One Knife for One Year

During ten years of Hunting and Fishing guide work, I used only a Buck 110 folder and a nine inch Fillet knife. No matter what I carry for hunting and camping, I have to have a fillet knife. For everything else I could use the 110 no problem at all.

That said, I always carry a Silky saw and a Estwing Hatchet when camping. As long as I have the other knives at home to play with, I could and have used just one knife for over a year.

As Mistwalker said, some places, you can only carry a folder or SAK to stay legal. Lucky for me, I love folders too.
 
adaman04 said:
I really like your thought process on this. We become so caught up in cool gear and more more more that we often get away from the basics.
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Glad you like my idea! It came to me several ways...

First I nearly bought two different knives from BF members over the past few weeks and my logic side of my brain kept yelling "Stan you idiot! You've got enough knives! You've got your first baby on the way! Save your friggin money!"

Second I thought about the context in which I use fixed blade knives -- mostly on deployment. In a deployment context I will most likely carry one blade on me and I need to make sure I know how to use it for everything.

Third I frequent another forum that discusses personal protection. One of the threads there discussed instead of trying five different martial arts to focus on one and gain some depth. Another thread suggested choosing a skill set and focusing on it until you've completed 1000 hours in order to gain depth. I took this and ran with it.

Fourth I looked at what I use knives for when in the U.S. -- mostly food preparation as I do all the cooking in my house. If I could take a field knife and learn to use it effectively for detailed tasks such as food preparation as well as gross motor skill tasks such as batoning I would be able to do just about anything with the blade.

Fifth using a field knife for everyday tasks = free pre-deployment training! Can't beat that!

I am going to kick this idea around some more over the next few weeks and I will keep you all in the loop.
 
I think its a great idea.. I go through spurts f using certain knives for extended periods... I think choosing a set up for a year would be lend itself to more versatility, as well as increasing you r chances of success
For example
Axe, or heavy blade (heavy stuff)
belt knife (woods stuff)
folder (edc)
Multitool (backup and sundries)

Good luck
 
Good idea, Stanley. Don't let the others tell you it can't be done - I did it for years with just a Mora. The real question is WHY????

JK.

Doc
 
stanley_white said:
Glad you like my idea! It came to me several ways...

First I nearly bought two different knives from BF members over the past few weeks and my logic side of my brain kept yelling "Stan you idiot! You've got enough knives! You've got your first baby on the way! Save your friggin money!"

Second I thought about the context in which I use fixed blade knives -- mostly on deployment. In a deployment context I will most likely carry one blade on me and I need to make sure I know how to use it for everything.

Third I frequent another forum that discusses personal protection. One of the threads there discussed instead of trying five different martial arts to focus on one and gain some depth. Another thread suggested choosing a skill set and focusing on it until you've completed 1000 hours in order to gain depth. I took this and ran with it.

Fourth I looked at what I use knives for when in the U.S. -- mostly food preparation as I do all the cooking in my house. If I could take a field knife and learn to use it effectively for detailed tasks such as food preparation as well as gross motor skill tasks such as batoning I would be able to do just about anything with the blade.

Fifth using a field knife for everyday tasks = free pre-deployment training! Can't beat that!

I am going to kick this idea around some more over the next few weeks and I will keep you all in the loop.
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If I may add a sixth? Long term use of a single knife helps me to develop a tactile ("feel") sense of a knife that I just can't get any other way. Even in the dark, my hand and mind remember and know the where the knife's tip is, how the blade is angled. Indexing the knife in the alternative grips I use becomes more automatic.

It also helps me determine the normal use limits of a knife and learn just how far I can extend those limits.

I like your idea and the reasoning behind it! :thumbup:
 
it is a great idea but i am going to go with Mentor's take on it and select a few to use instead. One sounds great but it would be impossible for me to settle on something i like for all occasions. It would be hard to pick a stout fixed blade for the woods and edc it all the time in an urban environment also. i like the layering idea for me.

Mentor's original thread
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596920

and the results thread
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=643155
 
i think its a great idea:thumbup::thumbup:

it is something i have been considering as well
 
stanley_white said:
Regarding knife selection and use I have been wondering lately if I personally need less breadth and more depth -- i.e. instead of having a dozen knives that barely get used taking one single knife and figuring out how to make it work for all tasks large and small.

Thoughts?
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I almost like the idea!

