Defining a Camp Knife

Mack said:
My favorite camp knife is the standard Ka Bar. It's big enough to handle kindling duty, light enough to carry all day and slicy as well as poky.
A 7 to 9 inch clip point is my preference.
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Them USMC K-Bars are good all around knives for general purpose work, they've gotten real good reviews on them from the articles I've read.
 
All great things to consider, I was glad to see not everyone moves them into the chopper category.

A sheath with some subtle attachment points lashing or hanging would be handy.
 
lessismore said:
What makes a Camp knife a Camp knife?
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In a word: versatility. It should be stout enough to baton firewood and whittle tent stakes yet be fine enough to skin small game and go straight to kitchen use.

The Pehota-designed TRC Splinter 120 fits the bill. TRC now calls the same knife "This Is Freedom". The tube fasteners allow it to be easily slashed to a pole if needed.

a4ujX3J.jpg
 
marchone said:
In a word: versatility. It should be stout enough to baton firewood and whittle tent stakes yet be fine enough to skin small game and go straight to kitchen use.

The Pehota-designed TRC Splinter 120 fits the bill. TRC now calls the same knife "This Is Freedom". The tube fasteners allow it to be easily slashed to a pole if needed.

a4ujX3J.jpg
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That's a clean design right there. I like the very slight rise in the top of the handle. That can really make a knife melt in your hand.
 
It's good for filleting fish too. I find most camp knives to be far too big for most applications. YMMV.
 
Mack said:
My favorite camp knife is the standard Ka Bar. It's big enough to handle kindling duty, light enough to carry all day and slicy as well as poky.
A 7 to 9 inch clip point is my preference.
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Just wanted to mention that although a Ka Bar probably does function well as a camp knife, I think its purpose was pretty narrowly defined when originally produced.
It's a fighting knife. The grinds and point are designed formost for combat.
It also works for "camp" duties, (likely because of its size) but not sure it holds up to the "purpose" suggested in the original post asking about what a camp knife is.
Just my 2¢
 
That's why I started this thread, everyone has their own definitions. Wearing my Serrano crossdraw at the moment, between it and a hatchet, I wouldn't really need anything else for the type of camping I do anymore.

After all, one mas Camp is another man's Chopper...

 
I've been thinkin' on the perfect Camp knife since this thread started. Unfortunately, I can't get past the one camp knife that I had the most experience with.

A Camillus Becker BK7.

For one that I have not handled but looks darn close to ideal is the Fiddleback Forge Camp Knife. My only issue is that it looks a little long in the handle from the photos and videos I've seen.

fiddleback-forge-camp-knife-hero1.jpg



fiddleback-forge-camp-knife-choked-up.jpg

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I'm pretty late to this conversation but I found the topic intriguing nonetheless.

When I think of the term Camp Knife, I often think of the Hudson Bay styles knives that we attribute to the fur trade days. The style we think of today hearkens back to the type that has been lauded in some circles as the first "camp knife" - a big knife that was used for a lot of chores. Dressing out big game, fire and food prep, taking the limbs off trees, etc. It is said that in many camps, there was usually at least one large "camp knife" and in some of the documentation that I've read, it talks about the big knives in use. They weren't typically carried on the person, as they were big and heavy, but were generally kept with the other camp equipment.

Here are a couple pics of originals. The blades generally came from Sheffield and were hafted in the States before becoming available for sale.

CUfNdTc.jpg


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In my mind, a camp knife is different than a belt knife (echoing sentiments already stated in the thread). A big knife can remain in camp or in the pack, it rarely goes on my belt - too heavy and awkward for as much bushwhacking that I do when bow hunting or hiking in general.

Overall, I find that a Camp Knife should be a medium to large(ish) sized knife that doesn't specialize in any one task but rather can be used for multiple chores (big and small) reasonably effectively.
 
Dopic1 said:
Thanks Dylan, that was my first Redmeadow. If I had only one knife to choose from, it would most certainly be this one.
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I'd say that you'd be hard pressed to find worthy alternatives, it really is a fine knife.

I really like the pin setup. I was just reading up in the Bowies, fighters, etc thread and you guys are talking about the pin layouts and such. I've been looking for a maker do do a proper coffin handled bowie for a little while now - that thread got my brain percolating on that a bit again.

This is how the pins turned out on that Siegle Bowie I had done awhile back. Something very striking about smaller pins being used in symmetrical layouts.

WVpCfQN.jpg
 
Mack said:
I love the look of those pins. Have you given any consideration to a coffin handled bowie? I'm thinking that with the right wood, the right pins and your bowie style it would be amazing.
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The forum is like molasses in winter right now, damn. We had a thread where I was poking brains a little about it here. I'd love to see that idea revisited, I think a fresh thread about it might be in order. Coffin handled Gamblers/Vest Bowies interest me more than just about anything, I'd love to get the wheels spinning on something like that.

When the forum comes back up to speed in a few hours I'll post some more about it.
 
The ESEE 6 is about right for my uses as a working camp knife. I mostly car camp now where I carry a bird and trout style. A little food prep, opening a bag of chips, cutting up my steak or cutting some 550 cord is about all I do nowadays. My RAT (ESEE) RC6 is always in the truck though.
 
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