What's up with all the chopping

runningboar

runningboar

Joined
May 27, 2006
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It seems every other thread on this forum is about chopping and what chops better. What is all this chopping about, does everyone live in the far north and has to chop copius amounts of firewood to make up for the poor or lack of gear you brought. Or maybe tents and tarps are not allowed where you are from so everytime you go to the woods you have to build a log cabin. Or maybe that is just what you like to do in the woods, instead of enjoying nature or hunting or fishing you enjoy chopping things.

Down here in the warm, free south I very, very rarely chop and would not think of choosing a woods knife with chopping as a criteria. Not to mention in most instances I don't agree with chopping live trees and my saw works wonders on the dead stuff.

I realize the can of worms I am opening here, but geez enough of the "You really need something to chop with in the woods" threads, in the frozen north maybe, but all of us don't live in the north. Chris
 
In my comparison thread comparing large knives to khuks to hatchets I stated that the drive was that I was building a large (LARGE!) bonfire for a family night. Unlike some of the replies that were posted, I found the Hatchet to not only excel at the large diameter stuff, but to be at least equal on the small stuff. So for me, I like hatchets. Twigs to Sequoias, I like hatchets :)

But! You stated that your saw works on dead stuff. I agree. I toyed around with a pocket chainsaw that absolutely destroyed stuff, but, and this might be a testiment to my lack of being in shape, the saw just wore me out FAST! In comparison, I could chop with the hatchet all day long because it was in spurts.

I think a lot of people here come from a mindset that they may be thrust into a survival situation at any moment. In that mindset, I had better be sure that I have adequat gear to collect as much wood as I need. I guess you never know when you're going to have to "build a log cabin", ya know?

I'll reiterate my first point. If I'm choosing a woods knife, and my choices are one that can chop, and one that can't. I don't see any good reason to purposely choose the one that can't. Keep all my options open, ya know?
 
OMG, an anti-choppite. :eek:

Call the authorities. :D
 
I don't think there really is a point RB. People just like to chop. Big knives are fun, even if you only really use them in the backyard.
 
Different strokes for different folks. At one point, a platinum member here tried to get my goat in a thread regarding large vs. small knives. I felt that he was trolling and totally ignoring the actual point I was trying to make, but I wasn't biting. The fact is, we all like knives, we all like the outdoors, but what does it for one won't necessarily do it for another.

Some pull a trigger, some click a shutter. Some want a skinner, some want a chopper. Me, when I go out, I tend to have on me, or in my pack, about 3 more edged tools then I actually need because..welll... I just like knives! It is all good if you ask me! :) Now, I invite you all to join me in singing "Kumbaya, m'lord, kumbaya"! :D
 
Unlike the South shelter and fire are crucial for survival in the North and being able to obtain materials requires chopping or sawing. For most chopping is related to smaller diameter wood for shelter making. I dont carry tent when in the woods for a day but a good knife is always in the pack just in case. Every environment has its issues and until you live there it seems foreign.

Skam
 
Let me also just throw this into the mix.

The vast majority of my outdoors/camping buddies will bring a firearm. I don't. Don't even own one. I've never had a need to shoot anything.

So I guess if the fit hits the shan, I'll chop up enough wood for a week's worth of fire and they can go shoot stuff to eat :)
 
It seems to me that everything is situational, right? Runningboar your a closet chopper, just as I am a closet batoneer. But for the sake of the sanctity of this forum we should chose not to agree with those in favor of said tactics. Just as I will never readily admit in print that Busse makes a good knife. ; )
 
A chopping/heavy cutting tool is an essential part of outdoor/survival gear, but I have always felt that it is absolutely stupid to chop with a knife....it is just the wrong tool for that job! If you are in the northern woods, bring a hatchet/axe (or at least a saw), and if you are in the tropics a machete.

If I am traveling ultralight (backpacking), I compromise by carrying an extremely light Gerber saw. On my ATV I carry a Gerber (Fiskars) Sport Axe when traveling light, or if I am traveling heavier the Gerber Camp Axe. In the truck, it's the full size Gerber Axe.

The Sport Axe in particular is a nice combination between chopping capability and light weight, and it is what I usually prefer to carry.
 
Because IT"S A JUNGLE OUT THERE !! Actually the instinct for a boy [girls are different ] is to build a shelter and provide heat etc. This has been shown in experiments with children and toys ! So it's in the genes from back in caveman times .
 
runningboar said:
It seems every other thread on this forum is about chopping and what chops better. What is all this chopping about, does everyone live in the far north and has to chop copius amounts of firewood to make up for the poor or lack of gear you brought. Or maybe tents and tarps are not allowed where you are from so everytime you go to the woods you have to build a log cabin. Or maybe that is just what you like to do in the woods, instead of enjoying nature or hunting or fishing you enjoy chopping things.

