Optimal Bushcrafter Advise?

D

dcgisme

Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
46
Hello all. I'm new to the overall knife world (and this forum) but learning fast.

I'm musing the notion of getting a new bushcraft knife that will be used for backpacking, camping, bushcraft skills enhancement, possible hunting, etc and I have some design options available to me. I've already determined the grind will be convex. Realizing opinions tend to vary a bit, a few questions to those a bit more experienced them myself, if I may?

What, in your estimate, is the optimal blade length for a bushcraft/hiking/camping knife? I'm floating somewhere between 3.5 and 4.25 --give or take. I've used knives in the past with a cutting edge of only about 2.5 inches and I found it a hair short short for some tasks. Anything beyond 4.5 inches, to me, would be massive overkill for most of what I do. Still, got a thought?

What is the best overall shape? I'm leaning towards a Kephart/spear point or slight derivative of that format. Ideas? Experiences?

What is a suitable handle material? Synthetic or natural? Micarta or some nice wood species? Got an opinion? Had any good or bad experiences with one or the other?

A lot of questions, I know. So my sincere thanks in advance for any insight you may be willing to offer.
 
First of all, Welcome to BladeForums! :)

You will find a wealth of information (probably more than you want) in the Wilderness & Survival Sub-Forum of the Community Forum. Here's a link:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=692

There are quite of few makers with a presence on this forum who make bushcraft pattern blades. They (the knives) are an endless topic of discussion.

Welcome again, and hope we can help! :thumbup:
 
Micatra feels good to me, even when wet. I favor colors like orange, red, and yellow for anything that is easy to misplace outdoors (at least for the lanyard if not for the handle itself).

A spearpoint style blade puts the tip in line with the center of the knife, which may enhances fine control if you use the tip for carving. Some folks think scandi-type grinds are easier to sharpen in the field. A handle with a rounded butt can be driven with the palm of the off-hand. Generally speaking, a handle with a symmetrical shape can be used in a wider variety of grips.

Large handles tend too be more comfortable after long use, and are easier to manage with gloves. Sheaths are important, too, and should be designed with both security and safety in mind.
 
for a multi purpose blade that fits all your requirements go with a RAT RC-3(3.4in)or RC-4(4.5in). The drop point design is perfect for most bushcraft and hunt/camp duties. The micarta scales are very comfortable/durable and are not slippery when wet/bloody with a good indent and choil, they also taper to the blade. Easy enough to convert the edge to convex. Really good hard sheath and get the molle back so you can mount/carry any way you like.
Was a butcher and ran trapline, hiked and fished 30+ years. Own at least 75 knives and tested or used most. I have gone to the rc-3 for edc on my hip outdoors, with the rc-6 on my pack for heavy work. Won't find a much better knife for your purposes for the price(and they look cool too!!)
The classic 1095 high carbon steel is preferred for hard use by most, tougher and easier to sharpen than the higher priced steels, use it once and awhile and rust is never an issue.
 
Thanks MacHete - the sub-forum was my initial instinct but I failed to locate it quickly enough. I'll re-post there (hmm, I seem to have also misspelled the word "advice" ...moving a bit too quickly through my day I guess)
 
MikeJackMin - some practical points I had yet to fully consider, esp the notion of considering gloves. Thank you.

Brad - likewise, food for thought and I appreciate your sharing from real-world exposure ...
 
dcgisme said:
What, in your estimate, is the optimal blade length for a bushcraft/hiking/camping knife?
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Persnally, I think that 3.5in is just a bit small for my tastes and I prefer a knife in the 4.0 - 4.5 inch range. Big enough for most true cutting jobs, but not so big as to be hard to use for finer work. I think that knives longer than 5.0 - 5.5 inch are mainly when you want your knife to fill in for a hatchet, and personally I would rather just bring a hatchet or small axe instead of trying to do the work of one with a knife.

What is the best overall shape? I'm leaning towards a Kephart/spear point or slight derivative of that format.
Click to expand...
I'm not a huge fan of the spearpoint for larger knives (works okay for smaller folders, though). I like either a clip point or a drop point for general usage. I think the greater "belly" of such blade shapes makes them better for slicing or skinning.

What is a suitable handle material?
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Wood and natural materials are often nice to look at and handle, but for a real "using" knife, I prefer synthetic material. Micarta is a fine, durable material and very popular. There are also some quality knives with "ruberized" handles (like Fallkniven) that are nice, too, especially in cold or wet conditions.
 
you dont really need a convex grind...

if youre just getting into knives ill tell you now its just like anything else, youll learn from experience, and your taste will change, so its best not to over analyze anything. a knife doesnt have to have perfect specs to be your perfect knife.

back in the day the only thing i was interested in was non-coated blades, stainless steel (god forbid i had to take care of the knife) and micarta (which with the help of my weathered knife maker friend, i concluded was the end all scale material). also, i didnt want a knife beyond 5 inches in length so it was comfortable to carry, i wanted a leather sheath, and i wanted it to be high end and pretty. little did i know that within a few months of regular camping and inherently using my new firemaking skills, all my views would change. the micarta scales didnt absorb shock and hurt my hands when i tried to baton, the ats-34 blade wasnt hard enough, the sheath would get wet and never dry, the belt loop was uncomfortable, blade was too short to process decent sized wood, and to boot, it was too pretty and expensive to want to use. i ended up buying a 9inch 1085 kabar with a lovely shock absorbant kraton handle and a coated blade for 40 bucks and a kydex sheath with a quick attach which cost me all of 10 bucks; and, i dont give a rats ass what happens to it.

back in the day all my friends wanted were 3/4 pound, 4in, tactical, auto or assisted, partially serrated, recurved folders with stainless handles. boy times change, they carry slipjoints and caly3s now.

good luck, and dont spend too much on your first few knives
 
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