Do it all or own em all?

I can't prepare for everything all the time, so it is always somewhat of a compromise what I use. However, that compromise has been mitigated for the most part over the last 45 years as a knife owner/user as I know what works most of the time, for most things.

Unless it's a mission-specific task that I have forewarning of, I generally have a minimum of 3 blades with me that will cover the non-mission-specific stuff. Usually it's a SAK plus a ~3" folder, and a ~5" fixed blade. I have never been too inconvenienced by that load-out.

I always have a couple choppers, a couple sharpened prybars, an axe/hatchet or two, and a shovel in the vehicle. And of course I have a far more extensive arsenal at home if I need something beyond what I have immediate access to in my vehicle or on my person.
 
Last edited:
I kinda fall into both camps on this one. I don't know if it's the nostalgia of my dad having one or two knives that seemed to do everything, or the action hero movies of my childhood like Rambo who only needed a single knife to take down an entire army, but I have always had a bit of a naive attraction towards the idea of a blade that could do it all. That being said, during the past couple years I have gone through about 100+ knives trying to find the right one for the moment, but every knife falls into a category of use for me. I keep about 10-20 knives in my collection at a time and cycle in new ones, or sell ones that I lose interest in or don't intend to use. I have my favorites that will see more action than the rest, but I'm not very intentional about what each knife's purpose is.
 
If I know in advance what type of activities and tasks lie ahead - it's much easier to select the knives to have along.

Field dressing a deer or other medium sized game? Cold Steel Master Hunter, Pendelton or a Becker BK-17; yesterday I grabbed an old Marbles with a scary sharp blade of 52100 but didn't make use of it unfortunately. For a deer guttin' folder, I would use a Buck 110 (done that MANY times over the years), a Cold Steel Ultimate Hunter, Voyager, AD-10 or a Gerber gator in 154 CM. Honestly, just about any kinda pointy 2.5+ knife can handle that task - I dressed out a mule deer in Colorado with a Busse Basic #7 ... it worked just fine. If I want to field dress a Buick, I'll take my Becker BK-2 ... which, truth be told s not old darned near indestructible, but quite capable at a wide range of tasks - except for carrying long distances where weight is a factor.

Swimming, snorkeling, diving, cutting stuff on the boat, slicing limes, trimming cigars and all of the other things I do in in the Florida Keys, I will invariably have a Spyderco Salt (or two - serrated and plain) on me. I ain't swimming with a BK-2 or BK-9 ... at least not well.

Camping (not backpack camping) I want them all: the BK-2, the BK-9, the BK-5 (great food prep knife) or similar size/shape knives from a competitor. I will also have a folder or two on me (plus a SAK, which kind of doesn't count); said folder will likely me a Cold Steel AD-10 accompanied by a Pacific Salt serrated.

All that being said, in the normal course of a day a SAK, a multi-tool and a stout folder (I like the AD-10 or Recon 1) can get you through most knife tasks. Outdoors a fixed or three can be added (unless backpacking) but truth be told, many have done much over the years with just a slipjoint pocket knife. But what fun would that be?
 
Should I tell the story about the fella who field-dressed a nice buck with a .348 Winchester case he pounded flat with a rock?
You could gut a deer with a busted Coke bottle: he didn't have one of those...
 
Well, if that flattened .348 casing has linen micarta handle slabs, flush rivets and a nice leather sheath ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top