- Joined
- Jan 5, 2014
- Messages
- 888
Last winter I tried to be more open to knives that I could depend on other than the 2, when hiking or backpacking or general bushcraft stuff. What I find myself doing the most when camping or backpacking (which I do the most of) is making stakes for tarps guy lines, pot hooks and firecraft. For me the 2 excelled at these tasks but like I said I was trying to break myself of that. First I tried the 16 because it was the same blade shape as the 2 and so many here love it, this did not fit the role and to me didn't fill much more of a role than the 11 I always have with me backpacking so it was out. Which brought out the 9 for late winter and early spring and I just enjoy this knife and had been a little gun shy since I broke one but 4 trips with it rekindled my love for it but it tends to freak out fellow backpackers when it comes out LOL.
The 7 has just been a knife I toss in my hiking bag and its got the feel of the 9 so I never felt the need to practice with it. I did a trip with JV3 and Bearthedog with it and didn't really put it to work because I like watching and learning from those two. Then I went to NC camping in pisgah for 2 weeks, where it did everything from food prep, to tent and tarp stakes and nightly fires. I had it out on a motorcycle hammock trip after and all the same chores and I've got to say now its not like the 9 once you really get into it. Things I liked about it it didn't have the heft of the 2 or the 9 and conversely at times i also missed that. Where the 2 doesn't flex and the 9 really flexes making me cringe batoning through some hardwoods the 7 sits somewhere in between. The 7's thinner blade makes finer cuts easier when you make bag clips out of sticks (idea I swiped from Reuben), this also made making cooking stands and pot hooks easier. The 7 also doesn't strike fear into the hearts of fellow backpackers when it comes out.
I didn't take a whole lot of pics of much else other than fire prep but here's a few that show the progression of wear on the knife over July and August, Thanks again to Ethan for making such great knives
A little 11 action because bacon
Even when you buy wood they don't give you any kindling...
This is an awesome combo
The aforementioned bag clips
Oh yea we made burritos!!
All quiet at the bushcraft camp
And there you have it, two months of constant use and it looks like my 2!!! Except the tip is a little more worn because this makes a better drill
To keep it in shape for food prep I found that I had to strop it every other day but that to me is of no consequence, its a been a great knife and will be the fall option for most trips or maybe I'll rotate between the 9, 7 and 2 or maybe its time to rotate the 4 back in as well...
The 7 has just been a knife I toss in my hiking bag and its got the feel of the 9 so I never felt the need to practice with it. I did a trip with JV3 and Bearthedog with it and didn't really put it to work because I like watching and learning from those two. Then I went to NC camping in pisgah for 2 weeks, where it did everything from food prep, to tent and tarp stakes and nightly fires. I had it out on a motorcycle hammock trip after and all the same chores and I've got to say now its not like the 9 once you really get into it. Things I liked about it it didn't have the heft of the 2 or the 9 and conversely at times i also missed that. Where the 2 doesn't flex and the 9 really flexes making me cringe batoning through some hardwoods the 7 sits somewhere in between. The 7's thinner blade makes finer cuts easier when you make bag clips out of sticks (idea I swiped from Reuben), this also made making cooking stands and pot hooks easier. The 7 also doesn't strike fear into the hearts of fellow backpackers when it comes out.
I didn't take a whole lot of pics of much else other than fire prep but here's a few that show the progression of wear on the knife over July and August, Thanks again to Ethan for making such great knives
A little 11 action because bacon
Even when you buy wood they don't give you any kindling...
This is an awesome combo
The aforementioned bag clips
Oh yea we made burritos!!
All quiet at the bushcraft camp
And there you have it, two months of constant use and it looks like my 2!!! Except the tip is a little more worn because this makes a better drill
To keep it in shape for food prep I found that I had to strop it every other day but that to me is of no consequence, its a been a great knife and will be the fall option for most trips or maybe I'll rotate between the 9, 7 and 2 or maybe its time to rotate the 4 back in as well...
