Ditching the Fixed-Blade?

I agree that bringing more than is needed is the mantra on most forums. However it would seem that if a guy **really** possesses serious skills, he could probably forgo any blade at all...but you won't hear of me doing it on purpose;)
 
If you "NEED" a knife for survival--why not stack the odds in your favor and carry a fixed blade?

All things being equal---

Fixed Blades are Easier to deploy,use,and keep clean.

Much stronger and less likely to malfunction.

Since it's impossible to know when you will find yourself in a "survival" situation--I will always believe and practice that it's better to have a sturdy fixed blade and not need it-than the reverse.

The amount of weight you save from a folding knife compared to an F1 is very small-compared to the piece of mind I would get having it.(or another Fixed Blade)

If I had a folding knife and a Small axe--then I could see leaving the fixed blade at home.

But a choice between the 2 will always be a fixed Blade coming with me.

Now which one???

That is a WHOLE other post!!!!!

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kgd said:
I guess it really depends on how you perform your trip and anticipated activities. If your outdoors trips involve carrying your shelter (hammock/tarp/tent) and cooking by stove then there really isn't a gross need for a sturdy knife. In this case a folding knife works well and can readily be used for cutting food, cordage or some whittling.

If you are within the "what if" camp, like to explore more extensive wood processing with your knife as opposed to a dedicated tool (axe or saw) and perform more extensive whittling projects (like carving projects) then the fixed blade starts to become more relevant. Personally, I like using a fixed blade much more just for the handle ergos. I also routinely split wood with my knife, pry stuff and dig things up.

I once was asked by my dad on the fly to demo for him the bowdrill technique. He was calling BS on my claims. I only had a SAK in my pocket and I routinely keep paracord as boot laces in my shoes. So I went along his property, collected some willow for drill and hearth and made a top piece and bow from maple. The willow was only about 2/3 the thickness of my wrist, but I still had to split it. I was able to do so with my SAK blade but I sure didn't feel very confident doing so. At that point, I was willing to sacrifice my sak to save my ego and make my father eat his words :D

Anyhow, you can make do with a folding knife pretty well. This is especially true when you are augmenting your kit with all kinds of dedicated tools. However, if you fancy doing Abo-stuff or primitive methods, then you'll find yourself in a bit better position having a fixed blade to work with. Even a mora will outlast a spyderco lock back and will be more comfortable to use in extensive carving. Last thing is the convenience of a belt knife. Ready access to a knife on your hip is quicker, no muss, no fuss. All that flipper stuff and one-handed opening can be quick but you are just fussing afterward on putting the thing in your pocket/affixing your clip after you are done.
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Totally agree with most of this. I have to disagree with the ease of use. I find a folder easier to deploy and "re-sheath" than a fixed blade but I think that's more about how each individual wears their blades. The only fixed that came close to being as easy as af one handed folder for me was an izula worn horizontal on the front of my belt.

Everything else aside, I think every outdoorsman should strive to have the skills necessary to survive with nothing but the clothes on their back. Then even a mere folder becomes gravy.
 
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I've never really needed my seatbelts , but what if?
I used to go light backpacking, always with a leatherman, but opening some freeze dried food isn't a real knife chore.
I had gear, didn't need a real knife.
After a few close calls of loosing my pack or food, I got a 6" fixed blade, small hatchet, and a machete. I can always make shelter, fire, boil water, and hopefully gather food or make traps with one or more of those tools.
 
I carry a Delica, too. It's about all I use any more, but there's a Victorinox Hiker in my fire/first aid/signalling kit. I've had a bunch of nice fixed blades in the 3-5" range, but always found myself searching for a reason for them. Nowadays, I only carry a fixed blade when I intend to have a fire. Upgrading my first aid kit was more realistic for handling the survival situations feasible for my activities than carrying a fixed blade. So that's what I did.
 
I personally think it really depends on the situation, and every person is different. To be completely honest, I can go about my life everyday without ever NEEDING to use a knife. That's why I don't even carry one.

But when I go shooting, I bring a crappy folder to pry out casings that gets stuck in the barrel. And when I go hiking I bring a fixed blade to chop stuff (just for fun) and a folder.

So it all depends on whether you feel like you need it or not. Quite frankly if I were to go on a long hiking/camping trip, there is no way I'm going to rely on just a folder; not even if it's built like a tank.
 
