Tell me about your Big Fixed Blades. Cold Steel?

[coote]

More good comments thanks. I'll check out cheaperthandirt, but I have an idea they might not ship internationally. Thanks for posting the pictures.

That pig in the picture was snared on some farm land very close to a residential area. I knew pigs had been coming in to the area and I'd tried to get it for days. It was a real thrill to finally see it in my primitive rope snare. That was my first snared pig ever.

Assuming all the knives recommended are fairly similar, which come with the best sheaths or carrying arrangements?

 

[99f250]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Seems like there are a few options.

I have generally been setting snares for possums. I do generally carry a wooden club when seriously trapping, but when I'm doing a small line or prospecting around for good territory, it is good to carry one less thing. We often pluck the fur from the possums, so a damaged skin doesn't matter. But if the pelt looks particularly good, then all care is taken to not harm it as the whole skin is (or was when I last checked) quite valuable to some people.

Here's a possum:

That fish splitter knife would do the job.... even with the lumpy point. I'd rather keep the lump to maximise the forward weight. I guess I'd have to make my own sturdy sheath.

Geez August West..... does the new, more gentle, name signify other changes in your life I wonder? Will we still see you jump into a debate with enthusiasm?

More thoughts welcomed as I savour this part of the knife-buying process.

Much appreciated, Coote.

What kind of damn possum is that? If I were trapping those things I'd carry a shotgun.

 

[coote]

Australian Brushtailed Opossum. Liberated in NZ in the hope of creating a fur trade. They are now classified as a pest here. A big one might nearly weigh 20 pounds I suppose, but mostly they'd be smaller. This one got away:

 

[Kiah]

Australian Brushtailed Opossum. Liberated in NZ in the hope of creating a fur trade. They are now classified as a pest here. A big one might nearly weigh 20 pounds I suppose, but mostly they'd be smaller. This one got away:

Aussie's get cute possums. We get this

 

[chopchop]

Some of my friends here in Hawai'i use the Dexter Russell Fish Splitters as their "trail knives". If you would knock the "butcher knife lump" near the tip it is mean for blading pigs too.

I have one of these. I love this blade. The handle fills my hand well, and I drilled a hole for a lanyard. I don't butcher pigs with it, though.

The grind is "rolled" (convex), it holds a good edge, and it's easy to sharpen. It's about a 12" blade with some good heft, and the spine is squared, so it scrapes well and throws great sparks from a ferro rod.

Make a sheath out of pvc, and you have a great trail knife for ~$40 US (plus shipping for you, I guess). Best of all, they are easy to find (at least here in the States).

 

[coote]

Dang. Those American possums have teeth like a tiger.

I think we have equivalent knives to those Dexter Russell fish splitters down here. Victory brand I think. I have had other Victory blades and they were good.... used in fish factories etc. I should have a look.

 

[warrigal]

We exported Possums and you blokes have been getting us back by Emigrating ever since.LOL ( in the nicest possible way)
I have Svord Peasants knife Don't play with it much but it does hold a nice edge.
Cold steel Recon Bowie might be a better bet But if yer got your heart set well thats it.
Carl

 

[MrCoffee]

Even thou Ontario has taken it over, the Ranger RD-9 is a great blade to consider as well.

 

[coote]

Well I've cooled down and gotten a bit more rational now. This frantic scramble to buy a big knife started following my success in using a khukuri to cleave some chops on a sheep carcase I was cutting up. I figured a slightly straighter knife with a similar size and weight could be very handy.

I then came across the tamang chaura khukuri as offered here:

http://www.torabladesforum.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=519&PN=1

While I was enthusing over it, my wife said 'why don't you get it?". Well... I figured why stop there. I'd always fancied a Trailmaster so I angled for that instead. I had an exciting few hours.

But now I've started to think more analytically. I think it was Raindog101 who first started to sow the seeds which brought me out of my hypnotic trance. He wasn't keen on the Trailmaster's full guard. Me too.... I think that big guards are a real pain. They catch up on things (like when you are trying to cut fishing net), they make the knife difficult to fit into a secure sheath, they can make slicing on a flat surface difficult, they interfere with the way you might want to grip the knife sometimes, and they are likely to catch on the shrubbery and help pull the knife from your sheath as you are in hot pursuit of something.

Thanks to everyone who has suggested alternative knives.

I much prefer the 'guard-less' configuration of the Dexter Russel Fish Splitter, or the Becker B9, the Browning Crowell/Barker etc.

I like the hype that goes with the Cold Steel products that gives me the confidence they will bend a heap without breaking etc, but I'm now looking seriously at other options.

