Two Bushcraft Books From The 1970s, And No Mention of Knives!

[grateful_fred]

Could be, but I think its hard for any of us to imagine not having a knife or three on us at all times, at 7-11 or especially in the bush.

I used to have this video I picked up at a gun show. ( i no longer have the video ) It was done by these two guys in alaska that train special forces and the like. They always stressed that you have to be ready in a situation where you had no tools...period. Such as when one would escape from an enemy camp. They went on to cover the basics of shelter, water , fire and food. But they also stressed attitude and the fact if you have the skills and stick to your priorities you really have all the time in the world.

 

[DOC-CANADA]

When I was a teenager, back in the 1970s, I was really interested in this Bushcraft stuff. Bought two books on the subject back then. Recently became interested again, and dug those two books up to look them through again (I was amazed I still had them). Not one of them even mentions knife selection, or anything about knives. One of them discusses making knives out of stone, but that's it. Odd, isn't it?

PS The books are Bushcraft, A Serious Guide To Survival and Camping, by Richard Graves, and Outdoor Survival Skills, by Larry Dean Olsen.

I sympathize with your sentiment and agree with it in spirit, but the facts don't support your position. It's already been mentioned that Olsen uses a knife with flint, also on page 95 it shows somebody skinning a rattlesnake with a knife - there may be more, I just looked quickly.

On the first 3 pages of Graves book that I looked at, I found two knife references - page 149 says, ".....push the point of a pin or a sharp knife immediately.............", and page 147 says, "......and with your knife, machete or tomahawk, split off the wet outer layer...." talking about making fuzz sticks.

I think the point is, as already alluded to, having a knife with you was never an issue, you just had it. I've carried a knife of some sort or other for the last 50+ years. When I was a boy in public school, we used to play 'stretchies' at recess, boys and some of the girls. Today, if a kid is caught with a butter knife, all the bells and whistles go off!

Having a knife to perform bushcraft and various survival skills is important, however, it is probably more important to learn how to do them without a knife, for those times you may not have one!

Doc

 

[DutchV]

Back in the 70's, the cheap Barlow knives at the gas station were actually decent, with carbon steel blades. (Too bad I can't find my old one). Every adult male, and lots of kids, had a knife in their pocket. So the writers could easily assume that someone who cared about survival would already have a knife with him.

 

[Trent Rock]

When I was a teenager, back in the 1970s, I was really interested in this Bushcraft stuff. Bought two books on the subject back then. Recently became interested again, and dug those two books up to look them through again (I was amazed I still had them). Not one of them even mentions knife selection, or anything about knives. One of them discusses making knives out of stone, but that's it. Odd, isn't it?

PS The books are Bushcraft, A Serious Guide To Survival and Camping, by Richard Graves, and Outdoor Survival Skills, by Larry Dean Olsen.

ROFL
I bought those same books in the 80's!!!
I still got them too :thumbup:
Larry Dean O. looked to hippyish to carry a shank..IMHO

 

[ROCK6]

I can also remember going deer hunting on Fri morning (opening day) before school and then coming to school and leaving the firearm in the car all day....no one thought a thing about it, everyone (including teachers/admin) knew they were there. I'm not trying to be political, just showing that times have changed a lot.

Yes the times have changed...I did the same thing. I use to keep my old single barrel shotgun in the back of the car in highschool during pheasant hunting season...nobody thought anything of it. Times have changed...hell, I get funny looks everytime I whip out a blade at work (in the ARMY!!!)...well, not any more, everybody knows who to ask if they need a blade or four, five, sometimes six

ROCK6

 

[Thomas Linton]

Yep, in my copy of OUTDOOR SURVIVAL SKILLS, by Larry Dean Olsen, there is a picture of him using a Stockman folding knife to strike sparks from a piece of flint.

O.S.Ss. is about "primitive" survival, therefore he talks about flint knives and flint axes.

FWIW.

L.W.

In the late 60's and the 70's, LDO was "Da Man" when it came to primitive living. He authored the first Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Merit Badge pamphlet. From his body of writings, he was merely, as suggested, trying to teach you what to do if the customary, usual gear was missing. To note one cultural norm for that period, Boy Scouts routinely carried official BSA sheath knives, mostly made by Western.

 

[GregY]

i think that back then most people still had common sense about knives and there wasn't a huge amount of cheap knives in gas stations that people could choose from. i get the impression that back then it was quality or none at all.

No that's pretty close to the exact opposite of what I remember of the 70's.

Everything available to the general public was crap. I mean *everything*. The 70's pretty much DEFINED "crap".

Good gear (and quality stuff in general) was available, but incredibly expensive and you had to be a dedicated expert to even *know* about it, much less find and acquire it.

Improved communications and easy online retailing (for buyers and sellers) has made good gear both known and available to everyone. We live in a bloody golden age.

 

[shecky]

No that's pretty close to the exact opposite of what I remember of the 70's.

Everything available to the general public was crap. I mean *everything*. The 70's pretty much DEFINED "crap".

Good gear (and quality stuff in general) was available, but incredibly expensive and you had to be a dedicated expert to even *know* about it, much less find and acquire it.

Improved communications and easy online retailing (for buyers and sellers) has made good gear both known and available to everyone. We live in a bloody golden age.

I agree 100%. Knife nuts tend to be a romantic lot, rhapsodizing about the good old days. When I was a kid in the 70s, BSA knives were disappointing. The coveted Buck 110 was WAYYYY out of my price range. The only knives I could afford were bottom of the barrel Imperials and Colonials. Comparable to today's Rough Rider slipjoints. Only crappier. And more expensive, factoring inflation into the mix.

The good old days are now.

 

[Thomas Linton]

There were cheap knives in gas stations - plenty. But the phobia over knives as "weapons" is much worse now then it was then - and was worse then than in the 1950's when I carried a knife to school every day (often borrowed by teachers to sharpen fat pencils that would not fit the crank sharpeners).

The BSA utility model (Ulster U.S.A.) of the 70's was about as bad a US-made knife as the BSA ever authorized.