Surviving Alone in Alaska

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,135
Tonight, I watched this very entertaining documentary on a husband and wife living in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Eventually, the man kills a bear and skins it with a 105 or 118. Skinning starts at 38:43. Thought it was pretty interesting that this modern day frontiersman's knife of choice is a Buck.

[video=youtube;Iq0rZn8HFmQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0rZn8HFmQ[/video]
 
Last edited:
Cool. Thanks for posting this. I think I would want a 124 and a 105 and the Saw Buck. DM
 
When I lived up there and spent a month at a time in the wilds, my choice was Buck. Back then, I had other knives and had access to still more choices, but Buck was the only one that could cut it (so to speak).
 
On second thought. I'd prefer a 124, 121, 103 skinner all older style. A Saw Buck and a good double bit axe. DM
 
Okay, a saw and axe are given, but for fun, if you could only have one Buck fixed blade, which model would you choose?
 
Buck has an Endeavor that looks good, but it is a new design and I know nothing about it. When I was there I used a 103 Skinner that I filed the hump off the blade. It was a stout 4" knife. Put a piece of bicycle innertube or better yet, dip it in some of that rubber coating from ACE Hardware used for coating tool handles. You do not want to touch anything with your bare hands up there.
A Vanguard with rubber handle might be a good choice.
Are you going to be trapping and hunting? You might look at the pack light The 124 would make a good camp knife.

Also, get two pairs of well insulated arctic mittens (not gloves) so your hands do not freeze. Get a pair of glove liners to wear inside them just in case you must take off your mittens to do something. Get an insulated ground cloth/barrier. Never sleep on the ground as the ground is frozen all year just under the top layer. You will get hypothermia and die if you do not insulate.
 
Good advice, Doc. I can see where a rubber handle Vanguard would be a good choice. My only experience in Alaska was our 3 week wedding trip in July '93. To make it affordable, my wife and I mostly camped and backpacked. The farthest north we got was Fairbanks. Beautiful state.
 
TAH, You make this difficult. I think I'd choose the 120. I've used it a lot when quartering and processing. It's not my favorite skinner but will get the job done. I'd go with the first year date models of 425M steel and those are full hollow grind. DM
 
I've used the early year date 124 with the wooden handle for processing a large mule deer and this worked well. So, I could go with either one with 425M steel and that grind. DM
 
David,

I have not done a lot of quartering and processing, maybe 4-5 times in my life, but I'm curious why the 120 over the 124 for this one-knife scenario?

Oops, we posted the same time.
 
Last edited:
I've not done wood splitting, malletting with either knife so, I cannot speak toward that. I have used both on game. I've carried the 120 more while hunting and hiking and found both to be useful knives. The wider blade width and larger guard makes the 124 somewhat cumbersome in tight places while breaking a carcuss. Though I prefer it's shape and extra strength at other times. As a draw knife too. The 120 is a very nice quartering blade and not bad at skinning. Offering a little more blade length and it's width allows twisting more readily inside joints. Camp chores: cutting rope, filleting fish, opening canned peaches, ect.. The 120 had enough strength. So, today I gave it the nod. If I lived in a small cabin on a river for 2 weeks and switched back and forth. Within that time I could give you more feedback. DM
 
Having only one knife in Alaska was a dumb question anyway. :o Your first answer was realistic - a mix of three knives would be smart. :thumbup:
 
A mix would be smart. You will need also a hatchet, an axe, and a saw. I would get a regular saw and a folding saw. Paracord and space blankets are invaluable as you never know what might happen in that extremely harsh and hazardous environment. You cannot think in Alaska like you do in the lower 48 States.

Also, you need to be prepared for prolonged darkness. A lot of people cannot take it. During the short summer it will be light most, or all (depending on location) day and "night". When the snow and ice melts during Breakup, everything will be deep, sticky mud. Because of Big Bears, you will need to think storage for food.
 
Yes, that was a hard one. I come from a meat cutters background so this influences my knife selection. DM
 
A similar topic came up over in the General Forum and my choice in that was the 124 with 440C blade. If it was the one I posted photos of with micarta handle, stainless guard with a lanyard hole. There is no discussion, as those features win it over. The 120 never had those features. DM
 
Interesting. I took my family to the Chicago museums in October and they had an exhibit on Inuit's. A lot of homemade knives and tools. Some were very crude looking to the standards we have but very functional. In a video they had running a lady put the most skilled outdoors person to shame with the way she cleaned fish and game using a small piece of steel a couple inches long and used a stone to keep it razor sharp.

Dave
 
I don't doubt it. ^ As growing up on our farm, my Grandmother (born in 1898) could always clean fish faster than me. And she used a small sharpened quill knife. Darn, I wish I'd paid more attention to her back then... That part she taught me about washing my hands and wiping my feet, I do remember. DM
 
dpowers311 said:
Interesting. I took my family to the Chicago museums in October and they had an exhibit on Inuit's. A lot of homemade knives and tools. Some were very crude looking to the standards we have but very functional. In a video they had running a lady put the most skilled outdoors person to shame with the way she cleaned fish and game using a small piece of steel a couple inches long and used a stone to keep it razor sharp.
Click to expand...

Not sure which video the museum was running, but if you enjoy learning about the Eskimo way of life, Nanook of the North is fantastic, if you haven't seen it already.

[video=youtube;m4kOIzMqso0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4kOIzMqso0[/video]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top