Change it to taking 2 or 3 knives and using nothing but them for a year and you have a pretty cool idea!

I have a few knives and if I were to choose one to use for a whole year then I would choose a good compromise - not the best at anything. If I could choose 3 knives then I would have a good chopper/batoner + a nice utility knife + a folding knife. One interesting exercise would be to use 3 budget knives only - I could do that with a budget of under $100 total!

One option that I could do with knives I already have:
KA-BAR Kukri Machete for chopping/batoning ($46)
Mora Triflex Carbon Craftsman (~$12)
Ontario RAT-1 ($26)
That would be $84 worth of knives.

To be honest I wouldn't be that keen on not using my other knives (after all I did buy them to use them) but I think that if I had to then I could do it and the 3 knives I listed would handle pretty much all my knife needs and for that matter they would handle those needs well. It would be kinda interesting to see how well someone on a tight budget could cope with wilderness & survival tasks with under $100 worth of knives and without dozens of knives to choose from the knives you have would actually get used!

I would love to take someone that has spent thousands and thousands of dollars on knives and give them 3 knives worth less than a hundred dollars all together and say - for the next year these are the only knives you will be using. It might give them an appreciation of how much can be done without spending a fortune.
 
I love the simple purity of this project. One knife, one year. Good luck, and please let us know how it goes!
 
I couldn't do just one but I have sold off most of my knives and only 5 remain and they cover all my bases.

The possibility of sudden job loss, which has just recently reared it's ugly head, has my knife noggin thinking clearly. The recession has bankrupted my company.

Now it's just a matter of self control.

If I could only keep and use one for a year, it would be the Skookum.
 
Gadgetaholic said:
I would love to take someone that has spent thousands and thousands of dollars on knives and give them 3 knives worth less than a hundred dollars all together and say - for the next year these are the only knives you will be using. It might give them an appreciation of how much can be done without spending a fortune.
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I shared a fire with another hiker tonight. I had my Busse and Skookum and he had a "winchester?" folder with built in firesteel. Looked like it has been thru war but was razor sharp and met his needs just fine. Probably cost him about $25 total. If I run into him again, i'm going to give him my Alox Farmer and see how it holds up over a years time of hard use. Not much you can't do with a simple SAK.
 
For several years I only used a Randall Model 14. It certainly did not do some things perfectly, but it did do everything well. Also, familiarity compensated for flexability. I did also carry a Swiss Champ, so maybe that is cheating.
 
adaman04 said:
I really like your thought process on this. We become so caught up in cool gear and more more more that we often get away from the basics.

This would be a good thing to do BEFORE you buy a bunch of nice knives. I'd feel bad not using any of my other knives. Also, I use a pocket knife in the office quite a bit, where a fixed blade isn't really welcome.

I could see doing nearly every task I need to do with my RAT RC-4. From buttering bread to batoning.
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Have to agree with Adam on this one, I could use my RC-3 for a year, no problem at all. Probably my HEST or Izula or TAK-1 as well. Hell I went 9 months only using the TAK-1 as far as fixed blades go. My problem would be at work. I use my Multi-tool and folders all the time at work, and I am not allowed to have any sheath knife on my belt at work, folder or fixed. So I would have to pick a blade I could have in all locations, and I am just not comfortable in the woods without some kind of fixed blade. If my workplace was a bit more blade friendly I would give it a try with just the RC-3.

Then of course I would also probably drive myself insane trying to decide which fixed blade I was actually going to take from my many.... the idea give me a headache just thinking it over..... :)
 
All it takes is personal determination. As for candidates I would offer up either a SAK Rucksack or Camper (if lockblades are a no go). If I didn't have SD knife needs and MT needs on the rescue I might be able to do it. I know the knives could.
 
Eyegor said:
All it takes is personal determination. As for candidates I would offer up either a SAK Rucksack or Camper (if lockblades are a no go). If I didn't have SD knife needs and MT needs on the rescue I might be able to do it. I know the knives could.
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Wellt eh camper would work, but the Rucksack...? Corkscrew instead of a phillips? Trekker or fireman would be a better base (IMHO).
 
As far as using a coated blade, I was mainly thinking about sanitizing it for food prep, which you would be doing all the time in this scenario. Much easier to do with a non-coated blade.
 
Beware the man with one knife-he knows how to use it.:D This is a great exercise in survival, restraint and frugality.:thumbup: All useful skills in the times we live in.
 
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