New Valiant Co. Toys

VH, it depends on what you expect to do when "hiking."

Here in the Midwest, backpacking rarely involves slashing through the underbrush. We do get firewood and process it for fire; make hiking staves (if foolish enough to have forgotton one), and prepare food. We may, I suppose, have to build shelter. For those tasks you might consider:

1) a folding saw (for example, Fiskars = control and results with minimum effort) AND Swiss Army Knife OR light multitool (small blade, scissors, can-opener; PLUS
A medium fixed-blade knife - something stout enough to split 1-2" wood to get at the inside. Examples: Greco MST; SOG Gov't Model; SOG X-42 Field Knife; Fallkniven S-1 (all under 10 oz. w/ sheath).

If you feel you need to chop, there are fine hand axes at about a pound. If you feel like toting more weight, Cliff Stamp has done pretty careful testing that shows that a khukuri is a better chopper than an axe up to the largest wood you would ever gather for fire or emergency shelter. Goloks can fill the chopper role (I have two) but they are not superior - probably not equal - to a khuk until one gets into jungle-type slashing.

(Of course, a saw has little romance about it. It just works.)
 
On these pieces, does the spring steel hold up better than the Damascus?

They are very nice, but I know that damascus can be made inexpensively so that it will look pretty but perform poorly.
 
I have two damascus pieces from Valiant, and it is genuine using steel. I don't know if the spring steel pieces are tougher or not (I cut with them, not beat them to death), but both take a scary edge. The damascus bowie I have from them has done a fair amount of chopping, and keeps its edge. Some of what they offer is more designed for hard use than other items. There's an EMAIL button at the top of the Valiant page. If you're interested in something, tell Wandi what your intended use is and he'll let you know if it's suitable. If he has something that'll serve your needs better, he'll tell you, even if it's cheaper.
 
Mr Linton,


When I go camping I always carry my folding saw, 18" WWII, small survival kit, first aid kit, ect. On a day hike in the mountians all I usuall carry is a camelback backpack, my walking stick and one of my khuks. The only problem is how much they weigh. It didn't use to bother me but I've come to realize that it's just too much weight to carry up and down the mountians. There are times where I've needed to cut through some light brush to clear a trail, or chop up a small tree thats gotten in the way. I've also had to cut walking sticks for friends that never bring one, or cut up sandwiches and fruit for lunch. Most of the tasks that I would need it for are pretty light, but it needs to perform if something happens. I hope this anwsers your question. Also I'm familar with Mr. Stamp's work,I've found his tests to be interesting and reliable.

After some more research I think the small horn golok would fit the bill. Has anyone had any experience with this model? Any other suggestions are more than welcome. Thanks.

- D
 
Not that model in particular, but goloks in general. I'll say again that these are strong, sharp blades, but keep in mind they are full-height convex grinds with distal tapers. My large golok is notably lighter than my 15" AK, so the small isn't going to have much mass. Should be an awesome slasher and cutter on light stuff, but it may lack the chopping power you expect. Of course, if you use a second piece of wood as a mallet I should think it'd do very well. Just letting you know.
 
I hope it wasn't taken as sarcasm...I capitalized EMAIL because that's how it appears on the website. :)
 
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