Survival knife size question

afishhunter said:
Kephart, Nessmuk, Kreps, and other "fathers" of modern wood crafting all advocated the right tool for the job.
A fixed blade, between 3.5 to no more than 5 inches, 1/8 inch thick, somewhat flexible. Used for food prep, and dressing game.
A folding knife, generally of the Moose or Trapper pattern, for whittling, making fuzz sticks, and so on.
A small axe, or hatchet, or 'hawk for chopping and splitting firewood and building shelters.
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The change in thinking has been (1) Hunting and associated chores is less common now and people are going with bigger blades. Generally the less experienced or budding wood crafter chooses the larger blade believing that one size does all and it is symbolic of "survival" in the woods, or people that feel the need for a self defense blade or have a lot of experience using bigger blades for small tasks. (2) People are substituting a large knife, something in the 7"-10" blade length to be used for chopping and splitting firewood and I suppose building a shelter although I don't see much need for such beyond hanging a tarp during the milder temperature months in a given area. It is too easy to have a tent now that is packable.
 
I try to keep in mind that guys who "survive" for a living typically use small knives. Cody Lundin, for example seems fond of Moras. Mors Kochanski also uses smallish knives coupled with a buck saw and an axe. Dave Canterbury likes something a little bigger - 5-6" blade range. However, what all of them seem to have in common is that they rely more on highly developed skills rather than toys....

I live in the mountains of East Tennessee and am what I call a semi-professional hillbilly. What I have found from experience is that a 16" Tramontina bolo is magic on brush, a Sven Saw or Dustrude saw makes firewood processing/shelter building a simple task and most everything else can be done with a Mora....

All of these combined can be purchased for less than the cost of a mediocre priced "survival knife" and leave $ to spare. And, when combined don't weigh much more than a sharpened prybar, either.

Now, having said all of that, I love knives. I own an assortment of knives from Robert Hankins, Bark River, Battlehorse and L.T. Wright and I love 'em all - and I actually use them. (I've got a Bravo 1 that looks like it's been thru a war). But, what I have found is that it is very easy to get caught up in the "what if's" and loose sight of the fundamentals.

For me, it's skills first, toys second......
 
This one.
[video=youtube;GtN_772bV-o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtN_772bV-o[/video]
 
Brommeland said:
I try to keep in mind that guys who "survive" for a living typically use small knives. Cody Lundin, for example seems fond of Moras. Mors Kochanski also uses smallish knives coupled with a buck saw and an axe. Dave Canterbury likes something a little bigger - 5-6" blade range. However, what all of them seem to have in common is that they rely more on highly developed skills rather than toys....

I live in the mountains of East Tennessee and am what I call a semi-professional hillbilly. What I have found from experience is that a 16" Tramontina bolo is magic on brush, a Sven Saw or Dustrude saw makes firewood processing/shelter building a simple task and most everything else can be done with a Mora....

All of these combined can be purchased for less than the cost of a mediocre priced "survival knife" and leave $ to spare. And, when combined don't weigh much more than a sharpened prybar, either.

Now, having said all of that, I love knives. I own an assortment of knives from Robert Hankins, Bark River, Battlehorse and L.T. Wright and I love 'em all - and I actually use them. (I've got a Bravo 1 that looks like it's been thru a war). But, what I have found is that it is very easy to get caught up in the "what if's" and loose sight of the fundamentals.

For me, it's skills first, toys second......
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http://youtu.be/Ywr8JPdvjdU
Don't make the common mistake many do. Just because there are many of us who prefer a larger blade, that doesn't negate skill level.

Having reached the age that I am, I can tell you that most new comers to survival/prepping/ or bushcraft have SAK and a Mora. While good tools, they have almost become buzz words and status emblems.

Personally, I rarely go out into the woods without a 6" blade. It simply enhances my skill set.
 
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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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Overly simplistic view IMO. The original bowie was quoted by the blacksmith who made it as a woods knife for clearing brambles and such. Then you have the Hudson bay knife. The thai enep. The latin machete. The kukri, the parang, and on and on. The big knife is a woods tool first and a weapon second. Just like the axe.

Also, why should we emulate Nessmuk and Kephart like some others like to say? I don't know about you but I've NEVER cut down a tree to camp. Let alone half a dozen or more like they used to. If you set out on a trip where you NEED an axe, then you NEED an axe. That's not need that's want. To get on the web and say people NEED an axe to survive a camping trip is just silly. There are plenty of people who survive just fine in the back country with only a pair of scissors as there survival knife. But then I guess that's two survival knives so maybe they're cheating. :D

All of the tools discussed here work just fine if you know how to use them. I carry what fits me best.
 
Well said

If I'm in a canoe, I may carry an axe. If I'm working on a deer stand, I may carry an axe or even a chain saw.

I've just gotten into Kukris. I can see a lot of potential in these blades.
 
Dobe_1 said:
http://youtu.be/Ywr8JPdvjdU
Don't make the common mistake many do. Just because there are many of us who prefer a larger blade, that doesn't negate skill level.

Having reached the age that I am, I can tell you that most new comers to survival/prepping/ or bushcraft have SAK and a Mora. While good tools, they have almost become buzz words and status emblems.

Personally, I rarely go out into the woods without a 6" blade. It simply enhances my skill set.
Click to expand...

I have no argument with an experienced/skilled individual who simply prefers a larger blade. (I've got a Bravo 1.5 that I'm kinda fond of myself). My point is that many of the newbies that you referenced above fall for the "Rambo" school of "survival" knives and overlook the fundamental skills that they need to learn....
 
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The best in axes you could do is to carry a light hatchet, such as the Gerber thermoplastic handle one I have, which will never fail at the blade/handle junction because of the way the plastic wraps around the blade, instead of the other way around, which invites loosening or failure on almost all axes I've seen (I've rarely seen a well-used wood handle axe that was not a little loose and on its way to fail when done in the traditional way): The plastic is hollow and is very light... And yet rather than carry this crap around I would rather stay home, that's how bad it is compared to my Randall Model 12, which can probably outperform it in most chopping tasks...

Gaston
 
This is my setup I made for myself. I think for "survival" a 6 inch blade with 3/16 minimum is a good choice. I can do any reasonable survival task with this. Part of the survival is what I have with the knife on the sheath.
 
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