Survival knife size question

I feel that we as knife people have lost our way.

This is my opinion and only my opinion.

I would rather be stuck in the wilderness with my 3 blade stockman knife and a hatchet than I would a big knife.

The big knife was needed for fighting back when rifles were limited to one shot and then you were on your own. By the beginning of the 1900's the big bowies were scaled down to 5 or 6 inch blades such as the Marbles Ideal because that is what was needed as we now had guns with 6 shots and repeating rifles and our knives were now needed only to process game.

The current fad of having big BK9s or other big knives are out of ignorance and no real knowledge of the outdoors.

I have been through the big bowie craze and now I understand that I do not need or want a big bowie as there are better knives out there.

My stockman can clean and skin game batter than any knife out there. It can also whittle me out just about anything I need.

Pair it up with a good hatchet or axe and there is very little I can not do in the woods.

Now since I no longer need a big knife to fight with or take the life of another animal I do not need one as my Glock 29 does a much better job of protecting me.
 
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A smaller knife is more generally useful. A larger knife can be in the way. They make good camp knives, though. When I was a youngster I thought the bigger the better was ideal. Then, I had to skin a fox, a deer, and etc. I had to open cans while camping (no dehydrated or other in those days). I learned that a knife of no more than 4.5 inches works best. A Buck 102, or instance, makes a great all around knife.
 
Mix it up said:
I feel that we as knife people have lost our way.

This is my opinion and only my opinion.

I would rather be stuck in the wilderness with my 3 blade stockman knife and a hatchet than I would a big knife.

The big knife was needed for fighting back when rifles were limited to one shot and then you were on your own. By the beginning of the 1900's the big bowies were scaled down to 5 or 6 inch blades such as the Marbles Ideal because that is what was needed as we now had guns with 6 shots and repeating rifles and our knives were now needed only to process game.

The current fad of having big BK9s or other big knives are out of ignorance and no real knowledge of the outdoors.

I have been through the big bowie craze and now I understand that I do not need or want a big bowie as there are better knives out there.

My stockman can clean and skin game batter than any knife out there. It can also whittle me out just about anything I need.

Pair it up with a good hatchet or axe and there is very little I can not do in the woods.

Now since I no longer need a big knife to fight with or take the life of another animal I do not need one as my Glock 29 does a much better job of protecting me.
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I'm in "somewhat" agreement with you on this, and while I'm glad you state its your opinion, its still never nice to be told that you know nothing :( (although, I am well aware that I am no Mors, or Mears).

The argument in this thread though (as I understood it), is that if you were somehow restricted to just one tool, and nothing else, what would you take with you? The OP was stating that he would prefer a larger fixed blade.

Of course, this is a fantasy argument, since there is no way that anyone would be dumped somewhere with only one item to their name (which bizarrely they could chose beforehand). I also believe that two knives are better than one for the outdoors, as well as other tools as well (folding saw is my favorite), and I don't think anyone is disputing that.

While I do enjoy the fact that my BK9 does small tasks much better than its size should indicate, I don't know if it would be my choice for this hypothetical situation. However, as I said before, I'd probably err on the larger side of the "small knife little knife" choice, perhaps with something like a BK12 (6in blade). And if I'm going hiking, I'd be taking a Mora, or a BK16, and wouldn't feel impaired in my ability to "survive" if something happened with either of those.

Anyway, hooray for opinions and all that :).

Cheers.
 
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One knife for a survival situation? Mora or Condor Kephart.

Two? Same, plus a 4-blade Scout/camper/utility.
 
knarfeng said:
A smaller knife is more likely to be with you when you need it.
"The most useful survival tools are the ones you have with you when you need them."
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I think this is very sound... my favorite fixed pair:

aw3qpx.jpg
 
Mix it up said:
I feel that we as knife people have lost our way.

This is my opinion and only my opinion.

I would rather be stuck in the wilderness with my 3 blade stockman knife and a hatchet than I would a big knife.

The big knife was needed for fighting back when rifles were limited to one shot and then you were on your own. By the beginning of the 1900's the big bowies were scaled down to 5 or 6 inch blades such as the Marbles Ideal because that is what was needed as we now had guns with 6 shots and repeating rifles and our knives were now needed only to process game.

The current fad of having big BK9s or other big knives are out of ignorance and no real knowledge of the outdoors.

I have been through the big bowie craze and now I understand that I do not need or want a big bowie as there are better knives out there.

My stockman can clean and skin game batter than any knife out there. It can also whittle me out just about anything I need.

Pair it up with a good hatchet or axe and there is very little I can not do in the woods.

Now since I no longer need a big knife to fight with or take the life of another animal I do not need one as my Glock 29 does a much better job of protecting me.
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I gave up the hatchet in favor of the big knife when I was a damnfool teenager—you should pardon the tautology. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/973648-The-day-the-hatchet-stopped I might have been a smart damnfool teenager. I continued to be a big knife small knife guy for decades of woods bumming. As for choosing one knife above the other—why would I do a damnfool thing like that?

