Gift- Woodsmans pal Vs. Khukuri?

Runs With Scissors

Runs With Scissors

Joined
Dec 3, 2000
Messages
3,002
Buyin' a gift for my older brother for Christmas...

My older brother spends ALOT of time in the outdoors, especially in the summer time up here. He more or less lives in his 21 foot all summer, most of his time in the ocean. Although he does ocassionally spend time on the rivers and in planes. So, it occurred to me that he could use a decent camp tool, and it came down to two forementioned tools. I want something that can cut wood to make a decent camp fire, clearout a camping spot, dig out some snow if need be, as well as handling other miscellaneous tasks. Said implement would probably spend a LARGE amount of time stowed on a boat that spends most of its time on the ocean (read much exposure to salt water and little maintenance)

Machetes are more or less out due to size, and lack of efficiency with wood chopping, bowie knives are out because my brother is NOT the same knife nut I am, every time him or my father see one of my Bowies they picture sand bars and the Alamo rather than fires, shelters, and cleared brush, try as I may, I aint changing thier perception.... :rolleyes:

So all things now mentioned I've come down to primarily Khuks and Woodsmans pal. namely the smaller Khuk from Cold Steel or maybe one from Ka-Bar. I'm sorry to all those H.I fans out there, I love 'em myself,but corrosion plays a major factor for this one, and my brother aint gonna baby this tool with marine Tuff clothes, scotch brite, or any other things.

So...how do you think they balance out, and what's y'alls take on the situation? I know a Khuk is hard to go wrong with, a Woodsmans pal I have no experience with, though it looks well designed. BTW, what the heck is that hook thing at the top of 'em for?

Any input is appreciated!
 
I believe the Ka Bar and Cold Steel khukuris are made of 1095 or similar carbon steels. Which would probably actually be more prone to rust that the 5160 that H.I. khukuris are made of.
 
Definitely the khukuri. I think it's more versatile, and my Cold Steels have held up great. The newer ones are epoxy coated, so no worries with rust, as long as he either keeps chopping a lot (sounds like he will) or sharpens it occasionally. Good luck!
 
The little hook on the Woodsman's Pal is a brush hook, also known as a bill hook, and it works like a small sickle. You reach up with it, hook a branch, and pull. *Snick!*
 
The tip of the Woodsman's looks better for digging, just a thought :)

Edit: 500th post!
 
Speaking for myself, I think the Woodsman's Pal would be the more useful of the two.

Paul
 
I'm afraid that a Khukuri would be seen as even stranger than a bowie knife. I think that the woodsmans pal would be seen as a tool like you intend.
 
Thanks for the input y'all.

Unfortunately,the answer seems to be "none of the above" I showed my father one of my HI's and got the whole Rambo Bambo head loppin' funny lookin' knife aint good fer nuthin' spiel. I'm pretty well used to ignoring such opinions, but in this case I'm pretty sure it would run parallel to my brothers.

So instead it seems a camp axe may be in order. Not as nice as a good khukri, but on the bright side, it has the benefits of being able to pound tent stakes, and substitute as a fish bonker if need be. As far as clearing camp spots an' such I would suppose since he's in a boat or a plane alot of the time, he can just move on to the next spot. In any case it seems axes have been gettin' people by in the great white North for quite some time. Besides that perhaps it'll give me a chance to show off one of my HI's next time we're out :D

As far as which axe I'm leanin' hard towards the mid size camp axe from Gerber. I REALLY like the GB and the Snow & Nealys and what all, But in this case I really, really don't think a wooden handle is the way to go. If I'm lucky I'll be able to find one with "Fiskars" instead of "Gerber" on it in one of the Hardware stores for half the price or so. Thanks again for the input!
 
How bout a mid size GB and paint it with rustoleum before you wrap it? The GB brand is so fine they are worth a bit of extra bother.
 
I'm sure the GB handles are fine for 95% of the uses out there, but it's still wood that will be exposed to large amounts of salt water. When I think of swelling, cracking, rot, etc. it just seems like less of an option. If I got one tomorrow maybe I could soak it in linseed oil or something until the 24th? Any ideas on the best waterproofing to make a wooden handle ship shape?
 
Check out Estwing hatchets, one piece head and handle.

I have the E14A ( 14 oz. head, ~ 21 oz. total weight) and
the E24A (24 oz. head), as well as various other hatchets and axes.

Note: I am not a big user of hatchets and axes, just an occasional user.

I recently had to cut down a tree in my neighbours backyard, around 10 inches diameter, and I used my Estwing E14A hatchet.
I also dismembered the tree into small pieces, for bundling and disposal.
My Estwing worked very well. Especially impressive are the ergonomics of the handle.

I've seen GB hatchets at Lee Valley Tools, and they look like nice tools, but Estwing makes a fine product as well.
I've also seen the Gerber hatchets, and the Estwings have a better, thinner tapered grind than the thicker wedge grind of the Gerber's.

So there.
 
You might look at a Knives of Alaska Hunter's Hatchet. This is small and has a wooden handle, but it has an S7 (shock alloy) head. This would be great if they abuse the hatchet by deciding to cut some cable on the boat.
 
Get a Gransfors Bruks hatchet, I've never heard anthing bad about them, tough as nails and a 20 year warranty.

Here is a Review by Cliff Stamp
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/gb_hatchet.html

gb_wildlife_hatchet.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top