Define "Bushcraft" knife for me please

This is why I rarely ever come here anymore. I end up arguing with riled up 15 year olds who are trying to justify why they spent three months allowance on a wildly overpriced fad blade.

My suggestion is... spend some time actually using your blades in a real wilderness setting. You may find that all those arguments you came up with while typing away in front of a computer screen are null and void when it comes to actual, hands-on tests.

As someone just pointed out, this style blade was around 30 or 40 years ago, and boy scouts used it for camp tasks. They cost very little... until someone decided to call it a "bush" blade, and slap a $300 price tag on it. This is like the "tracker" fad all over again.
 
anyone that has ever been in the woods and had to make a shelter or gather wood knows that big blades do that 10 times better and with less energy then small ones
any one that has ever cleaned game should also know that big blades can do that and are needed for opening up the chest cavity and splitting the pelvis
 
m40 I got to tell you come across sounding like Moses on the mountain talking down to everybody on this forum. Believe me what you have to say isnt on a level with the ten commandments. Most of the posters on here have outdoor experience equal or surpassing yours. If you dont like it here, nobody is going to miss you.
 
shipwreck said:
m40 would you consider modifying your position to reflect the reality of the wide range of camp/survival chores that a bushknife can do well?

I think your comment that it is good for whittling bushes is the problem that people have with your stance. You seem to negate all of the utility that a bushcraft knife has. And people cant reconcile that with their experiences.
I think you would be alot better off talking about the advantages of the big blade rather than trying to convince people who know better that the bushcraft knife has no merit.

What do you say? can we reach a compromise?:thumbup:
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Sure... I HAVE been saying that these have their uses. Read my earlier posts. My stipulation is that there's no such thing as a "bush" knife. This style blade has been around for a couple hundred years, but it never commanded a huge price until someone dubbed it a "bush" blade, and hordes of people began thinking these were ideal survival blades, and spending bucketloads of money on them. They're not ideal, never have been, never will be, and they're not worth hundreds of dollars.

The blade market does this every year or two. Someone makes a cool knife with a cool name, and out of some mystery steel (make up any name you please). They ask for, and get a fortune for them, until everyone else copies them, and soon.... it's on the same shelf as the Gil Hibben blades!
 
Just in case any of this was aimed my way. . .

m40 said:
I DO carry more than one blade.
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Wasn't addressing you. But it does seem to be the fad these days to try and get away with one knife as if we crash planes and have to "bushcraft" our way out of the yukon with little to nothing, for fun.

m40 said:
By the way, I agree that a hatchet is handy for campsite chopping tasks, but it's relatively useless for trailblazing and fast limbing.
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Agreed. That wasn't a huge concern as I grew up in northern hardwood forests. Now that I live in a southern forest, there's far more soft vegetation to deal with, and you still have plenty of evergreens and hardwoods to deal with, so I've come to prefer the kukri over the hatchet.
Although I'm not sure why you feel the hatchet isn't as good for limbing. I've found I can cut a 1.5-2" limb in hardwood with one swing, or up to a 2.5" evergreen limb in one swing with the hatchet. Only the kukri or full sized axe can really compete in my experience.

m40 said:
I still think that in a survival situation, you'd get a lot more use out of a $15 Ontario machete than you would from a $300 skinner.
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Again, in a one-"cutting tool" scenario, I'd prefer a kukri, a hatchet, a machete or a large knife, in that order.
 
Well IMO this thread has gone to pot! I've been here less than a year and I've seen this debate too many times already. McGregor - please read 'The unskilled survival kit' thread - this is how a thread with class operates.
 
I'm not trying to talk down to anyone, rather I'm hopefully going to save someone from spending a small fortune on an overrated blade. Buy the Buck or any of the other more common versions instead. Bring it hunting or fishing, but don't buy into this being a true "survival" blade any more than a folding pocket knife is.
 
macgregor22 said:
anyone that has ever been in the woods and had to make a shelter or gather wood knows that big blades do that 10 times better and with less energy then small ones
any one that has ever cleaned game should also know that big blades can do that and are needed for opening up the chest cavity and splitting the pelvis
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Mac I respectfully submit that I have, in over half a century of being in the woods, dressed many hundreds of deer and other game. (I only average a dozen a year these days, but for years it was more than a hundred a year). I learned as a child that it wasn't necessary to split the pelvis of a deer. I learned that it wasn't required to split the sternum of a deer. Deer are magically put together so that they can be "disassembled" without cracking bones. Take them apart at the cartilidge and joints.

And I can build a decent and servicable shelter without having to fell timber. And I can gather firewood without chopping a woodpile. I do understand that some people just enjoy these activities. And blazing new trails where trails have never been. But general bushcrafting does not require these activities.

I think we can agree to disagree without acting disagreeable. Insulting people and using rude gestures is juvinile, unproductive, and can get a person banned.

Codger
 
I dont understand this wood craft thing
every time I see it a image of robin hood pops into my head
many of the wood craft tips are inproductive and not relevant to a real survival situation
just like "bushcraft" blades have little use in survival
I have many experience in the woods and even went through the "woodcraft" style of survival phase all you are stuck in

btw kgd: thank you I'll take a look at the thread
 
m40 said:
I'm not trying to talk down to anyone, rather I'm hopefully going to save someone from spending a small fortune on an overrated blade. Buy the Buck or any of the other more common versions instead. Bring it hunting or fishing, but don't buy into this being a true "survival" blade any more than a folding pocket knife is.
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Right on, I think alot of what you say is valuable. I also think most of the people posting here are knowledgable and experienced so I have a ton of respect for this forum.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Just in case any of this was aimed my way. . .

