Canoe/Camp trip goes wrong which knife ?

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
12,294
Ok so your Canoe/Camp trip with your buddies goes wrong your Canoe tips and you get washed up with little other than some matches and your knife......which type of knife would you want to have ?

The Bush Craft type( Mine is a Nessmuk style )........
JohnDean098.jpg


Or the Survival Type ( Mine is a SYKW Dumpster Mutt ).......
MtWork037.jpg


One is thin and excels at cutting etc.......
JohnDean113.jpg


One is thick,built like a tank and excels at chopping etc........
MtWork039.jpg


JohnDean107-1.jpg


MtWork040.jpg


Which type would you choose or would you choose something totally different ?
I know the terms Survival Knife and Bushcraft Knife are open to debate but you get the general idea !!!!:D
 
I would want the biggest, baddest , toughest, choppingest (?) knife ever built. You're wet, and probably cold, so fire is the first concern, followed closely by shelter (in fact, I really don't differentiate between the two under these circumstances), and I would rather be chopping the firewood and shelter frame, than carving it. :( So, of these choices, Dumpster Mutt all the way.

Having said that, the scandi would be my choice as a general woods bummin' knife.

Doc
 
dumpster mutt! Plus if you take the mutt you already have some emergency cord wrapped on the handle. Just my opinion.
 
I've never handled either knife so this is a tough choice for me. The Nessie looks like it would still be a formidable chopper since a lot of the weight of the blade is toward the tip, and the thinner blade would probably sink further into the wood resulting in less swinging, but may bind in the wood more, resulting in more work and frustration in freeing the blade after each swing. Just judging on looks and guessing on performance, I'd want the Nessie. There's no reason there couldn't be some cord wrapped around that handle too, and Pitdog didn't give us pics of the sheaths, so either one or both may have a basic sheath based PSK.

Going outside of the choices presented, I think I'd choose a hatchet or small axe. . . something with a handle that you can choke up on for finer tasks. I just got a Fiskars and so far it looks like it would be ideal for a situation like that. A GB hatchet is about the same size and I'm saving up my pennies for one so I can compare it side by side with the Fiskars. The GB small forest axe looks like a good choice too, but the handle flares quite a bit more near the head and probably wouldn't be too comfortable to choke up on. Of course, if I were canoing, the chances of me having any kind of hatchet or axe on my belt would probably be slim to none.
 
Dumpster mutt is my choice, A "Survival" blader is made for just this kind of scenario. if you have a hatchet, then a slicer may be okay but if you only have one tool you want the one that can handle the most jobs.

You can gut a fish with a Kukri, but try chopping wood with a fillet knife. :)
 
In my area, either knife would work, but in your neck of the woods, I agree that the survival blade is gonna get you a lot further in that situation.
 
The mutt would be my choice here, pointier tip might come in very handy.
 
Of the two choices, the "survival type". Personal choice of survival type would be a RAT-7, but the design is basically the same as your Dumpster Mutt.

Outside of those choices I'm thinking a kukri. The HIs I've got coming have a small knife and steel with them in the sheath. Seems obvious the Nepalese ahve these thought out as a system.
 
having handled neither of these two, i'd agree with most ppl here that the mutt is probably the best choice fer that situation
 
THat is a great looking Nessmuk knife, love the natural micrata handle scales.

My personal preference would be the thinner knife that cuts better. I don't think the survival type knife is big enough (looks to be ~5") that the difference in chopping would make it a large factor.

That being said, I think it is like asking a really hungry person if they want pizza or fried chicken. When the tummy is grumling, ether one sounds real good. I don't think you can go wrong with either knife. . .
 
Well, I'll buck the trend and say that I'd rather have the Nessie. To get that fire started, you're not going to need to chop down any trees or saplings - you're going to need small stuff: tinder & kindling. The Nessie will do better at producing that.

I'm betting there's plenty of fallen or standing dead branches around, and any really long stuff (that could be chopped by a smallish knife like the Dumpster) can just as easily be laid across the fire, and then the ends shoved in after it burns in two. Saves a lot of work, too!

As for making a shelter, again, I don't see that the Dumpster is big enuff to make a real difference. If we were talking the Dog Father vs. the Nessie, okay. But we're not.


Truth is, if you found yourself in that situation, you'd be thanking God if you ended up with any knife! And you'd use the heck out of the one you had!
 
I'm going to have to say, as I do in all these threads my choice would be a fallkniven f1, I don't have a nice nesmuk like that or a dumpster mut but the fallkniven continues to exceed my expectations.
 
I am more used to the DM style knife so I would go with that, and I have one so I know its a mini-tank of a knife. I reprofiled the edge so it slices better and will still chop/baton easily.

For making a fire though I would think either knife would shave tinder well enough, though w/o a edge reprofile the nessie would do a better job. Either one would do just fine I am sure.
 
Grampa said:
Well, I'll buck the trend and say that I'd rather have the Nessie. To get that fire started, you're not going to need to chop down any trees or saplings - you're going to need small stuff: tinder & kindling. The Nessie will do better at producing that.

I'm betting there's plenty of fallen or standing dead branches around, and any really long stuff (that could be chopped by a smallish knife like the Dumpster) can just as easily be laid across the fire, and then the ends shoved in after it burns in two. Saves a lot of work, too!

As for making a shelter, again, I don't see that the Dumpster is big enuff to make a real difference. If we were talking the Dog Father vs. the Nessie, okay. But we're not.


Truth is, if you found yourself in that situation, you'd be thanking God if you ended up with any knife! And you'd use the heck out of the one you had!
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Grandpa, the Dumpster Mutt isn't that great of a chopper, I think the superior cutting and slicing edge of the Nessie would be more useful...I wouldn't be pissing and moaning if I was "stuck" with the Dumpster Mutt though. If this was a real one knife and nothing else scenario, I wouldn't be chopping a bunch of firewood, there is plenty of stuff that burns standing and hanging around...and I bet Kosters Nessie could stand up to some light batoning to make a firebow or something. Gene
 
Best to also give some thought on how the knife and any other essentials will be retained until you wash ashore.:eek: Most paddlers use a necker or something small enough to not be a hinderence or an anchor:). Stainless and Kydex aren't the only choices, but are the most specialized for aquatics. Mine would be the SOG Revolver in the Kydex sheath well- lashed to the PFD in a comfortable spot.:) Regards, ss.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top