire without a bunch of logs to trip over ;) )
 
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