OK...here are some of the "Big Blade", over 9 inches multi-tools I used over the years. This is not going in the wilderhood for months to live off tree tree bark and weed tea type of experence of semi-reviews. My first experience of a large blade multi-tool was when my grand dad took me in to woods, he used a skarma (yep he was a Finn) and used it pretty skillfully. It was back in my mind and I found myself able to use the bigger blades I've gotten doing about what I saw Grand Dad used his Skarma for.
Now I'm not going to include what I would consider a heavy chopper that is more suited for well heavy chopping. But if the heavy chopper can do bushy stuff I might list it. These are not in any order of like "BEST TO WORST!" mostly. Some maybe out of production, note these are ones I have experience with. I carry more than one knife with me to cover all tasks. I even use the bigger blades for wood processing, yes but I also bring a saw with spare saw blades.
Let see...surprise to me was my BK4, a true multi-tool, it can do many tasks due to its blade form well thought out MR. Becker handle. It can chop but as well do many other tasks in the bushy craft are (some say not super most energy efficient well, but who cares it can do it good enough!) I wish it was still in production. I assume a good Kukri would almost do the same thing.
Since on BKs the BK9, almost as good and jack of all trades as a BK4, same praise for handle and able to do tasks above its weight class and do smaller tasks not as well but good enough. Very good multi-tool in that category. Because of my BK9s is reason why I never got a Jungualass or II of it.
RTAK II, well its capable of doing smaller tasks, to me its more like a short medium machete, I tried doing some of the more smaller jobs but just ended taking the Buck 110 out of the sheath pouch and used that. Bigger tasks, well that's what it was made for. I usually for a multi-tool knife for trips grab another big blade, but that's just me.
SP-10, a surprising true multi-tool of a knife. It can do the bigger jobs pretty dang well, and also smaller ones but not as well, but it can get them done. The cross guard also I find adds a safety level when your cold, freezing and fatigued then working with it to start a fire when the in the wilderhood. A few snowmobiler people I know carry it as a multi-tool as it's flat enough to fit in their little tool compartment.
Ontario Woodsman, ok...this one seems to work well. Its a FFG formally a 5160 one but decent OKC version of 420 HC. Based on the SP-50 (that seems based on a large butcher knife) but with full a tang. Mine works great as the FFG can do a mirade of small bushy tasks and the bigger chopping ones as well. Unlike a SP-50 it has a decent choil to do those small bushy tasks as noted earlier. To me is a jack of all trades and master of a few, mostly the smaller tasks. The plus side is no coating so it can also be used for camp cooking. On a side note, the ones I gave away, the 420 HC ones, get used in the kitchen for large critter cutting season as butcher knives. Also large critter cutting in field when hunting big game. For their cost you could find better. I burtally in anger tested the 420 HC version after vendors didn't post the real blade material that caused an uproar. But I found the frozen knoted jack pine log didn't damage or dull the blade. Didn't go through it, but neither did a SP-51 also. Long of the short...it works good enough to be noted.
CS Marauder, old and newer one. Old Hollow Grind One...great camp knife, cuts fish and food great, it can do the larger tasks but its a hollow grind and not as well suited to it with out exessive edge wear, but it does the feather fu fu sticks and other smaller tasks better of the two. The newer saber grind model is a much better robust blade edge multi-tool. Its a nice slightly forward heavy bowie pattern knife that can still do a lot of functions due to its nice curving belly and still do some decent chopping and cutting. Its not the uber best at every thing, but as its a jack of all trades it can do a lot of large tasks and small tasks decently.
SP-8...umm it can work sort of-ishly to do the smaller tasks...threw it in here because I had to use it a few times as a stand alone accidentally...them dang handles look all the same to much some times!
