Chef's Knife for Camp Use?

D

diletante

Joined
Mar 20, 2002
Messages
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My quest for a camp knif is what brought me to these forums. I had pretty much settled on the Fallkniven F1, but the links below have got me considering a 6" chef's knife instead:

http://www.theedgeequipment.com/images/Rinaldi_TTKK.jpg http://www.pe.net/~thrblade/Knives/ttkk.htm

I can't justify the price of the knives in the link, but I can get a 6" Wusthof-Trident Grand Prix chef's knife for about $60 (I can get the F1 for $66 online). Most of my camp knife use is food prep anyway and I wouldn't lose any sleep over hitting a $60 chefs knife with a baton to make kindling or using it to cut rope, etc. It would see little if any use as a chopper since I usually carry a folding saw.
 
I am also in the market for a camp kitchen knife; actually one that travels with my wife and I from Sabbath potluck to potluck.

Please check out the A.G. Russell Hocho. It's all stainless, it's about 65 bucks and it's perfect for traveling.

The neat thing is that it FOLDS.
 
If all you're thinking about is food prep and light cutting, hey, a chef's knife will work great. If you're thinking about making kindling at the like, the steel is most chef's knives is so soft and weak that I'd bet you'll indent it and ruin it in short order. If you end up going through two $60 chef's knives per trip, you'll have saved by going with the TTKK before the end of the 2nd trip! Even if you don't ruin the chef's knife, its edge will indent, blunt, and turn so easily, that if you do end up doing harder work with it, you'll need to make sure you bring a sharpener and a steel.

Obviously, I strongly agree that one's small camp knife should have "food prep" very high up in its design criteria. But I do also think that an edge strong enough to do other work is required.

You could always buy the chef's knife, and also an inexpensive fixed-blade beater (e.g., classic kabar) for harder work, if you're willing to carry two knives. But then you're at $100, and for a little more than double, you could get that D-2 TTKK you know you want :)

Joe
 
I've taken my D2 TTKK on my last two camping trips. I think it was $225 from BladeArt.

I'm still having a little difficulty with it -- I tend to camp with 4-6 other people. None of whom are "knife people". I want to just leave it in the kitchen area, but I don't dare.

Mike
 
Joe - you would recommend the TTKK!! :D

On a more serious note, I have a couple of these knives and they are great. I use my Talonite one in my home kitchen all the time and the D2 version when I am out at camp. They are well worth the money. If you do a search on the Custom knives area you will see a number of threads about this knife. You could also look in the wilderness area under Tactics and Training.

Regards,

Ed
 
The biggest problem with such blades used in the manner you described is when using it to split wood. The impacts may fracture the handle, and can easily warp the edge. I have seen both happen with production chef's knives. You are probably better off with something like a Leuko :

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/leuko.html

Which is essentially made for what you describe, and is cheaper than the production grade chef's knives.

-Cliff
 
I'd look at one of the Green River skinners or camp knives. They are made with a carbon steel alloy rather than stainless so they are tougher. These are designs that mountain men would use as utility and camp knives. I would prefer the blade shape of a chef's knife for food prep since it gives you knuckle clearance, but a light back bend to the blade works to some degree. Look at the camp knife or the deer skinner on this Buckhorn Trading Company web page:

http://www.rollanet.org/~buckhorn/page6.htm
 
Thanks for the responses. Points taken. To give you an idea of the kind of duty to which my knife will normally be subjected, my Victorinox Huntsmans and Outrider have sufficed to date for backpacking and those knives, kitchen knives from home and an axe and/or saw suffice for car camping. I just like the idea of having a sturdier knife should I ever need one for more serious purposes. That's what led me to these forums and the Fallkniven F-1. Trouble is, the F1 is a little short and thick for food prep. The TTKK looks like the perfect compromise for my purposes if you can call it a compromise. I think I'll be daydreaming about a 5" version in Talonite, S30V or D2 for the foreseeable future . . .
 
Please check out the A.G. Russell Hocho. It's all stainless, it's about 65 bucks and it's perfect for traveling.
Click to expand...

I have one of these. A little too short to be practical as a real working kitchen knife, but they do travel well, and are very impressive when you're a guest in someone else's kitchen, you offer to help them with dinner preparations, and whip out your own kitchen knife to handle the job... It is <i>wickedly sharp</i>, I'll say that for A.G. The thinnest knife behind the edge I have by far! Slices through anything like air, but would, I'm sure, be ruined if pounded through wood.

I like the TTKK too, but more as a camp knife than a kitchen tool as it is a little thick for the latter IMHO though I'm sure it would work fine in a camp context as I've used even thicker knives successfully. If TR would come out with one only 1/32" thinner, I would'nt hesitate to give it a try. Don't mind me though... I'm a "thinner knife" kind of guy...
 
Please email me, Dilente. I might be able to help ya out :)
 
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