Although I'm not sure why you feel the hatchet isn't as good for limbing.
.
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By limbing, I was referring more to taking swipes down the side of a sapling to take all the soft sprigs for a bed or roof thatch. The hatchet has such a short blade, it makes for more work.

In my book, energy should be conserved where possible, so anything that makes for less work in a shelter is a good thing.

If you look at the rule of 3's, food is pretty far down the list of priorities at 3 weeks. Water is 3 days. Lack of shelter on the other hand is something that can kill you in a few hours, and is typically going to land as your number one priority.

Anything that can aid you in building that shelter and a roaring fire in very short order (and with little sweat) can save your life.
 
macgregor22 said:
I dont understand this wood craft thing...
I have many experience in the woods and even went through the "woodcraft" style of survival phase all you are stuck in...
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Yes, I agree that you don't understand it. You see, woodcrafting isn't a "phase" of learning arts and crafts. The craft means skills. Woods...skills. Learning woods skills makes a huge difference in whether a situation is a mere annoyance to be overcome or a true "survival" situation. Not infrequently people are found dead with a full pack containing everything they need to not only need to survive, but thrive. With skills and knowledge come confidence and familiarity. With those comes the ability to not panic and make poor decisions that lead to survival situations. I guess to me woodcrafting is becomeing familiar with and comfortable in wild places knowing that I can handle most situations with minimal gear.

Maybe someone else can explain this better than I.

Codger :o
 
In a REAL survival situation ie:
plane crash
lost and storm moving in
stranded
a big blade is more valuable
but, if you dont know how to use a big blade it can be dangerous to the user
thats why when I take friends out in the woods I give then a frosts clipper not one of my big blades
If you know how to handle a big blade you know that you it can do a the tasks of a small one
 
Codger_64 said:
Yes, I agree that you don't understand it. You see, woodcrafting isn't a "phase" of learning arts and crafts. The craft means skills. Woods...skills. Learning woods skills makes a huge difference in whether a situation is a mere annoyance to be overcome or a true "survival" situation. Not infrequently people are found dead with a full pack containing everything they need to not only need to survive, but thrive. With skills and knowledge come confidence and familiarity. With those comes the ability to not panic and make poor decisions that lead to survival situations. I guess to me woodcrafting is becomeing familiar with and comfortable in wild places knowing that I can handle most situations with minimal gear.

Maybe someone else can explain this better than I.

Codger :o
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so wood craft is just surviving on minamalmist gear like a knife
well I usually use my knife and only my knife
 
m40 said:
My suggestion is... spend some time actually using your blades in a real wilderness setting. You may find that all those arguments you came up with while typing away in front of a computer screen are null and void when it comes to actual, hands-on tests.
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I pretty much have done that. What I came up with was that a small fixed blade 4 or 5" long with a good handle is my most used knife. If I am wanting to cook over a fire a lot I like to bring a small hatchet. That really is what I have settled on.:D

Now if I was bushwhacking in the jungle for sure it'd be a machete, but most Wilderness areas I go to have clear paths and I usually bring a tent or a tarp, don't have to build a shelter:thumbup:

In my own woods hiking I bring a 23oz 17" khukuri cause it will clear small blow downs and saplings.:thumbup:

But to get back to your statement my actual experience on what I need in the Wilderness areas I visit a big blade is overkill.:thumbdn:
 
Codger, I agree with that assessment, but I disagree that you have to carry a "survival" knife as your EDC. Go for a Gerber tool or Leatherman if you want an EDC. The "survival" blade IS always on me ANYTIME I go any distance from the beaten path (hiking, hunting, navigating, trailblazing, camping). It doesn't have to be a broadsword, just something you can swing with a little weight behind it before I'd call it a "survival" knife.

Whereas 90% of survival consists of using your head and improvising, any other blade (or even a sharp rock) that you happen to have can be used in a survival situation, but that doesn't make it the ideal tool. Arguing that it's a "survival" blade because it CAN be used for that is silly. By that logic my little Swiss Army pen knife is a "survival" knife.

This forum is essentially an argument over the viability of a "bush" blade being used in place of a real survival knife, and the argument, though heated, is getting way off topic. Where's the forum where we can argue the merit of sharp rocks for survival?
 
A bushcraft blade has many uses in the bush and are handy for many things. Anything more than light work are its limitations. Hacking up a quick shelter is critical in many situations thus I carry a blade that can do this. There are merits on both sides of this issue.

Skam
 
m40 said:
This forum is essentially an argument over the viability of a "bush" blade being used in place of a real survival knife, and the argument, though heated, is getting way off topic. Where's the forum where we can argue the merit of sharp rocks for survival?
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I think you mean this thread?

Actually it was a question as to what was a bushcraft knife and for some reason the description given as to what is commonly accepted to be the bushcraft type blade seemed to upset some people:D
 
well I'm going to leave with this thought
in a survival situation what do you want your blade to do, what can it do, and will it fail if you do it
 
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