Wilderness knife to kitchen work...or is that kitchen knife to take to the Wild?

Jenner 515

Jenner 515

Joined
Nov 27, 2002
Messages
2,145
Earlier this year I picked up a Bark River Canadian Sportsman II in anticipation of a salmon fishing trip and the prospect of alot of filet duties. It performed exceptionally in the role, and has in fact become a kitchen staple for any type of meat or fish prep. Sadly it has lacked a bit in prepping veggies and the like.

Looking for more of a chopper I then acquired a BRKT Canadian Camp knife. For fire prep, slicing meat, batoning through wood, clearing bush, helping in cleaning and preparing a Mule Deer carcass it was exceptional. Still in the kitchen and for meal prep outside...a little thick for efficient veggie prep.

Okay I figured a thinner blade might make it as far as veggie prep. I still wanted something I could pack outside just in case. I then acquired a BRKT Cumberland Trail Proto. Thinner and a tad longer than the Canadian Camp, it handled meat prep, and most veggie prep exceptionally. It being a thinner blade has not worried me at all about having to beat on it in an extreme case...it is a quality cutting tool. Probably the best I own right now.

However...there are some kitchen type duties it struggled a bit with.
Today's menu has Butternut Squash soup...the Cumberland took care of the onion and spices just fine...but, it had a heckuva time with that squash.

Do I need to just give in and get a real good Chef's knife or Santoku and leave it in the kitchen...then continue to carry whatever.

Or, is there ONE knife out there that ya'all would reccomend to do it all? Something that could be a perfect kitchen and wilderness knife?
 
Have you tried some of the Mora knives ?Mora 2000 is an excellent camp/fishing/hunting knife and it could be used with absolute no problems in the kitchen.But if I were you,I would buy a descent kitchen knife :)
 
You can't go wrong with a mora. Plus for the cost, you could try every single one! :D

Sounds like you like barkies, so if you get one of their kitchens knives, it comes with a kydex sleeve. It would make packing nice, and make sure it doesn't get banged up in the "camp kitchen."

I like the big bull nose skinner, and a lot of folks use that for kitchen duty. It looks kind of grow on you, but I like it. I am just weird though.... :D

B
 
Good post Jenner.

Butternut squash is tough no matter what the knife. I don't have a particularly good answer for this veggie as it requires both a solid and sharp knife. The most difficult part is peeling these things when they are raw, especially around the bulbous part where the seeds are stored.

If it is this time of year, and I can buy a large squash for 50 cents, then I usually make my life easier and simply cut the seed carrying part of the squash from the rest of the solid part and throw that away. I then half, quarter, and 1/8 the remaining parts and slice of the skin. I like an outdoor knife for this part and I choose my Breeden Peacemaker - six inches of 1/8" O1 for this.

For regular veggies my preference is for a traditional chef's knife. I like how the handle remains well above the blade edge allowing you to chop by pivoting the blade against the front part and chopping with the back end of the knife, all the while keeping your fingers from encountering the cutting board.

Koyote (Knives by Christoff) makes a couple of wilderness models that have this type of blade and could serve as both a chef's knife in the kitchen and outdoors knife. I believe he calls it the Wilderness II model. Take a look at his website.
 
You might try Bark Rivers Canadian special. They also have some awesome kitchen knives.
 
I use my Mora Clipper to cut around the top of the butternut squash we bought a box of at the farmers market recently. Just like a halloween pumpkin, scrape out the seeds and stuff it with sausage, bread crumbs and onion, sea salt and pepper to taste and bake. Saves me the trouble of peeling and cutting into chunks. Also worked wrapped in foil and left in the charcoal when we grilled.

Best of fun and good cooking,
Mark:)
 
Honestly, I have a bunch of fun using my field knives in the kitchen but nice kitchen knives usually get used once the novelty/newness wears off. Don't get me wrong I fix meals with my BR Canadian Sportsman, Fallkniven S1 and Busse SAR5 for fun but my Henkels santoku and utility knives are a bit more practical.
 
