using a little blade

S

siguy

Joined
Aug 26, 2006
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because one of the main reasons that people seem to like carrying large blades and hatchets etc is to cut poles for building shelter, i thought i would make this post.

i don't really like carrying alot of extra weight, and i don't do that much building while on the trail anyways, but if i needed to, i could.

How To Cut Down a Small Tree With a Little Knife

1. cut a notch into the tree, deeper than the bark so that you actually bite into the wood.
steps1and2.jpg


2. cut similar notches all the way around the tree in a ring.
3. cut the notches a little deeper.
steps3and4.jpg


4. force the tree over with a shove. if the notches were deep enough, the tree should break off right where the ring was. you might have some fibers that are still clinging. just slice these off with the knife.
step5.jpg


i find that this technique takes about as long as hacking with a hatchet or larger knife, it just takes a little more attention.

step6.jpg


just a good little bit of knowledge that is handy for those that don't like to carry alot, or those that don't have the luxury of a chopper (as in many likely survival situations)

note that i used a small mora (3.75 inch blade) to do this, but it can be done just as easily with a small penknife or other folding knife. frequently when heading to the woods for a quick little jaunt i forget my mora and practise skills such as this with just the knife i have in my pocket.

hope this is helpful.
 
Good to know if I ever get caught out with a single blade. Thanks! Beats battoning the hell out of your knife.
 
Actually, there is an easier method...if I understand you correctly. I have cut literally hundreds of small poles over the years in a number of my classes using just a sharp fixed blade (a Mora works great). By putting the grain of the wood *under stress* by slightly bending the pole, you can easily shove your knife blade straight through the pole without making notches. Sometimes a little rocking of the blade is necessary. Still, I prefer a small handsaw for pole cutting if one is available.

Nice photos!:)
 
That works very well with Moras! I've also found my benchmade griptillian more then capable too. Nice instructions!
 
ah yes dannyboy i had forgotten about that...i use it sometimes but i find that i have to make a few cuts anyways, and that it is less precise because of the way the wood splits.

it is a good technique though.
 
Good photos and easy to explain topic. Use what you have is the actual intention of this topic I suspect. If you have a hatchet along use it's edge instead of your knife's to forgo having to resharpen your knife's edge earlier than necessarry. that's keeping it simple and lighter than toting a chopper blade!
 
siguy said:
i find that this technique takes about as long as hacking with a hatchet or larger knife, it just takes a little more attention.

.
Click to expand...

I have a problem with this statement (surprise;)). Seeing as 5-6 seconds is what it would take to chop that with a med chopper. Faster with a large one.

I would rather a large SAK with saw for that job if blade size is an issue.

Skam
 
Good demo. I must say however that the hatchet would be much quicker if time was an issue. However its nice to know all the options.
 
siguy said:
ah yes dannyboy i had forgotten about that...i use it sometimes but i find that i have to make a few cuts anyways, and that it is less precise because of the way the wood splits.

it is a good technique though.
Click to expand...

If the wood fibers are maintained under stress, the wood won't split. When you are finished you will have a nice clean cut (wish I had some photos in my file). Your method obviously worked well, too. Come on over to the ranch and we will go out back and harvest some poles.:)
 
That is the exact method our scout master tought us when I was about 12-13 years old. He was a stickler for us learning to do as much as we could with a standard size pocket knife like our Camillus scout knives. His theroy was that we would always have our pocket knife on us, but in an unplaned event or emergency we may not have our sheath knives or hatchets with us. Hence we learned to use a small knife for just about everything.

He had us make all kinds of things with just our pocket knives, camp furnature, latrine benchs, tripods for hanging cooking pots over the fire.

To this day I will use my pocket knife to cut off a pole or hiking staff if needed with no problem. Having a sheath knife along is just gravy on the meatloaf. :D

"Choppers? We don't need no steenking choppers!"
 
Dannyboy Leather said:
Actually, there is an easier method...if I understand you correctly. I have cut literally hundreds of small poles over the years in a number of my classes using just a sharp fixed blade (a Mora works great). By putting the grain of the wood *under stress* by slightly bending the pole, you can easily shove your knife blade straight through the pole without making notches. Sometimes a little rocking of the blade is necessary. Still, I prefer a small handsaw for pole cutting if one is available.

Nice photos!:)
Click to expand...

I know the method you mean bro but I don't think it would work with the size diameter of the wood in the pics, you would have to be superman to put any significant bend in that in order to put the fibres under stress !
 
great post.

but what if your SMALL knife is a 15" kukri? ;) (or as i am sometimes prone to carrying, a 40" bar Husky 3210 ...baaahahahahaa
 
siguy said:
i find that this technique takes about as long as hacking with a hatchet or larger knife, it just takes a little more attention.
Click to expand...

i don't know about taking as long as hacking with a larger knife.... ;)

sx1.jpg

sx2.jpg


but seriously a great post to remind us that we don't need to haul a couple pounds of steel around just to be able to make a shelter :thumbup:
 
Great post, I agree. If the wood you are actually looking to cut is dead wood--either 'standing' dead wood or the stuff on the forest floor--I've found that you can snap even surprisingly thick wood by this knifeless/axeless/macheteless method:
1.find a reasonably stout living tree that has a forked trunk, or else two trees that are growing out of the same root.
2. Manouvre the branch or whatever into the V formed by the trunk or twin trees.
3. Make sure the dead wood is reasonable horizontal.
4. Move the wood so that it's 'locked' into the notch.
5. Now push--possibly with all of your might--against the dead wood.

If it's reasonably dry, and not too thick, it'll likely snap right at the V. Careful you don't go flying head first into the turf, however!
 
Or just carry a lightweight, super efficient Fiskars/Gerbers pruning saw... All around, it's a more useful addition (and safer) than a hatchet or big chopper IMO.

It's hard to imagine being lost in the woods with only a pocket knife for any reasonably experienced outdoorsman.
 
CSG said:
Or just carry a lightweight, super efficient Fiskars/Gerbers pruning saw... All around, it's a more useful addition (and safer) than a hatchet or big chopper IMO.

It's hard to imagine being lost in the woods with only a pocket knife for any reasonably experienced outdoorsman.
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
It is worth pointing out that the Mora is cutting hardwood an the Golok is cutting pine. BTW Siguy, where in CT do you live?
 
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