Knife vs Hatchet vs Saw

[OwenM]

If there's enough interest here, I'll be more than happy to start a 'long term wilderness survival thread" :thumbup:

That would be cool to read.

Unfortunately, something that I see a lot around here is that some take the normal circumstances that people hike under and pretend it leads to that very thing(living in the wilderness for extended periods) instead of short-term survival, whose reality apparently doesn't suit their fantasies, and perpetuates the fear of those who come here with the outdoors as an unknown, rather than a familiar atmosphere.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

No offense, bro, but that kind of argument will go over much better on a HIKING FORUM than on a blade forum.

Let's face, it, hiking has little to nothing to do with Wilderness and Survival Skills. You don't need bushcraft skills, knife skills, wild edible skills, etc to hike. You need to be able to walk. You might need some technical skills if you're going to throw in some rock scrambling and such.

Someone who just hikes saying "you only need such" because that's all they use when just hiking, would be like someone saying "You don't need a knife/machete/axe/saw at all! Why I've never needed a knife/machete/axe/saw in my whole 30 year experience of playing soccer!"

What guys talk about here aren't fantasies (usually), but things they like to do, and practice skills for.

Ever think that people enjoy practicing these things? Think of bushcraft/wilderness living as a sport that has different equipment requirements than another sport.

 

[BryFry]

Cpl Punishment, I get what you're saying. :thumbup:

I figure very few of us HAVE to venture out into the wild these days as a necessity. We do it for the fun, the practice, and the enjoyment of the experience. And for alot of us, a large part of that enjoyment comes from using our favorite blades. Often just for the fun of it, just to see what they can do.

Sure I could go out into the wild with nothing more than a saw and a 3" blade and probably be just fine as far as "surviving". But where is the fun in that? -I like to use my big choppers, and I like practicing making shelters, starting fires using primitive methods, and other bushcrafty things that may not be completely necessary considering all of todays modern equipment that is available.

Still gonna try out as manny different things as I can, just for the heck of it.

 

[g123]

Hey Mick,

That's exactly what we need. Let the learning begin.

Geoff

 

[field trip]

This discussion is way off track.

The original post was in comparison of different blades when used to cut dry wood. To that end get some data and post it. Otherwise it's all anecdote and speculation.

Of course different types of camping will favor different gear but the opinion poll of what kind of camping turns your crank belongs elsewhere.

 

[Woods Walker]

Edit (looking to keep thread on topic)

Field Trip.

I have never cut dry boards to compare times between a saw, hatchet and knife but based on my experience in the woods I find a saw the fastest. My larger knives like a Ka-Bar to be the slowest. Naturally others may have different experiences etc.

 

[Cpl Punishment]

I find a large blade like a real kukri to outrun a (non-chain) saw.

 

[Mistwalker]

Let me state right from the word go, I'm lazy :thumbup:

When I'm looking to break up wood for the fire, I'm not particularily interested in how neat the end of the wood is (maybe I'm a slob as well as lazy )

Unless you are breaking up firewood thicker than your forearm, or don't have access to a forked tree, why would anyone bother using any of the tools listed (unless it's for the fun factor or feeling the need to justify a purchase ).

IMO, the single most effective & calorie efficient way of breaking up wood (up to forearm size) is to use the leverage you can generate with the fork of a tree.


If it doesn't readily yield to this technique, is there really anything wrong with feeding the log onto the fire as it burns?


Kind regards
Mick

It's not really being lazy...survival is all about energy conservation

The older I get...the more energy-conservative I become

I remember once when camping with my dad when I was 13 or 14 and I had just got my W49. I was chopping all the fire wood up in regular sized pieces. He said "you're making me tired just watching, here let me show you something". He walked over and laid a limb on each side of the fire in the edge of the flames, then said sit down, chill out, and watch the fire cut it in-two. Of course being a teenager I said "where's the fun in that?" Now...the fire cuts most of my fire wood.

 

[field trip]

Couple chop tests here.

Red double bit axe, 4 lb 14 oz, straight hickory handle, no sheath, 35" overall, 10" across the blade, 4-7/8" edges. Bought at flea market for $10 and sharpened with coarse stone and repainted red. 16 second average of 3 trials. I repeated this one 3x (14, 15, 19 sec) because it was fun and also variable due to the board bouncing around.

Coleman axe, 1 lb 14 oz, low-quality tube steel handle with plastic overmold and vinyl sheath. 14" overall, 4.5" across the blade/head, 2.75" edge. got as a gift 10 years ago and barely used. sharpened with coarse stone. 49 seconds. Seemed more dangerous in this test condition compared to axe due to short handle (proximity to body) and effort/time required. On this test I rotated the board as I got to mid-way to help it get through more efficiently. Lots of swings required and not a proper choice of tool for chopping cross-grain. Better used for splitting/batoning.