how big for a heavy knife??

[GrayWall04]

I'll throw in my thoughts. I like bigger knives. I think the cold steel trailmaster is about the best chopper you can buy with out going for a custom knife. Although, the western bowie is a good chopper at a lower price but more bulky. But, here's my thoughts. If you look at tribal people they carry bigger knives. If you look at the old mountain men and long hunters they carried bigger butcher knives and a small knife. I figure they had to live by their knives and the current tribal people still depend on their knives then I have to go with them. But I think it really depends on what you like and are comfortable with.

 

[Fonly]

:thumbup:

My new SARsquatch is 7" long, a smidgeon under 3/16" thick, and a healthy 1 7/8" deep. It's a drop point shaped blade with a 2 3/4" rounded swedge that makes it comfortable to hold if you find the need to choke WAY up and do fine work with the tip.

I think this knife is a winner....

Stay sharp,
desmobob

That sounds perfect in my book, a real user.

I would never take a 7" blade to the woods for all my chopping needs, but the thing about the 7" size is that it can slice and everything else ok, but chopping is doable, but certainly there are other means that are much more effecient. But when you only carry one knife, thats what saves for taking everything else.

 

[RedbeAR15]

A chopper is a luxery not a necessity

 

[kgd]

A chopper is a luxery not a necessity

True enough - there is a lot of emphasis on chopping and the reality is you only do a little bit of it in most trips. Why is there such a pressing need to be efficient at it???

 

[RedbeAR15]

True enough - there is a lot of emphasis on chopping and the reality is you only do a little bit of it in most trips. Why is there such a pressing need to be efficient at it???

One can ususally expend less energy in gathering what they might otherwise chop

 

[RedbeAR15]

Hey - I love choppers too - they're sexy and macho, but when it come down to lugging a big knife around for extended periods of time, one learns to improvise if you are Ok with not having the perfect fire pit, etc.

I use the fire to do my chopping

 

[RescueRiley]

While I agree that I don't "chop" allot if at all when out, I do split a great deal of wood not only for the fire but for practicing skills and such..ALso the option of being able to use a knife like a draw knife is handy.... For me I'm trying to decide whether I'll personally find a 7 inch blade or a longer blade more usefull...I guess there's only 1 way to tell...

 

[Yoshi]

I personally prefer kuks, especially when the karda is a usefull size, the blade on this kuk is 13", the karda has a blade of 5.5", for me there is no need for anything else;

 

[bikermikearchery]

Riley I'll bet you do own a 7 or 8 inch knife. Ever carved a turkey or cut up a roast? At one time people carried there knife on their belt that served more than one purpose. People of a not to distant past didn't get there meat in neat plastic package's.
A 7" to 9" blade is pretty handy for sectioning out a carcass. and once you get used to having it with you, it becomes pretty natural to use a larger knife for every thing.
Food for thought.
BMA

 

[tholiver]

How much difference is there in weight between the Trailmaster and Trailmaker? I have been looking at the Trailmaker for years...but, I have never held one.

Oops sorry i forgot about this thread and only just noticed your post today!
I'll try and weight both this week and maybe post some pics.
Both are recent acquisitions bought used but LNIB.
Got the Trailmaster here in the FS forum, the Trailmaker was an Ebay acquisition.

 

[tholiver]

How much difference is there in weight between the Trailmaster and Trailmaker? I have been looking at the Trailmaker for years...but, I have never held one.

Both knives go beyond the limits of my little scales.
Tried the bathroom scales, weight of me plus trailmaster seemed the same as me plus trailmaker. lol.
Side by side they seem to be pretty close to exactly the same weight.
The Trailmaker is longer but not as thick as the super beefy Trailmaster.
Trailmaker 4/16ths thick , Trailmaster 5/16ths thick.
Trailmaker 10 and 1/16ths blade, Trailmaster 8 7/16ths blade.

 

[tholiver]

Here are the knives i own that fit in the length class 6-9 inch.
I've used the Buck 124 and the Kabar 1272 quite a bit as my one "big" knife.
Warning Buck purists avert their eyes!
lol!
The 124 has been modded, rounded/reduced the very square grip, rounded/reduced the guard, and the blade is more flat ground now.
It was still in production when the modding was done, never though Buck would discontinue it.

 

[kgd]

Well RR, even though I still like the mid-sized knives, when you do get a chopper in your hand. They just feel pretty damn good to hold. Do you really need any more excuses than that?

