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RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
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Heading out for 2 days next week starying tuesday...I'll be alone in the bush camping in a tarpshelter beside a lake with my fishing pole I Been really looking for a trip like this to break in my f-1 but The blade while razor sharp seems really thick for detailed work like cleaning crappies (maybe I'm wrong) so I was thinking about using this as my line up. carbon steel mora #1 Opinel#7 and a 12 inch ontario machete...total value....34.00 dollars..Just wanted to get some opinions on this as a combo..
 
sounds good , but is a 12 inch machete going to be long enough to be useful ?
Im a convert to longer blades since I been messing with the 24 inch Okapi , keeps the prickly vines that much further away and packs an unbelievable punch when you get excited with it .
 
Myal said:
sounds good , but is a 12 inch machete going to be long enough to be useful ?
Im a convert to longer blades since I been messing with the 24 inch Okapi , keeps the prickly vines that much further away and packs an unbelievable punch when you get excited with it .
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Heck, I'd leave the machete home. I could see a 24" blade in Brazil, but North America? You carry the machete and I'll carry the Scotch :)

O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road..... {hic, hic}
 
I would just take a multi tool or SAK with the mora or maybe a fillet knife. If you are going to need to chop wood keep the machete or get a fiskar hatchet. It doesn't hurt to try to use your F1 of course. Have fun and stay safe.
 
After just receiving my new differential heat treat moras. I wouldn't hesitate to take them anywhere.
 
Sounds good to me Riley but I'm still pretty sure you could do all you need with the F1.....maybe you could still take the F1 and do one day with the trio and one day with the F1 and give us a test verdict !!!
 
If anything, the Opinel is excess as long as you've got the Mora, but there's nothing wrong with some backup.

I don't know how much mechanical gear you'll have with you, but a multitool might be handy, at least knowing it's sitting in a pack.

You might also toss the F1 in a pack, and haul it out at least once just to see how it works on those crappies. I have an H1 which is not designed as a kitchen knife, to understate the case, but the sharp convex edge will slice nicely, except for a few items that the thick blade tends to pop apart.

Soundss like you're going to enjoy the trip! :D
 
It is a nice combo, but given the fact that you would use your fixed blade knife for cleaning fish, I would go with one of the more grippy plastic handled moras, the Eriksson #545 or #546 or #556 (stainless) or #510 or #511 or #521 (carbon). The #700 and #900 series rubber grip Erikssons or the Frosts #840 or #860 Clippers might be even better.

I would not use the opinel around water too much, the wood might swell. I agree that a SAK with a saw or a multitool, or alternatively a light folding saw might be a good addition.
The 12" machete is fine, I doubt you would need a larger chopper.
 
littleknife said:
I would not use the opinel around water too much, the wood might swell.
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Oil it. There have been many threads with advice on this: soak it in mineral oil or some other and it will not only repel water, it will keep down corrosion inside the locking rings.
 
As a Opinel convert (and not to hijack the thread too much), can you soak the whole darn thing in the mineral oil? Or do you have to try to do only the wood? And does the oil have to be heated? And how long?

I'd really like to keep mine going for a long time, I'm growing partial to it.
 
I think you'd be just fine with a Mora #1 and a 12 inch Ontario machete. I've used a 12 inch Ontario to butcher deer. People look at me funny until they see it work. The Mora #1 will make short work of a fish and it will clean up easily. I often pair up a 14 inch Tramontina with a Mora SWAK and it is a very versatile combination. Mac
 
yeah..I normally carry a sak...and might anyway...as for the mras grip, i coverd it in spots with rings of a bike innertube (gives it an excellt grip even when wet) The machete is primarily for shelter bulding..(i will not be cutting down anything live but will need to cut some dead fall limbs to proper length...THe oppinel so far has held up pretty well for me. It opens even in the most humid conditions I messed up the patin though I fell asleep while it was wrapped in vinegar. Thanks so far.
 
Your combination works well. Now if I only owned a Mora? I'd still take the SAK.

