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Is this a useful knife design?
- Thread starter Starquestman
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2000
- Messages
- 1,363
Good luck just getting by with an sak in the woods
When I was a boy all I had was a SAK, SAK Huntsman, for playing in the woods. Frankly there wasn't much I couldn't do with one. Made camps, paunched and portioned rabbits, gutted pigeons, made fires, cut string, sharpened sticks, cut fishing rods, whittled floats, made bows and arrows. Frankly, a SAK is all you need.
Even when I was a Rifleman most of the time I could get away with my SAK. You can dress out a Kudu with one, just takes all day.
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2000
- Messages
- 1,363
To answer the question, as said this is based on the Tracker design.
Survival knife should be a normal knife that won't break. Built tougher which is why they are often built with a thicker stock to say a hunting knife.
Tougher with more steel to pry, baton, chop and smash. More steel must be less likely to break under extreme use, especially to survive prying and heavy baton and chopping. Sadly thickness of blade is only part correct, quality of steel and heat treatment is more important. Annoyingly, thick knife stock is what is expected.
With all that thick stock its now how to improve on the sharpened crowbar?
Thickness to counter crow bar work. Some bulk to get behind the chop to give it some whack. And then a tough point and also a keen edge. Point for gouging, and keen edge for whittling. Trying to cater for all these and you end up with such a design.
As for the saw then I am at a completely lost as they are all useless; but the market, ninja mall market. demands it (Lyle and Rambo have a lot to answer for such uselessness).
All makes for a most interesting design. For those who make knives the exercise of getting all those curves and grinds makes for a challenge. Doing just simple classic hunter blades must be boring. So for a challenge then they have merit. But as a utility survival knife for all the design effort they just aren't much cop in my opinion. The more design feature the less adaptable they are, and what starts as best intentions ends up being a negative over something a whole lot simpler. In the example shown its the overly complicate handle that I dislike most. I understand the blade and less worried, but that handle will give a heap of grief under sustained work. Overly complicated handles always do.
As an exercise for a knife maker to show off his talents then go for it. As a survival tool then I'd leave it in the mall. I have more respect for a true fantasy blade than a over thought blade, thought up by someone who has never done enough manual work to realise what work is. Great in theory, pants in practice.
Survival knife should be a normal knife that won't break. Built tougher which is why they are often built with a thicker stock to say a hunting knife.
Tougher with more steel to pry, baton, chop and smash. More steel must be less likely to break under extreme use, especially to survive prying and heavy baton and chopping. Sadly thickness of blade is only part correct, quality of steel and heat treatment is more important. Annoyingly, thick knife stock is what is expected.
With all that thick stock its now how to improve on the sharpened crowbar?
Thickness to counter crow bar work. Some bulk to get behind the chop to give it some whack. And then a tough point and also a keen edge. Point for gouging, and keen edge for whittling. Trying to cater for all these and you end up with such a design.
As for the saw then I am at a completely lost as they are all useless; but the market, ninja mall market. demands it (Lyle and Rambo have a lot to answer for such uselessness).
All makes for a most interesting design. For those who make knives the exercise of getting all those curves and grinds makes for a challenge. Doing just simple classic hunter blades must be boring. So for a challenge then they have merit. But as a utility survival knife for all the design effort they just aren't much cop in my opinion. The more design feature the less adaptable they are, and what starts as best intentions ends up being a negative over something a whole lot simpler. In the example shown its the overly complicate handle that I dislike most. I understand the blade and less worried, but that handle will give a heap of grief under sustained work. Overly complicated handles always do.
As an exercise for a knife maker to show off his talents then go for it. As a survival tool then I'd leave it in the mall. I have more respect for a true fantasy blade than a over thought blade, thought up by someone who has never done enough manual work to realise what work is. Great in theory, pants in practice.
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2015
- Messages
- 951
Those of you who think you can get by with an sak should consider how you would gather wood after let's say a week of non stop rain in a survival hypothermic condition..... if you think you could get by while shaking uncontrollably with out cutting yourself with a sub 2.5 in blade then you must be Dave Canterbury ohh wait that guy who has more experience than most of y'all combined minimum blade requiremnet is 5in for his classes...... skinning game, feathersticking, cutting and carving an sak will work and will work great.... splitting wood (one of the only ways to easily get to the dry center of a log) so you don't get hypothermic maybe not so much......
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2000
- Messages
- 1,363
The only reason to have a bigger blade than a SAK is convenience, makes life easier and more comfortable. If I can get a small fire going with a SAK then I can get a roaring big fire going from that. It rains plenty often enough in the UK.
If you are going on an expedition into the wilderness, or work within a wilderness area, then sure carry appropriately. No one goes into the arctic wearing bermuda shorts.
I fully understand what Dave Canterbury is trying to teach. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge. But even he doesn't expect everyone to go around prepared for Armageddon. He teaches practical skills that might help at some time. He has a preference to his tools like most people, but that reflects his way of doing stuff. Most who practice bushcraft have similar preferences, but not always exactly the same.
As for survival you make do with whatever is available.
Teaching, learning, basic bushcraft and survival skills is a confidence building exercise. Its take people out of of their normal environment ( with all the modcons) and show that one can still do ok without it all. Know how to sort out the basics and you will be fine.
There has been a recent trend to add "must have" conveniences. Those are a bushcraft/survival knife, a tarp, a ferrous rod, a titanium cook pot. Why not just take a camper van?
All education, so people do plan and take appropriate kit when they venture out. That appropriate kit might be a good stout knife. But at least know how to use one and know what can be done with one.
If you are going on an expedition into the wilderness, or work within a wilderness area, then sure carry appropriately. No one goes into the arctic wearing bermuda shorts.
I fully understand what Dave Canterbury is trying to teach. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge. But even he doesn't expect everyone to go around prepared for Armageddon. He teaches practical skills that might help at some time. He has a preference to his tools like most people, but that reflects his way of doing stuff. Most who practice bushcraft have similar preferences, but not always exactly the same.
As for survival you make do with whatever is available.
Teaching, learning, basic bushcraft and survival skills is a confidence building exercise. Its take people out of of their normal environment ( with all the modcons) and show that one can still do ok without it all. Know how to sort out the basics and you will be fine.
There has been a recent trend to add "must have" conveniences. Those are a bushcraft/survival knife, a tarp, a ferrous rod, a titanium cook pot. Why not just take a camper van?
All education, so people do plan and take appropriate kit when they venture out. That appropriate kit might be a good stout knife. But at least know how to use one and know what can be done with one.
KingMC
The Pun-isher
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2014
- Messages
- 11,600
I think you missed the point of what most people here are saying: for knife tasks, a SAK works just as well as any other bigger, fancier knife; for non-knife tasks such as splitting wood, you would have a hatchet given how it's designed for that purpose and is also not super fancy or pretty.
Big knives combine multiple uses together into one tool, but when it comes to knife-specific tasks the SAK is all you need and more. For splitting wood, a hatchet is all you need.
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2012
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- 29,050
