When is a short fixed blade better than a large/sturdy folder for bushcraft/survival?

Hi guys, this would be my first post, but not last, to this forum :)

Personally, i would never go with a folder for EDC when i go hiking,
i've had many knifes in the past, always appreciating quality slightly above budget, i have also worned out some Moras through out the years.
Recently i just randomly bought a TOPS Dragonfly 4.5, as i discovered that the blade was too long for my liking, the handle width was too narrow and that it just did not work with any of my ferro's and, to me, the sheath was a joke.

When i began my quest for my "wishblade" on a local Swedish knife-oriented forum there was a Swedish knifemaker who answered to my need for a tool and made me a absolutely wonderful working knife for bushcraft, i have'nt touched the dragonfly, the Mora, the Enzo or whatever since i got this knife.

I just have to say that the Dragonfly is NOT a bad knife, absolutely not, but my needs are different from the purpose of the Dragonfly and it just does not fit my needs, whilst it will surely fit someone elses.

The picture shows the TOPS Dragonfly with it's 4.5" blade and the custom knife which has a blade length of 3.15"

WB5.jpg


As i prefer not to baton with my knife i just bring my small Gränsfors hunter's axe.

WB7.jpg
 
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Welcome Slurry to BF. The hatchet works perfectly well for tasks that people might baton a knife. There is a general axe vs hatchet vs knife kind of discussion that goes on here and especially in the Outdoor Forums.
 
RX-79G said:
Thank you, everyone, for the good discussion .

... We all realize that we could forget all our knives at home and it wouldn't impact our day at all. They are fun, take-along tools, not necessities.
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I believe that to be an extremely ignorant statement, to presume for ALL us us that contribute to this forum that our knives (tools first and foremost for many of us, should a be so bold as to speak for those I personally know and have known through my life associations) that "They are fun, take-along tools, not necessities".

I wish you had stated this sentiment in your OP, as it may have saved a number of us from wasting time on such subject matter.

Regards,
 
For knives with blade length of up to 4 inches, I prefer a folder every time.
The annoyance of the handle on fixed blades isn't worth it to me for that amount of blade.

I have never used a knife of that blade length for anything where the fact it was a folder was an issue.

People bring up ergonomics, and that is a fair point...but, believe it or not, there are many folders with good handle ergonomics.
 
We all use our knives a little differently. It is part of the reason that I don't regularly carry a small Dozier Personal fixed blade because I can do everything I want to that that size would be effective with a folder. The fact is my 111mm SAK is used for one heck of a lot of things, but I would not beat on it to split wood unless it was an emergency.

This is also part of the reason I tend to choose a 5"ish fixed blade over a favored BK-16/BK-17 many times simply because I use my folders a lot for the tasks that I would use the BK-16. But clearly the BK-16 is a tougher knife in most cases.
 
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Spey said:
I believe that to be an extremely ignorant statement, to presume for ALL us us that contribute to this forum that our knives (tools first and foremost for many of us, should a be so bold as to speak for those I personally know and have known through my life associations) that "They are fun, take-along tools, not necessities".

I wish you had stated this sentiment in your OP, as it may have saved a number of us from wasting time on such subject matter.

Regards,
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Relax. There was no insult intended - I was simply addressing earlier posts about how survival was nonsense.

What sort of profession or environment are you in that you have to provide your own cutting instruments to get by?
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Take the Izula given as an example. I don't mind the Izula 2 with micarta scales, but the original Izula is, for me, a big hotspot in the form of a knife. So my preference would generally go comfortable fixed blade > comfortable folder > blister inducing fixed blade > blister inducing folder.
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This mirrors my sentiments the closest, although there are comfy folders out there.
My main concern is durability; I don't mean breaking the knife either. I'm worried about blade play and lockup after years of use.

If we're going with emergency situations, the only way I can even ballpark the amount of wear and tear a tool will take is imagine using your beater knives for each and every task that presents itself, asinine or not. I don't mean go out of your way to use the knife over a prybar, but you would have to use it as your primary edge.
The Kabar Dozier folder is my current beater and it has gone through almost everything that I needed it to without breaking or loosening up. The S&W I had as a kid though did not fare so well. It gradually became looser than a windsock and I tossed it out for a Leek.

So to adapt Insipid's post

My preference for EDC+Emergency would be
Comfy+Strong Folder(because it would be more convenient for the EDC portion)
>Comfy+Strong Fixed(less longterm maintenence and more peace of mind in emergency/ridiculous tasks)
>Bad Fixed
>Bad Folder (At least a bad Fixed doesn't have lock failure to worry about)
 
I just picked from your use case scenario, just by preference. I'm curious as to what physics you mentioned though. As I think is what op is trying to delineate. What's the advantage of the CS in your opinion over the crkt?
 
B34NS said:
I just picked from your use case scenario, just by preference. I'm curious as to what physics you mentioned though. As I think is what op is trying to delineate. What's the advantage of the CS in your opinion over the crkt?
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The size of the blade, the size and shape of the handle, the strength of the Lawman's construction over the CRKT's little tang?
 
RX-79G said:
The size of the blade, the size and shape of the handle, the strength of the CRKT's little tang?
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They all play by the same laws of physics though right? Isn't that where skillset comes in handy most?
 
B34NS said:
They all play by the same laws of physics though right? Isn't that where skillset comes in handy most?
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No. This is like saying that it doesn't matter if you're trying to hit a target at 200 yards with a pistol or a rifle. They might be equally mechanically accurate, but one tool is significantly easier for a human to use.

CRKT2385_1005.png

vs.
58AL_m.jpg
 
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Fixed blade > Folder.

That said, for "survival," it's about taking care of your tool, so it can take care of you. Anything can be broken. It's the person using the tool that is ultimately responsible for the outcome.
 
I think that most survival situations would be a short-term unexpected emergency situation. So short of the zombie apocalypse, a good stout EDC fixed blade is most likely what you would have on your person.

In that scenario, short of batoning, and let's face it, unless you're in an extreme cold/wet environment, batoning would not be necessary for such a short-term situation. If you are in an extreme cold/wet environment, there are ways to baton with a fixed blade by disengaging the lock and therefore not damaging the locking mechanism.

I believe that any decent, Stout, folding knife of good quality, good construction, and reliability would do the trick for any needs you might have for a day or two.
 
I wonder how many of the folks who said "you can baton a folder with the lock disengaged" have actually tried it. I have not, but it looks like a pain in the behind, and not something one wants to do for any stretch of time. I say this because I've also seen some concepts that look good in theory, like using wedges, and batoning only as deep as the blade is wide. I recently tried them out, and while the concepts were sound, in practice it was a lot harder than I thought. With practice, I suppose I would have been twice as efficient, but it's still a far cry from having the right tool.
 
bld522 said:
I can't answer the question the OP posed for everyone. But for myself, I never depend on a folder to do anything but cut stuff. That's why I'm perfectly happy carrying only lightweight folders. I don't rely on a folder for defensive purposes. I don't use it for thrust cuts. I don't rely on locks to keep me from injuring myself . . . even Andrew Demko's. And I sure as hell don't use it pry stuff. For me, the ONLY reason to choose a folder over a fixed-blade is convenience . . . I can carry more cutting edge in a smaller package with a folder than I can with a fixed-blade. Otherwise, fixed-blades rule.
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:thumbup:
 
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