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- Aug 28, 2007
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I'm kinda new around here, and I'm certainly no expert on wilderness survival, but I did spend a lot of time in the Florida Everglades, back in the day (1980s), when I worked for the U.S. Geological Survey in South Florida, and I carried various knives at various times.
I got to thinking about those knives and about why I chose them and what worked and what didn't. Here's a list as far as I can remember:
Had an Uncle Henry Bear Paw folding knife. Carried that one until the sheath rotted and I got tired of the brass bolsters turning green. It was a good cutter but very heavy, especially in comparison with today's folders made with FRN. It also would not open with one hand, which got me to looking at fixed blade knives.
A USAF survival knife. It was sharp and stout, but the "saw" back was next to useless, the hammer pommel was the same, and the leather washer handle eventually rotted.
An Ontario Military Surplus "KABAR". I was kinda hoping it would be like a mini-machete, since I had to work in areas where I couldn't carry a lot of equipment, but the blade snapped at the hilt soon after I got it.
A Gerber Legendary Blades Magnum, with the vinyl coated aluminum handle and 6" chrome plated blade. Excellent knife, but it was already somewhat of a collector's item by the time I got it and I got leery of carrying it and getting it damaged. I still have it and it's still razor sharp.
An original Leatherman (when they only had the one model). Probably the handiest tool of its kind at the time, and they've certainly managed to improve on it over the years.
A Victorinox SAK with the green handle and two blades. Looked like a model for the German military, I think. One blade was a combination bottle opener, can opener, screwdriver and saw. Had a removable shield for the saw, which it needed because that saw was sharp!
An 18" Collins machete that I picked up for about $15.
Apart from the machete, I don't think I ever needed a blade with more than three inches on it, whether it folded or not.
If I had to do it all over again, and had access to modern knives, I would say that a RAT RC-3, a Victorinox SwissTool and a machete, would do just about anything I could think of doing back then, and that would include poaching alligators! ;-)
I got to thinking about those knives and about why I chose them and what worked and what didn't. Here's a list as far as I can remember:
Had an Uncle Henry Bear Paw folding knife. Carried that one until the sheath rotted and I got tired of the brass bolsters turning green. It was a good cutter but very heavy, especially in comparison with today's folders made with FRN. It also would not open with one hand, which got me to looking at fixed blade knives.
A USAF survival knife. It was sharp and stout, but the "saw" back was next to useless, the hammer pommel was the same, and the leather washer handle eventually rotted.
An Ontario Military Surplus "KABAR". I was kinda hoping it would be like a mini-machete, since I had to work in areas where I couldn't carry a lot of equipment, but the blade snapped at the hilt soon after I got it.
A Gerber Legendary Blades Magnum, with the vinyl coated aluminum handle and 6" chrome plated blade. Excellent knife, but it was already somewhat of a collector's item by the time I got it and I got leery of carrying it and getting it damaged. I still have it and it's still razor sharp.
An original Leatherman (when they only had the one model). Probably the handiest tool of its kind at the time, and they've certainly managed to improve on it over the years.
A Victorinox SAK with the green handle and two blades. Looked like a model for the German military, I think. One blade was a combination bottle opener, can opener, screwdriver and saw. Had a removable shield for the saw, which it needed because that saw was sharp!
An 18" Collins machete that I picked up for about $15.
Apart from the machete, I don't think I ever needed a blade with more than three inches on it, whether it folded or not.
If I had to do it all over again, and had access to modern knives, I would say that a RAT RC-3, a Victorinox SwissTool and a machete, would do just about anything I could think of doing back then, and that would include poaching alligators! ;-)
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