Hatchet vs. Large Wilderness blade??!

Agree with me2. If you know you are going to be doing a lot of wood work, then a hatchet or axe and a saw are far superior to any knife. Wetterlings and Estwing make great hatchets and axes. Carry the biggest one you can. A good folding saw is cheap and weighs nothing. The Sven saws are great and have been around forever. Carry the hatchet/axe, and the saw, and a good knife in the 3-5" range. Oh, don't forget the SAK with tweezers and scissors.
 
I just picked up this little Husqvarna hatchet. 12" handle, pound and quarter head. Chops like crazy. But it is small - Make no mistake.

I was looking for this size though. Throw it in a back back and no worries. Reasonable too $39.

Thats a Becker BK 9 for size comparison.

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I love my big knives, but I don't cary one all that often, and never on my belt. I always carry an Estwing No. 1. The extra few ounces add up to exactly squat in energy exerted from carrying them and save a good deal of energy when using it, as opposed to a big knife, to chop or split. Big knives have uses, but if you're going to try and chop anything bigger around than your thumb, a hatchet is the way to go.

Here are the knives that I have caried on my last 6 hikes. I only had a large knife on my pack for two of those trips:
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to everyone "confused" here.. i dont want to get political or anything but honestly everyone start stocking up on any and all necessities.. i know some things from higher up people in power that isnt good for anyone but the elite rich. (i could talk about tell you about that stuff for hours. but basically im trying to get as efficent at backpacking weight and caloric expulsion as possible. im talking about when something happens to our government. and for some reason you need to flee into say the mountains backingpacking style (no cars) for super extended periods of time there for backpacking but yet still needing the ablity to be able to cut/chop/split 6" logs. all im going to say is bad times are coming my friends. and as for cziv, you can learn and truely find the best things/ways of doing something so elemental as getting firewood or shelter crafting by watching people give there $0.02 but when you get 50 people to put there $0.02 out there, then you can get a final conclusion.. since this thred i have bought a corona razor tooth saw folding 10", gb back paxe II, saber cut saw, tried EVERYTHING OUT TODAY and im not lying when i say the corona 10" folding saw from lowes for $19 is the best wood processor. i understand each tool has its purpose im just saying outta rtak II fiskars hatchet gb back paxe II corona 10" saw saber cut saw cs gurkha kukri, the corona works the least effort and in the quickest time. now im curious as to what to do (back packing senario) for battoning the cut logs by the corona saw other than a 10" 2 lbs steel wedge called the rtak II that i bought.im currently wondering if there is a method for maybe using and carving pieces of wood correctly to use to batton or maybe technique with small knife?
 
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A gransfors hunter's axe goes everywhere I go. I always have at least one blade with me but if I had to chose between the two I would take the axe over any knife.

The axe is easy to carry on a pack or in the middle of my bedroll where it helps keep everything in place.
 
At the end of the day the best way to do it is to actually go out yourself and spend a lot of time out of doors. Works for me, and since I do that all the time I don't need to speculate on a forum what works for me.
BTW when I hear "the end is nigh"-talk I always think of those hilarious prophets in Monthy Pythons "Life of Brian". :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIRb8TigJ28
 
Blitzkreig said:
to everyone "confused" here.. i dont want to get political or anything but honestly everyone start stocking up on any and all necessities.. i know some things from higher up people in power that isnt good for anyone but the elite rich. (i could talk about tell you about that stuff for hours. but basically im trying to get as efficent at backpacking weight and caloric expulsion as possible. im talking about when something happens to our government. and for some reason you need to flee into say the mountains backingpacking style (no cars) for super extended periods of time there for backpacking but yet still needing the ablity to be able to cut/chop/split 6" logs. all im going to say is bad times are coming my friends. and as for cziv, you can learn and truely find the best things/ways of doing something so elemental as getting firewood or shelter crafting by watching people give there $0.02 but when you get 50 people to put there $0.02 out there, then you can get a final conclusion.. since this thred i have bought a corona razor tooth saw folding 10", gb back paxe II, saber cut saw, tried EVERYTHING OUT TODAY and im not lying when i say the corona 10" folding saw from lowes for $19 is the best wood processor. i understand each tool has its purpose im just saying outta rtak II fiskars hatchet gb back paxe II corona 10" saw saber cut saw cs gurkha kukri, the corona works the least effort and in the quickest time. now im curious as to what to do (back packing senario) for battoning the cut logs by the corona saw other than a 10" 2 lbs steel wedge called the rtak II that i bought.im currently wondering if there is a method for maybe using and carving pieces of wood correctly to use to batton or maybe technique with small knife?
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Have you been listening to too much of Alex Jones on Prison Planet or do you believe the time of the "great culling" is upon us? Just wondered where your sources were to be found. I know a couple of "higher up" rich people but haven't been warned. I guess they thought I wasn't worth it.
 
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Blitzkreig said:
to everyone "confused" here.. i dont want to get political or anything but honestly everyone start stocking up on any and all necessities.. i know some things from higher up people in power that isnt good for anyone but the elite rich. (i could talk about tell you about that stuff for hours. but basically im trying to get as efficent at backpacking weight and caloric expulsion as possible.
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The extra few ounces a knife or hatchet weigh are nothing compared to the weight of your pack. Put both on your pack loaded with everything you'd need for your trip and take a walk, then take them off and take another walk, you won't notice much of a difference.

im talking about when something happens to our government. and for some reason you need to flee into say the mountains backingpacking style (no cars) for super extended periods of time there for backpacking but yet still needing the ablity to be able to cut/chop/split 6" logs. all im going to say is bad times are coming my friends.
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Why, oh why, would you "flee to the mountains"? What could possibly prompt this? :confused:
 
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Cobra281 said:
I just picked up this little Husqvarna hatchet. 12" handle, pound and quarter head. Chops like crazy. But it is small - Make no mistake.

