common misconceptions that bother you?

People who use knives for jobs that are best performed by an hatchet, axe or other tool. Use the right tool for the right job. If you are in a survival situation fine, at the local KOA trying to impress the campers, stupid!!!!!

Again those who think they can drop into the middle of the Amazon with their choice of a SAK and survive.

Alternate knife carries: not on your pack, upside down on your straps, or in the small of your back. Always on your belt where you can quickly draw it.

Rough coatings on knives; they look neat but have you ever heard of friction!!!!

If the knife is featured in a movie it is great.

The more adjectives in a knife description the better it is: Navy Seal, Commando, Special Forces, Stealth Attack Bowie. Maybe there shoud be a direct or inverse proportion rule for this.
 
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I know a few people that don't carry water for God knows what reason. These same people are the people that I end up sharing my water with. I really hate the fact that people intentionally come unprepared for whatever reason. I haven't figured this one out yet.

What really gets under my skin is my a$$hole friend that feels the need to bring some type of flamable liquid to put on a fire, kerosene in one case. He's also brought those damn logs you put in your fire place and put them on the camp fire making it totally useless to cook on. There's no way I'm going to put my food on a fire with one of those chemical filled logs on the fire.


Oh - and bigger is not always better. You don't need an 8 person tent that I've got to listen to you b!tch about carrying around when it's only going to be you sleeping it. Either shut up or get a smaller tent.

Sorry - angry rant over.
 
Tent size does bug me a bit when going on a scouting venture. Being a minimalist I only carry a one person tent/shelter, usually my Big Agnes SL-1 Ultralight.....meanwhile another scout on a camping trip will bring a three person tent that is good for 4 seasons and store his plethora of gear in it.....and carry about 4 more pounds than my little tent......and complain about it......

I know what you mean myright! :thumbup:
 
1095 is the ONLY steel that should be used for a camp knife(or anything).All other steels are all hype & unnecessary,overpriced BS!!:rolleyes:
 
Watchful said:
I can.

2. I think Doug is referring to a pet peeve of mine in which a stick is placed on the ground, and small rocks are placed where the shadow of the stick ends up. A line drawn between the rocks points due East/West.
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This why I asked for specifics. There are 3 ways of using a shadow stick that I know of. One you've already mentioned that gives you gross directions only.

The shadowless stick method, also gives you gross directions only.

The shadow stick method where you place a stick in the ground before solar noon, mark the shadow tip, use this as a radius and draw an arc. When the shadow shortens, then lengthens and finally touches the drawn radius, you join the two end points and this should give you an accurate east-west line.

The reason I brought this up is I didn't want people to think that solar navigation is inaccurate, unless you know of some reason that this method isn't.

Doc
 
I thought all the methods like that were meant to give only a general east west line, not a exact. I also wasnt aware of the differant methods.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
The shadow stick method where you place a stick in the ground before solar noon, mark the shadow tip, use this as a radius and draw an arc. When the shadow shortens, then lengthens and finally touches the drawn radius, you join the two end points and this should give you an accurate east-west line.
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That one indeed works, except of course it could potentially take a considerable portion of the day before the shadow retouches the drawn radius. For folks reading this, pay attention to Doc's statement "before solar noon." You can save yourself hours if you start this around, say 1100 local solar time. Should only be about two hours before the shadow touches the other side of the arc.

DOC-CANADA said:
The reason I brought this up is I didn't want people to think that solar navigation is inaccurate, unless you know of some reason that this method isn't.
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Solar navigation isn't at all inaccurate, provided that all steps are followed. It's the shortcuts that kill. Doug's concern was, as I read it, that folks can get lucky with the famous shortcut method ("hey, it works!")... not realizing that at other times of the day, it can send you badly astray.
 
Watchful said:
Solar navigation isn't at all inaccurate, provided that all steps are followed. It's the shortcuts that kill. Doug's concern was, as I read it, that folks can get lucky with the famous shortcut method ("hey, it works!")... not realizing that at other times of the day, it can send you badly astray.
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Yes, that's a good point.

Doc
 
j williams said:
I thought all the methods like that were meant to give only a general east west line, not a exact. I also wasnt aware of the differant methods.
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Well, my beef is that the "general" line can be off by thirty-to-forty degrees! That's potentially (and likely) disastrous.

In fact, following specific methods like Doc's arc trick, it's dead exact.

My watch method (well, it isn't mine) is also fairly accurate provided you know the difference between daylight and standard time. However, because it involves you turning your body around to line up the hour hand and noon tick mark, you can disorient yourself slightly. As a result, take measurements every hour or so to correct yourself.

Overall, one should not learn one and only one method: use a combination of methods and you'll be able to navigate very well. This is almost a must, because in bad weather, solar navigation can shut down completely.

Not discussed but a favorite topic of mine: celestial navigation is also extremely accurate: sometimes, more so than solar! But again, that comes down to how you do it, rather than anything else.
 
quietmike said:
A solar still will provide plenty of water for survival in a desert environment.
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Whoops! Another good/obvious one!!!

It's theoretically true of course... you'll just die of dehydration by the time it collects enough water. Or you'll die of dehydration of the work required to dig and build enough of them to compensate.
 
That I would carry a knife or gun because I'm "expecting trouble". If I was "expecting trouble" I wouldn't "be here". Mac
 
other woods people that think that anyone carrying a large chopper knife is inexperienced in woods craft/survival etc.

I invite those naysayers to come up to the woods of BC with their SAK and try and get thru the forest. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Fiddleback said:
You stated my main peeve perfectly, then you addressed the misconception perfectly, and explained the correction well too. Great post.

The other is that a Choil makes a knife more usable. The opposite is true. Choils are an ugly assed fad that ruins a design.
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do tell? all my knives with choils feel very comfortable in my hand, both when cutting, chopping or prepping food. I dont know about "making a knife more usable" but i do know (IMHO) that it makes the knife more comfortable to hold (IMHO).
 
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andy, i think that the choil comes down to size. if it's small, say around 1/8" diam, and placed correctly, then it makes sense to me. it makes it much easier to sharpen the entire length of the edge and gives your finger something to know where the flat stops and the sharpened edge begins.

in the case of busse style choils i agree with you, they don't make much sense.

and i think it was mentioned earlier in the thread- "that knife is too sharp","why do you keep your knife so sharp", etc. i agree. a dull knife is as useful as a short piece of rope.
 
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