So far this is the truth of the matter that I am getting. They're wood working tools. Not survival knives.
That depends on what your idea of a survival knife is. If it's the usual "big knife to do all and replace an axe as a chopping tool" then sure, the Scandi style bushcraft knives aren't survival knives. Personally, I don't really care too much for the whole survival knife concept. It isn't that relevant to me. I just want to carry a knife that does the jobs that I expect I will find useful to do. I've carried my "bushcraft knives" and puukkos as "survival knives", and they've done just well. Once, I screwed up a little and managed to fall through thin lake ice in the winter, and used one of my puukkos to pry myself out of there. The puukko did fine, and if it isn't a bushcraft knife, I don't know what is! In that case, it did just fine as a "survival knife", too, in the sense that I used it to survive my own mistake. Was glad I had it with me.
Yes and no... see I would never suggest that a Battle Mistress would make a great carving knife. However... you can do some fine work with mean streets, and Active Duties, and Game Wardens. Those are three different blades that could lend themselves wonderfully to carving wood in the right hands.
I would still say just no. Sure, the BMs are way too big for carving stuff. But, I also own five Game Wardens, an Active Duty and a Meaner Street and do like them (although I hate the choil and guard they have), and I have played with other small Busses as well. Not even the Boney Active Dutys or Cultellus models are something that I would want to use for woodworking. The bushcraft style knives I referenced earlier do much better in woodworking than even the smallest Busses, by virtue of more efficient grind and overall design (especially with regard to handle parts, since there are no choils and guards to interfere with work) for such tasks. For really rough use, the small Busses sure beat a bushcraft knife, but the small Busses still lose in woodworking performance to said bushcraft knives. So, I wouldn't say that the small Busses would work wonderfully in woodworking. Of course, that all depends on what one will compare them to. Compared to a Battle Mistress, the Game Wardens sure work a lot better in woodworking. Compared to any of my handmade puukkos, the Game Wardens flat out suck in woodworking. It's all relative, and a guy should carry what he feels fills his needs best. If it's just woodworking performance and ergonomics he's after, he ought to go for a puukko or some other bushcrafty knife. If one desires a really, really tough small knife that you can pry and beat stuff with, then the Game Wardens and other small Busses would be the better choice. It depends on what you do out there. I do a lot of carving and small stuff. Some of the tools I use in my kitchen I make myself out of wood, for my own amusement (and to save money, sometimes - it's not much, but it helps, and every once in a while I can buy me a new knife with that money
). Someone who doesn't really like carving will probably prefer a very different knife.
Again... depends on the model... A thin Game Warden is not going to work at the same chores as a Battle Mistress.
Naturally! But I will say again that even the thinnest, smallest Busses aren't very good for woodworking as they come out of the factory. They are designed for hard use, and this is reflected in their rather beefy grinds. And even the thinnest ones have the problem of not having a Scandi grind (which gives you a lot of precision compared to other grinds, although there's obviously no magic to it) but having a lot of choil and guard in the way. But then, this is somewhat of a matter of tastes. Some folks like guards, some folks don't.
With the exception of carving eating utensils... I know for a fact a Busse will do all those things. Cause I've done them with one. Don't know about carving a spoon or a pipe because I just never really cared enough about such a task to try.
Yes, a Busse will do those things. I've carved a decent spoon with a 8" long ~.23" thick Busse NMSFNO. It wasn't too bad. But I can do it a lot faster and much more comfortably with a 3.5" puukko or other similarly styled "bushcraft knife." Also, I could use a 2 $ Chinese made folding knife to carve a decent spoon or make traps, but it wouldn't be a very efficient or reliable tool. The point here is that any knife (even a stone knife) can be used for making stuff and cutting stuff. Any, absolutely any knife is useful to have in the woods, and better than your bare hands. But some knives do some tasks better than others. A Battle Mistress sure will outchop my puukkos, and a Game Warden will sure pry better than my puukkos, but the puukkos do much better in working wood.
You should carry the knife that you know will do the jobs you want to do best. For me, sometimes it is a Busse, sometimes it's a traditional, simple puukko.
Are you saying it's impossible for your hand to slip up on the blade? Because to say it's never happened to you is meaningless... because even if it had you wouldn't admit it because it hurts your argument. So to say it hasn't doesn't mean anything. Statistically speaking.... probability wise... is it impossible for your finger to slip onto a knife whose blade has no finger guard. I will give you a hint my saying that it's entirely possible to slip onto a blade WITH a fing guard... so what does that tell you about one without?
It's the same dumb argument about Glocks not having a safety... You're right the safety or guard is in the user... but people get accidentally shot with Glocks all the time. And this is coming from a guy that carries one on a daily basis.
It obviously isn't impossible in theory, and some folks have had it happen to them. I will say, though, that when you use a knife with care and skill, the chances of your hand slipping up on the blade are smaller than the chances of being hit by a freak meteorite.
I'm not sure I like the part where you say I wouldn't admit slicing my hand up even if it had happened, because it wouldn't help my argument. That sure sounds a lot like calling me a liar.
But nevermind that.
People often forget that while some things just randomly happen outside any human influence (we can't really do anything about the light of the stars or the movements of the moon), not all things happen outside human influence. Blades don't just jump around and cut you. If they cut you, it's because you screwed up, or some other guy accidentally or intentionally cut you with one. I don't worry about my hand slipping up on the blade. I just take care not to cut myself. It's not hard. I don't really know what else to say. It's a lot like these new computer controlled traction control, stability control and anti-locking brake systems in cars these days. Some folks think you can't drive a car safely without those things. Some folks know that you can, because they do it every day and have done it for about 40 years. Then, there are some folks that know that you can, but still choose to use these new systems just so they'd have all the help they can get. I have no problem with that, as long as they don't come telling me that I should let a computer drive my car for me.
It's the same with knives. I don't want a guard, because I don't need one, and it actually gets in the way much more than it helps. If you think you need a guard on your knife, then you should have a guard on your knife. That only makes sense, and the decision is always yours - it's nobody else's business what kind of knife you choose to carry. In discussions like this, the idea isn't to convince others to change what they carry, just to discusss the merits and downsides of various types of knives in a friendly fashion.
If being able to carve a spoon, or a pipe, and make a wicker basket is so charming to people why carry one crude tool for the job... why not take a small wood carving set into the woods... I've seen 5 piece sets that can fit in your pocket... wouldn't that be better than a knife for wood work? I just gave myself a great Idea by the way LOL... That's what I'm gonna buy instead of a "Bushcraft Knife"... a small simple set of wood carving tools and toss them in my pack.
There are a number of reasons why I don't carry dedicated, curvy, weird carving "knives" and assorted tools with me. The most important is that I just don't feel the need, since I can do a good job with my puukko already. Then there's the weight and space thing: why should I carry even more stuff if what I carry now already does the job as well as I want it done? And then, if the tools are small enough to fit in a pocket, they can't be very good or ergonomically comfortable for anything except very small tinkering. Then there's the whole tradition thing: folks have been making stuff with puukkos here for a long time, not needing much fancier tools. It's a good skill to have, since sometimes you might not have a full set of special carving tools with a chainsaw to boot.
I'm not sure how I would summarize that. Perhaps like this: There isn't any one "best knife for everything." There are, however, "best knives for the job." You should figure out what jobs you want to do with your knives, and then carry the knives that do those jobs best. If you anticipate a lot of smallish woodworking tasks, then carry one of them "bushcraft knives." If you want to chop, pry, dig and bash, and also do some cutting (but nothing too precise and prolonged), then carry something in the tactical, survival style knife range.
