Ditching the Fixed-Blade?

Folders are worthy, but in the words of a training buddy they are "..for optimists".
 
Thomas Linton said:
Things very rarely fail as planned.
Click to expand...
Most of us know what we're doing, where, and what with. "Survival situations" don't just happen out of the blue. They're based on a precipitating event that involves those things.
I can't say what will go wrong to cause an emergency, but I can easily make a list that it will be on. Being beamed into survival fantasyland in some faraway place and unknown environment isn't on the list.
 
I am in the woods you can be sure I have my BK7 & my Para2 with me 100% of the time as to you never know what can happen next and I do like to be prepared.! He who only takes a folding knife wants a 2 or 3 hour hike in and out ---- but for overnight and until ~~ you may need both and better to have than to say I wish I had.!* There are a lot of if's when you are in the woods or mountains and a little bit more weight is better than being carried out in a body bag <<< worst scenerio.!Have fun and enjoy the outdoors.!*
 
I spent 48 hours trapped in a massive ice storm while at 8,000 feet in the mountains of AZ. I thanked every moment for the fact that I had a heavy duty FB with which to build our shelter. Cutting frozen mesquite and scrub oak would have been a joke with a folder. Experience as opposed to the hypothetical has taught me that a FB wins hands down.
 
My question is why would you even think about not carrying a fixed blade they are just as convent to carry as a folder and they are not broke. (meaning they fold) they are put together and only have a pin to hold it to the handle.
If you do not want to carry a fixed blade on your belt then put one around your neck as a necker, You can even put a fixed blade in your pocket. With all them ways to carry a fixed blade why would you not? That is my question.

Bryan
 
They can be too heavy and cumbersome, especially for certain activities. I would suggest finding a 3-4" or so blade, fixed, with stock thickness around .125 and a set of textured g10 scales. It will be tough as nails (probably tougher than nails) and light enough not to get in the way.
 
Just make it a small/light fixed blade for those "just in case moments". It's either the RC-4 or Falkniven F1 for me + my leatherman wave. I definitely understand the OP's sentiment though. On long hikes/tripes you really hate carrying anything you won't be using.
 
I've done the opposite, moved from a folder to fixed blade exclusively. I find fixed blades to be safer, simpler, more reliable, and more hygienic.

Not sure, but I think my particular fixed blade choice is even lighter weight than the Opinel it replaced.

huntersscalpel.jpg
 
BobW, amen to what you said. I carry a 4.25" long 3/32" thick blade that I made with 4.5" long handle. I do not even know it is my side.
I do not have have to carry a 1/4" rambo heavy knife on my side to do any cutting chores through the day.
I do not have to reach into my pocket/pouch and pull the pocket knife out and then open the blade and then do the cutting I have to do, then fold the dang thang back up and then put it in my pocket/pouch. That there is the number 2 reason I quick using a folder for my EDC knife. Number one it I had a broken (folder) knife close on my finger and got a cut from it because the pins holding the knife together came out.
It was a good named brand and it was not cheap either.

Now I just reach down and pull my fixed blade out do my cutting and then put it back in the sheath, quick as that.
There are 2 things that come to mind they may not happen all the time, but it only take once and it could be the end of you, One is self defence and the other is falling through the ice. Getting to your fixed blade out and using it is going to be faster than with a pocket knife.

As to being to heavy and cumbersome I disagree. Fixed blades can be nice and light and easy to use and come in many blade widths too. Just get one that suits your needs and wants.


Anyhow that is my thoughts on it.

Bryan
 
OwenM said:
Most of us know what we're doing, where, and what with. "Survival situations" don't just happen out of the blue. They're based on a precipitating event that involves those things.
I can't say what will go wrong to cause an emergency, but I can easily make a list that it will be on. Being beamed into survival fantasyland in some faraway place and unknown environment isn't on the list.
Click to expand...

Perhaps not in Alabama, but many survival situations have arisen "out of the blue." Also, many such situations arise out of a series of events - or errors. Turns out those people (certainly never you) did not, entirely, know what they were doing, or circumstances beyond their control came along.

If things only failed as planned, there would be no need for SAR and no one would die.
 
If I never used a folder again I would probably be fine with that. I only use folders for EDC and thats it. Even though I take really good care of my knives, I tend to be rough on them and use them for "non knife" activities like prying etc... A folder is just too delicate to use as a primary knife while out in the woods. I recently used my manix 2 to do some carving at a campfire and I found it to be far less comfortable than using a fixed blade and also, the lockup on a folder is VERY easily messed up with wood work. I made a spear with my BM 710 once and it went from tank like lockup to massive side to side play with about 5 min of work.

Fixed blades are stronger, more comfortable for extended use, easier to clean, and can have more uses than a folder due to the nature of the design.

when I go into the woods for an extended period, I always carry a Chopper of some sort and a small- medium fixed blade like the Rodent solution or RMD and a multi tool in my bag that doesn't see much use.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Perhaps not in Alabama, but many survival situations have arisen "out of the blue." Also, many such situations arise out of a series of events - or errors. Turns out those people (certainly never you) did not, entirely, know what they were doing, or circumstances beyond their control came along.

If things only failed as planned, there would be no need for SAR and no one would die.
Click to expand...
Name one, smartass. Show me ONE survival situation in the history of planet Earth that was not caused by what someone was doing, and where or how they were doing it.
 
