Show me your WELL USED, trusted woods combo!

[AntDog]

That Esee looks great! I think you did a fine job on your mods.

How do you like that SK5 steel? I've heard a lot about it, but never personally used it.

I've used my basic 9 to clear crap out of storm drains too! Crazy Houston weather... It's bright sunshine one minute, then torrential downpour out of nowhere. If you don't poke those storm drains, the damn water backs up and floods your yard, then your vehicles, then your house!

 

[kamagong]

As far as the big knives go, ohhh, I dunno. 4" - 5" plus? I personally consider 5" plus in the larger knife category. A lot of people I know consider anything bigger than 3 1/2" or so a large blade though.

I guess it all depends on your perspective. For fixed blades I think blades < 4" are small. Any shorter and you start getting into pocketknife territory. I don't consider a knife large until blades are 7" and up. Anything in between is medium obviously.

 

[gnystrom]

Herter's from the early 1970's

 

[CubeLW]

Tramontina and H.I BVCAK

 

[craytab]

That Esee looks great! I think you did a fine job on your mods.

How do you like that SK5 steel? I've heard a lot about it, but never personally used it.

I've used my basic 9 to clear crap out of storm drains too! Crazy Houston weather... It's bright sunshine one minute, then torrential downpour out of nowhere. If you don't poke those storm drains, the damn water backs up and floods your yard, then your vehicles, then your house!

I have not used the SK5 yet. In fact I just got done sharpening it up. It was a collector. It sharpened up very easily with just a ceramic rod. I'm thinking I might take it along instead of the Junglas on the next outing (nah, I'll still bring the Junglas).

Normally our street turn into a small creek when a storm passes. With a storm drain clogged it turns into a river. Is the Seal Knife the best tool for the job? No. But it does so damn many jobs that it is not the best tool for. So maybe it is the best tool for the job...

 

[AntDog]

Sometimes the best tool for the job is just the one you have on you at the time!

 

[pinnah]

Nice! I really dig those old Schrades. And thanks for playing along man. I sincerely appreciate it!

If you had to guess, what company do you think made your grandfather's knife? It looks similar to a few I've seen, but I just can't place it.

I asked this in Levine's forum several years ago and he suggested late 50s, made in either in the US or Japan for import and typically sold cheaply in Army/Navy and discount stores. My grandfather geared up for camping with his boys in the 50s with lots of surplus stuff, so that's consistent.

Here's a better shot.
Grandpas Knife by Pinnah, on Flickr

My granddad got me into hunting and when he was too old to walk in the woods, gave me his Winchester and 30's vintage Johnson Woolens hunting jacket. A year or so after he passed (and his sister had passed), I got into the old fallow family homestead, found and took the knife. I didn't bother asking anybody for permission. Sort of figured it was my job to keep the set together. Lousy shot of the knife, but you get the idea...

grandpas-stuff by Pinnah, on Flickr

EDITED TO ADD: this knife is now a "safe queen", but I trust you can understand why. Worthless on the collectors market. Priceless to me.

As far as the big knives go, ohhh, I dunno. 4" - 5" plus? I personally consider 5" plus in the larger knife category. A lot of people I know consider anything bigger than 3 1/2" or so a large blade though.

This helps and if this is the case, then my H-15 + Silkyboy Saw are my "big knife" by which I mean the stuff I carry if I'm going to be processing wood. Mostly this only for winter ski tours but occasionally on low mileage trips and always with the Emberlit stove. The H-15 (or Mora, which is a bit over 4") have plenty of splitting power for the stove I burn in the Emberlit.

My "small" knife then, would my Squirt, which I know isn't very romantic and all that but when I have to sew gear in the field, the pliers become very useful for driving a needle through heavy webbing and nylon.

FWIW, my Opinel has about a 3.5" blade (about the size of my Buck 110) and the joint is robust enough to batton up to 2" wood with so long as the lock ring is NOT engaged so the joint is free hinging. Obviously it's not something one would want to do all the time with that knife but it can be done if you work with care and there's no other folding knife I would attempt that with (except a Svord Peasant, which I've not yet tried). I try to keep pack width as low as possible so I'll carry either the H-15 or the Opinel, but not both.

 

[Brew-Jitsu]

Herter's from the early 1970's

That's awesome! I've lived in Minnesota for most of my life and never new Waseca had a company that put out knives like that. Looks like a really great knife, too.

 

[AntDog]

I asked this in Levine's forum several years ago and he suggested late 50s, made in either in the US or Japan for import and typically sold cheaply in Army/Navy and discount stores. My grandfather geared up for camping with his boys in the 50s with lots of surplus stuff, so that's consistent.

Here's a better shot.
Grandpas Knife by Pinnah, on Flickr

My granddad got me into hunting and when he was too old to walk in the woods, gave me his Winchester and 30's vintage Johnson Woolens hunting jacket. A year or so after he passed (and his sister had passed), I got into the old fallow family homestead, found and took the knife. I didn't bother asking anybody for permission. Sort of figured it was my job to keep the set together. Lousy shot of the knife, but you get the idea...

grandpas-stuff by Pinnah, on Flickr

EDITED TO ADD: this knife is now a "safe queen", but I trust you can understand why. Worthless on the collectors market. Priceless to me.




