Newbie with a "Chopper" Question

[marcinek]

Only very, very recently in man's long history of using tools to process wood have "knives" become considered as one of those tools. If you pulled out a knife like most of the current "choppers" and chopped (or batonned) with it in front of one of the pioneering woodsmen who settled this country....he would have looked at you like you were a inexperienced knucklehead.

All that said....big knives are big fun. Depending on which kind/thickness of wood you are gonna have a grand old time bashing the bejeebus out of, get a big bombproof thing like a Becker or Ranger (hard/thick wood), or get a machete or leuku (softer/thinner vegetation/wood), etc etc etc.

Get what appeals to you in a what you feel is a reasonable price range, then go beat the snot out of it. Goggles are a very good idea.

 

[upnorth]

Hey Col. Its a common thought that knives are not for chopping. I don't agree with that. I like big knives.

For me, I see it more as a one tool solution. Say for hiking/camping/scouting/woods fun, a large knife that has the weight, edge geometry, and style to be an effective chopper, should also cover your needs for most other stuff, or can be backed up with a smaller, more delicate knife.

My two preferred "choppers" are my Becker/Kabar BK9, and my ESEE Junglas. For me, the BK9 works better as a "knife", and its title of Combat Bowie Knife, is quite accurate, in that it is a knife. The ESEE Junglas Machete, is a little longer, and heavier, but is a chopping fiend. It outchops the BK9, but its length and weight, make it a little difficult to do finer work. It can still be done, mind you, just takes more effort.

But the overall idea, is that that one knife is stout enough and long enough to chop, carve, pry, dig, and cut everything I need in one package, thus cutting down on the number of tools I need to carry. Plus, its just easier to keep up with.

Does a knife need to be a primary chopping tool? I think not. Axes and saws are better at large wood than a knife will ever be, but I need to build a shelter for the night, a large knife will fit the bill perfectly.

I would never take a knife and go after a tree/log/branch that is any larger than 4"-5" in diameter. Anything larger I'm just not going to need, but in a tough spot, I could take a large tree down, say, if I were needing a river crossing in cold weather. It wouldn't be my first choice, but it would work. I've had to do that once before, and all I had was a 6" belt knife. It worked, but I would have done more faster with a larger blade.

You can always make a large blade work down, but you can only make a small blade work up so far.

So, I guess to sum it up, large knives are easier to carry, more forgiving to use, can do more diverse work than an axe/saw, and is better suited as a "one blade solution" when heading out, off the pavement.

Moose

Very well said and my thoughts exactly on multiple points. I was never able to explain on a previous locked thread what I meant about big blades and large predatory animals. I guess our personal experiences shade our perspectives. My partner and I were on a teaching contract in the far north and were warned about a lone male wolf that was pack ejected and patrolling the edge of the isolated (fly in) community. I have also spoken to a guy who's friend was attacked while at a remote mine site. On and on. Black bears have and do kill\eat people in this province. And a rutting moose is extremely dangerous. I do NOT for a second think that I'm going to pull some mountain man crap and fight a black bear. At least I sure hope not. I've also talked to an Indian woman in the north that was chased for a bit by a blackie while she was riding her bike as a kid. I sold my guns off years ago and it's a pain in the wazoo to get all the paper work done up again. I would say that a spear or club in my case would be more effective than any knife, by a long shot. But having a big blade up there made me feel slightly safer, like I had at least one reliable tool to change my circumstances in a bad situation. What would be more likely is to run into a group of half wild, half starved reserve dogs. These northern communities usually go through a yearly cull and if your dog is running around, pop, a .22 in the head or a 12 guage blast in the chest. Teachers dogs have been killed this way by mistake. I could give more examples of why I want a big chopper in certain places, but I've made my point. There are MANY reasons to carry something big and it's just personal choice. If one wishes to carry a four inch blade, cool, right on brother. It just gets a little tiresome when the inference now and then is that some of us are Neanderthals for packing big steel. Peace all, I respect every\anyones choice.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Only very, very recently in man's long history of using tools to process wood have "knives" become considered as one of those tools. If you pulled out a knife like most of the current "choppers" and chopped (or batonned) with it in front of one of the pioneering woodsmen who settled this country....he would have looked at you like you were a inexperienced knucklehead.

