Questions for people who do the big knife thing.

There is more to it than the size of the knife. Hardness, edge angle/thickness, grind...all play a part. A good big knife can offer some things that a hatchet cannot. It is not, however, the end all. As was said, it is just different.

It is much like the Rock, Paper, Scissors game kids play. For strength in one area you compromise in another. Machete gives added reach and tip speed for lighter work. Some big knives keep an edge longer and cut more efficiently than a machete, but do not have the speed for the lighter work. Some hatchets could cut wood crossgrain more efficiently, but do not limb as well, and sometimes weigh considerably more. For that matter, some jobs are better done w/ a saw.

Figure out what your needs are. If you need a machete, get one. If a big knife lets you chop small wood and split it easily, get it. Most importantly, get the right tool for the job. Just as some small knives perform fine tasks better than others, there are various large blades w/ different reasons for being and varied strengths and weaknesses. First figure out what tool you need, then find the optimal one for the job.
 
For my normal camping and woodsloafing activities, I have found that a multitool/small or medium fixed blade/hatchet is fine for me. In fact, I could mostly do without the fixed blade (but I won't ;)).

However, If I was going to do some real, bushcrafty, primitive camping - where I would be harvesting and using a lot of matural materials - I would want a large knife. Like someone posted earlier, a large chopper would be best if you were collecting pine boughs or other browse for insulating a natural shelter or something.
 
Well for me, for years I only carried one knife, the bigger the better. Most of the time it was my Gerber BMF (Wife gave it to me for my B-day) and I loved it. Used it for everything.

Of course now some 20 years later, I carry a much smaller RC-3. Why? Well mostly because I have gotten better educated in the use of a knife, but mostly because my wrists have delt with impact strain and a number of other injury's and I find that big blades, like my RD-9, cause them to ache after just a little while. Fine motor work with a big blade is much more difficult for me then it was 10 years ago.

People don't realize it, but combining chopping with a big knife with other repetive motion activities (like years of typing) and you can actually damage your hands/wrists.

So for me it is a Small Hachet, a SAK, and a RC-3 or TAK-1 or the like.
 
Sometimes I think the best approach to which is the best tool is to pick the one you like and will become an expert with. I think it all boils down to the skill with which you can use the tool.

I like a GB ax, GB hatchet, a Mora, and a SOK Farmer. I've used these tools for years and am very comfortable with them. But the Khuri intregs me because it seems to be such a multitool - hatchet, machetti, draw knife, and carving knife rolled into one. But it looks like it may take a lot of skill to use one of these well and safely. One of these days, ....
 
Also a large knife tends to do better with tool crafting and shelter building where it may be batoned easily for controlled precise cuts, and may also be used as a draw knife. You can dig with one in a pinch if you had to as well.

In an ideal situation I'm going to have large and small knives, a hatchet/axe, and a saw. :D
 
Rotte said:


Is this true for every environment? In the Panamanian triple canopy would you rather have a SAK, a hatchet, or a machete?

Crossing Tundra or terrain buried in snow would you rather have a Leuku, a SAK, or a Buck 110?

I'd argue that any one of the above is better than nothing, but I don't know that the SAK stands out as the best all-rounder for those environments.
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The definition, to me, of an "all arounder" is that it is an "all arounder!"

Meaning it'll do reasonably well in a multitude of circumstances.

You can't discount the "all around" factor by applying specifics !

The SAK is a much better "all arounder" than the machete, hatchet, Buck 110 or Leuku.

The good news is, if you find yourself in those environments, you can still put an SAK in your pocket to back up your machete, etc.

.
 
I have always been an axe guy. But give me a few weeks and I will let you know...my big knife will be done by then and I'll start trying it out!

In general I find axes to be well suited to my environment but you never know...a big knife would do limbing and cut unsupported thinner wood better so I am going to give it a shot, anyway.
 
David E said:
The good news is, if you find yourself in those environments, you can still put an SAK in your pocket to back up your machete, etc.
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SAK, don't leave home without it. But a good machete is a heck of a survival tool. Under most circumstances, I'd rather have a machete or parang than a SAK, even my beloved Farmer.

The reality is though that I'm far more likely to be out with a SAK than a machete. I guess I don't put my knife where my mouth is. ;)
 
Cpl Punishment said:
The big knife is better on small diameter wood and soft vegetation than a hatchet.

The long blade makes a bad swing a poor hit, instead of a miss (or hit on something you really don't want lopped off).

It's easier to kill a hog with a big knife than a hatchet.

'Bout all I can think of.
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Right. Gators, too.
 
I too have settled on the multi-blade approach: EDC a SAK, Leatherman and lock-blade.

For the backcountry, usually SAR related, I add the dreaded Busse (8” +/- blade). While I understand many
on this forum equate a large blade with a lack of intelligence/skills, I’ve seen too many times when folks I
respect and admire do things, on missions and trainings, with a large knife that I honestly feel could not
have been done as safely and efficiently with another tool.

As an example, two of us were helping scope out an evacuation route for a fall victim along a riverbank, we
came across a couple vine-maple (1”+ diameter), without really breaking-stride both were disposed of –
much to the shock of a couple firefighters.
Later, on that same mission as a stokes-attendant (in a steep-angle raising system), the large blade again
safely removed other obstacles.

