What thickness/grind/ etc of blade for the outdoors

I really find at my age, for my needs, a shorter, thin blade takes care of just about all my daily cutting requirements in the woods.

If I were much younger, and weren't so committed to using an axe for my "wood work", I might be more "persuaded " by those large choppers that seem to be all the rage among the younger crowd. Having grown up in the Adirondack's in Upstate NY, in deer camp the axe was the primary "go to" tool for chopping bushcraft. There just simply were not many big chopping knives being made when I was younger; I recall a fellow with a Marbles Trailmaker once........but frankly I think it never got "worked" much and was mostly passed around the camp-fire in the evenings and admired for its size, construction and beauty. The machete, back then, was typically used only for field chores, and at least in my circles, rarely accompanied woodsman into the back-country, although in the 50's I knew a few surveyors who used them in their work. Our knives were typically 3"-5" fixed blades made by Marbles, Western, and later Schrade.....many were thin bladed "button holes", but also plenty of us carried "Woodcraft" patterns. Around deer camp there was usually a carbon steel "Old Hickory"-type butcher knife, with a beat up wooden handle and "weathered" blade for cooking duty......and an axe/hatchet for wood work. We all carried slipjoints for "close up" cutting. It would never have occurred to us to use our knives to obtain dry kindling. Only when I got out of the "States", and traveled throughout the the Pacific and South America, did I witness the machete employed with baton to split firewood. Now, I certainly do see the efficacy of carrying one larger, thicker blade to do it all. And that there are many more alternatives available than when I was young is a good thing. Whatever blade style/configuration/size, alone or in combination with another, works best for you can't be wrong !

Well that's my story....and I'm sticking to it ! :)

- regards
 
Gramps

Nicly said, I love those Marbles Woodcraft & similar style knives. :thumbup:
 
pitdog said:
In a perfect world I would agree 100% with what you are saying, however it is the unexpected like when you baton some wood and your knife gets stuck. You then have to wriggle the knife about to free it thus applying un-natural forces upon your blade and this is when a thin stock blade can break. I once read about the person who had to use his Cold steel SRK as an emergency piton to climb out of a valley, once again this is when a thinner stock knife can break !
I don't think there is a set answer to this question but for me I wouldn't like to rely totally on anything less than a 3/16" blade.

tknife's blade seems pretty what I would consider ideal !!!
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose the definition of thin varies a little. But I wouldn't call a blade like the F1 with a 4,5 mm thickness exactly thin - it's 0,18". It can stand bending, wriggling and whathaveyou well indeed. If one has a thin knife and it gets stuck somewhere, technique helps. If you happen to have a lanyard in your knife, take a good hold of the knife with the help of the lanyard, and start batoning the wood your blade is stuck in with something. I've done this a great many times successfully. Sometimes it works even when wriggling and bending doesn't. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. Life is like that. :)

One winter I had just my tommipuukko (and these are thin bladed compared to heavily built "survival" knives) with me, and somewhat stupidly I decided to take a shortcut over the lake, which was frozen of course. About smack in the middle of the lake there was a thin spot in the ice which I failed to notice because of the snow, and splash, in I went. I pulled out my puukko (the thin bladed one ;) ) and stabbed it in the ice, and dragged myself out. It held up just fine, didn't bend or break or chip. Was a real pain in the ass walking home, though. Luckily, it wasn't far away and the sauna was warm. :)
 
Yeah, I think so too. :) Just one more reason to always carry a knife. An icepick would've been even better, but it's just extra weight when you weren't planning on going anywhere near ice.
 
The way I set myself up is a multi-tool, saw, and a 4-5 inch knife. Hatchet thrown in when the weather's bad. I'm really liking my Howler LM. I may thin the factory edge a bit but I think 3/16 is really one of the more ideal thicknesses for a "survival" knife. Though it's a lot nicer to use a fixed blade for your cutting chores, survival use(oh crap situations) is really why I carry one. I can't imagine needing anything more than a Leatherman and a hatchet for normal everyday use.

I think I will try out the 7-8 inch knife with multi-tool as a super light alternative though.
 
My best guess (opinion) is that most people who are into primitive living type skill sets generally will prefer thinner more usable blades for wood working. I believe that is why mora's are so popular around here and with people who do an enormous amount of work in the outdoors. The cut wood very well.

Then there are the people who are more into 'survival' senerario's who endorse thicker do all kinds of blades. More suitable for the unknown type environments.

Frankly I see points in both schools.

My .02
 
This is a cool thread.:thumbup:
When I'm in the woods I like to carry a small hollow ground framelock folder 3' blade, and a 5 inch Fixed.

The Small Seb has been my favorite in the framelock side (BG42) just holds an edge WAY better than the large S30v model I have. And from a wood working standpoint, it's the best whittler I have had , the rounded blade spine is such a help for prolonged use.

I just got a Busse Basic 5 today (that I have not field tested yet), but previous experience has made me a big fan of rubberized handles for chopping / skinning and enough belly in a blade to pry on kindling that I baton for fires.
(My Gransfors is a better chopper probably, but for some reason I just enjoy working with with a fixed blade.)

If the edge retention, and corrosion resistance on the Basic live up to the wonder stories I have heard, it should be the one for me. Just in handling it, it is the most ergonomic fixed blade I have had the priveledge to have to date - but time will tell.

I had a Swamp Rat rat trap, that I really liked, but lost a lot of comfort after skinning one deer last fall, it developed patina within a couple of hours of exposure to the blood / condensation, and for me anyway a Field knife has a lot higher expectations from me concerning the corrosion resistance.

I oil my folders often, but just don't want to mess with that in a camp knife.
But, as easy to sharpen as the Swamps are, and the edge retention were phenominal I am probably holding to high of a standard.


Nutshell thoughts:
Small folder for food prep, whittling
Small fixed for the other stuff
 
If it's gonna be your main survival knife,to me, it doesn't matter what thickness exactly as long as it is one you can trust.....this one I can trust !!!
knives.jpg
 
Neither bro, it's the Scrapyard Dumpster Mutt, they just have the Busse Basic handles !
 
I usually pack 3 edged tools while backpacking. The big blade is either a

Ontario Rat-7

or a Tops ATC Recon

I bring a CRKT m16-13z for the folder and a little leatherman micra for the scissors and other small tools.

I share the preference for a carbon big blade and a stainless blade folder.

I like the main blade to be thick so it is good for batoning and the back of the blade can be used to hammer tent pegs and such. I find the 5 inch blade size ideal. The tops is more like a small axe, and you can use it to pry apart rotting logs in search for grubs. I also have this irrational fear of mountain lions, so even though I have no sharp teeth at least I have one good claw.
 
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