Most Efficient Number of Knives to Carry, Maximum Potential, Minimum Waste

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
5,403
Good Day,

What are the knives that you would carry to get everything done in the woods without unneccesarily weighting yourself down?

I know we like to have as many knives on us as possible, we are knife afficiandos. But, realistically we are probably not going to carry every knife we own with us.

Ron Hood carries a Large Knife, a Small Knife and an Axe. I think????

I can see myself with a Large Knife (18-20 inches overall -Bolo, Barong, Bowie), a Small Knife (9-11 inches overall -MEUK, TOPS Shadow Hunter, RBD Paradigm), a Personal/City/Neck/Bird and Trout Knife (6-8 inches overall- Livesay/Wicked Little Pecker, Blade Neck, Marble's style Bird and Trout), and an Axe. Oh and a multitool/SAK for all the tools in it, which could replace the neck knife in a minimalist situation.

The Large Knife can do it all to a certain degree.

The Small Knife has a full grip for comfort and will all the stuff that a Large Knife cannot do conveniently, except those tasks best suited to....

The Neck knife, which by nature of it's size, can accomplish all the really fine stuff.

And an Axe? Well, it is for all the massive jobs in an arboreal wilderness.

So that is my vision, what is yours?

What purpose do Medium Knives fulfil?

I might add a Machete.....

What other issues are there??????

The root post is at: http://www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum32/HTML/002268.html along with links to all the other places I have posted this question.....

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Marion David Poff aka Eye mdpoff@hotmail.com
Coeur D'Alene, ID
http://www.geocities.com/mdpoff

An interesting business oppurtunity... http://www.geocities.com/selouss

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.
 
Well, for whatever it's worth, here's what I carry in the jungle:

-- a large knife for cutting or chopping, usually strapped to my pack; from time to time, I have carried a machete, a Woodman's Pal, a Busse Steel Heart II, and a Newt Livesey Rapid Deployment (the Woodman's Pal, by the way, is a wonderful and much-underestimated tool);

-- a small belt knife, usually around 3-4" blade length, for everyday chores, such as peeling fruit and slicing salami;

--a Wenger SAK with a 4" locking blade in my pocket, attached to my belt with a long cord (I am tired of sacrificing my pocket knives to the River God); and

--a neck knife; my absolute favorite is the REKAT Hobbit Utility.

When I am in a village, I usually carry the belt knife, the SAK, and the neck knife. If I am going anyplace where the belt knife would appear conspicuous, such as downtown Iquitos, I carry just the SAK and the neck knife.

For whatever it's worth. :-)
 
I guess it depends what sort of situation you are in.

For most of the time I could get by with my folder - a Gerber Bolt action hunter. There are times though that you actually need more.

We discussed something similar to this in the Primitive Living Tools discussion.

The old philosophy of being out for extended times and being able to do everything - a small hatchet for heavy duty jobs, a thin bladed sheath knife for skinning and camp tasks, a pocket folder for fine work, and the strangest one of all the crooked knife which enables you to carve everything from snowshoes to a canoe paddle.
Given that a pocket knife meant at least a three blader, the sheath knife was carbon steel for sharpening with a coarse edge for meat/skinning or a fine edge for woodwork - and had a false edge (Marble Woodcraft), and the small hatchet acted both as a chopper and as a knife (Nessmuk's was double bitted with different profiles)- that's a lot of diversity in blades.

From what I've seen on posts, I think that people carry far less BLADES now, and what they do carry is less versatile. That is certainly my case. I just don't find myself in need of whittling replacement parts for a Trapper Nelson packframe, or making snowshoes on a regular basis any more.

Jimbo
 
I see a large fixed blade for heavy work.
A medium sized folder probably a single bladed lockback with up to a 4" blade for skinning and general work.
And finally a good two or three bladed pocketknife for smaller chores as one often encounters.

Gee, that's what I generally carry hunting, ok, sometimes I have TWO fixed blade knifes!
smile.gif



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
I believe that everyone in the party should have at least 1 knife each. With the party carrying between them a combination which includes:
1) one or two SAKs (or multi-tools)
2) a medium size fixed blade ~4" for
general camp chores.
3) A heavier knife for field work (e.g. large camp knife, kukri, or small machete)
4) An 3/4 size ax, or hatchet for tending the camp fire.

 
Around home: 2 - Leatherman SideClip and Benchmade Eclipse 830S

At work: 5 - Leatherman WAVE, Spyderco Rescue, Livesay Titanium Tiger, Wenger Money Clip and One of many varied LARGE Lockblades.

Survival Pack: 2 - Busse #5 or Cold Steel SRK and Victorinox Pioneer (Would probably throw in a Leatherman WAVE, if time permitted)
 
I want to get a Wave. When I do I will probably only carry it and my Pygmy Atak when I go out backpacking or hiking. I think that a lot of the time you can get by without a saw or hatchet for cutting firewood, at least in the areas I camp there is plenty of dead wood on the ground and most of the time it is just as easy to break it up by hand. Of course it is nice to have the bigger wood tools but a lot of the time they are just extra weight.
 
1. Large blade - barong, bowie, or kukri size

2. Smaller fixed blade or folding skinner - 3 inch range

3. SAK or UPT

Those should cover about most situations. I might throw in a neck knife such as the Little Peck** or something also.Possibly a small belt ax also depending upon situation.