I see you want to carry one knife on your trips

The weight saving is minmal is far out weighed by the safety and useablity of a good fixed blade
For a few extra grams you are taking a knife that you can rely on in much tougher situations
 
I use the delica for cutting open packages and food prep etc. I use the F1/Aurora/whatever it is I feel like taking for everything that requires tough use. The delica may be able to do some or even most of those jobs but 'can' is not the same word as 'should'.

No point putting your delica through the wringer and possibly breaking the one tool that is used the most when you can select the correct tool for the job and not risk any of them.
 
I've traded off most of my folders for fixed blades in the past month or two. I'll keep a few folders around for work and discreet carry but id rather have a fixed blade. Usually carry both though, when I can.
 
Shotgun said:
I have to disagree with the ease of use. I find a folder easier to deploy and "re-sheath" than a fixed blade but I think that's more about how each individual wears their blades. The only fixed that came close to being as easy as af one handed folder for me was an izula worn horizontal on the front of my belt.

Everything else aside, I think every outdoorsman should strive to have the skills necessary to survive with nothing but the clothes on their back. Then even a mere folder becomes gravy.
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Perhaps if you carry your folder clipped to your pocket daily and practice with it that might be the case. As for a sheath knife, I prefer a simple pouch sheath carried vertical on belt. Drop hand, pull knife out. Reach down, put knife back in. Pretty quick, but for the same reason, I come to dislike sheaths with retention straps because you have to look down to access or re-sheath to avoid cutting the strap off. I always carry a SAK-OHT, usually in its own belt sheath or sometimes pocket carry. Again, I know the OHT, while it has the hole and is one hand opening, its not nearly as smooth as some of the finer folders out there (I had a spydy military for awhile and appreciated its action). Its a bit stiff and slow, but you can do it, just a lot slower than accessing my fixed. I almost never use the blade of my SAK (unless in an urban environment that is all that I carry) but rely mostly on it for the saw and awl.

In many respects, I'm quite glad I never caught the folder addiction. I think many people appreciate their engineering accomplishments as part of the aesthetics. I can almost see why they feel that way, but then logic on ergo's, utility and price point keep my resolve to stick with my fixed blade and the odd multi-tool here or there.
 
I prefer fixed blades, but as I do most of my outdoor stuff in Europe I'm switching to folders only. A Victorinox Workchamp & err, Rajah 2.
Ok, I know that my Rajah 2 is ******* massive for a folder, but as I said, I like fixed blades & this is the next best thing.
I'd carry a fixed blade on my belt if I wasn't running the risk being reported & locked up.
So thanks to all the politically correct rubbish over here, I'll now be carrying a folding kukuri in my pocket when I'm in the hills.
 
I'm thinking a 3.5-5.5" fixed blade knife around .125" thick would be ideal for most outdoor activities (provided it's legal in your area). Something with a skeletonized tang and G10 or micarta. Relatively lightweight and heavy duty.

I do think we tend to get carried away with huge thick choppers and multiples.

One good knife is plenty for most outings. Maybe one spare if you're WAY out there.
 
Tyson Norris said:
The only reason I bother with a sheath knife is for a very far flung fantasy that I’ll be relying on it‘s superior strength - but I’m quite sure that if such a situation would arise I’d make it through with my knowledge and experience and the sturdy little lockbacks.

I’m just finding packing and carrying a fixed blade to be a pain in the butt for me. It’s nice insurance for a hypothetical situation, but maybe something I’ll be dropping in the future.

Anyone else moving in this direction?
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nope, I don't share your vision at all. :) I am committed to a good fixed blade for woods work and bush craft.

Now If I am just spending time walking on the AT, then yeah, a SAK Trekker is all I take.
 
Get slim profile necker that has a handle. Ever since I bought the koster necker, its become one of my favorites
 
I've done plenty of backpacking w/ just a small folder. I don't know if I'm smarter now but, now a days I wouldn't head off into the woods without a fixed blade knife. Fixed blades offer a lot to me.

However, you can find lot's of small fixed blade knives that offer the advatages of a folder and fixed blade. My favorite one is the BRKT Mikro II.

BRKT Mikro II Specs
Overall Length: 5.125 inches
Blade Length: 2.19 inches
Cutting Edge: 1.775 inches
Blade Thickness: .120 inches
Blade Steel: 154CM Stainless
Hardness: 58 rc
Weight: 1.375 ounces


IMG_1311.jpg




Note: The knife looks smaller in person. :cool:

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I did just the opposite. For the last couple of years I carry a small fix blade instead of a folder. But I work mostly outdoors and a small fix blade in a custom sheath works better for me. The key is a GOOD sheath. With a well made sheath system you barely know the knife is there. Makes all the difference in the world.
 
kgd said:
I guess it really depends on how you perform your trip and anticipated activities.
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This pretty much sums it up for me. If I'm going backpacking in the middle of august, on a trail/environment I know very well, then a saw and a SAK is all I take.