I was looking for this size though. Throw it in a back back and no worries. Reasonable too $39.

Thats a Becker BK 9 for size comparison.

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+1 :thumbup: Liking that husqvarna! Want to get one of the hatchets and an all-around axe, but haven't been able to justify the purchase to the wife. *shrug*. Some day...
 
BITEME said:
does'nt one of the small axes gerber/fiskar have a hallow handle for small knife storage and what about a cable saw or hand chain saw ? what do you guys think?
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I had a gerber with the saw in handle. The saw was small but was actually pretty efficient. The hatchet was decent for splitting, but crap for chopping (against the wood grain). Overall, I wouldn't recommend it. If I still had it, I would do some major surgery to the geometry and hope it was better. My dad's little Estwing is heavier, but much better. I plan to replace mine with a Husky.
 
im sorry for talking about anything other than blades on this thread. but i just told you guys simply so you could get off my back about cutting bigger logs while backpacking and i work 50+ hrs a week so rarely do i get to just take off for a backpacking excursion.. and if i explained everything or sources thd good ole' uncle sam would be at my door you educated people here will understand (not meaning sarcastically). ill just say vaguely that the U.S. is at the highest terrorist threat level ever also research what defon con level were currently at if it'll even come up its highest since the cold war. but im letting everyone know i found (to my suprise) that a saw works best for everything but the fine thing no hatchet needed for me nor a "axe with a elongated head" a.k.a. wilderness large knife. saw and 4" knife work wonders for me. thank you everyone! ive tryied out other forums and everyone simply says oh big knife is trash you need a full 27" full sized axe! just to make fun. rather than attempting to friendly in anyway. so thanks everyone you've all been great helps!
 
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Knives are for cutting, shaving.

Axe's are for chopping wood. Hatchet's are small, crappy axe's.

Do what USAF SERE school graduates do. Take an axe, and a small (3-4 inches) knife.
 
So the guy I saw cut a 2x4 with 2 swings of a knife is doing it wrong? So are the people using hatchets for game processing? I'm just saying those are two very broad statements with lots of room for error.
 
Using an axe for chopping is like using scissors for cutting hair other things can do it but not as well as using the right tool for the job
 
This is all personal preference. I prefer to chop with a large knife. Mainly because it is more fun for me to do. When I am chopping, I want to enjoy doing it. I enjoy using a knife to do it, if the knife is capable of doing it. :)
 
I think large blades definitely have their place, if you're limited to carrying one tool- a large-ish knife starts making a lot of sense

where it makes less sense imo, is if you have the option to carry multiple tools- ie a good saw, good axe and a good (small) knife

since I'm not limited to carrying only one tool, the choice is pretty easy for me

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TUF said:
A gransfors hunter's axe goes everywhere I go. I always have at least one blade with me but if I had to chose between the two I would take the axe over any knife.

The axe is easy to carry on a pack or in the middle of my bedroll where it helps keep everything in place.
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Pretty much what he said.

I'm a big fan of the GB hunter's axe. If I was going to bring one sharp tool, it'd either be this, (or if I went the end of the world route, or just a long camping trip, or in the dead of winter, like now) or the GB Scandinavian Forest Axe.

The 19" Hunter's or Small forest are easy to carry, especially if it's on the pack and not the belt.

Personally, I'm better with the axe than with a knife. I can make fuzz sticks easier, I can butcher game easier, and I found out last weekend, I can carve a spoon easier with the Hunter's axe than with a knife (and for the spoon it was up against a dedicated 2" long carving knife).

At the risk of stepping on toes, the idea that axes are somehow more dangerous is simply foolishness. I have to assume that it's being said by guys that just don't know how to use one or are repeating something they heard. There are a few simple rules on using an axe. If you follow those rules, they are perfectly safe. The videos posted in post #15 go through most of what you need to know. Books like Mors Kochanski's Northern Bushcraft or even old Boy Scout Fieldbooks go over it as well.

Many don't seem to know it, but you can baton an axe as well. Pound the head into the end of the log, and then use the baton along the axis of the axe. Keep the haft at an angle so the baton doesn't hit your hand. There's also easy ways to split smaller wood -- again see post #15.

Maybe it's just me, but I can go through wood much faster with my Hunter's Axe of Scandinavian than I can with a saw, unless it's a chainsaw or two-man felling or buck saw, on very large (multiple feet in diameter). Only time I use a saw is if I want a straight cut for making something.

The only things axes aren't good for is use as a draw knife, cutting light vegetation (though they can do it) and for those that simply cannot fathom that an axe is safe to use when splitting wood. In all those situations, a machete absolutely DOMINATES over a large knife or saw.

Blitzkrieg -- For you, and your end of the world thing specifically, here's where the axe rules over the saw: What do you do in your extended live in the woods for years on end scenario when your last saw blade breaks or can't be sharpened?

Referencing the above, I'd say that a 3/4 axe (24-25" long, 2-2.5 pounds) is worth its weight, because you can use it FASTER to build shelters and get wood. However, a 19" axe like the GB Hunter's or Small Forest will do. If you can't carry the weight, I have doubts about your long term survivability in the woods.

Take one of those axes, an 18" machete, and a smaller (3-4") knife, and you can rule the world.
 
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