Practical Hiking/Camping/Outdoors/Survival Knives

I really like those two Charles May knives above. Charles makes some beautiful knives. When at
all possible ( and I know it cost a little more) I try to support the little custom makers out there. Most make some really nice knives and are great to deal with.
 
If you're still assessing what will work for you, everything points to keeping the expense low. Moras are excellent, either wood-handled or the plastic-handled. Condor also makes a couple of excellent low-cost models, the Kephart and the Bushcraft, for example. There are others in the under $40 range and even under $20.

A point often made is that most of "survival" consists not so much of gear but of (1) skills you've taught yourself and (2) attitude. Gear comes a rather more distant third place.
 
AreBeeBee said:
A point often made is that most of "survival" consists not so much of gear but of (1) skills you've taught yourself and (2) attitude. Gear comes a rather more distant third place.
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I couldn't agree more.

As an experiment on one trip, I did what I could to NOT use the knives I brought. Instead, I searched a limestone-exposed stream bed for chert/flint for a few hours and found some large enough to use as a blade. Granted, the best piece I found was only marginally over twice the size of a flintlock's flint but it was till usable for most things I needed to accomplish. It cut cordage, lit me a fire, gutted some trout, skinned and cleaned a rabbit [the food prep thing was a real pain in the bum BTW].....the only thing it wouldn't handle was wood prep for the fire. I had to be more creative for that, which was more a pain in the bum than cleaning food....but still....I agree with AreBeeBee
 
rbmcmjr said:
Do you mean the grind or the style? My two scandi-ground knives are fiercely sharp but I doubt that I can maintain that edge in the field.



Charlie makes a fantastic knife, by the way.
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Come to think of it I never differentiated between style and grind, but I guess my answer would be grind.
These two knives below are different in style and price point. I carry both frequently. Although I use them the same for practical purpose from my stand point the Condor is preferred. I can get 7 "Bushcrafters" for the one Benji. So if price is a serious consideration the choice is pretty clear. But again that's just me. If I'm stuck in the trees either will do. I am a big follower of 'the one and done school'. On the other hand there are many fellows who carry multiple tools and knives with them everywhere. If you are the type who carries one then make sure it is the RIGHT one. I wouldn't toss any knife I was fortunate enough to find in my kit in a pinch.


 
rbmcmjr said:
Do you mean the grind or the style? My two scandi-ground knives are fiercely sharp but I doubt that I can maintain that edge in the field.



Charlie makes a fantastic knife, by the way.
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WOW!!! The bottom one is beautiful!
 
AreBeeBee, I agree, there are lots of cheap ways to learn. In fact, you can get an Old hickory butcher in 7 and 14 inch lengths which would give someone a really good idea if they wanted a chopper in that size, and for not that much. Good way to find out if you like big blades, or a shorty Tramontina.
 
druid189 said:
Instead, I searched a limestone-exposed stream bed for chert/flint for a few hours and found some large enough to use as a blade.... It cut cordage, lit me a fire, gutted some trout, skinned and cleaned a rabbit [the food prep thing was a real pain in the bum BTW].....the only thing it wouldn't handle was wood prep for the fire. I had to be more creative for that, which was more a pain in the bum than cleaning food....but still....
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Now that trip must have been a helluva lot of fun. Seriously. Despite the hassles.

After all, I will assume that a flint blade is not the blade you usually take to the woods with. But for all the PITA, it did show what you can do with really basic gear and a can-do attitude.

Well done, sir, well done!
 
I can do almost all my woods tasks with this combo.
I also interchange with a mora companion / Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe combo as well.
Folding saw accompanying either pair.
For day hikes it's usually a sub 3.5" fixed blade and a multi tool.
Pack light.... Travel far :D


 
Dantone05 said:
I can do almost all my woods tasks with this combo.
I also interchange with a mora companion / Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe combo as well.
Folding saw accompanying either pair.
For day hikes it's usually a sub 3.5" fixed blade and a multi tool.
Pack light.... Travel far :D


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What fixed blade is that?
 
AreBeeBee said:
Now that trip must have been a helluva lot of fun. Seriously. Despite the hassles.

After all, I will assume that a flint blade is not the blade you usually take to the woods with. But for all the PITA, it did show what you can do with really basic gear and a can-do attitude.

Well done, sir, well done!
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Thanks. Yeah it was. Was only a 3 day, 2 night weekender and don't get me wrong....at almost every turn I wanted to grab a blade and say 'screw it.' The hardest part for me was clinging to my dwindling self control LOL. I knew I had several blades with me but the whole excursion was to see if I could do the whole weekend without them. It was rough on the fingers LMAO. I added leather work gloves to my kit because of it.

Funny thing was, I kept hearing strange noises coming from inside my pack. Turns out my knives were snickering at my misery, using this 1/2" x 1" x 2" [or so] piece of Chert that I had to knap quite a bit and it made camp chores take about 3 times longer to accomplish than normal LOL.

