One more time - what the best knife for defense against bears?

Aaron880 said:
e: I’m a Fairbairn admirer too. I am the proud owner of Boker Smatchet. As is my curse and pleasure, I took my research to the nth. Degree. I found out that Fairbairn actually designed and built a follow-on improvement to the Smatchet, the “ Fairsword”. Evidently it was produced, in small numbers.

A bit longer than the Smatchet , slimmer, more leaf-shaped and pointier than the Smatchet. IMO, it is also much better balanced. Although I never tracked down an original, I did get a lot of info in a protracted internet search. Long story short, Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works in Arkansas makes a good copy, in 1095. It calls the blade the “ Toothpick “,” Leroy Thompson opined in an article that the MMHW version was a good replica.

I had them make me one, it was a bit expensive, but the result was worth every dollar. Great folks to work with. At my request they even gave me a letter of authenticity. They told me that mine was only the 6th. such blade they had made and that mine was made by their Master Maker. You might want to look into MMHW’s web site. I think you will be intrigued..

Enjoy the journey!
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This might work. It’s a custom that I asked Bill Siegle to make for me over 20 years ago.

The weight of the knife will help you to stay put, while a single trust would sever just about everything in the bear’s thorax.

N2s
 
So I've been putting a lot of serious thought into this and I have come to one inescapable conclusion. The best knife for defense against a bear is one which is wielded by another bear. Therefore, one must adopt a bear cub and raise it to adulthood, and then train it to fight with a knife. It's the only logical conclusion.

I know what you're probably thinking, but there is nothing to worry about. The 2nd Amendment guarantees us the right to arm bears.
 
First things first. Never go into the woods overnight without a wildlife resistant canister for all your food and any other items that might attract wildlife. Never, ever. Even if you aren't in bear territory; bears aren't the only wildlife that can and will get into your stash and/or potentially attack you and yours. The outdoors community needs to take personal responsibility for disturbing the habitat of wildlife, and normalize the practice of always carrying a bear canister.

That being said, while I understand this thread is probably meant to be only semi-serious, I don't regard this as a joking matter.

I would not recommend any knife for bear defense. I would not recommend any firearm smaller than a .44 Magnum, and that *only* if you are loaded with ammunition specially designed to deal with dangerous game, in a double-action revolver, and that should be your absolute last resort.

This is not a subject to joke about. If a bear surprises you (or vice versa), and that bear attacks, you may not have time for a second round. A single-action revolver is the most reliable, mechanically speaking, but in the event of a surprise attack, it's too slow. The double-action revolver is only slightly less mechanically reliable, but will give you at least the chance of a follow-up shot, if you can manage the recoil--which is why you absolutely need to go to a range and practice with that revolver and the heavy duty ammo, so you are at least familiar with what it is going to do.

And I would recommend a stainless steel revolver to help cut down on the recoil, unless you are strong enough and experienced enough to cope with an alloy frame in a calibre that powerful. The alloy frame S&W revolvers really cut down on the amount of weight you will be carrying around, but the recoil is immense. Think Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan...that's why it's called the "Alaskan" model, it's specifically made for grizzly protection, and .44 Mag is the smallest calibre they make in that model, because it is widely considered by experts to be the smallest calibre that stands a chance against a grizzly bear.

Again, this is your absolute last resort. You should never be in the backcountry in bear territory without firearms. And your first choice should always be a rifle. If you are carrying solely for wildlife protection, a matching .44 Magnum lever action carbine is a good choice to pair with the revolver, since you can use the same ammo, and it will hit even harder coming out of the rifle. .45 (Long) Colt is a good choice for this, as well, since there are bear protection loads available for that calibre as well as lever guns and double-action revolvers. Otherwise, if you are there for other hunting purposes, if you are in grizz territory, you should have *at least* a .30-06 Springfield.

Don't even think about trying to take on an attacking bear with a knife. If you ever find yourself in that situation, it's because you f'd up and didn't prepare properly.

If you are ever attacked by a bear or any other creature, anything and everything you can bring to bear is a weapon (pun intended). Do yourself a favor and make sure you bring the right tools for the job, so you at least have a fighting chance.
 
This is the knife I had with me when I took my cousin from San Francisco on her first camping trip to Yosemite in 1975.

We had been warned earlier that day about thieves sneaking into campsites and stealing gear.

That night I heard suspicious footsteps so I grabbed a flashlight, jumped up with knife in hand and went "Oh shit" and promptly jumped back down and covered my cousin in her mummy roll. I told her there was a bear in the camp and not to move or do anything that might cause the bear to react. She said she had gum in her pocket and I told her to just leave it be.

Bear huffed, and chuffed and eventually walked over to my day pack, shook it around a few times and left some bite marks in it. Same with a water bottle. Then walked over to us and put its paw on my shoulder and huffed some incredibly bad breath in my face which was basically down in the dirt.

For the briefest moment I thought about trying to jump back up and slash the bear, but quickly realized that it would be a fight I'd be unlikely to win.

The bear hung around for what seemed an eternity and then left. When we were sure it was gone we got up and went to a nearby campsite where we spent the rest of the night drinking bourbon and sharing the story.

Reported it to the Rangers the next day and they said we were lucky as another backpacker had been attacked by the bear near where our site was.

It was the first of many bear encounters I had over the years in CA, the Adirondacks, Canada and Alaska, but the only time I've ever had physical contact with one.

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Wear a Bear Bell and they will avoid you.

This also saves the other campers having to listen to you being torn apart.
“What’s that Daddy?”
“Your Uncle Ed fighting a bear with a spear. It’ll be quiet in a minute. Want another s’more?”
 
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Danke42 said:
Those park rangers though; oh yeah that bear attacks everyone at that camp site I'd never stay there.
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Actually, they went out and located the bear. I can't remember all these years later if the bear was destroyed or moved to another area of Yosemite.

There are sections of the park where I never came across other hikers for several days on end...but that was on trips with an experienced backpacking companion, not my cousin who was a neophyte.
 
Blues said:
This is the knife I had with me when I took my cousin from San Francisco on her first camping trip to Yosemite in 1975.
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That is one seriously cool vintage knife. Who made it? (edit: haha, I just figured it out. It's a Puma Sea Hunter, just like it says.)
 
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