You can only have ONE with you

DOC-CANADA said:
BTW, I think you have the 10" Linders? What's your opinion, or have you used it in the field?
Click to expand...

I haven't taken it afield. Just done some backyard chopping. First impressions are that it's one stout little blade and would be a nice camping knife. It batoned through wood very well and was a decent chopper. I need to use it some more and evaluate edge retention. In the little bit that I used mine, the edge held up well. Not sure what more extensive use would do.

Linder10.jpg
 
Choices:

1 blade type tool allowed - Leatherman Charge

2 blade type tools allowed - Leatherman Charge + Norlund Hatchet

3 blade type tools allowed - Leatherman Charge + Norlund Hatchet + custom Mora

4 blade type tools allowed - Leatherman Charge + Norlund Hatchet + custom Mora + Gerber folding saw
 
I'll play but I have to focus here.

"North American Forest" varies widely from the pine and palmetto jungles of Florida and the coastal south to the hardwood forests of the midwest to the arboreal forests of the far north.

If I am in the deep south my Bark River Golok would be my first choice. Vines and soft wood abound in this environment and big knives like goloks, pangas and machetes are the blades of choice for natives in tropical areas.

If I am deep in the arboreal forests of the far north the wood is VERY hard. In winter it is usually frozen as well. Survival in these environments with out an axe is very difficult. You can make a decent axe from flint, leather or sinew and wood but it is a lot harder than most folks think.


Of course all this is speculation. The game is what single knife.

OK

Give me my Stewart Marsh bushcraft knife;

smbushcraftknife.JPG


It is made from 01 Tool Grade High carbon steel, 59 Rockwell, and is simple flat ground. I can sharpen it on any smooth flat stone and it will strike bright sparks from native flint. It has an ivory Micarta grip that is for all purposes indestructible. It will split wood like a hatchet using a baton. It will drill like a brace and bit if used properly. It excels in food preparation, skinning and boning meat. Anyone familiar with the art of bushcraft will recognize its design and its capabilities.

Keeping my wits about me and remembering the skills I have learned over the years I have used this blade to provide me with most of the basics of survival in a variety of environments and climate conditions.
 
mymindisamob said:
You just made me remember a Boker White Hunter that I had disappear some years ago. I was scared to death of using it, since it was worth almost $100.00 at the time. I really like the look of the Orca. Do you have one, and how is it to use?
Click to expand...


I think the knife your referring to was actually a Puma White Hunter not a Boker but still made in the same town... Solingen Germany and that is IMHO the BEST hunting knife period...production or custom... That oughta start something right there. I've had both the smatchet and the orca and I loved both. but traded them and some cash for a 7mm-08 Magnum Research Lone Eagle... that thing kicks like a mule!
 
I think I would carry the camp knife I got from G L Drew. I got it fairly recently, but have given it a good workout and it stood up flawlessly. It chops great and the back edge is super sharp for smaller cutting tasks.
 
A good sized single bit axe. something with good steel and a way to keep it sharp.

I saw some guys who were woodswalkers when i was little who only carried a riggers axe, which is half hammer and half hatchet, They did everything with them.
 
ontario rtak-1. big enough to to most any job. small enough to carry with you at all times. easy to resharpen in the field which is very important.,,thats my vote,,VWB>
 
J.S. Carter said:
I think the knife your referring to was actually a Puma White Hunter not a Boker but still made in the same town... Solingen Germany and that is IMHO the BEST hunting knife period...production or custom... That oughta start something right there. I've had both the smatchet and the orca and I loved both. but traded them and some cash for a 7mm-08 Magnum Research Lone Eagle... that thing kicks like a mule!
Click to expand...

Yep, you're right about it being Puma. Shows how dependable my memory is.:o
I wish I had used it more before it went South.:grumpy:

I'd like to see that 7mm-08!:thumbup:
 
XMP said:
Guyon, can you even pick one Becker or one Busse, let alone ONE?:)
Click to expand...

No. That's why I usually carry two in my pack, a smaller fixed and a big chopper. ;)

I really don't have that many in the 5" to 7" mid-range though. Just two or three Beckers and the same for Busses.