This helps and if this is the case, then my H-15 + Silkyboy Saw are my "big knife" by which I mean the stuff I carry if I'm going to be processing wood. Mostly this only for winter ski tours but occasionally on low mileage trips and always with the Emberlit stove. The H-15 (or Mora, which is a bit over 4") have plenty of splitting power for the stove I burn in the Emberlit.

My "small" knife then, would my Squirt, which I know isn't very romantic and all that but when I have to sew gear in the field, the pliers become very useful for driving a needle through heavy webbing and nylon.

FWIW, my Opinel has about a 3.5" blade (about the size of my Buck 110) and the joint is robust enough to batton up to 2" wood with so long as the lock ring is NOT engaged so the joint is free hinging. Obviously it's not something one would want to do all the time with that knife but it can be done if you work with care and there's no other folding knife I would attempt that with (except a Svord Peasant, which I've not yet tried). I try to keep pack width as low as possible so I'll carry either the H-15 or the Opinel, but not both.

Totally understand why that one would be a safe queen. I have a few like that too!

Great story, and great gear. I love old "thutty-thuttys". I've got an old marlin that's all beat up from plowing through the brambles, but it shoots great. My Granddad told me that they've taken more deer than any other gun, and I believe it.

 

[upnorth]

upnorth,

I think it depends on what books we read as we learned or who taught us.

I should emphasize that I don't think there is any "one true way" when being in the woods. If people dig having a knife of any type with them, that's fine by me. I consider my own use of the Opinel to be a "because it makes me happy" luxury and don't deny that to anybody. I *do* find unneeded display of large fixed blades and machetes to be needlessly intimidating to other backcountry travelers and I *loath* finding signs of recreational wood "harvesting" on public lands near trails and camp sites. But really what ever makes people happy.

Some of the books that really influenced me were "Backpacking One Step At a Time" and "The Freedom of the Hills", both originally written by Harvey Manning. The latter, now taken over by the Seattle Mountaineers is sort of the Bible of mountaineering. Manning favored a simple SAK. I've been highly influenced by the minimalism of the ultra light hikers like Ray Jardine and the discipline of bike touring. I spent many years doing year round backpacking/climbing in New England carrying only a Victorinox Classic. This approach though relies 100% on a stove (gas or alcohol) and tent/tarp for shelter. This approach also minimizes impact locally.

Please note, I'm not advocating that people give up their choppers any more than I give my Opinel (or Mora, which I carry in the winter). Just noting that we're well into the realm of that which makes us happy or more comfortable.

FWIW, my #1 advice for people learning stove-craft (can I coin that term?) is to make tea/coffee on their stove daily for 2-4 weeks straight. Leave the rig on your back porch and do this regardless of weather. Put my Svea (or Trangia) in my hand and I will boil water in pretty much any condition. More than any other, knowing this skill down cold reorients my views on knives.

I understand your view and I am basically with you. I came to the table with different experiences and only minimal outdoor skills. A lot of experience, but little skill. It has only been in the last 3-5 years that I have been making a slow move toward smaller\simpler outdoor tools. I attribute this to knowledge that I have gained primarily from all of you on these forums.
I am very aware of social knife etiquette and I do everything within reason not to alarm other folks with my use. I get past this by finding isolated areas to enjoy my pass time.
I am also an admitted big blade junkie at any given time and I love to process wood for fires etc. I tend to shy away from battoning a knife through wood if I have an axe\hatchet these days, but if not, I will use what is at hand. For a while I felt like I got humped because I bought a pile of big fixed blade knives, and all that I really needed was the Mora, multitool, SAK type tools. But I am ok with all of this now as I have fun with all of these tools, and I have a choice. I am not skilled enough and or just don't want to carry the small\light stuff only, all the time. I try to keep open minded to multiple views because I surely do not know it all, and never will. But I do have fun out there and I am sure that I can learn from you also Pinnah. Thanks for taking the time to share your views, I appreciate it.

 

[TheJeepster]

Jeeps Rule!

 

[DOM C]

Case CV Trapper.


Esee Izula II.


Condor Mini Bushman.


BHK Maverick Scout.


MoraKniv Robust.


OKC Ranger RD-7.

Just a few of my users...

DomC

 

[RemyKaze]

I never think of taking pics while I'm out, but here are my favorites. I usually take one large blade, either the 14" Tramontina trail machete, the Junglas, or the CS pipe hawk, and the Izula II as well as the Opinel 8. I have an assortment of smaller knives that get traded in and out but those are my most used. Below those pics I have two new additions, a Mora 510 which is insanely good as a neck knife, and the Wetterlings Bushman Axe, which I had been debating on for over a year and finally gave in. Love it, by the way. Can't wait to get it out and about.

