How Big A Knife Really Need To Be

Smallest knife I own is 6" smaller then that I use a multi-tool. I dun use those girly man knives under 6" :P
 
Blood_Grooves said:
i know i didn't specify that i ment in a survival situation so sorry, but if you have an axe i wouldn't exactly call that surviving unless you got lost in the woods or something. the old saying "a survival knife is the one you got one you" who really carrys a axe around with then 24/7...
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OK, let me turn that around. Who's really in a psoition to be in a woods-survival situation 24/7? As a matter of fact, who can get in such a situation without purposely going out into the wilderness? If you are going into the wilderness, why are you not taking proper equipment?

Do I carry my "Nessmuk trio" (HI kukri, medium blade, SAK Ruacksack) on short day hikes? YES. My entire "possibles" kit for a dayhike/survival weighs in at about 15 pounds which includes shelter, water filtration, first aid, food, 1/2 gallon of water and the kukri, among other things). If there's folks who can't bear that, they realize it's their choice not to do so. No one, not even wee Cub Scouts are overencumbered by 15 pounds.
 
I carry a Woodsman's Pal, a couple Moras (because they're light) and a Farmer. Never needed more than that.
 
I am not usually a proponent of large blades, but when you get one that is made properly, like a Fallkniven, you get the advantage of a hatchet and machete in one tool.

If you have any kind of skill using a knife a Fallkniven A1, A2 Odin or Thor can do everything you want, from cutting limbs for shelters, to shaving very fine fuzz sticks. A SAK is great but lets look at the calorie count for swiping through a tree bough with a decent fixed blade or sawing (possibly partially frozen) wood with cold hands. Of course lets look at the extra weight, but in carrying a large knife in a pack we are pretty efficient calorie wise, its a bit like towing somehting rather than carrying it. Sawing lots of branches with a SAK would use up a lot of energy and time. (although it would nake you warm :) )

I usually carry an Idun, Bahco laplander and a small wetterlings as I dont really see the need for a folder. However, if I lived in a colder climate with a higher number of softwoods I would probably swap the Idun for a A1 or Odin and keep the saw.
 
3.5-6"

I'm a big guy though, so 8" never slowed me down either.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, whenever I have a larger FB (5-8") I will always have a smaller folder on-hand. For example; I would pair a Fallkniven A2 with a Fallkniven P1 and to finish the tools for a trip, throw in a Kershaw/Bahco folding saw.

I usually go with an FK F1 a Vic. Farmer and Kershaw/Bahco folding saw though. :)
 
I would rather have a 10" bladed Bowie and not need it, than need it and not have it....good insurance!
 
When I was in survival school in the military, one man had a Kabar. The rest of us had small knives. I had a Buck 110. We all waited in turn to his his Kabar to make our shelters. A big knife has its' place regardless of all the skills you have with a samller knife.
 
Hi all this is a good debate for me because in the last couple of days I built a brush/ leanto style shelter and I used my Nessmuk hatcet taking the boughs off this ceder tree. It took about 20 minutes here are the pics
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Take a Look at the cut boughs on the ground next to the tree I had to cut about that same amount of boughs to cover my shelter which was about 2 feet thick around on all sides except the opening of the shelter. A small knife and even with bending the branches down which helps to cut them is still not the same as with a heaver cutting tool. TRY IT SOME TIME. :eek:

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Do you have to cut stuff to make a shelter? Maybe not but try making a debris shelter with a few inches of snow on the ground. Cutting boughs is a lot easyer than scraping snow away to find leaves and grass and whatever you find that is debris. And cutting boughs is alot EASYER with a heavyer cutting tool than a bush craft knife like these one.
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I am not saying that it can not be DONE Just that is is a lot easyer with a heavyer cutting tool.
Every ones thoughts and pratice time is different.:D

Take care
Bryan
 
barrabas74 said:
OR MY GOD A MACHETE:eek:
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lol. I did a long hike in the Sonoran desert yesterday, and I couldn't help but feel that a machete is exactly the tool for that environment. Everything has spikes and thorns, and it hurts to even brush up against that stuff. And it also seems eager enough to overgrow the trail, at least the one I was on anyway.

Carry the knife/chopping tool that's suitable for the environment you're traveling through. A little common sense goes a long way.
 
I have always liked a knife that has a blade between 4" and 5 ", I thought that my Dumpster Mutt was as close to my idea of perfection that I was going to find however that has just changed. This is everything I wanted in a knife.....
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One day I may even get it a sheath of it's own !!!
 
A knife needs to be so big that it will cut effectively and will not break even when stressed relatively heavily. I don't feel handicapped with a 3" blade, as long as it's a fixed blade and reasonably tough. So, I'd say that's how big it needs to be: 3" of blade or more. Sometimes it would be handy to have a sword, most often not. What I will typically carry is between 3" and 5" of blade. That gets done everything that is likely to need to be done.
 
I prefer my knives 3.5 to 4", esp. the folders. These get use for 'regular' chores like food prep and light cutting. But for camping chores and off-roading I bring my trusty Ontario SP8 machete along. The thing gets a lot more use than my camping axe ever did and is easy to sharpen.
 
Machete and pocketknife for me. They just work, and aren't too precious to worry about.
 
I'm fairly new here and I have been reading a lot where people go on hikes not wanting to take a chopper (hatchet, machete, 7"-10" blade) because of extra weight. To be honest, my Woodsman's Pal is heavy, I would rather have the security and carry the extra weight of a large chopper next to my Mora and SAK then to be caught in the woods without one. Of course you could make due without a chopper in a survival situation, but the purpose is to make your survival encounter easier and less strenuous on your body and mind so you could get the hell out quick and in one piece. I wouldn't be caught in the bush whether it be for a day, an hour or ten days without a chopper. I use a chopper all the time, every time I go out. I really don't like wasting time cutting big things with a 4" knife. That doesn't make sense to me. Yes, I need a chopper.
 
When my sons were young, ie, 8-12, we camped in the Smokies within a backpack tent. I carried a SAK and a Plumb camp axe - I still have both. I did carry my Dad's old WWII friend, a KaBar, for day hikes - still not a bad idea, but that camp hatchet/axe was fast at dispatching small trees - and pounding stakes. Oddly, today it would be accompanied by a 'bushcraft' or 'woods-walker' knife - probably a Bark River I just discovered!

So, my answer today would be a small hatchet and a 2.8"-4" 'proper' knife... even a Buck 110 - worked for me for many of the intervening years (My sons are 34 & nearly 38!).

Stainz

PS I grew up in Brooklyn... went camping for the first time with my boys!
 
I wouldn't normally select a knife for chopping, if I know I am going to need to chop, I'd bring axe and in a survival situation I would be reluctant to use that much energy. I do carry a pocket chainsaw that I can use in a pinch.

Having said all that, it sure is fun to chop wood with a knife (it is also how I test blades). My son and I went into our woods to practice shelter building and brought the Battle Mistress with us. We ended up having so much fun chopping that we didn't get far on our shelter. If I was going to select a knife for its chopping ability, the Battle Mistress (or a khuk) would be right up there..
 
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