What's up with bushcraft craze?

S

Smiling

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Nov 21, 2019
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I noticed that more and more people use exclusivley bushcraft tasks to determine how good a knife is.

IRL a guy told me "But there's better knives for buschraft than this."
And I was like "I'm not into buschcraft, this is my EDC, I might live outside of city, but I usually carry this knife in the city"
Also for my other knife - "Tanto isn't good for bushraft"
And I keep saying, I am not into bushcraft, so why would I carry or buy a bushcraft knife then?

And both of these knives can still do even those bushcraft tasks. Not as good as bushcraft knives but I couldn't care less.

Bend test, tip test, edge retention test and impact resistance make sense.
Stuff like batoning and fire steel scraping? I have no use of these...

Did anyone else notice phenomenom?
And do you think that it makes sense that bushcraft performance matters the most?
 
I was going to go off on a big old "I'm a city slicker and when I go into the woods it is as if I were from another planet and I take fuel and shelter and a little tiny bit of down that keeps me warm in sub zero and my challenge is to leave the place with almost no marks or damage and cleaner than I found it " . . .

but
I'll jump on the opposite wagon : Bush craft is fun, interesting and satisfying to learn . . . lets us slip back into the early days of the human race and exploration and gives one a significantly challenging day to use one's edge tools to near their limits.
What's not to like ?
 
Last edited:
Smiling said:
And do you think that it makes sense that bushcraft performance matters the most?
Click to expand...
Not to me but then I'm exactly the opposite.
I carried a German four inch paring knife for years and years and years.
it is very significantly THHHhhhhhiiiinnnnnnn !! !!! !!
Less than two millimeters.
I never damaged it. We still use it in the kitchen to this day and I just bought a very similar version, a MAC brand paring knife to carry and use.
I had it with me yesterday at work in a Buck sheath to see if that would work as a sheath for it.
So . . . for me . . . all this five millimeter thick stuff and beating on it with a log is rather comical to me (I'd carry a tiny Froe for that) and the thinner the better. Heck I could carry a spare back up and the two knives would still be lighter than one five millimeter prybar.
But that's just me.
The challenge is to do the mundane with a knife that is the least required and it turns out the thin ones cut so much better that it is like magic.

But I'm not making a raft to cross the sea . . . and come to think of it if I were I would use an impossibly THHHHhhhhiiiinnnn Japanese saw to do it. Not my knife and not a pocket knife for sure.
The Tooth Meister.jpg
Toshio.jpg
 
Yes it’s similar to when I noticed that it seemed every knife company was making recurve blades. And I’ve never cared for them. I think that was a fad then as well as bushcraft will most likely be. Unless we have a major turn to a third world economy I just don’t see that it will be all that significant of a need. Not only that but I’ve done a lot of camping and outdoor activities for 40+ years and do just fine with my non bushcraft style knives.

I’m sure there’s a lot of bushcraft fans and that’s ok but in a few years there’s probably going to be tons of thick bladed knives trying to be sold because the interest faded away just as we see recurve blades no one wants to sharpen now.
 
Bushcrafting will only get you so far. I’m am waiting for facine construction to make a comeback. :rolleyes:



n2s
 
Smiling said:
I noticed that more and more people use exclusivley bushcraft tasks to determine how good a knife is.

IRL a guy told me "But there's better knives for buschraft than this."
And I was like "I'm not into buschcraft, this is my EDC, I might live outside of city, but I usually carry this knife in the city"
Also for my other knife - "Tanto isn't good for bushraft"
And I keep saying, I am not into bushcraft, so why would I carry or buy a bushcraft knife then?

And both of these knives can still do even those bushcraft tasks. Not as good as bushcraft knives but I couldn't care less.

Bend test, tip test, edge retention test and impact resistance make sense.
Stuff like batoning and fire steel scraping? I have no use of these...

Did anyone else notice phenomenom?
And do you think that it makes sense that bushcraft performance matters the most?
Click to expand...
What's the geographic location of this hotbed of bushcraft? We may want to visit there.
 
Smiling said:
I noticed that more and more people use exclusivley bushcraft tasks to determine how good a knife is.