OwenM said:
Name one, smartass. Show me ONE survival situation in the history of planet Earth that was not caused by what someone was doing, and where or how they were doing it.
Click to expand...

I guess I had a different idea about what you meant by "precipitating event" and "out of the blue." Surely, you would not be hit by lighting miles away from the cell if you had stayed at home or elected to hike in another state where there was no thunder storm. If an insect sting causes an allergic reaction you had no way to predict and you find yourself in anaphylactic shock for the first time, that could have been avoided (or put off to another day) by staying at home. So what, where and how will always matter.

Nice to have a reasoned discourse.
 
Thomas Linton said:
I guess I had a different idea about what you meant by "precipitating event" and "out of the blue." Surely, you would not be hit by lighting miles away from the cell if you had stayed at home or elected to hike in another state where there was no thunder storm. If an insect sting causes an allergic reaction you had no way to predict and you find yourself in anaphylactic shock for the first time, that could have been avoided (or put off to another day) by staying at home. So what, where and how will always matter.

Nice to have a reasoned discourse.
Click to expand...

I fail to see how having a fixed blade as opposed to a folder would help you out in the case of anaphylaxis, or being struck by lighting...

ETA: I've long been an advocate of folders. A Buck 110 has been serving outdoorsmen the world over for many moons... As for the people saying none of the survival "experts" recommend a folder... that's not entirely true. Les Stroud routinely recommended a Leatherman Wave on his series. Bear Grylls used folders for the first couple seasons. Michael Waddell has been recommending a BM Mini Grip for years, even before his Bone Collector series was released. I'm sure there are more. Oh, yeah. That Doug Ritter fellow seems to like folders, too.
 
Last edited:
Folders are nice but, I consider a fixed blade the only way to go in the 'great outdoors', though a folder does make a fine backup.
 
It all comes down to what you want. A folding knife or a non folding knife. Evey one has there likes and dislikes.
Choose what you like and carry what you like.

So Tyson, instead of fantasizing about survival situation happening to you.
Think realistic thoughts. I bet you never have a survival situation happen to you. And if I am wrong and it does happen to you and you live to tell about it. I am sure we will all want to hear about.

If you do not survive it and die:eek: well I hope it is not to painfull a death:D.

Bryan
 
Last edited:
timberweasel said:
What a great little fixed blade you have there, Bob! Wondering what the model name is and if that sheath is stock... I like it! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

That's the old version of the AG Russell Hunters Scalpel. The new version is slightly different and easy to find at AG's website.
Yes the sheath is stock and comes with the knife. It's the locking mechanism on the sheath that I feel makes this knife so safe and loss-proof.

An older topic with more pictures and comparisons.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/789181-A.G.-Russell-Hunter-Scalpel
 
As a rule I prefer a fixed blade for reasons that aren't really relevant here so there's not much point in me listing them. The important thing is simply that I pick what I believe is most appropriate for my needs.

If my tasks parameters in a specific instance are going to be different from what is average for me then I'll reappraise and a folder may well be all I take. That doesn't happen a lot but it has and it will again.

Reading through this thread though and I'm not convinced everybody here understands the difference between what is necessary and what is sufficient. The fact that plenty of outdoor folk from military personnel and hunters through to climbers, cavers, boaters, and every shade of bag humper between often find nothing more than a folder necessary tells me nothing about my requirements. It doesn't tell me anything about yours either. All it tells me is than many people are successful using that route. It is sufficient for them. Under some circumstances it is also sufficient for me.

Whilst I'm thinking of ludicrous generalizations I'm wondering which folder vs which fixed blade. Would it be fair of me to match my Outrider against one of those Izula things for mundane tasks or am I stacking the deck in favour of the Outrider by picking a terrain that it would win on? Perhaps! So what about if I change the terrain and pick the same pair of knives and run them through the mill of one of the common survival scenarios? Same answer, the Outrider is going to piss all over it and pay for its taxi fare home. Don't like the way that fight panned out huh? Mebe I should have stacked one of the crappy Schrade folders against 12” of Ontario in a let's cut snow blocks fight off. Can you see where I'm going with this people? I know as much about your knife requirements and abilities as I do about shagging your dog. Only you can be the judge of that.

2cents
 
EMT_Lee,
Come in at the end, or in the middle, and it's often a mystery. 0___0

I merely suggest that thinking one can predict exactly how Murphy will strike and carrying the minimum to meet only expected emergencies is unduly optimistic. A fixed blade knife, to me represents a margin over a folder to deal with the unexpected, like some antihistamine tablets or "extra" matches. YMMV

The unexpected is not "fantasy" simply because it is unexpected or unusual. I have been snowed on --- somewhere -- every month of the year. Suddenly finding four inches of hail on the ground and 40F temps in early August in the Southern Rockies -- after almost 2" of wind-driven rain-- was not a fantasy or even unprecedented. A fixed-blade knife was very useful in splitting wood to get a fire started. A folder that capable would have weighed more. (I have a number of fixed-blade knives that weigh less than my 110's.)

The "experts" at Backpacker had an article a couple of years ago suggesting a single-edged razor blade as your "knife" for "ulta-light backpacking. That would doubtless work, except when it did not.

With one exception, every book I have read on wilderness survival suggests a fixed-blade knife. Just opinions, I know, but most of the authors seem to have had some experience and are not easily dismissed as driven by overactive imaginations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top