Up top, where the ropes-raising system was set up, yet another couple of big knives were used to quickly
fashion stakes to hold edge protection in place.

For those who choose to carry/use a larger blade, I submit it is your responsibility to learn safety in
all you do with that blade.

This is NOT about flailing wildly about with reckless abandon, this is about the appropriate use of a valuable tool.

Neither is this an argument “for” a bigger blade; simply my perspective based on my experience.

Just my $.02…
 
David E said:
The definition, to me, of an "all arounder" is that it is an "all arounder!"

Meaning it'll do reasonably well in a multitude of circumstances.

You can't discount the "all around" factor by applying specifics !

The SAK is a much better "all arounder" than the machete, hatchet, Buck 110 or Leuku. . . .
.
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And I disagee. I carry a Farmer EDC, but I am not in the wilderness every day and have better in the SUV. In a survival situation, I would much rather have the leuku, Buck 110, machete, or hatchet. Even better, I'd like a high-quality 4" fixed-blade + the hatchet (and throw in a real saw). If your life, and the lives of companions are on the line, the SAK blade is just far too delicate compared to almost any fixed-blade you can mention.

And notice how "big" means different things to different folks. To me, a pound of knife is "big," however you distribute the steel.

As for carrying a half-dozen knives, that avoids the OP's issue rather than addressing it.
 
Thomas Linton said:
And I disagee. I carry a Farmer EDC, but I am not in the wilderness every day and have better in the SUV. In a survival situation, I would much rather have the leuku, Buck 110, machete, or hatchet. Even better, I'd like a high-quality 4" fixed-blade + the hatchet (and throw in a real saw). If your life, and the lives of companions are on the line, the SAK blade is just far too delicate compared to almost any fixed-blade you can mention.

And notice how "big" means different things to different folks. To me, a pound of knife is "big," however you distribute the steel.

As for carrying a half-dozen knives, that avoids the OP's issue rather than addressing it.
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When did "survival situation" become the only parameter?

"all around" means that, ALL AROUND. At the office, on the street, at home and oh yeah, in the woods.

I never mentioned carrying 1/2 dozen knives. Nor did I champion the SAK as the best "only" knife for all situations. I'm only saying it makes a good "all around." Is there a better "all around?" Sure, I think a decent Leatherman is a better one, but the SAK remains a pretty good one.

I agree, pick the BEST one for the specific job. But the typical SAK can easily be slipped into a pocket as well.

I'd be curious if you approached your co-workers and friends and asked them to empty their pockets, how many have any knife with them? Of those, how many knives would be a machete? Hatchet? Buck 110?

What knife is in YOUR pocket right NOW ? I bet it ain't a machete or hatchet.

.
 
I used a small gb hatchet a lot this summer. I love the the hatchtet, I think it's an excellent all around tool, BUT, I personally find it really annoying trying to split logs with it. After sawing down MEDIUM size trees I would try to split the wood with the hatchet. The hatchet would always get stuck and it took forever to split the wood. Yes, it's probably my lack of skills but, I was dying for a large 9+ inch blade to batton with. I think battoning is much more controlled and safer than swinging an axe with a lot of momentum. A lot of things could go horribly wrong in the backcountry if you're not careful. That goes for all edged tools, but I think axes even more so. I think battoning is the only advantage(and a big one) in my book. For that reason alone I'm going to give the big knife thing a try from here on out. I have a KakBar heavy bowie on the way!
 
Below you'll see my Gerber LMFII, a gift from my son, and my Bark River 'Boone' - both in their respective sheaths, ready for belt hanging. Which looks more intimidating to the average person?

IMG_0586.jpg


The Boone has the longer blade - and it is all blade - no serrations. It's at least as thick as the Gerber - and made of tool steel and convex ground. It would be a lot more use for the average guy in the woods, too. A 'big blade' would look even more intimidating than the Gerber - and probably be less useful. I didn't know this - got by with what I had as a young person - my Dad's old WWII KaBar! In the boonies now, I'll have nothing larger than that Boone.

Stainz
 
Oh boy, here we go again. Blondes or brunettes? Ginger or Mary Anne? Big knife or hatchet?

If you don't like them, don't carry them. There, problem solved.
 
Stainz said:
Below you'll see my Gerber LMFII, a gift from my son, and my Bark River 'Boone' - both in their respective sheaths, ready for belt hanging. Which looks more intimidating to the average person?
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In my experience anti-knife sheeple are terrified of any knife aside from a kitchen knife (when it is in the kitchen.)

Sure, when shown both knives and asked to choose which one is scarier they'll probably choose the Gerber, but if just shown the Boone they'd be scared of that one as well.

We're talking about people who are afraid of SAKs. I once worked with a lady who was shocked that Boy Scouts carried "deadly weapons," known to most of us as Boy Scout pocketknives.


Stainz said:
A 'big blade' would look even more intimidating than the Gerber - and probably be less useful.
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A bolo would be far more useful in the wilderness than the Gerber.
 
I think they both have their pro's and con's, they're just different.
Use what you're comfortble with.

As for sheeple, last November the company I work for was doing a lunch by donation with the proceeds going to charity. We needed something open so I pulled out my SAK and a new temp gasped and said "you carry a knife thats scary".
Nobody else noticed as I am well know as being a "redneck" type at work.

A funny note is that I am the companys Health, Safety & Environmental Officer
 
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