Recommendations for Camping and Cooking Knife?

[EngrSorenson]

 

[DMG]

This is what inspired me.

And so when i car camp. I drag out the pot belly stove and chopping board and food up with the off grid grizzly knife. And cook up a proper meal.

And it all takes a few hours. But it is nice. And I feel like I have achieved something

I am going to try this with my wife’s homemade sourdough and our grassfed beef from a friend’s farm.

 

[Danke42]

My Chinese Clever won't whittle this tent peg, it's about to rain, and this pot roast is just going to be an absolute mess without the peppercorns and creme fraiche.

That's a rookie menu.

 

[EngrSorenson]

That's a rookie menu.

You'll think differently once you realize the pot roast isn't beef.
... it's people.

 

[Cvrobinson]

You'll think differently once you realize the pot roast isn't beef.
... it's people.

Rockefeller stew

 

[GPyro]

So the OP asks for suggestions and is snarky at the same time.
From the start.

And then judges folks he doesn't even take the time to get to know.

Lol.

"Does anyone know of a good measuring cup to take camping?
I hate mine".

 

[SimplyMinded]

Ick. Note to self: don't camp with this guy.

Usually it's the banjo and oinking that turns them off, go figure.

 

[The Zieg]

My own 2¢: I thought J jayjaygee was just peachy in his replies and clarifications. Dunno what chapped people's asses about him. I look forward to pics of his knife choice and his culinary creations in the future. He's welcome in my neck of the woods anytime!

But what do I know? I'm just an overeducated horse trainer who likes a puukko in 1095.

Zieg

 

[SimplyMinded]

My own 2¢: I thought J jayjaygee was just peachy in his replies and clarifications. Dunno what chapped people's asses about him. I look forward to pics of his knife choice and his culinary creations in the future. He's welcome in my neck of the woods anytime!

But what do I know? I'm just an overeducated horse trainer who likes a puukko in 1095.

Zieg

Me too, preferably with lots of pics. The rest of us can probably learn a lot.

 

[SimplyMinded]

Bushcraft Rule #107: Thou May Only Resort to a Lighter after a Minimum of 25 Attempts to Get a Fire Started with a Ferro Rod (and preferably with the camera turned off).

Fire drill, you glamper. Okay, flint and steel but it has to be an actual flint you find out there. Bonus points for carrying an ember from a lightning strike in a hollowed out gourd filled with dry grasses.

 

[Ratatoskr]

You'll think differently once you realize the pot roast isn't beef.
... it's people.

...was the person a rookie?

 

[Danke42]

You'll think differently once you realize the pot roast isn't beef.
... it's people.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Dunno what chapped people about him.

It could be the pretentious, condescending intro in a post in the general knife forum at large that essentially tells the majority of people to go take a dump in their headgear.

But if it takes more than one minute to slice a tomato, then dice an onion, and then cube a handful-size section of meat and then scrape it all into the pan, you're just not the person whose opinion matters here.

The only thing I'm really concerned about here is that I don't believe OP checked the resumes of all the people who offered suggestions he liked.
I'm really concerned he's going to end up with a combination chef/camp knife that is lack luster in one or both qualities.

 

[Ratatoskr]

I'm really concerned he's going to end up with a combination chef/camp knife that is lack luster in one or both qualities.

I learned to mince garlic in-hand using an Opinel, when I was working ranches in Argentina. You can take a calf or kid apart with the same knife. (But maybe not a rookie.)
There are a whole lotta ways to get things done, but it's with delight that I can tell you I'm not at all concerned what he ends up with.

 

[Danke42]

It could be the pretentious, condescending intro in a post in the general knife forum at large that essentially tells the majority of people to go take a dump in their headgear.


The only thing I'm really concerned about here is that I don't believe OP checked the resumes of all the people who offered suggestions he liked.
I'm really concerned he's going to end up with a combination chef/camp knife that is lack luster in one or both qualities.

"Scrape into the Pan"? That's Guy's Grocery Games level of cuisine.

 

[Danke42]

So the OP asks for suggestions and is snarky at the same time.
From the start.

And then judges folks he doesn't even take the time to get to know.

Lol.

"Does anyone know of a good measuring cup to take camping?
I hate mine".

You can get excellent measuring cups in the ditch. They're free and they fit the current travel light ethos.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I learned to mince garlic in-hand using an Opinel, when I was working ranches in Argentina. You can take a calf or kid apart with the same knife. (But maybe not a rookie.)
There are a whole lotta ways to get things done, but it's with delight that I can tell you I'm not at all concerned what he ends up with.

I'm with you- when I'm not in a modern kitchen, I have to resort to slightly less convenient ways of preparing food.
I don't get out in the woods and then bemoan the fact I can't use my immersion blender for making tomato soup.

It's kind of one of the draws of camping, and in my opinion, why buying a camp knife is so much fun.
Everything is going to have a trade off- optimize to what you require. Can't have everything.

I do think I'm going to buy a 6" chef's knife and use it as a camp knife.
Then I'm going to learn to chop a bunch of stuff in under a minute.
then... THEN... once my opinion matters... I'm coming back to this thread.

 

[Danke42]

I just bash the garlic with my river rock.

 

[ferider]

I'm really concerned he's going to end up with a combination chef/camp knife that is lack luster in one or both qualities.

That will happen anyways. At the core of the OP is a good question: what’s a good all around camp + cooking knife. Many “what’s the best knife for …?” questions on BF are missing the cooking aspect;
It will always end up a compromise, but it’s interesting to see what people pick and why from the application perspective.

Besides what people cook, more than how fast they can slice an onion, the compromise will depend on how people camp.

1) unless you are vegan , what’s the heat source ? Open fire place, gas stove or even oven/micro-wave that do exist in some campers.
2) besides cutting board, what’s going on with dishes ? Pots and pans, how do you cook and serve, etc.
3) how many people do you cook for ?
4) what do you drink ? Do you have a fridge ?
5) can you shop the day you cook ?
5) if you hike/camp/hunt, are you weight limited ?
Etc.

There is a reason why a chef’s knife set has more than one knife. So even without the camping aspect, the single cooking knife question is interesting.

So - IMO - the question should be constrained a bit, instead of insulting members contributing to this thread. And not because your knuckles might touch the cutting board.

 

[EngrSorenson]

There is a reason why a chef’s knife set has more than one knife. So even without the camping aspect, the single cooking knife question is interesting.

I completely agree. In my own kitchen I actually elect to use only 3 kitchen knives:
8" chef, 3" pairing and 8" bread knife. I do almost all my cutting with those three tools.
The chef and pairing see the most work, and it's usually a question of what size blade makes the task more manageable.

When I'm camping, I actually pick food to prepare that I know I can pull together with one knife.
So in a way, I go in assuming I'm tool-limited.

When I suggested a 6" chef's knife, I was actually being serious. From the sound of things, comfort in food processing was the highest priority for OP.
I estimate that most of my knife usage when I'm camping is to open packages and cut food.
Maybe cut some paracord, shave some wood... stuff like that.
I do think I'm going to pick up a small chef knife for camping and see how it goes.