One Knife for One Year

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see why this is seen as such a huge, and potentially insurmountable goal.
 
It's not insurmountable I've done it a couple of times, both for longer than a year. However it is challenging to do every single "normal" knife task you perform; cutting, skinning, slicing, dicing, cutting bread, slicing cheese, whittling, chopping, splitting, boring, making utensils, carving trap triggers, making tools, cutting string, opening packages, all using only one knife for a solid year. Most people (those who cook anyway) use more than one knife on a daily basis just preparing meals. In my case the first time the knife (an issue pilot survival knife) was also often my can opener, my mini pry bar, my digging tool, my hammer, my back scratcher, my needle for removing splinters, and was used in a defensive roll more than once.
 
hatidua said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see why this is seen as such a huge, and potentially insurmountable goal.
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If that's what you really think then your a very lucky guy and there is still hope for ya.......leave the forum now before the knife bug takes hold !;)
 
hatidua said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see why this is seen as such a huge, and potentially insurmountable goal.
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pitdog said:
If that's what you really think then your a very lucky guy and there is still hope for ya.......leave the forum now before the knife bug takes hold !;)
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I agree with you, Pit. If you think this wouldn't be too hard, you should leave while you are ahead. I use more than one knife every day, and if I tried to just use one, I wouldn't last a week.
 
Thank you all for the comments and well wishes. I am really having fun and it's only day two! :D I hope to put some woodsy chores into the mix next weekend while at a relative's farm.

hatidua said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't see why this is seen as such a huge, and potentially insurmountable goal.
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For many the challenge would be not using other knives. As people who are into knives sometimes it's hard to resist grabbing a blade and cutting on something just to see what happens.

For me this is an exercise of depth over breadth which at the same time will enable me to develop / discover techniques that I can use while attempting to make big knife work for everything.

-Stan
 
Yeah I'd probs choose a 4 or something smaller, but I cant have a blade longer than 10 overall "without reasonable explanation." Camping or SD doesnt really work. Id probs go for a clip esee 4. or 3-3.5 inch fixed. The Esee 3 would actually probs be a great option
 
I'm in the middle of pimping out my ESEE 3 for such this role, although I'm not going to challenge myself like this for a year. Maybe a month?

My problem mainly is the knife carriage laws here, and I cannot carry a fixed blade edc without good cause, and I can't get a good cause for every day.

Maybe I'll do something Aussie friendly, one fixed one folder for a while. Problem here also is our wood is extremely slow growing, and therefore very dense. One knife, one folder, one wood processor (either saw or hatchet)

Is that cheating?
 
sixgunner455 said:
I have to agree, that's a big knife. So, are you really not carrying a small pocketknife around at all?
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I put on the first blog post that I will only violate the one knife for one year rule if a law or safety force me to.

If I must use another knife due to these two factors I will document it in the blog describing situation / context etc.

-Stan
 
I did this once, pretty much anyhow one knife only for woods use. A Busse Combat Satin Jack Tac. I used it hard for a few years then sent it in for repairs. What brought me to send it in was I broke some of the Micarta off the handle. If I was stuck on a desert island I would have to have a lifetime supply! Keep in mind I used this knife nearly daily in the fall/winter and cool spring for 3 years.

No knife if used hard will last a lifetime. A knife not used much like a knife to skin a deer once a year but a hard use survival knife will never last a lifetime.
 
If I was going to use one knife for a year, shop, ranch, kitchen, camping- I'd probably use a 4.5 to 5.5 inch blade with a good scraping spine. other than that, there's a lot of room for details. (I'd use a leuku or a slanted straight spine bushie)

As for a knife lasting forever- if you have to sharpen it EVER, then it will eventually wear away. Physics. There's no reason that can't be 30 40 years of regular use, of course. I figure that if you get 5 years of constant heavy field use out of a good knife, you are doing really well. For "regular" heavy use, 15? sure. 25? maybe. What's continuous?

If I actually USED the 4 wheel drive capabilities of a jeep for hours EVERY DAY for 5 years between major parts replacement, I'd be stoked.


If I put 400 rounds a day- constant, heavy use- through a revolver and only had to replace the major components once every 5 years, I'd be happy. Heavy use for a revolver tends to be measure more in 200-400 rounds a week. Big difference

Think about what you are asking and what you mean by continuous. Are you talking a "bushcraft challenge" every day forever? Are you taking walking around with a knife and just doing your life tasks- including camping and ranching and whatever?
 
Excellent points all around Koyote.

I've seen pics of sebenzas with their blades sharpened away from constant use and of course who hasn't seen an old slippie with their blades ground down from sharpening.
 
:) A 6" blade LBK... maybe it is no longer a "Little" Big Knife at that point? 6" blade points to how I plane down round wood to flats like a drawknife and battonning to break down firewood. If shelter building and firewood gathering were removed- just the Koyote LBK as is.
Bill
 
lmalterna said:
:) A 6" blade LBK... maybe it is no longer a "Little" Big Knife at that point? 6" blade points to how I plane down round wood to flats like a drawknife and battonning to break down firewood. If shelter building and firewood gathering were removed- just the Koyote LBK as is.
Bill
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Speaking specifically of my designs? The LBK is.... what it is. going much more than 5 inches I'd end up straightening the spine at an angle and then you have a Great Divide. For the 5-6.5 inch range, I really prefer a leuku pattern, especially if I'm doing any wood cutting or shaping. With a Leuku, you can comfortably make a bow. The straight spine with sharp corners makes for good scraping, and draw knifing is much much better with a straight spine. With or without an end block stuck onto the point, it's safer having that perfectly perpendicular spine edge to hang onto (or for the block to hang onto)

With the most common variants there is a slight dropped edge on the blade with a dead space ricasso guard. aside from the 'nice' inherent in having a bit of guard, you can hook your pinky around that and grip the broad blade for fine tip work. For more scraping I would consider (have been considering) doing a very slight thumramp along the first inch of the spine. Just a 1/8 or 3/16 rise from the handle scales to enhance the scraping. That's one area where the LBK and GBB really stand out for me.
 
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Do it for one month, keeping notes. Then for the next, and so on. You will learn a lot. I have been informed that I cannot keep an array of knives with me , and as I live on the road under the eye of the company and the eyes of all-fearing sheeple, I must limit my knife options. For some time I have gotten by with three small knives. A SAK, a Leatherman, and a Meyerchin Rigging knife. The Rigging knife dissappeared, the leatherman has not been used in several months, and the SAK is most handy. I plan on ordering another, smaller rigging knife and really put it through its paces.
 
Man, the sheeple of northern nevada must be a different breed, or I have been country too long. My normal fixed blade carries don't raise a single eyebrow.

Now, admittedly, if I strap on an eight inch leuku I get more looks than when I open carry the .44 special. But that's a honking knife, really
 
I do not hesitate to carry a 4.5" fixed on a dangling sheath here in town but I don't really care about sheeple or their opinions. I greet people with a smile and not one has questioned my knife. At work does have different rules though. Folders in pocket only.

Christoff, I was talking about a slightly longer LBK or short Mini Bolo. I will have to keep chewing on that. It would be teamed with a necker so fine work if not an issue but I do not want to go so long as to have comfort carry issues and chopping is low on the list for me.

Bill
 
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