 

[mdauben]

So why the extra inches?? while giving you an advantage in regards to chopping it would seem to detract from the blades ability to be pressed into service for detailed work if need be... Or does it?

This is why I generally don't carry big "choppers". Once a knife gets past 6 or maybe 7 inches, it becomes harder to use as a knife for normal cutting jobs. If I can going to need to carry a big knife for chopping and splitting wood, and a medium belt knife for normal chores, I would just as soon forget the big knife and bring a hatchet or small axe, which will do the chopping and splitting better than any knife, anyway.

YMMV of course, and lots of people even without "compensation" issues like to bring a larger knife into the outdoors.

 

[the possum]

Now if you look at any bowie knife, weight is evenly distributed along the blade. From my experience, hitting near the tip of the blade is counter-productive: you get a lot of vibration and it doesn't work that well, you have to chop with about the middle of the blade, near balance center. That means to get a certain "lever arm" you need twice the length in blade, which leads to long choppers.

Just thought I'd pop in 'cause you've touched on a subject that fascinates me. I would tend to think the behavior you described here is due to how the mass is distributed throughout the blade and handle. I would not use this as a blanket statement for bowies in general. I balanced my big bowie to carry more chopping power to the very tip; it still strikes thick wood with a bit more authority if I strike a bit less than a 1/3 of the way back, but the tip isn't far behind in power.

I explored this in more detail in the thread about how I modified my khukri in order to correct the exact problems you mentioned. See here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=411512

 

[barrabas74]

Riley I'll bet you do own a 7 or 8 inch knife. Ever carved a turkey or cut up a roast? At one time people carried there knife on their belt that served more than one purpose. People of a not to distant past didn't get there meat in neat plastic package's.
A 7" to 9" blade is pretty handy for sectioning out a carcass. and once you get used to having it with you, it becomes pretty natural to use a larger knife for every thing.
Food for thought.
BMA

My father always carried a Buck 119 for field dressing and what have you in the outdoors. His father carried much smaller knives. They always got at it about size lol. I carry choppers or 8+ inch knives and get into it with both of them because they BOTH feel its too much. I have had an affinity for large knives/bowies since I was a kid. I have always used them and have adapted my skills to it.

For me thats the key, I got used to doing small work with a big knife when I didnt have my usual 3 or 4 inch folder or fixed blade. So I never really feel hindered with my Dog Father LE or my NMSFNO or What have you. I do prefer to carry a slightly thinner large blade with a narrower grind so it slices better though and it makes the small work easier. Thats why i like choils so much as it allows me to choke up on larger blades and use them how I like.

When I camp or hike/what have you. I usually lash my larger knife to my pack, keep a 4 incher on my hip and a SAK hunter (with the saw) in my pocket. That way I am pretty covered. I do LOVE to chop and find it fun, I turn to my axe with heavy chopping though.

To each his own, everyone adapts there own styles and I just have never liked battoning, so I chop.

 

[texastonydobbs]

I like choppers but not the weight when packing 'em, So I have come to Packing my RC6 more of a light weight chopper but an excellent splitter of wood. I use a hand saw & RC6 great combo coupled with a SAK

 

[BushcraftBrainTrust]

Hey RR, come meet up with us for the camping trip to the Aderondacks and you can play with the 10 Busse knives I am bringing. From small like the active duty, to large like NMFBM.

On my last backpacking trip, I brought a NMFBM, a Muskrat, and a Leatherman Wave. Great combo.

 

[Longknife3]

Just a note to the OP, I read Bill Bagwell's Bowies, Big Knives and the Best of Battle Blades boo. His stance is that 9" is the magical length where leverage becomes a major factor in blades, thus increasing the chopping ability...

 

[Ken-Ben]

I think it depends on where you live, and what you use that blade for.
For example my big knife is a custom made knife, very similar to a Fallkniven A1, however, with a 6.5 inch blade. For what I use my knife for, its plenty enough, and light enough for smaller, more delicate tasks. I also have a 10 inch long chopper, but I dont use it very much, only when playing in the garden. Its too damn heavy for may taste, and is not really that more efficient, than my other knife, when it comes to heavy chopping. :thumbdn:

On the other hand, a 6.5 inch long knife, with a 4 inch handle, can be wielded by grasping only the last 1.5-2 inches, there you have a 9 inch blade.