Good Survival Knife

[ShamrockWill]

:highly_amused:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Tell us how you really feel Gaston.

 

[Jhansenak47]

I can't claim to the experience that some obviously have here (although I did do hundreds of miles on my bike, sometimes far away from any hep), but really, when I hear this endless complaining about "one pound" big 9" bowies, and how terrible they are to carry, I just have to wonder if anyone has any experience carrying those to begin with...

A one pound nine inch blade 1/4" stock bowie hardly even qualifies as an EDC concealment knife to me... And thinking about carrying those "on the hip" sounds to me as pretty clueless, since "on the hip" means it is exposed to weather, rain will get inside the sheath (and the rain will also completely deform any leather -like a sponge- even Randall sheath leather, and this in minutes), and any fall, dirt or airborne dust projected into exposed "hip carry" will scratch the blade to hell and abrade the edge, not to mention that IWB kidney carry fixes all of this and is exactly like carrying absolutely nothing...

The endless posturing, from the twig cutter brigade, that all you need is the exposed carry of something along the lines of a 4" Mora, is pretty much guaranteed to eventually get someone killed.. I get it that high tech clothing and sleeping bags materials can dispense with a fire, but those can also get dunked, and they take time to dry too, and a dunking plus a drop in temperature can easily mean only a fire, or improvised shelter, offers real relief... Good luck achieving this with the twig cutter...

Gaston

:barf::barf::barf::foot::barf:
Are you just yanking my chain?

 

[hiwa]

A one pound nine inch blade 1/4" stock bowie , IWB kidney carry !
That's the solution right there !

YG2BFKM

 

[Brommeland]

I can't claim to the experience that some obviously have here (although I did do hundreds of miles on my bike, sometimes far away from any hep), but really, when I hear this endless complaining about "one pound" big 9" bowies, and how terrible they are to carry, I just have to wonder if anyone has any experience carrying those to begin with...

A one pound nine inch blade 1/4" stock bowie hardly even qualifies as an EDC concealment knife to me... And thinking about carrying those "on the hip" sounds to me as pretty clueless, since "on the hip" means it is exposed to weather, rain will get inside the sheath (and the rain will also completely deform any leather -like a sponge- even Randall sheath leather, and this in minutes), and any fall, dirt or airborne dust projected into exposed "hip carry" will scratch the blade to hell and abrade the edge, not to mention that IWB kidney carry fixes all of this and is exactly like carrying absolutely nothing...

The endless posturing, from the twig cutter brigade, that all you need is the exposed carry of something along the lines of a 4" Mora, is pretty much guaranteed to eventually get someone killed.. I get it that high tech clothing and sleeping bags materials can dispense with a fire, but those can also get dunked, and they take time to dry too, and a dunking plus a drop in temperature can easily mean only a fire, or improvised shelter, offers real relief... Good luck achieving this with the twig cutter...

Gaston

I believe that I could improvise a shelter with my Fallkniven F1 "twig cutter" and a (sub 6 ounce) Silky F180 as fast (or perhaps faster) than most folks could with a 1 lb "chopper".......

 

[Thomas Linton]

:barf::barf::barf::foot::barf:
Are you just yanking my chain?

At least in part, yes. In part, that's just the tone he sets as a matter of routine.

*******************
All over the World, indigenous people do what they have to do with tiny knives, medium knives, machetes, bolos (thick and thin), pangas, goloks, khukuri, axes, . . . .

If they were told that what they use, as taught through the generations, is "wrong," they are likely to simply smile and ignore the judgment. They are generally more polite than some here.

Over the years, the verbal brawls between the "big knives are ignorant; see my tiny knife" crowd and the "pounds of chilly steel is the only smart choice" gang have repeatedly swept through the pages here. We have lost members over these brawls. What cannot be changed must be endured - I guess.

What do you find effective from among the tools available to you for what you do in the bush? What would you like to try out? Whatever it is need not be apologized for despite negative shots.

 

[BladeScout]

I can't claim to the experience that some obviously have here (although I did do hundreds of miles on my bike, sometimes far away from any hep), but really, when I hear this endless complaining about "one pound" big 9" bowies, and how terrible they are to carry, I just have to wonder if anyone has any experience carrying those to begin with...

A one pound nine inch blade 1/4" stock bowie hardly even qualifies as an EDC concealment knife to me... And thinking about carrying those "on the hip" sounds to me as pretty clueless, since "on the hip" means it is exposed to weather, rain will get inside the sheath (and the rain will also completely deform any leather -like a sponge- even Randall sheath leather, and this in minutes), and any fall, dirt or airborne dust projected into exposed "hip carry" will scratch the blade to hell and abrade the edge, not to mention that IWB kidney carry fixes all of this and is exactly like carrying absolutely nothing...

Gaston

Since you have told us, that your preferred carry method is to 'stuff your nine inch/nine inch plus hollow handle knife in a tube sock and cram it down the front of your pants' (as per the pic you posted), doesnt that cause quite some discomfort and maybe even medium to severe gonad chafing during those hundreds of miles of pedal bike riding?

Might just be me but I simply dont see it as a viable carry method for a nine inch/nine inch plus blade let alone for carrying said knife during a pedal bike ride any sort of distance. YMMV.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Dftt.

 

[A.P.F.]

Your trip, your pack, your back, your call. I mean that.

But for me, I see these 2 things as very different. When I'm backpacking, I rely on a tarp for shelter and stove for cooking. I don't process wood for shelter and only occasionally and on specific locations do I take a folding wood stove. Generally I just don't burn wood. Much less impact for the next person and honestly, I hate getting somewhere and finding mucked up fire scars.

For backpacking, I carry this.
Outdoor Carry by Pinnah, on Flickr

I do have some fixed blade and find them to be fun and use them when I can justify them. But generally, this combination covers all I realistically need in the woods.

When I do carry a fixed blade, I prefer something with a thinner sabre grind like this old Schrade H-15. It still batons wood that I'm going to split with a knife but is infinitely better at food prep which, honestly, what I use a knife for more.

I understand the fun of bashing stuff with a burly knife but I've come to regard that as recreational wood processing. Sort of like blowing stuff up with firecrackers. It's fun and all for a while, but I go into the woods to enjoy the woods and I get bored sitting around camp banging on knives. If I had to replace my old Schrade, I would get one of the thinner Mora companions. For my purposes, more than enough and I honestly find my Companion HD too thick.

Now here is a woodsman.^^^

The sharpest thing you should carry into the woods is your mind. Without that, the most expensive 'toys' in the world are useless. As for a fixed blade, a Mora is all you need.