Down here in the warm, free south I very, very rarely chop and would not think of choosing a woods knife with chopping as a criteria. Not to mention in most instances I don't agree with chopping live trees and my saw works wonders on the dead stuff.
I realize the can of worms I am opening here, but geez enough of the "You really need something to chop with in the woods" threads, in the frozen north maybe, but all of us don't live in the north. Chris
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RB I tend to agree with you on most points. I live in Wa State however, and camping in the Fall, or Spring without an axe would not be advised. In Eastern Wa (not Seattle, or west coast) we get snow. Sometimes a lot of snow. It can happen suddenly as well. The saying here is "if you don't like the weather in Spokane, wait a hour". A hatchet, or small axe can make your outdoor life a lot easier around here when weather hits.

I see your point though. ;)
 
runningboar said:
instead of enjoying nature or hunting or fishing you enjoy chopping things.
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You got me. Instead of fishing, I just chop water in hopes of slicing something. Need red meat? I'm learning to throw my choppers so that they behead deer. Water? Let me chop you some. Leg stuck between those boulders? I can help. :p

Seriously, there's something about large chopping knives that draws me, and I live in the South too. Of course, I camp in the winter as well as the summer, and it's nice to have some wood when it's 20 degrees out.

We can go round all day on the ax versus chopper question, but it comes down to preference. An axe will outchop anything but it's not nearly as portable. If I'm car camping, I take an axe. When you move down to a hatchet, however, you lose some of the chopping power and, in particular, splitting power. A chopper carries easily in a pack, and it splits wood with ease if you have a baton log. Not so the hatchet. I'll still give the cross chopping crown to the hatchet, but only by a nose though. Tom-ay-toes, tom-ah-toes.

As for the original question: what the hell are you doing hunting and fishing when you could be outside chopping stuff up? :D
 
Ilbruche is wise. Chopping is fun. You may not be aware that you are participating in a forum where knife nuts play. On the other hand, you live in the warm free south, and there might be things you prefer to do with your knives. Whittling perhaps? Just think of chopping as yankee whittling.
 
ilbruche said:
I don't think there really is a point RB. People just like to chop. Big knives are fun, even if you only really use them in the backyard.
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:thumbup:

I think that's hitting close to the mark!
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I have found carrying a heavy hatchet stupid when a multi purpose tool like a large blade does it all. No hatchet ever outchopped my large blade on smaller diameter wood and never will. As for saws yes they are handy but you cant pry or spit with them but you can with a large knife, again multi purpose.

Skam
 
skammer said:
I have found carrying a heavy hatchet stupid when a multi purpose tool like a large blade does it all. No hatchet ever outchopped my large blade on smaller diameter wood and never will. As for saws yes they are handy but you cant pry or spit with them but you can with a large knife, again multi purpose.

Skam
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I'd take you up on that Skammer.;):D

My Lee Reeves eats small diameter wood like potato chips.:D

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Seems that every post or thread that RB makes has something to do with how he has never had the need to chop anything, ever. Great. I didn't get the whole chopping thing for awhile either. I usually carry a pair of anvil shears in the woods to cut shooting lanes where I hunt. I don't camp like I used to and my time spent in the woods is mostly constrained to day hikes and hunting. Never had a problem until this year.

When moving a climber stand to another area I found that there were several small trees that impeded shooting from the tree that I was going to be sitting in (bowhunting in NY State). A friend of mine had a splitting axe and saw (we were hunting a woodlot behind his house), and I had the shears and a scrapyard dogfather. The axe proved to be cumbersome and the saw took a long time. The shears were much too small for the up to 6 inch diameter trees we were dealing with. Of what we had on hand, the dogfather was the best by far. Less than 10 chops cut down most of the trees. Two inches and under were a single chop, or maybe two for a stuborn one. Only a large dead tree took more than 10 or so chops. I wasn't really counting, but I was surprised at the lack of effort, except on that dead one.

To summarize, the axe that he uses to split firewood for his wood stove was less than ideal for the task at hand. The saw was up to the task, but was time consuming. The shears were woefully undersized. Of all of the tools on hand, only the large chopping knife posessed the right balance of chopping power and compact size to do the job that we wanted to do. Would I build a cabin with the dogfather? No. Split firewood? No. Does it have a permanent place in my pack, even though it does not chop like an axe? Yes. Will I leave my skinning knives and anvil shears at home on my next hunting trip? No. A tool for every job, I guess.

Oh yeah... Chopping is fun.
 
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