All that said....big knives are big fun. Depending on which kind/thickness of wood you are gonna have a grand old time bashing the bejeebus out of, get a big bombproof thing like a Becker or Ranger (hard/thick wood), or get a machete or leuku (softer/thinner vegetation/wood), etc etc etc.

Get what appeals to you in a what you feel is a reasonable price range, then go beat the snot out of it. Goggles are a very good idea.

I have to disagree with you there. Machetes, billhooks, and other similar knife-like agricultural tools have been used for quite some time for chopping woody targets. Or perhaps I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to say.

 

[marcinek]

I have to disagree with you there. Machetes, billhooks, and other similar knife-like agricultural tools have been used for quite some time for chopping woody targets. Or perhaps I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to say.

That's a vaild point. Maybe I should have made it clearer, earlier, that I was talking about the big, thick "choppers" of today, and that the tools of choice for processing thick, large wood historically have, typically, been axes, hatchets, and saws....with the "lighter" woody stuff being taken care of by your knife-like agricultural tools.

My point being that I'm of the "chopping with a "chopper" knife is recreation" camp...not that there's anything wrong with recreation.

 

[GingivitisKahn]

Only very, very recently in man's long history of using tools to process wood have "knives" become considered as one of those tools. If you pulled out a knife like most of the current "choppers" and chopped (or batonned) with it in front of one of the pioneering woodsmen who settled this country....he would have looked at you like you were a inexperienced knucklehead.

Bah - they only had about a 40 year life span. What did they know? It must be that using knives as choppers makes one live longer. Yeah - that's it.


---

Beckerhead #42

 

[marcinek]

Bah - they only had about a 40 year life span. What did they know? It must be that using knives as choppers makes one live longer. Yeah - that's it.


---

Beckerhead #42

They were also so busy being chased around by bears and mountain lions that they probably didn't realize how much fun processing hardwood with a big ol chopper knife is. They probably only had time to chop the wood with an axe and then run away.

And, of course, there were no zombies back then, so they didn't see that application of choppers either.

Poor folks missed out on fun and zombies entirely!

 

[me2]

I don't know. It's hard to beat a battle axe for zombies. I bet they had zombies then, they just killed 'em (again). A guy at work had a Estwing long campers hatchet (26"). The hammer on the back or the edge would likely work great on zombies.

I like chopping knives for brush and wood up to 3" in diameter. After that it gets difficult. It's worth noting that few people have a lot of practice with axes now. Even if you gave me one for cutting wood, I'd likely be faster with a large knife for a long time, until I got enough practice.

 

[GingivitisKahn]

They were also so busy being chased around by bears and mountain lions that they probably didn't realize how much fun processing hardwood with a big ol chopper knife is. They probably only had time to chop the wood with an axe and then run away.

And, of course, there were no zombies back then, so they didn't see that application of choppers either.

Poor folks missed out on fun and zombies entirely!

You make many compelling points!


---

Beckerhead #42

 

[C.S. Graves]

I've got a tub full o' choppers, though admittedly only a handful see repeated use.
Why use a chopper? I for one find limbing/de-branching easier with the longer edge of a big knife. Personally, I've never fully liked the way hatchets feel in my hand during use (must be a balance thing), and axes are overkill for much of the stuff I'd be chopping. I pretty much use one just for splitting firewood.

 

[Col Defender]

Well this has been fun for sure. Thanks for all the good and humorous advice. Perhaps Santa will bring me a Chopper, if not I'll be looking after Christmas.

 

[Col Defender]

Well this has been fun for sure. Thanks for all the good and humorous advice. Perhaps Santa will bring me a Chopper, if not I'll be looking after Christmas.