None of my purchased blades have serrated edges because I absolutely hate them with a passion. This little wedge of rock was ALL serrations, making an already tedious job more loathsome because of an edge I cannot stand. The rock was sharp as hell....but it's difficult to use when trying to do fine cutting on a slimy fish or cleanly remove the entrails from an animal. I don't think I cut a single straight line with that rock LOL.
 
I think if you drop below a 3" blade then you might as well just carry a SAK or other sturdy folder. Even on my small knives I like to have a full-ish sized handle that won't cause hot spots with prolonged use.
 
druid189 said:
Thanks. Yeah it was. Was only a 3 day, 2 night weekender and don't get me wrong....at almost every turn I wanted to grab a blade and say 'screw it.' The hardest part for me was clinging to my dwindling self control LOL. I knew I had several blades with me but the whole excursion was to see if I could do the whole weekend without them. It was rough on the fingers LMAO. I added leather work gloves to my kit because of it.

Funny thing was, I kept hearing strange noises coming from inside my pack. Turns out my knives were snickering at my misery, using this 1/2" x 1" x 2" [or so] piece of Chert that I had to knap quite a bit and it made camp chores take about 3 times longer to accomplish than normal LOL.

None of my purchased blades have serrated edges because I absolutely hate them with a passion. This little wedge of rock was ALL serrations, making an already tedious job more loathsome because of an edge I cannot stand. The rock was sharp as hell....but it's difficult to use when trying to do fine cutting on a slimy fish or cleanly remove the entrails from an animal. I don't think I cut a single straight line with that rock LOL.
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Nah, all you need is more practice! Remember, Aztecs did cardiac surgery with obsidian knives — I understand it's all in the wrist action...

Maybe all it needed was a handle:

PT0035-knife-skinning-400x400.jpg


Knife kit, Neolithic era:

7187008_1_l.jpg


Say, you know this is all goofy fun, but I wonder if there are re-enactors out there who do longer stays in the wilderness using no tools invented after the Neolithic? Now that would be survival training.
 
AreBeeBee said:
Nah, all you need is more practice! Remember, Aztecs did cardiac surgery with obsidian knives — I understand it's all in the wrist action...

Maybe all it needed was a handle:

PT0035-knife-skinning-400x400.jpg


Knife kit, Neolithic era:

7187008_1_l.jpg


Say, you know this is all goofy fun, but I wonder if there are re-enactors out there who do longer stays in the wilderness using no tools invented after the Neolithic? Now that would be survival training.
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Now that's practical! :)

I may try the "no knife" experiment.

Rupestris said:
http://www.smithandsonsknives.com/index.html

Looks like their Brave model
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Thanks friend. Sulphar, La? I know where that is! I'm from Louisiana.
 
AreBeeBee said:
Nah, all you need is more practice! Remember, Aztecs did cardiac surgery with obsidian knives — I understand it's all in the wrist action...
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LOL....well it's kinda why I did it....that whole "I wonder if I can...?...." thing....

And admittedly, was my first time doing it [finally, after all these years in the woods] because the notion just struck me "what if my blade got lost/damaged beyond use?"

AreBeeBee said:
Maybe all it needed was a handle:
::snip::
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That wouldn't have worked....at least, not on the piece I had. My piece was only marginally larger than twice the size of one used in a flintlock rifle and not nearly as flat/rectangular as that. My piece was more akin to an Octahedron but I was able to knap an edge on a shallow side. Not enough material to incorporate a handle...at least, not much of a handle [with any kind of sturdiness anyway].

AreBeeBee said:
Knife kit, Neolithic era:
::snip::
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Again, those appear to be way bigger than the piece I had.

AreBeeBee said:
Say, you know this is all goofy fun, but I wonder if there are re-enactors out there who do longer stays in the wilderness using no tools invented after the Neolithic? Now that would be survival training.
Click to expand...

I agree that would - and I'd have to guess that somewhere there might be someone to do it....but I'd also guess they have zero interest in the internet, let alone post their experiences doing it LOL.
 
I think one of the things that I was growing tired of and after buying some knives realized is that I'm really tired of the tactical blades.

I bought a Battle Horse Scout Platoon today. I'm pretty stoked to try it out.
 
bluemetalchurch said:
I think one of the things that I was growing tired of and after buying some knives realized is that I'm really tired of the tactical blades.

I bought a Battle Horse Scout Platoon today. I'm pretty stoked to try it out.
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LOL I'm getting the same way. I find myself looking more towards the "BOB-type" and blades like my TrailMaster Bowie.
 
druid189 said:
LOL I'm getting the same way. I find myself looking more towards the "BOB-type" and blades like my TrailMaster Bowie.
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BOB as in the Tops BOB? The only thing holding me back from that one is I wish it were 5 inches or so in length.
 
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