If I go in September, on a new trail/environment them a fixed blade is a must. More Than that, a hatchet/axe/machete is a essential for me. You wont find me 5' from my truck in the fall or winter without a hatchet or axe here in the NW.
 
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ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
I don't get out much lately. When I do I make an effort to do some whittling trap making, fire making etc. A lot of the time I need to baton some small pieces of wood to find some that's not rotten or wet. I like to use a fixed blade for that, but a good strong folder would work too. The only issue is cleaning really. I really don't care for grit on the washers of my folders.

I have a friend who has spent at least 100 days in the woods every year for the last 10 years. I'm not talking about day hikes either. He enjoys climbing frozen water falls for kicks or building/mapping new routes for rock climbers, building trails etc. He never brought a knife once.
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I'm in the woods or the water about 50 to 60 days combined a year, I use a knife or some kind of cutting device/tool every single time out. When were in the woods at deer camp knives are constantly being used even in the off season with food plot preparation, stand installation, moving and or maintenance, game cleaning, cooking, etc. Same when on boat, cutting bait, untangling props, etc. it never stops. Knives, nail clippers (for cutting fishing line), hatchets, machetes, saws, are in near constant daily use. I don't know what your friend did when he went to the woods and water but it must not have been that demanding because if you seriously hunt and fish I'm talking off shore salt water and you don't having cutting tools your not getting much done period. If someone showed up at a work day at the deer camp without a knife, hatchet, and or machete, we would send em home because their not going to be able to get much done. Hell they couldn't even open some of the heavy bags of fertilizer, seed or feed because their woven fiber and your not opening one by hand unless your a monster, and even then your not opening more than one or two and that is not going to work when there are hundreds to open and the day is just getting started.

So that claim that your friend spends 100 days a year in the woods and never brought a knife, while that maybe true I guarantee you he borrowed someones knife during that time, or he just went to the woods and sat down or walked around for a while and then went home. Sorry to be in such disagreement with your post and friends outlook, but I simply could not function in the woods or on the water without a knife and or some other kind of cutting tools. I guess its all in what you do when your their out there.
 
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Lots' of insight coming in from all angles here, gotta' love that! I'm just gonna' keep musing over the pro's and con's for a while, put some more time in out in the middle of nowhere when I get a chance before I make a decision.

For me, I think it's really going to come down to whether I want the option to baton (not gonna' be whaling on a folding knife), everything else is give or take, but I'd opt for the folder. Batoning is potentially very useful in a SHTF scenario, like acquiring dry wood in a downpour, but I've always been able to work around it in the soggy, birch-less, hardwood swamps of my home turf (a truly miserable place for firecraft!). A reliable knife is nice, but something like a puny bic. lighter can make the difference between hypothermia and a comfy warm fire during the winter, even in the summer getting a bow-drill to work out there is tough, ash really sucks for it, and because it's a swamp most of it is rotten or wet-through (even hanging stuff!). It's made for a perfect training ground for my trips up north though.

I always try to stack the odds in my favor for potential scenarios, my PFD for example is stocked with a XL garbage bag for shelter, whistle and compass, extra RX contacts, matches & PJCB firestarter, and a mirror for signaling bush planes (that's the closest person you're liable to see out there.) My pocket will have a firesteel and a lighter in it.

I think that the worst case scenario I'm faced with is that I would be tossed over in my canoe/kayak during a downpour out in the bush of northern Ontario, weeks away from people, separated from my equipment, I'd need to get a fire going for the night or risk hypothermia -- maybe, just maybe, I'll want to baton (maybe not?)... But will I need to baton? All my time in the woods tells me no, there's usually an easier way to go about it, but I'm not sure. I know that's a topic that's been done to death on here... I guess I'm just speaking out my thoughts as they come. lol. ;)

I think that as knife & survival/bush-craft nuts we may tend to over prioritize our knives. But, I really don't know. I'm not quite there yet, just thinking out loud. Keep in mind, I don't want to spark a controversy or offend anyone, and I'm definitely not suggesting what people should be doing, after all I've always had a solid FB on me (maybe one of my 5 fallky's, lol) and am not yet relegating the sheath knives to drawer duty, but I thought it would be interesting to see what the lot of you thought on this and to help organize my thoughts. :D
 
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