SP-5, yep about the BK9 class. It can handle a lot of tasks above its weight class and still be able to do the smaller tasks, its a surprising performer to me I found out the hard way. Same handle reason as the SP-8 above. IT can slice and it can dice and cut up wild things with delight. Its FFG is "Saberish" enough for me to do tasks I found were easier to do than I expected. Yup, true all round multi-tool of a blade. Heck OKC brought it back from the dead because it was so good. The swedge on newer blades aren't sharpened, so people like me who live in "EVIL DAGGER!" states can carry them around. Had a few cops seeing the SP-5 tried to steal it...er take it away for them selves probably, till they saw it was a non sharpened swedge. One accused me of dulling the swedge, but his partner said "If he did then it would be legal anyways." And I had to rub it in and point out the black coating was on the swedge. They didn't steal the knife in the long run.
RD9, out of production real winner. Well from the RD4-9 even the NS series, all have that nice choil I learned to love. My RD9s are 5160, work WAY above their work class and some non knifey jobs I did with them, they sprung back straight with no damage! They would fit in the BK4 category of a multi-tool due that choil making the RDs pretty good at bushy craft tasks even if it is a quarter inch thick. I disliked the clip point, but found it to be a nice strong point to begin with. Its not as a heavy hitting chopper as an SP-51 but it still can do a good large knife job, and its not very surprisingly tough. It acts as saberishly grind blade with the blade "Height?" not very tall and its 1/4" spine spine making it "Wedgy" enough to split wood like a saberish grind blade. But being a FFG it can passibly do the smaller fancy fu fu bushy crafts due to its choil being so generous one can get up close and do finer work with it. Yeah down side can the shortish handle, the thumb ramp I learned to live with. To me the RD series as a compromise with a decent affordable knife, that still had way more pros than cons is why the series is the one I own the most of.
OKC Kurki (American Pattern?) an FFG machette type blade that well it works pretty well for general purpose use. From chopping to smaller tasks, it works suprising pretty well at smaller tasks I found. Not as fast or "Efficient" as a true bushy craft knife, but good enough making it fit well in the multi-tool large blade class.
As I said these are the 9" and over "Multi-Tool" class blades I have used and still do. And the blades I've had experience with.
I'd like to see what other peoples' thoughts on and reviews and experience with some of their large blades. And no I'm not an axe or hatchet hater, I some times take them along when I can spare the weight of them.
Now I'm not going to include what I would consider a heavy chopper that is more suited for well heavy chopping. But if the heavy chopper can do bushy stuff I might list it. These are not in any order of like "BEST TO WORST!" mostly. Some maybe out of production, note these are ones I have experience with. I carry more than one knife with me to cover all tasks. I even use the bigger blades for wood processing, yes but I also bring a saw with spare saw blades.
Let see...surprise to me was my BK4, a true multi-tool, it can do many tasks due to its blade form well thought out MR. Becker handle. It can chop but as well do many other tasks in the bushy craft are (some say not super most energy efficient well, but who cares it can do it good enough!) I wish it was still in production. I assume a good Kukri would almost do the same thing.
Since on BKs the BK9, almost as good and jack of all trades as a BK4, same praise for handle and able to do tasks above its weight class and do smaller tasks not as well but good enough. Very good multi-tool in that category. Because of my BK9s is reason why I never got a Jungualass or II of it.
RTAK II, well its capable of doing smaller tasks, to me its more like a short medium machete, I tried doing some of the more smaller jobs but just ended taking the Buck 110 out of the sheath pouch and used that. Bigger tasks, well that's what it was made for. I usually for a multi-tool knife for trips grab another big blade, but that's just me.
SP-10, a surprising true multi-tool of a knife. It can do the bigger jobs pretty dang well, and also smaller ones but not as well, but it can get them done. The cross guard also I find adds a safety level when your cold, freezing and fatigued then working with it to start a fire when the in the wilderhood. A few snowmobiler people I know carry it as a multi-tool as it's flat enough to fit in their little tool compartment.
