How many of you

D

dispatch 510

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May 17, 2005
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would feel comfortable with being in a survival situation with a slippie and a small hatchet or small axe. I think that one could do just fine. A trapper or large stockman should handle alot of the cutting chores, the axe or hatchet for firewood. What do you guys think about this. What about a 2 or 3 day camping trip? Thanks
 
If all that mattered was that I could make fire and shelter and prepare food I would feel confident for a few days with those tools.
 
certainly enough for 95 % of outdoors. the only place that i would insist on an axe are interior alaska & certain canadian areas.--dennis
 
I would feel totally at ease with a good pocket knife and hatchet. I know in certain survival forums they feel anything less than short swords in duplicate is the minimum, I guess I grew up in an other time. Most of the time in my experience in camping, a pocket knife is all that's needed. If a large amount of wood is to be processed a hatchet or folding saw is nice to have along. But a very nice little survival shelter can be made with a pocket knife. Key word; survival shelter. We're not talking a cabin or A frame ski lodge.

A lot of the men I grew up around, carried those little Vaughan pocket hatchets, and did very well with them. I'd feel very confidant with my old Plumb boy scout hatchet and a good pocket knife.

Carl.
 
well on a survival course of 3 days 2 years ago I only had a Opinel 8C and a 1€ saw (bent steel wire) and did everything

so a slipjoint would be fine but a bigger folder or fixed would be preferred
something like a #73, mountain man or #72 lockback would be fine (2 blades are better)

Maxx
 
I would feel comfortable with a pocket knife in this situation. After all our ancestors did it for years with no problems. They done everything from camping and survival to working on the farm and had no problems. We have to remember a knife is made for cutting if you need to chop or split wood get an axe or hatchet.
Best Regards,
Travis
 
Well if I had a hatchet then I would be fine. I can make a fire and small shelter easily with my stockman. Get my a hatchet for larger pieces of fire wood and I would be good to go. In fact that is what I did bring last time I went camping.
 
My Buck 301 or Case yellow trapper and Estwing leather handled hatchet work great for me. The challenge would be to get down to just it. I always take too much and never use it.
Bob
 
I know this sounds cheesy but your best survival tool is your mind. I knew plenty of men growing up who spent weeks out in the bush of Northern Ontario with kitchen knives in homemade sheaths and cheap axes from the local hardware store. So the answer to the OP is yes, a good pocketknife and hatchet, properly used and cared for would be fine.
 
My dad & I went on backpacking trips, in New Mexico & Colorado, over the span of a couple of decades, with nothing more than the Victorinox in his pocket. No axe, no hatchet, no fixed blade, no saw. We never had any trouble finding wood & kindling that wasn't already suitably sized for a fire. Never once did we need for anything more.

I wholeheartedly agree with the previous comment about your mind being the best tool you could ever need.
 
The combo presented in the OP would be more than sufficient for most situations in the hands of someone with competence in the field. The best equipment is useless (and wasted) in the hands of those lacking in basic skills.
 
If you are backpacking, there are folding saws which are far lighter than an axe or hatchet. FWIW - I camp/backpack with a single, small knife.
 
Blues said:
The combo presented in the OP would be more than sufficient for most situations in the hands of someone with competence in the field. The best equipment is useless (and wasted) in the hands of those lacking in basic skills.
Click to expand...

great post Blue..:thumbup:

though i would prefer a fixed blade of corse, i would more than definitely feel comfortable, with just those 2 as long as i can make fire and prep food... which i easily could..:)
 
mtnfolk mike said:
great post Blue..:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mike. When I look back upon my many years of climbing and backpacking from Alaska to Yosemite to the Wind Rivers to the White Mountains of NH, I'm always struck by how little one could make do with.
A little resourcefulness goes a long way.

(Of course, during most of that time I wasn't a certified knife knut and didn't know what I was missing (nor could I afford it if I had :p).
 
Blues said:
The combo presented in the OP would be more than sufficient for most situations in the hands of someone with competence in the field. The best equipment is useless (and wasted) in the hands of those lacking in basic skills.
Click to expand...

+1:thumbup:

Back when I spent a LOT of time in the woods, 4-wheelin(before ATVs), hiking, camping, etc. I found a machete to be my tool of choice along with a Buck 110 or 119. I have always owned hatchets, but never found them to be as useful as the machete.

Peter
 
I'll be the one to go against the grain here. While I would be fine with a slipjoint and chopper, I would not be comfortable if that chopper was a hatchet. My experience has always been with big knives. Before I got into slipjoints I was hooked on khukuris in a big way. Before khukuris I used bolos. I know how to use big knives and I like them.

Could I use a hatchet if that was all I had? You bet, and I would learn to use that hatchet well. But given the choice I would prefer to have a big knife of the khukuri or bolo variety.

- Christian
 
I backpacked quite a bit when I was a kid and all I ever used was a wire saw and a Buck 110 on my belt. Seemed to do everything from food prep, fuzz sticks, and sharpening sticks for marshmellows. Nothing really hard core but it did get the job done.

The wire saw came in handy for cutting up small branches and was also light to carry.
 
I backpacked for years with only a combo edge Delica. I'd feel totally prepared with a slip joint and hatchet.
 
Before I got into knives, I had only one knife with me on hiking and camping trips: my old Victorinox Soldier. I always take a tent with me on camping trips, so the knife was mainly used to prepare food, prepare wood for a camp fire and other small tasks. So yes, I think I would feel comfortable with a good knife and a foldable saw or axe.
 
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