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Camping
- Thread starter STIHL
- Start date
I believe the guestion is "what knives". I have yet to find one knife that will do it all. Find a small blade (3 to 4 inches) with a good general design for most chores. Then find a larger bladed model or a small hatchet for fire duty. You won't be cutting down trees but you will need to break up fallen wood. So look for different models for different purposes. If you are lucking and find the perfect combination right off then you are truely lucky. But testing knives is a good excuse to good camping again.
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It's never too late to have a happy childhood!
Terrill Hoffman Knife Photography http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=243110
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It's never too late to have a happy childhood!
Terrill Hoffman Knife Photography http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=243110
Well, if I had to pick one knife for "civilized" camping, I would pick a camp utility style knife or a Swiss Army type knife. My personal favorites are a Boy Scout Deluxe Pcoketknife by Camillus, a Swiss Army Original Issue, a Camillus military issue utility pockeknife, or a SwissBuck TaskMate II.
For remote or "rough" camping, in addition to the above, I would carry a stout folder like a Buck Hunter or Ranger or a Schrade Bear Paw AND a good 5 or 6" sheath knife.
For remote or "rough" camping, in addition to the above, I would carry a stout folder like a Buck Hunter or Ranger or a Schrade Bear Paw AND a good 5 or 6" sheath knife.
- Joined
- Jun 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,209
If you want to hear your fellow campers groan, you've got to whip out a Busse Steel Heart! If that isn't big enough, try the Battle Mistress, Livesay RTAK, or even a Livesay Recon Combat Machete (my personal favorite in the "big knife" catagory). Then again, if you're backpacking, you've got to carry all that weight too.
Coming back down to earth for the sort of minimal impact backpacking I like to do, something more like a Livesay Air Assault (5" blade) is more than adequate... Indeed, I've spent many a day in the woods with an old 4" buck sheath knife (very thin blade, great cutter), and a light folding saw for the wood chores... The two together didn't weigh as much as an Air Assault!
Coming back down to earth for the sort of minimal impact backpacking I like to do, something more like a Livesay Air Assault (5" blade) is more than adequate... Indeed, I've spent many a day in the woods with an old 4" buck sheath knife (very thin blade, great cutter), and a light folding saw for the wood chores... The two together didn't weigh as much as an Air Assault!
Depending upon whether you cook with a stove or not, two or three knives will make your camping experience more efficient and enjoyable.
If you cook over a fire, you will need a hatchet for firewood.
A good mid-sized fixed blade such as a Cetan or a KABAR can be used for a multitude of tasks.
And a folder is always nice to have for delicate work and its ease of carry and deployment. Or just to play with and open and close, open and close, open..
Just remember REAL campers (*ahem
) have to carry their equipment and thus should be concerned about weight.
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You could put nacho cheese sauce on it...
If you cook over a fire, you will need a hatchet for firewood.
A good mid-sized fixed blade such as a Cetan or a KABAR can be used for a multitude of tasks.
And a folder is always nice to have for delicate work and its ease of carry and deployment. Or just to play with and open and close, open and close, open..
Just remember REAL campers (*ahem
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You could put nacho cheese sauce on it...
Grohmann Camper to do all of the work (spreads peanut butter and makes marshmallow roasting sticks very well) and a Busse Battle Mistress or 2 lb kuhkri to let your fellow campers in the campground know you are a serious camper.
When you get a little tired of chopping down all the shrubbery in the campground with it, or just posing and lookin' mean, you can take your axe out and split some wood for the fire. The big knives might not be bad for kindling but I'm kinda fond of my $30 hatchet for that. If I had a BM or kuk though, I would probably be pretty fond of those too.
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Hoodoo
The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stonethe light-pressd blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.
Walt Whitman
[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 05-10-2000).]
When you get a little tired of chopping down all the shrubbery in the campground with it, or just posing and lookin' mean, you can take your axe out and split some wood for the fire. The big knives might not be bad for kindling but I'm kinda fond of my $30 hatchet for that. If I had a BM or kuk though, I would probably be pretty fond of those too.
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Hoodoo
The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stonethe light-pressd blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.
Walt Whitman
[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 05-10-2000).]
- Joined
- May 26, 1999
- Messages
- 1,964
I've personally never seen a use for a large fixed blade (over 5" blade) or a small hatchet while camping. I stick with the combination of axe and small knife.
If you're doing the park-and-camp thing you might want to bring a chainsaw, or if you want to hike a bit and carry your gear then a pocket chainsaw would work. An axe is much more versatile though: you can choke up on it to chop tent pegs, make a spear, etc. However, it's certainly possible to get by without either an axe or a chainsaw as you can just break up dead branches on the ground for firewood.
Strangely, I don't see much use in the large fixed-blade "camp" knife. It would be good for clearing brush, but other than that, I don't see any cases where the axe/knife combination can't perform the same task. If you're in a situation where you're going to be doing a great deal of hiking and you have to carry all of your gear, you might want to consider carrying a single large fixed blade to save weight, but I think that the benefits of the axe/knife combo supersede the weight disadvantages.
Regardless, if you're a knife nut, you'll probably bring a ton of knives. If you own large fixed blades, you might as well bring them camping because that's one of the only times you can actually use them. Plus, it's just a lot of fun to run around with a huge knife strapped to your side.
[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-10-2000).]
If you're doing the park-and-camp thing you might want to bring a chainsaw, or if you want to hike a bit and carry your gear then a pocket chainsaw would work. An axe is much more versatile though: you can choke up on it to chop tent pegs, make a spear, etc. However, it's certainly possible to get by without either an axe or a chainsaw as you can just break up dead branches on the ground for firewood.
Strangely, I don't see much use in the large fixed-blade "camp" knife. It would be good for clearing brush, but other than that, I don't see any cases where the axe/knife combination can't perform the same task. If you're in a situation where you're going to be doing a great deal of hiking and you have to carry all of your gear, you might want to consider carrying a single large fixed blade to save weight, but I think that the benefits of the axe/knife combo supersede the weight disadvantages.
Regardless, if you're a knife nut, you'll probably bring a ton of knives. If you own large fixed blades, you might as well bring them camping because that's one of the only times you can actually use them. Plus, it's just a lot of fun to run around with a huge knife strapped to your side.
[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-10-2000).]