Hey, you don't need a knife for fish; do it the Man vs Wild way. Raw. You going to be fishing for trout as in the Adirondacks?
 
I've been trying, since you posted, to think of better tools for the job at hand. Sorry, I can't think of any.

The only thing I would add to the tools you've selected is a digital camera so you can post some pics pics of those Crappie... :D

In my best Homer Simpson voice Mmmmm... Craaaaapie...Gwahhhhhh (drool)
HomerDrool.gif
 
22-rimfire said:
Hey, you don't need a knife for fish; do it the Man vs Wild way. Raw.
Click to expand...

There was a young man from Nantucket
Who loved to shoot fish in a bucket.
He said with a grin,
As he ripped off its skin,
If this fish was a duck I would pluck it.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
As a Opinel convert (and not to hijack the thread too much), can you soak the whole darn thing in the mineral oil? Or do you have to try to do only the wood? And does the oil have to be heated? And how long?

I'd really like to keep mine going for a long time, I'm growing partial to it.
Click to expand...

I just dripped mineral oil into the pivot area, blade closed, pivot end up. I keep a small bottle of food grade mineral oil on my kitchen counter.

This thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=425239 has a lot of good information, especially Gryffin's post #30:

Opinels are pretty easy to disassemble.

The only thing holding the locking ring in place is the head of the pivot pin, inside the ring. If you hold the knife pivot-up/butt-end-down, looking at the slot where the blade goes, it's on the right-hand end of the pin. Take a pair of narrow pliers (a Leatherman or similar work well) and grab the locking ring under the raised slot on the right side, pull away from the handle, and up towards the pivot, the ring will pop right off.

Next, drive out the pivot pin. I use a narrow nail set, then a sawed-off nail; an old broken drill bit makes a good tool, too. The pivot pin is slightly flared on one end, but is soft enough that it's easy to drive it through the inner collar. It'll hang up badly at the blade tang though; a couple more firm whacks will get it through the blade, and after that, the other side of the inner collar if you want.

A few things I've found interesting:

The blades are stamped out of sheet, so one side of the tang is convex, with a bit of raised metal around the edge. Sanding the tang smooth makes the blade swing more smoothly. If yours is rusty, sanding away the rust will help a lot!

The inner collar is what controls the tension on the blade tang. If your blade is really stiff to open, don't sand the slot bigger, just open up the collar a bit. It's a lot easier to reverse if you go to far! The inner collar is not very springy, unlike the locking collar, you can just wedge it open a bit with the jaws of the pliers you used to remove the locking collar. Reassemble the inner collar and blade, without the pivot pin, to check the fit. If you go too far, just remove the inner ring again and clamp it tighter using a vice or large pliers; check the fit again, repeat as necessary.

Once you've driven out the pivot pin once, it's a lot easer to do subsequently. So feel free to play around with it! For instance, with all the metal removed, it's a lot easier to refinish the handle. Speaking of which...

I've refinished several Opinels; I like boiled linseed oil for a finish, since it repels water well but doens't leave a slick surface like polyurethane. I just sand off the old finish (and tweak the shape to my liking!), remove all the metal parts, and soak the stripped handle in a small bag with the linseed oil. After a few days in the bag, take out the handle, wipe off the excess linseed oil, hand-buff with a clean cloth, and reassemble. Couldn't be easier.
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Nice Combo, But I agree that the opinel seems a bit overkill, unless your intention is to have a fish gut free food prep knife.

I also think that a fiskers hatchet would be good instead of the machetti but thats more of a personal choice.


I went on a solo Kayak overnight a few weeks ago and brought along my Endura, A Phuko, a Crawford Necker, my leatherman wave and my Fiscars Hatchett, The endura and The hatchett are the only tools that saw any work, and they both saw plenty.

Which brings up another question. What knife will be in your pocket? will your EDC be coming along or will the Opinel or Mora take that place.
will the Mora be on your belt or in a pack that could be lost or separated from you?
 
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