Why I DON'T carry a large chopper knife.

Shotgun

Shotgun

Joined
Feb 3, 2006
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At the risk of stirring up a hornets nest...well I'm just gonna anyway.:D

I've thought about chopper knives and I like the idea of them. I can see how good they are at doing there job but I came to the conclusion that they're not for me. I'm talking of the thick bowie style Busse/Ferhman type knives not machetes now. The reason? I feel that the skill of the user is more important than a particular tool. A skilled user with a crappy tool is vastly ahead of the game than a newb with the best tool IMO. To that end I chose a hatchet/hawk/axe like chopper to use and get experience with. If there's a disaster of some kind and I'm away from my gear and I happen by a chopper, chances are high that it's going to be an axe or a hatchet if not a machete. I seriously doubt I'm going to happen by a Busse after an earthquake. So I've kind of taken an all inclusive view at my chopper of choice. It's along the lines of the more you know the less you carry. If I have good skill with a hatchet than I can press any hardware hatchet to do what I want when I need it in a pinch and not have to haul my "what if" gear. Anyone else take a wide view of some of your gear and consider abstract "what if's" beyond your immediate needs for that gear?
 
But I already have a Busse, and I can build traps with it, skin an animal with it, chop with it, slice bread with it, make fuzz sticks with it...
 
Whatever works for ya!

Seriously, Which tool isn't as important as the skills to improvise with what you have.

I've made it short term with a cheap pocket knife. But the chores are a whole lot easier with the proper tool. I like big choppers mainly my M-43 Kukri and my custom. However I'm also very comfortable with an axe, just more versatility with the knife.

I would reccomend you pick up a pocket chainsaw and learn how to make it into a frame saw in the field. Or get a 32" bow saw and carry a couple extra blades in duct tape.

I always have a 5" blade as my primary general use blade, and can do most everything with just it. Life is just easier with the added tools.
 
i simply prefer a hatchet to a whopping great knife any day.

a blade around 4-6" and a hatchet? there's a lot you can do with just those two tools.

besides, a good hatchet is a lot cheaper than a good 10" knife.
 
My uses are short term wood processing, shooting lane and other brush clearing.

I have both but find a large knife more versatile and the cutting arc/trajectory less dangerous.
 
I likes ma choppa's. My BK9 is a most prized possession, I use it to make poles for a shelter this weekend, and food prep, and other stuff. I had a FBF Hunter on my side as well.

Your choices are your choices and I commend them. I have a couple of axes and tomahawks, but I don't use them, for me, I like knives. A big chopper will always have a home in my kit.

Good post.

Moose
 
moosez45 said:
I likes ma choppa's. My BK9 is a most prized possession, I use it to make poles for a shelter this weekend, and food prep, and other stuff. I had a FBF Hunter on my side as well.

Your choices are your choices and I commend them. I have a couple of axes and tomahawks, but I don't use them, for me, I like knives. A big chopper will always have a home in my kit.

Good post.

Moose
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I really need to try a 9 :)
 
Glad you have found a well thought out approach that works for you. I believe that is what it is all about (finding what works best for you).
 
I've thought about chopper knives and I like the idea of them. I can see how good they are at doing there job but I came to the conclusion that they're not for me. I'm talking of the thick bowie style Busse/Ferhman type knives not machetes now.
Click to expand...

I agree. I like them and own more than I should but I find myself handier with a smaller blade, machete and/or a tomahawk.
 
Go with what works for you.

The topic of machete vs big chopper vs hatchet vs axe seems to come up every now and then. It always seems to generate a high number of responses. There is no correct answer. It's all personal preference.
 
I try to keep a big knife somewhere close by. Big or small though, I have always found that I will only be satisfied with the knife I'm using if it doesn't drain me while I'm using it. I use small more often but I don't like to force a small knife to work like a big one.
 
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I try to gain experience with as many tools as possible. I've been getting informed on how to baton, correctly. I've never done it, in all my years of backpacking, always had a hatchet, and or machete.
I love big choppers, but have never depended on one for my life. Don't own a Busse, but I have the Junglas, Bark River Golok, and Ontario's SP8 survival machete.
I can use what ever I have. I used to chop wood for the fireplace at home, I've dragged a small tree into a fire, instead of cutting the wood. I've always adapted.
I pratice with a hawk, machete, Junglas, and my Swamp Rat waki.
Of all those, I've only hit myself with the hatchet, glancing blow to the boot.
 
Whatever works for you works for me ;)

I like my choppers, and I like them a lot. However, they are definitely not for everyone.
 
Whatever works for whoever. I like hatchets, tomahawks and choppers. I don't think carrying one makes me less adequate with the other.
 
that's the beauty of it all, we're all different!!

myself I found you get much more done with a chopper,machete etc.. opposed to a smaller blade.. skills aside, I think one should always have a means to do what they need/or intend to do.. grant it I can take a tree down with my Izula, but I like to chop:D
 
Shotgun i understand what you mean. You may have a very nice hatchet and when it get swallowed up in damnation alley, you can find another hatchet somewhere in your neighborhood, but there aren't to many place here in my boondocks that carry 1/4 inch thick, 16 inch long monster chopping knives around here.

You meant how easy a replacement can be had.
 
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I was into choppers for a little while and then I started moving back towards the axe. I had actually forgone the axe for a better part of 2 years relying primarily on knives for my camping needs. I think I've done my axe fast now! I like the machete but around my parts, the machete is less versatile then the axe. Obviously things differ in other places and I like to practice with the machete here and there so that it feels natural to use. I guess I sort of talked myself into axe or machete along with 4" knife and folding or full sized take down saw. I view the small knife as the primary tool and the chopper/saw as axillary ones.
 
whatever one chooses, the main thing is.....getting out into the woods and using a KNIFE, or an AXE!

Liberal Brady types hate that stuff.........

2010/2011 and onward is time to NOT be afraid to wear, carry, or use a knife.

I Am American, Yet I Am Canadian.
hahaha

Big chopper or little bushcraft knife, use em proudly
 
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I have a small hatchet and am thinking of getting an axe. I have sold all of my big knives and my max length knife is 5 inches. I darn near severed my thumb with a chopper once and decided to stick to batonning or using an axe. Safer for a clumsy oaf like me!
 
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