I saw an old movie about the Lifestyles of the Kalahari Bushmen. After they brought down a giraffe, an old man lead the butchering. He was using an Arkansas toothpick; about the size and shape of the big Randall version. Would I use that for field dressing game? Not on a bet. Do I know more bushcraft than that old man? Not on a bet. Would I tell him he has no real knowledge of the outdoors? Not on a bet.

Mind you, if I were to be dumped deep in the boreal forest with one blade, that blade would be my old, full sized Plum axe.
 
Raymond1000 said:
I saw an old movie about the Lifestyles of the Kalahari Bushmen. After they brought down a giraffe, an old man lead the butchering. He was using an Arkansas toothpick; about the size and shape of the big Randall version.
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Seems a fair number of folks down in South American countries do quite well using a machete for just about everything.
Perhaps the small knife as a sign of skill is a North American conceit?
 
ncrockclimb said:
I just read through the thread about the knife you made. That thing looks AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing all the photos. How do you like that knife 4 years later?
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I like it better as time goes on. :)
As it gets used and sharpened, it cuts better, as I tweak the edge, thinning out the convex.
On my last Peche Island excursion, my brother and I brought a whole bunch of knives; I had planned to try out a few that hadn't been used yet...I ended up just using that one the whole day! :D

ncrockclimb said:
I am in the two knife camp. One being 9" (or maybe 7"), the other being around 3.5". YMMV, but that is what works for me.
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That's pretty much where I'm at as well.
something around 10 inch blade length, and a folder of 3.5-4 inch length.
But sometimes the folder has stayed in the pocket the whole time.
 
ncrockclimb said:
That is really cool!
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I certainly like it. :)
And I think it's a perfect example of finding what works for ourselves, rather than what works for other people.
My father likes it, but the balance doesn't work quite right for his body mechanics; the RD-9 does though.
 
stabman said:
I like it better as time goes on. :)
As it gets used and sharpened, it cuts better, as I tweak the edge, thinning out the convex.
On my last Peche Island excursion, my brother and I brought a whole bunch of knives; I had planned to try out a few that hadn't been used yet...I ended up just using that one the whole day! :D
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Stormbreaker, huh? :eek: How many souls has it eaten? :confused:
 
Raymond1000 said:
Stormbreaker, huh? :eek: How many souls has it eaten? :confused:
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No souls, but 38 pounds of charcoal went into its creation.
The name comes from the hammer which was twin to Mjolnir...it didn't seem quite epic enough to be Mjolnir.
I had to take things to a new level of massiveness for that. :)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1117866-I-made-a-short-short-Behold-Mjolnir

Mjolnir doesn't make it out as often though; it is a pure chopper, and not suited to other knife tasks.
 
stabman said:
These "one knife" threads don't apply to me anyway...I had 4 knives today (including the 2 small ones in the backpack), and that was just going to get groceries. ;)
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For some strange reason I've always had the impression the Canadian gov't had very strict knife laws... Then I read something like this and I feel like moving to a nice cabin in the great white north. :D I don't think I could do this without raising a few eyebrows even here in the Midwest.
 
stabman said:
No souls, but 38 pounds of charcoal went into its creation.
The name comes from the hammer which was twin to Mjolnir...it didn't seem quite epic enough to be Mjolnir.
I had to take things to a new level of massiveness for that. :)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1117866-I-made-a-short-short-Behold-Mjolnir

Mjolnir doesn't make it out as often though; it is a pure chopper, and not suited to other knife tasks.
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I thought you were a Michael Moorcock fan. His character, Elric of Melniboné, is cursed with a sword. Stormbreaker gives victory, but feeds on human souls.
 
Raymond1000 said:
I’ve been a big knife-small knife guy all my life. But my EDC is the Victorinox Farmer. The Farmer is what I recommend for a light BOB. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1200695-An-Educated-BOB I also discuss the virtues of brewing tea.

Even experienced woodsmen get lost. So lost that they know better than their compass. It must be lying to them. (“Nine men out of ten, on finding themselves lost in the woods, fly into a panic and quarrel with the compass. Never do that. The compass is always right, or nearly so.” Nessmuk, Woodcraft, 1884)

Have a second compass. Hold one in each hand. Whatever is failing here, it isn’t the compass.

What’s the first thing to do when you realize you are lost? Make a cup of tea. Say what? You heard me. Make a cup of tea. By the time you light a fire, heat some water, steep the tea, drink a cuppa, you’ve calmed down. You can assess your situation. Stop blaming the damn compass.
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That is fantastic, and I have done this and it worked. Well played.
 
Scubie67 said:
I have always heard that the most efficient do it all duo at a value price is a Good quality Latin American Machete and a Mora knife
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Right On. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I lived with Samoan villagers where an 18 inch machete or "bush knife" was used for anything and everything. They don't consider it survival but simply daily living. Today, I may like to look cool with a sheath knife on my belt, but I find that almost any knife chore can be accomplished with either the machete or a pocket knife. :cool:
 
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