Why the big knife?

go2ndAmend said:
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 with what you carry - you have a chopper and a utility knife, you are fine.
What you are missing in regards to why others carry a big knife is that they often don't have the small hatchet.

For my next camping trip I will take a big knife:
GR01.jpg


That is 15" total length and 26oz - big enough and heavy enough to do the job of a small hatchet. In fact that is why the big knife! I don't really find axes or hatchets interesting, but I like the Khukuri and WANT to take and use it. If you look at the sheath you will see 2 handles - one is a knife steel, the other is a small utility knife. I could easily leave all my other knifes at home and carry nothing but this HI Ganga Ram into the bush - I wouldn't be missing anything.

If you have a small fixed blade and a hatchet while I have the functional equivalent then why do you have trouble understanding why I would take something into the bush that is similar to what you take? I doubt that there is much weight difference or performance difference between our cutting/chopping loadout. I don't see what I have as better, it is just what I like.

Me: "Why the hatchet?"
You: "To chop wood, why the big knife?"
Me: "To chop wood!"

Is this really hard to understand?
 
DOC-CANADA said:
More and more these threads strike me as being a pissing contest. "I am smarter/more bush savvy than you because I use ___________, while you use ___________."

Use what you like, and if somebody else doesn't like it....................

Doc
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I would expand it to add -

I am smarter/more savvy than you because I use/do not use new miracle steel.

I am smarter/more savvy than you because I did/did not buy an expensive knife.

I am smarter/more savvy than you because my knife does/does not have 'intrinsic value'.
 
Remember, when someone gives you their opinion, you have heard from 1/692030277 of the people on earth.:D
 
dawsonbob said:
Heretic! That's heretical, Bushy! Any right thinking person knows that eggs should be broken only at the small end... or was that the big end... maybe the medium end... and only with a silver plated egg breaker made by one of our fine egg-breaker-makers here on this board.

Breaking eggs in the middle would make too much sense, and there would be nothing to fight over: we can't have that.
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Hell, I just eat the shells.
:cool:
 
As the OPster, DOC's point is well taken and appreciated. I didn't in any way mean to imply that my way is "better" or that any other way is not "right". I was just curious to see what advantage there is that I may be missing by not carrying a large knife. (Maybe subconsciously I am trying to justify buying a large knife!:))
 
I live in the boreal north forest in Alaska. For my environment, I find the small (3-4") belt knife combined with a small ax or hatchet the ideal combo. For other environments this might not be the best combo. I think that is the crux of the discussion is finding the ideal tools that match your environment and situation.
 
yeah well when i go out into the bush i carry a paul chen katana and a husqvarna chain saw..i think i have all my bases covered.
 
G'day to every participant on this post


SouthernCross said:
G'day PM


To add a discussion point, I would be interested to see how the comparison would go if the axe was used with greater accuracy :thumbup:

Have a look at the spread of cuts with the axe in the third pic, compared to the spread of cuts with the KZ in the 4th pic. This is probably best shown in the 5th pic.

Which one do you think removed the most wood?




Kind regards
Mick
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Not a single response to this question :thumbdn:

Why has this question gone down like a fart in an elevator?




Regards
Mick
 
I'll answer it, Mick. But my answer can only cover my own experience. So this being a universally accepted principle is pretty much nill...well, in any universe except mine.

The axe has more weight, a higher forward balance ratio, and a greater swing. It's like a baseball bat with a chisel on the end.

The KZ has a larger blade, a thinner edge and a less effective fluid shockwave-- because of the weight discrepancy.

The axe by its very design is meant to penetrate and displace wood. The longer handle is like an extension of the user's arm, which gives more speed and a greater amount of force in each swing.

The knife, by its very design is meant to cut. This however, does not mean that it can't be used to chop. But when you modify it to do both, you lose some effective ability to do each. Compromise. It is shorter, requires more power at the arm and will not always displace wood.

For me, carrying a large knife (sometimes) isn't about it chopping as good as an axe. It's about being able to make do if I need to. Compromise. My RC5 isn't a great chopper, but if you choke back on the handle-adding length to it--it becomes a little better. It by no means is comparative to an axe, but it will do in a pinch.
By that same token, if I end up having to carve a trap or a fire bow set I can do that with the exact same blade.

I think when we get into the axe/knife combo vs big chopper argument (because, let's face it, that's what it always ends up being) we forget that we might be missing the context as to why or when someone might be carrying each.
 
BryFry said:
How do you do that???
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Swallow eggs whole, or embed a quote within a quote?:D

I have no idea how to swallow eggs whole, but I would imagine — and I'm guessing here, since I haven't tried it — that you would simply copy and paste the quote code into another quote to embed.

Perhaps Cpl. — or someone else who knows what they're doing — would post an answer for us.
 
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