Ontario Woodsman, ok...this one seems to work well. Its a FFG formally a 5160 one but decent OKC version of 420 HC. Based on the SP-50 (that seems based on a large butcher knife) but with full a tang. Mine works great as the FFG can do a mirade of small bushy tasks and the bigger chopping ones as well. Unlike a SP-50 it has a decent choil to do those small bushy tasks as noted earlier. To me is a jack of all trades and master of a few, mostly the smaller tasks. The plus side is no coating so it can also be used for camp cooking. On a side note, the ones I gave away, the 420 HC ones, get used in the kitchen for large critter cutting season as butcher knives. Also large critter cutting in field when hunting big game. For their cost you could find better. I burtally in anger tested the 420 HC version after vendors didn't post the real blade material that caused an uproar. But I found the frozen knoted jack pine log didn't damage or dull the blade. Didn't go through it, but neither did a SP-51 also. Long of the short...it works good enough to be noted.
CS Marauder, old and newer one. Old Hollow Grind One...great camp knife, cuts fish and food great, it can do the larger tasks but its a hollow grind and not as well suited to it with out exessive edge wear, but it does the feather fu fu sticks and other smaller tasks better of the two. The newer saber grind model is a much better robust blade edge multi-tool. Its a nice slightly forward heavy bowie pattern knife that can still do a lot of functions due to its nice curving belly and still do some decent chopping and cutting. Its not the uber best at every thing, but as its a jack of all trades it can do a lot of large tasks and small tasks decently.
SP-8...umm it can work sort of-ishly to do the smaller tasks...threw it in here because I had to use it a few times as a stand alone accidentally...them dang handles look all the same to much some times!
SP-5, yep about the BK9 class. It can handle a lot of tasks above its weight class and still be able to do the smaller tasks, its a surprising performer to me I found out the hard way. Same handle reason as the SP-8 above. IT can slice and it can dice and cut up wild things with delight. Its FFG is "Saberish" enough for me to do tasks I found were easier to do than I expected. Yup, true all round multi-tool of a blade. Heck OKC brought it back from the dead because it was so good. The swedge on newer blades aren't sharpened, so people like me who live in "EVIL DAGGER!" states can carry them around. Had a few cops seeing the SP-5 tried to steal it...er take it away for them selves probably, till they saw it was a non sharpened swedge. One accused me of dulling the swedge, but his partner said "If he did then it would be legal anyways." And I had to rub it in and point out the black coating was on the swedge. They didn't steal the knife in the long run.
RD9, out of production real winner. Well from the RD4-9 even the NS series, all have that nice choil I learned to love. My RD9s are 5160, work WAY above their work class and some non knifey jobs I did with them, they sprung back straight with no damage! They would fit in the BK4 category of a multi-tool due that choil making the RDs pretty good at bushy craft tasks even if it is a quarter inch thick. I disliked the clip point, but found it to be a nice strong point to begin with. Its not as a heavy hitting chopper as an SP-51 but it still can do a good large knife job, and its not very surprisingly tough. It acts as saberishly grind blade with the blade "Height?" not very tall and its 1/4" spine spine making it "Wedgy" enough to split wood like a saberish grind blade. But being a FFG it can passibly do the smaller fancy fu fu bushy crafts due to its choil being so generous one can get up close and do finer work with it. Yeah down side can the shortish handle, the thumb ramp I learned to live with. To me the RD series as a compromise with a decent affordable knife, that still had way more pros than cons is why the series is the one I own the most of.
OKC Kurki (American Pattern?) an FFG machette type blade that well it works pretty well for general purpose use. From chopping to smaller tasks, it works suprising pretty well at smaller tasks I found. Not as fast or "Efficient" as a true bushy craft knife, but good enough making it fit well in the multi-tool large blade class.
As I said these are the 9" and over "Multi-Tool" class blades I have used and still do. And the blades I've had experience with.
I'd like to see what other peoples' thoughts on and reviews and experience with some of their large blades. And no I'm not an axe or hatchet hater, I some times take them along when I can spare the weight of them.