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What knives to take for bushcraft course
- Thread starter TedV
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Take what the instructor recommends. Using a smaller blade like the mora places the focus on your knifecraft skills and thought processes rather than relying on brute force. You will have a valuable experience that will serve you whether you choose to carry bigger or smaller blades on your own outings. Most of the bushcraft/survival instructors I've ever encountered place greater emphasis on smaller knives. In fact, the older and more experienced they get, the smaller the knives are. I personally like both types of blades, but the most important knife skills I learned were learned with small blades.
Cliff Stamp
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skammer said:
If you are not that familiar with the knives, or worse yet the instructor is not, or is unwilling to deviate from a set outlook in what he wants to use, this may be of limited value. If they are they type which heavily favor a small knife and distain a large one you may end up in fact segregating yourself in their eyes quickly and from the group if you take a large blade. A lot depends on the instructor.
-Cliff
Cliff Stamp
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No disagreement here, but many people look with distain on many types of knife, even to the point of extending this to a negative judgement of the people who carry them. If you do some reading of those who tend to use the term "bushcraft" a lot, many will consider people who carry big blades rambo-wannabes. Ignoring the fact of course that goloks, parangs, bolos, khukuris, etc., have a long history of bushcraft.
-Cliff
-Cliff
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Ok - this course is not a 'make your own basket/mocassin' course, or hard-core survival or tracking down and killing wild bears. 
It's a generic introduction into bushcraft and some 'survival' / 'wildlife' skills.
According to the instructions, we'll arrive at an 'empty' forest where we're gonna make camp with whatever one chooses. (tent/tarp or a tree & branches). (I'm bringing my tarp and bivvy bag). During the day we'll spend most of the time in the camp, optimizing the shelter, making fire, preparing food etc. We'll do some short hikes in the neighbourhood, probably ID some eadible plants, spot some wildlife (deer) and/or tracks.
My goal is to learn more about things in the forest and to optimize my hiking-gear. My buddy and me do some multi-day hikes a couple of times a year without the wife & kids. Sometimes in the Scottish Highlands, sometimes in a nearby forest in Holland or Belgium. I hope it's gonna be fun and we'll learn some interesting stuff. About the knives, I still haven't found my optimum 'bushcraft' type knife. The Fallkniven F1 is close, but I would like a sharper tip, and wooden handles. Something like a Helle Eggen, but then with a full tapered tang. A Roger Linger Bushcraft or WoodLore bushcraft is also close, but I don't want a custom. From the comments so far (thanks!), I'll probably take the F1 and maybe the small Sebbie clipped in my pocket, and put the Neil Roberts in the backpack and take it out if I really have a need for it. Thing is that I'm really curious if the Neil Roberts is a 'can do it all' knife. But then again, I might change my mind in 10 minutes or so
It's a generic introduction into bushcraft and some 'survival' / 'wildlife' skills.
According to the instructions, we'll arrive at an 'empty' forest where we're gonna make camp with whatever one chooses. (tent/tarp or a tree & branches). (I'm bringing my tarp and bivvy bag). During the day we'll spend most of the time in the camp, optimizing the shelter, making fire, preparing food etc. We'll do some short hikes in the neighbourhood, probably ID some eadible plants, spot some wildlife (deer) and/or tracks.
My goal is to learn more about things in the forest and to optimize my hiking-gear. My buddy and me do some multi-day hikes a couple of times a year without the wife & kids. Sometimes in the Scottish Highlands, sometimes in a nearby forest in Holland or Belgium. I hope it's gonna be fun and we'll learn some interesting stuff. About the knives, I still haven't found my optimum 'bushcraft' type knife. The Fallkniven F1 is close, but I would like a sharper tip, and wooden handles. Something like a Helle Eggen, but then with a full tapered tang. A Roger Linger Bushcraft or WoodLore bushcraft is also close, but I don't want a custom. From the comments so far (thanks!), I'll probably take the F1 and maybe the small Sebbie clipped in my pocket, and put the Neil Roberts in the backpack and take it out if I really have a need for it. Thing is that I'm really curious if the Neil Roberts is a 'can do it all' knife. But then again, I might change my mind in 10 minutes or so
The bushcraft term is European in origin. I think of survival training as fairly open ended and can encompass land navigation, fire, shelter, water purification, stone age skills where they apply, wilderness cooking and these days some urban issues. That said, a survival course doesn't need to teach everything in one weekend.
Ted Voorde's description sounds like maybe an intro to survival camping. Low key and not a rigid format, good for trying out different knives.
Ted Voorde's description sounds like maybe an intro to survival camping. Low key and not a rigid format, good for trying out different knives.
I've taken one of those courses sometimes ago.
It does not really aim on real survival (realistic scenario: plane crash etc) but rather on "expanded" outdoor/expedition skills.
Instructors generally issue moras which are Ok and good knives for training. Better learn with an inexpensive knife: when you start mastering the use it's generally no big deal shifting to another blade.
It does not really aim on real survival (realistic scenario: plane crash etc) but rather on "expanded" outdoor/expedition skills.
Instructors generally issue moras which are Ok and good knives for training. Better learn with an inexpensive knife: when you start mastering the use it's generally no big deal shifting to another blade.
If this is a true bushcraft course in the european style then don't take a large blade. IMHO the F1 is you best bet hand-down for this type of course. I strongly suggest checking out BCUK if you want some quality information on european bushcrafting (AKA woodcrafting). BTW Mors was the one who coined the term bushcraft I believe.
Bushcraft UK dot com After quickly reviewing the subjects covered in some of the Bushcraft courses, it looks to me like Bushcraft is a catch-all term and seems to encompass a wide range of outdoor skills including survival. The List of Schools on Bushcraft UK has quite a few using the term "survival". The reviews are interesting too.
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I would carry whichever knife or knives you think you will be carrying in a survival situation. It would suck to train using a large knife and only have a small folder when you really need it. Train with the least knife possible. If you have more knife when needed you will be OK. FWIW.
If it were me going I would take several knives of every style and size I could fit into my bag. I would know by the end of the trip which is my preference and which one I felt more comfortable with. O.K. so I already know, it is my CRK Mountaineer II. But if I didn't know I would after the trip. I wouldn't give a crap what anyone else thought because when the SHTF the only one who matters is you.
Booger said:
Many do not know unlike you what works, so learning through experimentation is crucial to undertanding as you point out.
Youd bring to a course what you want to, good for you, instructors are their to guide not dictate learning.
Skam