------------------
Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
This may be a dumb question, but what is a UPT????
thanx!

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An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.
 
GRANITE: UPT-universal pocket tool, i.e. a multitool or multiplier. Your Leatherman or Wave or Multipliers are UPT's.



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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com

You use what you have on you, then you improvise! :)
 
1. 3/4 Hudson Bay Cruisin Axe or full size axe (only for extended trips or long-term survival)
2. a saw of some sort (again only for extended trips or long-term survival)
3. 3-4" fixed blade, probably a Grohmann
4. 3 blade stockman
5. SAK multitool
6. SAK minichamp or similar small SAK

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Hoodoo

No, I do not weep at the world--I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.
Zora Neale Hurston

Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
Lao Tsu

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 01-09-2000).]
 
Hmmm...

The minimum (blade) load I carry when I go out on long wilderness trips is:

(1) Ontario 18" Machette - or - an RMJ Forge Tomahawk
(1) CRK Large Sebenza
(1) Leatherman Wave

Usually, I add to this:
(1) Large fixed blade (CRK Project II)
and/or
(1) Buck folding fillet knife
 
Large Fixed Blade 10" - Ontario SP-5 Bowie,

OR

Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay Axe, and;

EITHER

Buck 102 Woodsman in an OST sheath with FireSteel,

OR

Fallkniven WM-1 in an OST sheath with FireSteel, and;

Benchmade Griptilian 550,

Victorinox Pioneer, and,

Robeson ATS-34 Whittler(until my D2 Queens arrive).

Mike
 
This is what I carry when backpacking.

1) Gransfors Brunks - Mini Belt Hatchet or Wildlife Hatchet
2) Camillus Talon in 154cm - 3 1/2" blade
3) Swiss Army Knife - Rucksack

These little hatchets easily chop better than mt 10" Combat Patrol Bowie, handle much better, and are much easier to sharpen than a large knife in the field.
 
Attached to the side of the pack (and easily removeable for those more PC type woods)- Custom Livesay RTAK

On the pack strap - Nylon/velcro case with SAK Rucksak

In the pack are my back up knives - TOPS CAT/Emerson Commander

On my belt is either my TOPS Hawk Recon or my Laser Strike

In my pocket is my SERE 2000 on one side and my SAK Super Tinker on the other.

In my back pocket is my last ditch hold out my Spydercard.


Day trips only consist of my pocket knives and my ATAX.

Guess I gotta be careful crossing streams....

;)
 
Currently when I venture out in the woods, I seem to be carrying four knives.

1. Large fixed blade (this is ever changing due to thefact that I have not found th ultimate large knife yet) attached to my pack

2. Terzuola ATCF on my belt ala beltpouch

3. Leatherman Supertool (I carry this instead of a SAK)

4. And a midsized fixed blade inside the pack as kitchen/multipurpose knife that could also take the place of my smaller knives if something happened.

I am interested in a tomahawk to use in a axe/heavy chopper category.

That is the minimum for me, but I might be on the heavy side.
 
1)BUSSE straight handle battle mistress
2)LIVESAY air assault
3)SAK
I could just about do everything with my BUSSE and SAK.
But my air assault I use for cleaning game and for snares,I still have not found a handle as good as the air assaults,thats one of the reasons I carry it,plus it holds a edge for a long time,and I can draw a good spark with it.
With those three I can do it all.
 
1 medium-large fixed blade
1 small fixed blade
1 multitool
I usually carry a Leatherman Wave, and either a Becker BK7 and Rinaldi Gambit (3.4" BG-42 blade), or a Blackjack #1-7 Classic Hunter and Doug Mondt GMC (2.5" 10V blade).
Both sizes of knife always come in handy, but I rarely use the multitool. Plenty of potential uses for it, though, so I continue to carry it.
Gerber axe tags along if I think it'll be needed, too.

Next time out will be a Busse Basic 9, the Gambit, and the Wave.

Forgot...I do carry a neck knife. I wear a CF ArcLite everyday, including in the woods. Forget I even have it on, and it doesn't hurt to have a spare.
 
You know Marion, I do have a ton of knives and it's painful to think about not have THEM ALL with me, however, lately I have been getting into Scandanavian style knives and am really impressed with what they have at such reasonable prices.

For you question, though;

1. The Finnish Leuku and puukko in one sheath will give you an 7-8" blade with the leuku and the puukko with a 3.5" blade.
2. I would have to have my Mini-Talon around my neck.
3. Strapped to my pack is a BK&T Patrol Machete.
4. And I suppose I would have to make room for my BK&T C/U-7
5. Aw, I will have to stuff my talonite Talone someplace into my gear too.

You know, this ain't easy when you have a lot of knives that at one time or another you just could not live without.

PS;
If I am wearing braces then the M95 Finnish puukko would be on one of the straps in a verticle carry mode.
:eek: :eek: :rolleyes:
 
Here is what i use when I go fishing in some remote places:

Victorinox Fieldmaster (soon to be replaced with a Ranger b/c it has a file) left backside in belt sheath, Schrade Sharpfinger right back, 16" ontario Machete or Ontario Sp-5 on the pack, Spyderco Delica left pocket.

Back to civilization the sak and delica remains but a buck 560 in belt sheath takes the place of the sharpfinger.
 
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