IRL a guy told me "But there's better knives for buschraft than this."
And I was like "I'm not into buschcraft, this is my EDC, I might live outside of city, but I usually carry this knife in the city"
Also for my other knife - "Tanto isn't good for bushraft"
And I keep saying, I am not into bushcraft, so why would I carry or buy a bushcraft knife then?

And both of these knives can still do even those bushcraft tasks. Not as good as bushcraft knives but I couldn't care less.

Bend test, tip test, edge retention test and impact resistance make sense.
Stuff like batoning and fire steel scraping? I have no use of these...

Did anyone else notice phenomenom?
And do you think that it makes sense that bushcraft performance matters the most?
Click to expand...

Depends on what thread you are in, and what forum you are in.
We have threads about:
  • knives designed to be bushcraft knives. That discussion is going to be about usefulness performing bushcraft type tasks.
  • knives designed for self defence. Those are mostly in the "Practical Tactical" Forum. https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/practical-tactical.680/
  • knives designed for everyday carry as an alternate to a pocket knife. Those are usually short and thin and are designed for small cutting jobs instead of stabbing.
  • knives designed to be hunting or skinning knives. Those are going to be knives with a belly and are going to have thinner blades made of steel designed for edge retention, not impacts such as batonning.
So if you are posting in a thread about a knife designed specifically to excel at bushcraft tasks, as you were the other day, then yes, the responses are going to be about how good the knife is at bushcraft specific tasks. But if you are in a thread devoted to a knife for self defence, then I don't think most folks are going to talk to you about bushcraft.

Make clear what kind of knife, or what kind of tasks you expect your knife to perform in your opening post, and you should not have a problem.
 
not2sharp said:
Bushcrafting will only get you so far. I’m am waiting for facine construction to make a comeback. :rolleyes:

n2s
Click to expand...

building a yurt or tepee is obviously the premier example of this, and I've been a huge fan of them since I was a kid and got to see them irl

(and yes, I know you were being sarcastic ; )
 
Well I understand that people who are into knives watch videos about knives.
And bushcraft seems to be current thing there.
And the guy mentioning it never actually did real bushcraft.

So, you want to find a good general purpose knife, yet all you can find is bushcraft videos with few exceptions. And that kinda sucks.

My EDC needs are simple, not too big, but also not tiny knife. I use it for small cutting tasks mostly, sometimes split a sandwich or pry something or cut some tougher material.
So, a bit thicker, 7-10cm (or 3-4inch) blade with stronger tip is perfect choice.
Also, with a guard, so that knife is a viable self defense option too.
And there you go, a good general purpose knife for EDC, if you ask me.
 
My take on it is this:
Bushcraft is just a fancy word for messing about in the woods, doing wood-cutting related stuff.
And many people enjoy messing
about in the woods, doing wood-cutting related stuff.
If you enjoy working with wood, making fires, notches, whittling, foodprep etc. then a Bushcrafttype blade is just swell at those tasks.
Then you can start a whole discussion on which type of grind and thickness does those tasks better.

Give me a 1/8" thick knife, with a nice convexed blade, and I am happy.

Those who prefer a scandi-grind knife, just deserve to get a thorough beating with a whippy stick.
 
Smiling said:
Well I understand that people who are into knives watch videos about knives.
And bushcraft seems to be current thing there.
And the guy mentioning it never actually did real bushcraft.

So, you want to find a good general purpose knife, yet all you can find is bushcraft videos with few exceptions. And that kinda sucks.

My EDC needs are simple, not too big, but also not tiny knife. I use it for small cutting tasks mostly, sometimes split a sandwich or pry something or cut some tougher material.
So, a bit thicker, 7-10cm (or 3-4inch) blade with stronger tip is perfect choice.
Also, with a guard, so that knife is a viable self defense option too.
And there you go, a good general purpose knife for EDC, if you ask me.
Click to expand...

I don’t see this as a negative thing. Having a fun time messing around outdoors, with a knife that is designed for use in that environment, and then posting a video about it is interesting to many.

Sounds like you’ve dialed in your personal preference for an EDC!
 
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