 

[AntDog]

I never think of taking pics while I'm out, but here are my favorites. I usually take one large blade, either the 14" Tramontina trail machete, the Junglas, or the CS pipe hawk, and the Izula II as well as the Opinel 8. I have an assortment of smaller knives that get traded in and out but those are my most used. Below those pics I have two new additions, a Mora 510 which is insanely good as a neck knife, and the Wetterlings Bushman Axe, which I had been debating on for over a year and finally gave in. Love it, by the way. Can't wait to get it out and about.

Daaaaamn, those are cool! I love the texture you added to the handles. (So personal. Makes the knife truly "yours") I can also tell those suckers have received some tough love. That Izula looks very well used. Excellent pics man!

 

[RemyKaze]

Daaaaamn, those are cool! I love the texture you added to the handles. (So personal. Makes the knife truly "yours") I can also tell those suckers have received some tough love. That Izula looks very well used. Excellent pics man!

Thanks man. I never can resist playing around with wooden or micarta handles! The Junglas scales look like crap, but they grip well.

 

[AntDog]

Well, I don't use this one anymore. But, for quite a while it was one of the only knives me and my family had. It was my big knife, medium knife, small knife, and everything in between. This thing has "been there and done that". I finally gave it to my brother around my 34th birthday, and he just recently gave it to my son:



Sharpened so many times it's got a noticeable recurve:





And this is not a "hammer pommel", but it has pounded many a nail regardless:

 

[AntDog]

Thanks man. I never can resist playing around with wooden or micarta handles! The Junglas scales look like crap, but they grip well.

Hey, they look fine to me! They look like they would really grip you back.

 

[AntDog]

Whoops double post...

 

[Eazy_tom]

I have been staying out of this because I could care less about what others think about my way of playing in the woods but I hate to see guys who go to the woods and whittle a few sticks while drinking tea and hot coco tell others what the rules are. If your a person who thinks walking the Appalachian Trail makes you an outdoors man then get out of my way, you do not even need a knife on the Appalachian trail as opening packages of noodles do not require one.

There are people in this world that go to the wood and wilderness to be men. I know guys and am one of them that while walking I stalk to find game. I like taking a 10/22 and get a couple of squirrels to munch on later. I only carry one MRE on me and that is only for emergency's incase I do not kill anything to eat.

Once I get to camp and it is not a modern camp site I may and will chop down some trees and make a shelter. You can not do that with a SAK or a Bushcraft knife. Or I may chop down a tree for firewood if all there is around is a bunch of waterlogged logs as I like the slow hot burn of green wood.

While in the wilderness chances are I hiked to a lake where I will spend much of the morning and evening fishing and will need my belt knife for cleaning fish. I did not bring a filet knife because I am limited on weight and bring a knife I can use for more than one thing.

I will also tell you straight up that I like a big knife for protection, both wild and human. I have never had to fight off wild animals but someday I may need to. I am not in the east where there are 7 houses to every hill but I am in places that have 1 house for every 17 hills, you are on your own and it is nice to feel you are able to take care of yourself if needed. You will understand that if you ever see a mountain lion on the next hill over.

I hate hearing these snobs who bring tea makers and drink hot coco while admiring their SAK telling me how it really is. There are all kinds of people and outdoor cultures and the rest of the world is not required to lower themselves to your level.

I like a big bowie knife for my trips to the outdoors and I live in America and am allowed to like my big knives.

I hear a bunch of theory on this site but I want to see some pictures. Not of guys in the back yard or city park but out in the actual wilderness.

Show me how your SAC's and Bushcraft knives produced to where you could survive if you really needed.

Oop's, do not show them to me as I am not going to still this thread but stop telling me how a big knife is not needed until you come camp with me. Once you do that then talk all you want, until then you are talking theory.

I like a folding saw, a big chopping bowie and a good medium size knife. If there is a group not everybody needs a big chopper as we can share but it is something I like to have with me and I will make room for one.

Wait, you're really talking down on bushcraft? You might want to go take a look in the outdoors section of this forum and check out what the 4-5" bush blades can do.

Also not bashing seriously asking why you bring a folding saw and a big chopper? Are you cutting down big enough trees, that the medium blade can't process them?
Or is the chopper mainly for defense, if so why not just carry a pistol? Or its just for fun, I don't blame you haha.

One more thing, whats wrong with bringing tea along.. its lightweight, taste good and you're going to have a fire going anyways.

 

[RemyKaze]

Hey, they look fine to me! They look like they would really grip you back.

You've got quite a collection yourself. Lots of stuff I wish I owned but never felt the "knife lust" for. I have a lot of knives I try to use here and there, favorites like the ESEE 6 and BK16. I'm just so used to using a machete for nearly everything, that it is hard to break the habit. People seriously underestimate how much punishment that wide blade can take while giving massive cutting power, the kind I've found a chopper can't compete with based on thickness.