My main kitchen knife is a Bark River canadian camp. I have found this to be an exelent kitchen knife as well as a good camp and bush knife.
 
the other night i was cutting up a huge squash (don't remember the name of it, it was big and gray skinned with yellow flesh and tasted a little like sweet potatoes mixed with artichoke hearts)...it was bigger than most big pumpins i have seen.

i used my 11" antique butcher knife with a nice thin edge. i was swinging it like a machete to cut through the thing. i would have used my machete but it wasn't sharpened and it was still covered in wood-grime from the last time i used it.

it is tough to find a really nice kitchen knife that also serves camp duties...i would recommend trying something like the old hickory knives...they are cheap and thin and good old plain carbon steel.

in order to excell at kitchen duty a knife should really be super thin...which means that it won't hold up to being beat on as well. alot of kitchen knives also have small or slender handles that are uncomfortable for a hard grip like when fuzzing a stick or carving notches...but that are nice when you are mostly just using it to manipulate the blade in the right direction in the kitchen.
 
I don't have one but I believe that if I were looking for one I could do no better than Trace Rinaldi's Tactical Kitchen Knife. I'd go with the CPM S30V option and take the edge convex, thin, and to a high polish. He offers other options too, including extremely pretty.

http://www.thrblades.com/gallery.htm
 
baldtaco-II said:
I don't have one but I believe that if I were looking for one I could do no better than Trace Rinaldi's Tactical Kitchen Knife. I'd go with the CPM S30V option and take the edge convex, thin, and to a high polish. He offers other options too, including extremely pretty.
Click to expand...


WOW. Nice looking but at $400 you could buy 40 Moras or 6 or 8 good standard kitchen knives.
 
The Victorinox 40612 6" 'Boning knife wide, stiff, heavy' is a lot of knife for the money. MSRP ~$21 and it is basically a giant Mora. I have one and like it a lot.
 
HornyToad said:
WOW. Nice looking but at $400 you could buy 40 Moras or 6 or 8 good standard kitchen knives.
Click to expand...

Agreed amigo, and I'll make no secret of the fact it is not worth that amount of money to me. It's just that as an example of a knife exactly fitting the brief I know of no better. Me personally, I'd go Japanese. ;-)

Edit: If I weighted the kitchen aspect just a little more than the general utility I'd be starting with the Fallkniven White Whale [K2].
 
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BK&T Big Bullnose Skinner might be what you are looking for, or mabe a Hudsonbay Camp Knife?
 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

The Trace Rinaldis are a bit pricey...gorgeous but pricey.

I'm probably gonna try a Mora from Ragnar's Ragweed Forge...size to be determined. I'll let you all know.

I do like the look of that Big Bullnosed Skinner I'll check out the Specs it may become a contender.









Or maybe I'll get a good Chef's knife for Christmas.
 
I just take a 6 inch bladed forged germen chefs knife I picked up at a restaurant supply. When I was living outside i kept it sheathed in a bark and ducttape sleeve. My only argument with that blade was that it was stainless steel, It still cuts great.
 
Jenner 515 said:
Earlier this year I picked up a Bark River Canadian Sportsman II in anticipation of a salmon fishing trip and the prospect of alot of filet duties. It performed exceptionally in the role, and has in fact become a kitchen staple for any type of meat or fish prep. Sadly it has lacked a bit in prepping veggies and the like.

Looking for more of a chopper I then acquired a BRKT Canadian Camp knife. For fire prep, slicing meat, batoning through wood, clearing bush, helping in cleaning and preparing a Mule Deer carcass it was exceptional. Still in the kitchen and for meal prep outside...a little thick for efficient veggie prep.

Okay I figured a thinner blade might make it as far as veggie prep. I still wanted something I could pack outside just in case. I then acquired a BRKT Cumberland Trail Proto. Thinner and a tad longer than the Canadian Camp, it handled meat prep, and most veggie prep exceptionally. It being a thinner blade has not worried me at all about having to beat on it in an extreme case...it is a quality cutting tool. Probably the best I own right now.

However...there are some kitchen type duties it struggled a bit with.
Today's menu has Butternut Squash soup...the Cumberland took care of the onion and spices just fine...but, it had a heckuva time with that squash.

Do I need to just give in and get a real good Chef's knife or Santoku and leave it in the kitchen...then continue to carry whatever.

Or, is there ONE knife out there that ya'all would reccomend to do it all? Something that could be a perfect kitchen and wilderness knife?
Click to expand...

Have you seen one of the Old Hickory Nessmuk projects?
I did one and I love it but I don't have a picture handy. They are butcher knives modified into a Nessmuk shape blade. They are cheap to buy and make a fun project and cut extremely well. Here is one from another forum http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/786918/
http://www.knifeforums.com/uploads/1169957316-nessmuk9.JPG
http://www.knifeforums.com/uploads/1169957306-nessmuk8.JPG
 
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