Why the big knife?

go2ndAmend said:
At the risk of offending many (whom I respect) here on W&S I am asking an honest question. Why the big knife? I generally carry a fairly small fixed blade (F1) for my cutting needs and a small hatchet (GB Mini) for any chopping needs. I don't know what a big knife would do for me that the above wouldn't do better, except carrying only one tool. What am I missing?
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you are missing nothing. Keep your little blade and small hatchet, and enjoy them.

Your needs do not need any explanation, nor do those of others. ;)
 
For a day hike I carry my CS Spartan, lord knows its great for SD applications, its god awful intimidating for two legged predators and fits the rest of my dayhike needs ie tactical peanut butter spreading, hard core sandwich cutting and extreme whittling.

For camping I have a 10" Long, 1/2" thick HI Chunk Munk that is part beaver, part steak knife and all business.
 
I've said it before, sometimes, bigger is just better!

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Actually, I like small blades in concert with big blades (best of both worlds). My approach is like Doc-Canada's, I wear small-medium blades hiking, and I use big blades on the property and camp. If you made me choose, I'll take the big guys. Someone once said that a big blade can more of a small blades work than small blade can do the work of a big knife.....
 
Yeah use what you like. I have plenty of big knives and I they have their place. I usually have one in the truck and one in the boat for camping. I don't want them hanging on me though. I like to keep it light on my person.

As was mentioned before, to some a big knife means a six inch blade, seldom would a hunter have use for anything larger. It is what you want to do with your knives.

As a kid, I had to chop wood every day, we heated the house with wood, we cooked with wood and sold wood, therefore to me, chopping wood is a chore, no more, no less, If I don't have to do it, I don't. To some who didn't have to do it, it's fun so have at it.:D

I often use a ten inch Chefs knife in the kitchen, so I do use the big knives when I need them.

For camping and hunting, I like the size of the Gunny, F1, JK Hiker and others like the Vanguard size knife.
 
I split and stacked cord wood for years, it's still fun.

I just bought a sierra saw, it will accompany the RAT 7 and BM 720 or other BM folder I decide to take. More of a medium/large blade with the RAT, I'm still looking for a real chopper for a great price.

I like the saw because I think it will afford me more precise cutting should I need to construct anything, doesn't require two hands and is very light.
 
I dont hunt (its prohibitively expensive here), so i do not skin game (other than rabbits, but i still use a big blade). Im also not a chew spitting, porch sitting whittler or carver either.

I chop saplings, logs, trees, stumps.

a small thin blade will bind/not go in far enough, or snap in a big fatwood stump compared to a nice thick large chopper, and the small knife user will be useless after a few hours due to fatigue of making millions of small "chops". A big knife is energy efficient, tough, and fast. Lets see the small knife crowd bring down a field full of alder saplings 6 - 10" wide in a timely, energy efficient manner. By the time you get your first one down, i'll be working on my third or forth. Lets see a small knife user chop down a big douglas fir tree and limb it with your little slippie or 3" "bushcrafter" (god that term is overused :barf: ) knife. Heck i've ditched the de-limbing axe in favor of a khukuri now when i go logging.

from a survival point of view, minimizing energy expenditure is key. A big chopper minimizes the effort while maximizing the wood yield. It can be used for digging too.

not saying there is no need for small knives. I own lots of them. BUT for MY needs, the bigger the knife the better, and the more i enjoy using it.

my top 3 favorite big knives (that i own and use)
- kabar khukuri
- BK9
- SOD
- machet


perhaps the small knife users are looking at us big knife users, and seeing us having so much fun, and are a little "envious" of us ??? :)

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Though I agree that a big blade can basically do everything a small blade can but not everything a big blade does can be done by a small blade, nowadays I'm starting to favor small to medium blades, like a F1 or RC-6. Looking back, if I recall correctly all the times I packed a big and heavy blade, it was used doing chores that a smaller blade could have easily done. On all those occasions the smaller blade would have worked and I wouldn't have hauled the extra weight for nothing.
 
Depends on the blade, but I like large blades because they can do what a hatchet does, but they have a lot of cutting edge as well. usually if I go on a hike or camping I have 5 tools with me. My leatherman, a medium sized thin bushcrafty blade (Most recently it's been my BRKT Kephart), my busse NMFBM, a folding saw or buck saw depending on how far I'm going, and my Gransfors Bruks Scandi Axe. I find there really isn't anything these five can't get done and done well. It's great and neat to try and make one knife do everything. But when you have an assortment of different tools, it makes life a lot easier, at least for me. Now if I'm just taking a short walk, I just take my leatherman.
 
Something I don't understand:

Whenever this topic comes up, folks seem to come up with the idea that big knife users use big knives to the exclusion of small knives. Where does that come from? Most people I know carry a large tool (axe, knife, machete, etc) and a small(er) knife. What's the big contradiction coming from?
 
I like the versitility that a big blade gives. I can do everything I need to do with one.
Scott
 
My condor inca knife is great for slicing focaccia bread for making fried spam and pepper jack cheese samwitches :D
Roy
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Something I don't understand:

Whenever this topic comes up, folks seem to come up with the idea that big knife users use big knives to the exclusion of small knives. Where does that come from? Most people I know carry a large tool (axe, knife, machete, etc) and a small(er) knife. What's the big contradiction coming from?
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I think some of the earlier replies stated that only carrying 1 knife (a big one) was lighter than carrying a small knife and hatchet. It's a fairly common view.

If I had any need for a big knife, I'd still take a slipjoint or mora along too.
 
+1 I've got a 3-4" lockback folder in my pocket at all times. I'll carry something other than another 3" knife.
 
I carry a big knife because it is a versatile tool that can handle trail maintenance, fire prep, light-to-moderate chopping (which is all the chopping I need to do on most outings), food prep, and a variety of other tasks. It is easier to carry on my belt than an axe, so I am also more likely to have it with me if I wander away from camp (which is good). Also, I simply enjoy owning and using large knives. Further, when it comes to customs, a big knife is a great 'centrepiece' tool - a good-sized canvas on which a knifemaker can work his craft. Custom axes are a bit harder to come by (though there are some great makers out there). All things being equal, I would rather carry a custom tool designed by a maker with input from me than a high-quality production axe. But that's just me.

I like axes and hawks, too.

All the best,

- Mike
 
August West said:
I didn't know that, what is so expensive about hunting there. I thought Canada was more hunter friendly than the states. Chris
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licencing and tags. Plus massive regulations and red tape.

I dont hunt because i do not need to. I have a First Nations (they dont need firearm licences, hunting tags or anything) friend who keeps me in deer meat and salmon.
 
Bushman5 said:
licencing and tags. Plus massive regulations and red tape.

I dont hunt because i do not need to. I have a First Nations (they dont need firearm licences, hunting tags or anything) friend who keeps me in deer meat and salmon.
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Bush,

Have they dumped the registry yet?
 
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