Do You Dig With Your Knife?

I will admit to using my ESEE-3mil on some tough weeds in the back yard. I lanced the hardtop dirt right where the root went down. It was hell on the blade, put a nice wear on the coating, and destroyed my edge. But it performed the task better than the garden trowel would have, and it held up well to the abuse. It took a few hours to restore the edge. it was SoCal sandy soil, not east coast rocky soil or southern clay.

I would not recommend the act a second time, sharpening a garden trowel would save you time in the future.
 
I have this thing that they call a shovel. Works great for digging. I would of course use a knife if I absolutely had to. I would try to make something or pick up something to dig with if at all possible.
 
Dig this, i.ve used my C.S. Recon Tanto to make holes in the ground for tent stakes, my clay launcher and a bbq grill, while camping and or shoot hikes. I really dig that blade! Can you dig it?
 
I have a friend who uses his Kabar Next Generation to dig in the ground, even ground which is full of rocks.
He is of the mind that since a knife is a tool, he will use it as he would any other tool. It should end up with dents, scratches and gouges.
I don't lend him my knives...or my other tools.;)
 
redsquid2 said:
Do You Dig With Your Knife?
Click to expand...

I have done it and every time I've done it, I've regretted it. It takes the edge off the knife and takes it off quickly. It takes too much work to put a good edge back on.

I would do it in an emergency, though, go course.
 
redsquid2 said:
Do You Dig With Your Knife?
I have seen people cut sod with a knife, and I recently came upon a picture of an Air Force officer digging in the dirt, with one of those nice ESEE knives, in SERE training. I just cringed.

At the age of 48, I have never used a knife to dig with. I was always taught that's not what a knife is for, and I don't like sharpening unless I really need to.

Of course, if it was an emergency, that would be different.
Click to expand...

In the early 1970's I was a botany major at Pomona College in So Cal, specializing in botanical ecology. As part of my studies, I had to dig specimens out of the ground, often on steep slopes in the chapparal covered San Gabriel mountains. I wanted both hands free for climbing, so instead of carrying a digging trowel in my hand, I used a bayonet which had a sheath, easy enough to buy at the army surplus stores of the day. I used it only for digging and carried a Buck 110 or an SAK for cutting.

So yes, I have used a "knife" for digging, but it wasn't the knife I used for cutting.
 
I usually use this. Mine has serrations on the left edge, which Predator Tools was nice enough to add for an extra $10 :cool:
300.jpg
 
If I think I'm going to need a digging implement/or just "in case", I carry one of those metal collapsible "u-dig-it" type hand trowels (or use a broad tent peg) to dig up roots, etc. Not much weight, not always ideal, but still pretty handy and better than putting dings and chips in my knife.
 
Last edited:
If no shovel was available and I needed to dig a hole for whatever reason, I would use my knife to shape a digging instrument out of a stick or piece of wood, but I would not use the knife itself to dig with.
 
I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it,
We can dig it, they can dig it, you can dig it,
Oh, let's dig it, can you dig it baby?

"Grazin' in the Grass"
Friends of Distinction
 
I've never used a nice blade to dig with, but when messing aroung out in the woods I usually have a couple knives that I dedicate to throwing and "hard use/ abuse", I will not hesitate to dig with one of these. If I dull or damage the edge on one of these knives it's no big deal. These also come in handy when doing yard work, I use them to cut roots and such, works great.

I also have a cheep knife that fills a specific niche for me. Do to its slim profile and specialized sheath it makes a great water knife. So I carry it on me when I am out swimming, tubing, rafting, jet skiing, etc... This knife also hase a prybar like butt end that works well for light prying and digging, pictured here:

various2008-2009148.jpg


Right tool for the job is fine, if you happen to have the "right" tool near by. But who EDC's a shovel, a prybar, a chainsaw, log splitter, and everything else? I know I don't.

Of course I'm not talking about digging a big'ol trench with a little knife, but for light digging it's no problem. And still much easier than taking the time to find and fashion a decent digging stick.
...Of course, If I didn't have one of my "abuse" knives on me, and only had one of my "nice" knives, I WOULD choose to take the extra time to go the stick rout! :)
 
Not usually because it will dull the edge very fast, cutting dirt with a knife is never a good idea.

Use a shovel, if one isn't avaiable then get a peice of wood and make that usable, one can even tie a flattened or sharp rock to the end of a stick for digging.
 
I abused my ESEE 4 in Afghanistan, i used it to probe the ground in search of ieds and such. Blade never chipped, just needed some good sharpening.
 
I have never had to dig with a knife. But my life has never depended on it.

Seems to me SERE training is teaching them to save their lives in an emergency and I don't see how that could make anyone cringe.



redsquid2 said:
I have seen people cut sod with a knife, and I recently came upon a picture of an Air Force officer digging in the dirt, with one of those nice ESEE knives, in SERE training. I just cringed.

At the age of 48, I have never used a knife to dig with. I was always taught that's not what a knife is for, and I don't like sharpening unless I really need to.

Of course, if it was an emergency, that would be different.
Click to expand...
 
Common sense & urgency will dictate action. I did some things in the Corps with my KABAR that might make some folks cringe and not once did I worry about removing a few molecules. You don't always have a shovel & certainly don't always have time to carve up a stick! Would I do the same things with my Sage? Not unless I absolutely had to.
 
Yes. If I avoided things that damaged and dulled a knife edge I would never cut paper or cardboard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top