When you watch something about the Amazon how many small knives do you see? [What kind of a question is that??!!!] How many machetes?
The same with any other primitive culture.
ignorant
:yawn: Here's a few truely experienced people that recommend what i said, Tamarack Song, Calvin Rutsrum, tom brown jr, Mors Kochanski, tim Smith. Try skinning a deer with a machete. Here's something Tamarack wrote:
The Native travels as lightly and simply as possible. His choice of tools is based upon what will travel the most easily, be of the most use in a variety of situations, and be repairable - sharpenable in the field. We civilized People have somewhat different criteria in our tool selection, which is why, if you stood a Native next to a civilized Person, in any chosen era, you would see them differently equipped. The closer the civilized Person lives to the Native way, the closer his or her gear will come to the Native's.
Let's look at knives. Whether it be Pioneer Era or contemporary, the average non-Native Person will equip himself with a rather large knife. Witness the Bowie-style knives of the past and the survival knives of the present. In order to make that knife more versatile, two approaches have been used - the Swiss Army knife approach, and the all-in-one-tool approach. With the first approach, various tools are attached to the knife and/or inserted into the knife's hollow handle, to make the knife more versatile. The second approach is to modify the basic tool so that it can perform more functions. Some knives sport serrated edges that can be used for saws and scalers, forked or hooked ends, heavy-duty handles for pounding, and so on. Some of these knives are exceptional examples of Human ingenuity!
The Native will carry a small knife, and a tomahawk or something similar. The knife is used for projects such as carving and skinning, and larger projects are handled by the tomahawk.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach? Neither one, in my estimation, is the right or wrong way. I think the big knives are good for People who spend short amounts of time outdoors, and aren't trying to make it a way of life, and the small knife-tomahawk approach works best for those who are spending longer periods of time outdoors.
The big knives are heavy, and either their size or their all-in-one approach ends up limiting their usefulness in a long-term Wilderness living situation. Most of them are hard to sharpen and repair with what is available in the Wilds. These are not important factors for the weekender or survivalist, and the benefits of the knives often outweigh these drawbacks. The all-in-one tool seldom functions as well as the specific tools they replace, but when the specific tool is not available, it's nice to have the do-everything one!
The Native, or the long-term Woods Person, needs more reliability, ease of maintenance, and better specific performance. The tomahawk can be broken down for ease of travel, and the handle can be quickly replaced with a branch. In fact, to save space and weight, the handle doesn't have to be taken along. The head can be used as an effective chopper, scraper and wedge - important tools for the full-time outdoors Person. The head is light-weight and compact, and can be sharpened with a Fieldstone.
I notice that the choice sometimes has more to do with image than with practicality. Also, experience helps People to decide which is best for them. Those who are going to use their tools in a combination of civilized and Native applications are often more apt to go the big, multipurpose knife approach. Many who initially take big knives into the Wilderness, will convert to the Native approach.
I don't feel that cost should be a factor in determining which tools will serve you best. The big knives can cost up to hundreds of dollars, and the small knife-tomahawk combination can be gotten for under $50.
A word on small knives: The most functional have blades that are around four inches in length so that they are easy to control, they do not have a finger guard, which often gets in the way of intricate work, they are not recurved, so that they can be used as an awl or drill, they have wooden handles which can be replaced in the field, they are made of a thin steel so that they cut rather than wedge, and, like the tomahawk, they are made of an un-brittle steel that will flex rather than chip or break, and is soft enough to sharpen with a natural Stone.
Small knives are safer and more reliable if they have no moving parts. Folding knives are difficult to repair in the Wilderness, and cannot perform as well as a one-piece. Also, the handle should be shaped so that it can be grabbed by either hand, and the knife can be used in either direction. This also allows the knife to be spun in the hands, and be used as a drill
) I would have both 
But just in case, I have learned how to get by with either. Heck I have even worked at trying to get by without either. Broken glass and sharp rocks will get a lot of cutting done.