I've written to Svord asking about their 12" bush machete as suggested by Evbouret. You can see a picture of it here:

http://www.svord.com/SvordMainFrameset.htm

I've also written to a dealer in the USA asking about the shipping cost to send me a Becker B9. Have to say though, in looking at the videos and test data that folks have posted about these on the net I'm inclined to think that they might be tempered a bit too hard and brittle for my liking. I'm unsure.

Warrigal: It is true that there has been a possum for NZ immigrant swap. And I gotta say that we are a lot less hospitable to the possums than you guys are to us fellas. When I was in Aussie I saw no NZer roadkill lying on the the highways.

Now I'm off to check out some other 'guardless' knives. That Browning Crowell/Barker looks wonderful for instance. Pity it isn't a few bucks cheaper.

The Ontario knives I've been seeing look OK (incl Ranger RD9). Can they bend a bit without snapping?

Have a great day.... Coote.

 

[warrigal]

Coote
Next time you cross the Tasman, you wouldn't be the first Kiwi I brought a beer for.
Carl

 

[PayetteRucker]

Working traplines: I take it you're trapping or 1080'ing possums? If I understand correctly you don't want to make a hole in the pelt so wack em instead? Why not get a wood club to carry around? You could chop a new one whenever you needed it. Then the bludgeoning factor wouldn't come into play.

backside of a machette across the back of the head always makes quick work of trapped animals.

 

[coote]

Yep PayetteRucker, the back of a machete does make a good club. It might be lighter than a hatchet or a hammer, but you can move and manouver it quicker.... and all the weight of the blow is concentrated over a small area.

Some folk might recommend using a hammer, but I think that is poor advice (for some of us anyway). The head of a hammer is a comparatively small thing to use with accuracy, plus you need a heck of a swing to make it work.

And a big blade like a machete is useful for other things too.

Last time I crossed the Tasman was to return home after living for a year in Western Australia. I'd love to go back. Wonderful wilderness and wildlife, and some folks with a good sense of humour. Never been to Queensland, but it sounds good apart from the heat. I don't generally drink alcohol, but the heat could encourage me to try.

 

[chopchop]

My boss grew up running trap lines to sell the pelts for extra money. He told me just the other day that he used to carry an axe/hatchet handle to finish off the critters and save the pelt.

 

[coote]

An axe handle would be good. My most recent club was made from a nuggety branch from a black locust tree.

 

[sherlockbonez]

Those things are both cute and gross at the same time. I would just shoot it so I don't have to get close to them. Awww....I mean ewwwewww.

 

[mitchshrader]

I have an RD 9 and a Kershaw Outcast that I reprofiled convex; and the Outcast is better on green wood, and the RD 9 wins in harder stuff. It's the long flat grind, not the steel, that works so well. The Outcast slices better but chopping hardwood not so much.

 

[bacman99]

Aussie's get cute possums. We get this

yes are possums are not nearly as cute and they are very grouchy.

 

[The Ice Bear]

The only animal that has EVER scared me period was a Possum standing on my step-aunt's fence one night at like 3AM. I was sleeping on their pullout couch (we were visiting) And I wake up and this scary man beast Possum is staring in the window right at me. Weirdest thing? It was in the middle of Los Angeles!

As for a big blade to stick and chop, I'd put my BK-9 up against just about anything, Also a RTAK II like someone above mentioned would be good for chopping, not so sure about the stabbing part though, never tried it. I did however utterly dismember 5 pumpkins with the BK-9 (I got the pumpkins AFTER halloween for nothing and wanted to kill them good). I think a Kuk would be great for chopping stuff up around traps/trails if you get a small(ish) version say 12-14 inches, in a pitch you might be able to stick a pig or any other animal too if you needed to, you can stab anything sharp into flesh really.

What about customs? Are any customs like the Koster Survivor or even his "pig sticker" within your price range/wait time? I'm sure theres more but he's who I'm familiar with and I know he makes those kinda blades.

 

[coote]

I was close to ordering a BK9, but in the end I spent my discretionary income on a nice looking kukri. It will be a while before I have it in my hands, but I think it will be worth the wait.

An internet buddy put me on to this particular model of kukri knowing that I wanted a straighter blade. It is a Tora Tamang Chaura. I couldn't resist buying it as it was on special as a 'deal of the day' at the Tora Blades Forum. I already have a Tora kuk, and I am impressed with the quality and with what it can do in practical terms. And I've had a very good run from my two H.I. Ang Khola khukuris. So I guess in a way I'm sticking with a style of blade that I'm used to.

The straighter, pointier blade of this Tamang Chaura really appeals to me.

 

[AF]

That's a nice one you picked up.
If you decide to get a big bowie eventually I'd also recommend a Becker BK-9, BK-7 or Kabar Heavy Bowie. They all work well. The bird's beak pommel on the Kabars is helpful when chopping. The Beckers require a lanyard.