Tell me again why we need a knife??

[udtjim]

Good point. I have been in survival situation where I did not use a knife and all. If you keep your wits about you I am sure you could survive without a knife. If you had to have one you could probably make a flint knife. CERTAINLY a SAK would be sufficient.

 

[runningboar]

Chris- I have respect for you but I have to say... it sure seems like half the recent threads, or more, that degenerate into the type of things you mention here were started by you. From my perspective, its kind of ironic that you talk about "machismo and fantasy" when the topic would come up significantly less if you weren't always bringing it up.


People use what they use and anyone who feels the need to use sarcasm or subtle insult in regard to another's knife of choice... well, to be honest, I'd have to say that they are suffering from an overabundance of machismo themselves. And, since I don't have a dog in the fight, that goes for both sides of the fence. IMO, anyone who talks trash about a big knife, or its user, is being a fool. And... anyone who talks trash about a small knife, or its user, thats right!, also being a fool. Any of the trash talkers don't like it? Well, sometimes, the truth just hurts. Pretty macho, huh?


We all like knives, survival, all of that, but these threads are getting really friggen old. RB has plenty of worthwhile info in this one, imo, and all the talk about machismo and fantasy does nothing more than take away from what is otherwise a valuable post.




You say this, RB, but it sure seems like ridicule to me when you talk of "big burley he man knives" vs. "regular" knives. Let the trash talkers go their way; I see no reason why any poster should have to start multiple threads on a topic that has already been beaten halfway to hell and back.

To visit this post again, my mention of machismo and fantasy had nothing whatsoever to do with the size tool you pack, it has everything to do with what you plan to do with said tool in a situation.

We have insulted each other so much on this board everyone is hyper sensitive when anything is said. In my original post I meant it is macho and fantasy IMO to think that if you are in a REAL LIFE SURVIVAL SITUATION, whatever that is, that thinking that your knife, of any size, is the only thing standing between you and the pearly gates is a bit far fetched, that is all I meant. Once again it had nothing to do with the size of your blade. Chris

 

[Rat Finkenstein]

Yeah it is pretty silly, like most of the uses people qoute for their knives.

So Rat, what is your definition and how do you get into it. Chris

My definition of a survival situation?

A scenario where unless you do ( ), you will die.

I don't know how I get into it, I hope that as long as my head is screwed on somewhat straight, I can avoid it. It would be a foolish person who sees a deadly survival scenario approaching and runs headlong into it.

 

[runningboar]

hmm, uses like:

- skinning my hunt
- gathering wood for the fire
- gather reeds to make baskets
- making an elevated sleeping shelter
- clearing the trail of blowdowns
- whittling
- making a marshmallow or hotdog stick
- slicing steak into strips
- prepping onions, etc for cooking
- chopping for the sake of chopping
- bushcraft skills training/fun
- shelter building in windy , rainy, snowy, or hot conditions


plus about a septillion other uses that a knife has in the woods, including the ability to use it to be self reliant,and not rely on the cell to phone the wife.

Thank you but I wouldn't call any of those a survival situation either. And hey, my wife worries when I don't come home.

 

[Hang_them_later]

Good point. I have been in survival situation where I did not use a knife and all. If you keep your wits about you I am sure you could survive without a knife. If you had to have one you could probably make a flint knife. CERTAINLY a SAK would be sufficient.

Make a flint knife

 

[mymindisamob]

Thank you but I wouldn't call any of those a survival situation either. And hey, my wife worries when I don't come home.

You have a wife that cares about you? Now that is just wierd.
Calling in is a good thing, not to be confused with having to check in.:thumbup:

 

[runningboar]

You have a wife that cares about you? Now that is just wierd.
Calling in is a good thing, not to be confused with having to check in.:thumbup:

Amen, when I have to stay away from home she never bitches, hell most of the time she's with me. Chris

 

[qpuf]

I think I agree with the intent of the OP's thread, as I don't think it's about NOT having a knife, but how anything less than XYZ knife will do. That said, I don't agree with all the items on the list. I do, however, think all the items on the list make an unexpected scenrio much less difficult. And that's what I think a knife does well-makes the unknown factors out there easier.

 

[Bushman5]

people are under the impression that a "survival situation" has to be a big dramatic affair, deep in the boonies with no outside world contact for months, where your forced to resort to caveman status and hunt to live..

truth is, a "survival situation" can be something as little as an unexpected or dangerous change in weather, forcing you to abandon your trip and take immediate action, shelter etc. It can be a little as spraining your foot, turnign a normal walk in the woods into a dangerous ordeal. It can be as little as losing your bearings, or breaking oyur compass, or getting stuck in the dark. It can be as little as having to fashion (OMG , with a knife!) a tree limb splint to immobilize a person broken femur or whatever....

you get the point.

 

[runningboar]

people are under the impression that a "survival situation" has to be a big dramatic affair, deep in the boonies with no outside world contact for months, where your forced to resort to caveman status and hunt to live..

truth is, a "survival situation" can be something as little as an unexpected or dangerous change in weather, forcing you to abandon your trip and take immediate action, shelter etc. It can be a little as spraining your foot, turnign a normal walk in the woods into a dangerous ordeal. It can be as little as losing your bearings, or breaking oyur compass, or getting stuck in the dark.

you get the point.

