Philosophy of expensive large thick chopper?

S

SMOKING

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Sep 19, 2015
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I see very little practicality of the very thick knife like 5/16 inches thick with 8-12 inches blade lenght.

They are weight pretty much the same to a good axe while the axe will out chopped/out batoned them by large margin.

They are also not very good in the kitchen and too big to put in the bag and go hiking.
Well made medium size fixed blade can get the baton work done too while being much more comfortable to carry.

They barely a good self defense tool


Or just because some people have buck to spend on some cool zombie behead gear?
 
I think it is a change in philosophy.
Decades ago when I used to backpack, the idea was to leave as little trace of your passage as possible so that the next person could enjoy the scenery as much as you did.

Anymore it almost seems to me as if the philosophy is to conquer the wilderness instead of enjoy it.

So where I carried an SAK or small hunting knife, folks now need to carry big choppers.
 
knarfeng said:
I think it is a change in philosophy.
Decades ago when I used to backpack, the idea was to leave as little trace of your passage as possible so that the next person could enjoy the scenery as much as you did.

Anymore it almost seems to me as if the philosophy is to conquer the wilderness instead of enjoy it.

So where I carried an SAK or small hunting knife, folks now need to carry big choppers.
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You made a very meaningful statement about wilderness, mate.
I am reconsidering my carry options now.

Coming back to the topic, i went from a fat girl to a lean woman these days. I guess i got tired to carrying them.
 
SMOKING said:
Philosophy of expensive large thick chopper? I see very little practicality of the very thick knife like 5/16 inches thick with 8-12 inches blade lenght.
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I would agree. (5/16" thick knife is more realistically a pry-bar than a knife.)
I think the missing term here is marketing philosophy.
 
I think big choppers are tremendous fun. That is one aspect that is important to me. Whether hiking, camping, practicing, teaching, or just enjoying a collection, it is important to have fun. I appreciate the variety of blades made by different individuals and organizations represented on these boards, and I think we live in a golden age of knifemaking where each person can find a knife that fits their comfort level, purpose of use, and personal aesthetic philosophy.
 
There is no purpose, they're just awesome.
Honestly though,
People have different prefences, skills and environments where big knifes are the tool choice.

Personally, I'm more partial to axes
 
They certainly don't seem to be a class of knives that anyone made and used back when people relied on knives for daily life, even when there was plenty of steel to go around.
 
RX-79G said:
They certainly don't seem to be a class of knives that anyone made and used back when people relied on knives for daily life, even when there was plenty of steel to go around.
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Thai enep, kukri, saex, Hudson Bay...all old large knives.

Something's a knife does better.
 
I'm skeptical about them too.

Axes / machetes / small knives / swords outclass big knives in their respective applications.
 
My mukti is one such knife as that and I can say with certainty that it vastly outperforms a hatchet or axe of the same size.
 
theAntihero said:
My mukti is one such knife as that and I can say with certainty that it vastly outperforms a hatchet or axe of the same size.
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The mukti is about 3.5 pounds. I can pretty much promise you'll get vastly more chopping efficiency with an axe of that weight.
 
Not weight, size. I live in heavy forest and can't really swing around a 4ft long axe.

Having said that, the mukti still performs pretty good against full size axes when I've used both
 
I just bought a heavy Seigle chopper - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1370422-JA-Baker-and-Bill-Siegle-too-PHOTOS-Yes-Sir!

This is definitely not a hiking tool but for my backyard and trail work it is ideal. I could see having it in a campsite too - if it was a drive in :rolleyes:.

Will out chop an axe not in regards to felling trees but for small trees and branches it will chop easily and with a greater degree of versatility and control. A good heavy and sharp chopper is a most excellent tool. I bought the Seigle to replace a machete that I had been using for the past 15 years or so. All my little stuff is cleared out so a more rugged blade seemed appropriate. I'm loving using the Seigle.

And there you have my - "Philosophy of expensive large thick chopper"
 
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I like big knives, maybe you'd call them machetes. But pretty thick, not like South American machetes. Depending on size and thickness, these can be like an axe or a knife. Thick spine, thin convex edge, nice distal taper. Some have an acute point for detail work.

Machetes.jpg
 
knarfeng said:
I think it is a change in philosophy.
Decades ago when I used to backpack, the idea was to leave as little trace of your passage as possible so that the next person could enjoy the scenery as much as you did.

Anymore it almost seems to me as if the philosophy is to conquer the wilderness instead of enjoy it.
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And if you go further back, conquering the wilderness was popular also...

Fads in "trendy wilderness thinking" come and go.

I'm not a leave no trace, nor am I an ultra-light person.
My philosophy is leave no garbage. :)

If someone wants to build a wilderness castle with an axe they lugged 20 miles into the bush, more power to them.:thumbup:
If they want to carry a multi-tool with no blade and take pictures of pretty birds, hey, that's fine too.
 
Shotgun said:
Thai enep, kukri, saex, Hudson Bay...all old large knives.

Something's a knife does better.
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The enep and kukri have blades that are relatively thin on the working end, just like leukos and machetes. Some references make it sound like the Hudson Bay knife was primarily designed as a bone cleaving butcher knife for very large animals like buffalo, and the saex was primarily an inexpensive short sword - similar to the later Bowie.

My point was that large AND thick blades have never been the preferred choice for living off the land. I have never found much information about just how commonly used the thick Hudson Bay knife was compared to the very thin French trade knives, or thin Green River knives. But of your list, the Hudson Bay appears to be the only actually thick knife not intended as a weapon. Whether it is really more than a cleaver is another question, though I'm sure it got used for anything and everything.

Overall, historical knives and choppers for use in the bush have been 1/8" at most. Knives made of 1/4" stock - especially short ones - are a completely modern trend. For a given knife weight, historically you don't use that weight to make the knife thick when it could be long or tall instead.
 
RX-79G said:
The enep and kukri have blades that are relatively thin on the working end, just like leukos and machetes. Some references make it sound like the Hudson Bay knife was primarily designed as a bone cleaving butcher knife for very large animals like buffalo, and the saex was primarily an inexpensive short sword - similar to the later Bowie.

My point was that large AND thick blades have never been the preferred choice for living off the land. I have never found much information about just how commonly used the thick Hudson Bay knife was compared to the very thin French trade knives, or thin Green River knives. But of your list, the Hudson Bay appears to be the only actually thick knife not intended as a weapon. Whether it is really more than a cleaver is another question, though I'm sure it got used for anything and everything.

Overall, historical knives and choppers for use in the bush have been 1/8" at most. Knives made of 1/4" stock - especially short ones - are a completely modern trend. For a given knife weight, historically you don't use that weight to make the knife thick when it could be long or tall instead.
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Kukris and eneps are definitely not machetes
 
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