Which do you choose

W

will62

Joined
Oct 18, 2002
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372
If you were limited to taking only one or the other which would you take as part of your survival kit a hatchet or a good folding saw and why?

With a heavy enough knife and a baton I can split small logs. IMHO a saw is easier and safer to use when you are cold, wet and your coordination is FUBAR.

If I had the room I would take both of course...What do you think?
 
The saw. If you are already carrying a bigger knife.

My cheap bushman can split and baton with it.

By the way, what does FUBAR stand for?
 
My Sawvivor, thing cuts like a champ and weighs nothing.

FUBAR - F#%^ed Up Beyond All Repair
 
So you DO have a big knife or not? Usually I bring both, but if I only have a folder or something small, then I bring the hachet. I bring the hachet over anything.
 
Cotton26 said:
I beleive it is F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition, not Repair

And I would take the hatchet.
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Agreed on both counts.

Even if I had a knife as well I'd take a hatchet. hatchet has more versatility than a saw, which has only one primary function. With the hatchet you can chop, split, and hammer. Depending on the axe you can also throw it.
 
This subject has been talked about a lot lately. I agree that a hatchet is more versatile, and I would love to carry one more often, but lately because of weight and size issues, its been my Gerber telescopic saw for me.
 
When I think "survival kit," two things come to mind, small and light weight, and gear only to be used in a survival situation. In this capacity, a survival kit falls into the "just in case" catergory, and not so much into the "gear I expect to use on a daily basis while camping" catergory. In my survuval kit I would pack a pocket chainsaw, and in my "regular" gear I would have a caping knife (for the majority of tasks), a 4" drop point "hunting" knife (wide, thick, and strong for heavy tasks like batoning through wood), and a folding saw. A hatchet is too heavy, especially in a "just in case" capacity.
 
It's kind of a funny question, if you assume that there is automatically a big knife.

If you have the axe there is no need for the knife, I think.

My biggest knife is a Scrapyard Guard...weighs about a pound. I find it totally unweildy for most knife work, to be honest.

For about an extra pound, I can carry a Wetterlings LHA - very nearly a full-on axe which is ten times the chopper that the guard is.

If you have a big knife that is always going to be there, take the saw. If you don't have to take the big knife, take an axe, a saw, and a little mora. Total weight is probably similar, tool ability far superior.
 
For me its an axe or hatchet or what ever. Personally Im much more skilled when an axe, more so than a knife. :eek:
 
As am I, I dont think anything will chop frozen hardwood faster than some sort of axe. I never even bought a big knife until I found this site. But now that I know of them, my lowly hachet has been collecting dust for the most part. It all about batoning this, and hacking that!
 
ilbruche said:
Even if I had a knife as well I'd take a hatchet. hatchet has more versatility than a saw, which has only one primary function. With the hatchet you can chop, split, and hammer. Depending on the axe you can also throw it.
Click to expand...

And you can also choke up on the handle and use it for a lot of things you would use a knife for. I'm also a fan of khukris, but I'm starting to swing around to preferring a hatchet.
 
If I had a stout knife a saw would be my first choice if I was limited to 2 tools. If I was limited to one I would pick a hatchet.
 
My preferences are -

1 tool - a long, thick, fixed-bladed knife, such as the CS Trailmaster or the Swamp Rat Battle Rat.

2 tools - this is a toss-up, dependent on weather, terrain, and other factors. It includes either a big fixed blade + a portable saw or the fixed blade + a Leatherman.

3 tools - most of the time, I'd go with the fixed blade (are you detecting a theme, here? :D ) the Leatherman and the portable saw.

4 tools - now, that's just outrageous :p Or, is it? A big, fixed blade, a portable saw, a multi-tool and a small knife, in the form of a necker, folder, slipjoint folder, etc makes for a very well-rounded and adaptable package, ready to do all manner of jobs. Add a hatchet as #5, and you've got everything! :cool: :foot:

To answer the initial question directly, though, I prefer a portable saw to a hatchet. I always take a large fixed blade with me, so this factors into the saw decision.
 
I'd take a hatchet. No question. I like the weight and cutting ability of a saw, especially the nice clean cuts. But the versatility of a hatchet wins out IMO. You cannot, for example, defend yourself too well with a saw.
 
Big blade and a saw for me. I feel I can accomplish more with a big blade then a hatchet. An axe is a whole different animal.
Scott
 
F***ED UP BEYON ALL RELIEF---1/3 Cav--Czech border--72 to 75--How about BOHICA?:jerkit:
 
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