Now we are talking, in one of those situations what are you going to use your knife for to stay alive. Chris

 

[mtnfolk mike]

great post RB....:thumbup: but i just can't seem to go anywhere, let alone into the woods, without a knife.....

i do agree with the fact that there are a lot of woods skills, that get overlooked/ignored because of some folks relying far too much on their gear...

it has been said before: "THE MORE YOU KNOW THE LESS YOU NEED"..

 

[ras]

. . .I think there are a lot of things on my list far above any knife.

1. A detailed plan, with coordinates if possible, and a time schedule, and how long before help is called left with a dependable person before you leave.

2. A cell phone

3. A map and compass and know how to use it

4.The best clothes and shoes/boots you can afford with extra layers in a daypack

5. The ability to make fire now

6. Water and/or a way to purify it

7. Something to use for overhead cover, a siltarp, space balnket, poncho or the like

8. A signalling device, at the least a whistle, better yet a PLB, flaregun with flares, or a can of orange smoke

9. A few power bars or the like

10. The ability to stay calm and think, mental preparedness. . .

Good list, but a knife/axe/hatchet could be very useful in making number 5 in a reasonable amount of time and can also be very useful in making shelter. While I don't consider having a knife to be critical in a survival situation, be able to use a knife can make surviving much less energy draining. It's a tool, not an end, just a means to get there.

 

[pitdog]

Now we are talking, in one of those situations what are you going to use your knife for to stay alive. Chris

It's not a matter of just staying alive it's about making your life easier, sprain your foot so you fashion a crutch ( using your knife or axe ), a night in the woods you make a fire splitting wood to get to dry stuff (using your knife or axe), scraping ceder bark to get tinder( using your knife or axe ).

Take your normal home life, do you eat just what you need to eat to survive or do you enjoy your food and eat what tastes good ? We do what we do because we can and because it makes us happy whether that be drinking beer or carrying a sturdy knife !!!!

I can't believe I keep engaging in these topics as they never get anywhere and I don't actually think you are aiming them at such as me anyway because my knife of choice has a 5" blade 3/16" thick...hardly Rambo material !

 

[Bushman5]

^ no no, just use your cell phone and have someone else do it for you. The hell with being self reliant!

 

[runningboar]

I can't believe I keep engaging in these topics as they never get anywhere and I don't actually think you are aiming them at such as me anyway because my knife of choice has a 5" blade 3/16" thick...hardly Rambo material !

My past posts are haunting me, I am talking about any knife, rambo or not.

What I really wanted to do is make people think, a knife is not the be all, end all in the woods.

I have been in two honest to god survival situations in my life due to my outdoors habits not the army. In both instances being skilled and able to build a fire probably made the difference in coming home or not. One situation involved 2 flat tires in the Nantahala National Forest with night coming and the temperature dropping almost to the single digits, did I mention I was soaking wet.

The other was this spring, March the 3rd to be exact, my son rolled his kayak and got hung up in a strainer in the middle of a very cold, swollen river which ended up with both of us being soaked and frozen to the bone. Neither instance a knife mattered a bit, was I glad I had one, your damn right, was it vital, not in the least. Chris

 

[runningboar]

^ no no, just use your cell phone and have someone else do it for you. The hell with being self reliant!

Sarcasm always helps your point, I am starting to believe your "self reliance" is the machismo and fantasy I was talking about in my first post. Crhis

 

[flipe8]

The other was this spring, March the 3rd to be exact, my son rolled his kayak in a straner in the middle of a very cold, swollen river which ended up with both of us being soaked and frozen to the bone. Neither instance a knife mattered a bit, was I glad I had one, your damn right, was it vital, not in the least. Chris

So, it sounds like you didn't have the proper clothing for the unplanned outings? Can't really comment about the first situation, but while paddling, one should always plan on being in the water.

 

[Bushman5]

RunningBoar, think whatever you want. thats your freedom to do so. Just like its my freedom to carry whatever blade choice i want into the woods and use them how i want.

 

[akennedy73]

I have required a knife in a survival situation - stuck in the Mendocino National Forest with a dead battery. After two days we ran out of food. So I grabbed my shotgun and shot a squirrel and some quail. It would have been next to impossible to clean the game without a knife. I supposed we could have continued to go hungry - no one would have died. But it was nice to have food again.

Still a good post though - stuff like a tarp and water purification usually come in handy before a knife does.

 

[runningboar]

So, it sounds like you didn't have the proper clothing for the unplanned outings? Can't really comment about the first situation, but while paddling, one should always plan on being in the water.

In both situations I would have given almost anything for a change of clothes or just dry poly pros to change into. If everyone was prepared for everything all the time there would be no such thing as a survival situation.

So to answer, no I was not prepared as well as I could or should have been and it almost ended in disaster, in the second situation my biggest mistake was running the river even though I new it was too high. Chris