Beckers: BK-2 Campanion, BK-7 Combat Utility, BK-10 Crewman
Busses: Anorexic Badger Attack, Satin Jack TAC LE
 
Bufford said:
Getting back to the original question here about being stuck deep in the field somewhere, I would go with a good sturdy fixed blade with a sturdy sheath and a blade between 4-6 inches. Doesn't have to be fancy.

Folding knives can break and are harder to clean. A basic fixed blade can be fasioned into a spear for fishing, or for defence against a preditor.
Click to expand...

Almost 9 pages and someone finally said it.

A fixed blade between 4-6 inches is about as versatile and durable of a tool as I can think of, especially if I can have only one such tool. Plus, in a survival scenario, you have a chance of the thing actually being on you. Doug Ritter points out, for example, that large knives are really nice and useful, but when you get to climbing into boats and small aircraft, you'll probably put that big chopper in a bag or something, while the 4-6 inch belt knife has a real chance of actually being on your belt.

I assume that I don't get to pick in advance the tools that I'll have in a survival scenario. I can only carry what I would naturally carry and hope that if a survival scenario comes to me, I'll have what I need to survive. :)

What I'm saying is, if you assume a downed aircraft in the far north on a, say, fishing expedition, chances are I'll have a decent PSK on my belt, a 4 - 6 inch fixed blade on my hip, a neck knife/compass/whistle/small firestarter around my neck, and a folder in my pocket. Heck, I might even have a leatherman in there somewhere.

In a bag somewhere, I'll have a big chopper and/or an axe. Do I get to retrieve said bag from the downed aircraft after the event? :D How about the siltarp, tent, sleeping bag and other camping equipment that's also in that bag? :D :D

These scenarios would be a lot better if someone could explain to me how I got into the situation in the first place. :D
 
When I proposed this scenario I suggested examples like your pack going over a cliff (not retreavable) or an aircraft that sinks (as in Paulsen's story Hatchet). You have one blade on your person. What do you hope it is?
 
XMP said:
When I proposed this scenario I suggested examples like your pack going over a cliff (not retreavable) or an aircraft that sinks (as in Paulsen's story Hatchet). You have one blade on your person. What do you hope it is?
Click to expand...

A fixed blade between 4 and 6 inches long. :D

If I have a hatchet, I'll just chop my foot off. :eek:

If I had a big knife, I'd just trip over it. :o

A fixed blade between 4 and 6 inches long is the biggest knife I ever carry on me personally, and it's all the knife I've really needed in the woods. So that's what I know how to use the best. So that's what I hope I have, if I can have only one. All assuming northern north american environments, of course.

In this thread, people got into makes and models. I don't think it really matters so long as you're carrying decent quality. But for the record, at the moment the fixed blade knife that I carry is a Chris Reeve Mountaineer II. I'm thinking about replacing it with something with a little more traditional handle, though. No decision yet on what that will be.
 
"When I proposed this scenario I suggested examples like your pack going over a cliff (not retreavable) or an aircraft that sinks (as in Paulsen's story Hatchet). You have one blade on your person. What do you hope it is?"
Reply With Quote

My choice stands as is

One important factor is that when you need to survive that it not be your first experience using that blade for that purpose.....ie skills and experience.
I have used my SM Bushcraft knife to perform the functions in question dozens of times. I know it works.

Plus if I am anywhere near, over, or passing through a wilderness area it will be on my person unless it is on a commercial air liner.
 
XMP said:
When I proposed this scenario I suggested examples like your pack going over a cliff (not retreavable) or an aircraft that sinks (as in Paulsen's story Hatchet). You have one blade on your person. What do you hope it is?
Click to expand...
That looks like a change in the scenario. I like the change because it acknowledges that most of us carry more than one knife, but asks, "which of those knives would still be with you after you egressed from a sinking aircraft?"

That would most likely be the Ritter RSK Mk1 folder that I'd EDC clipped in my right front pocket. Since I'm in an aircraft that's sinking the first order of business is to not sink with it, so the bag at my feet which would have my belt knife and the bigger stowed packs that had my other gear would stay in the plane as I got out.

Anybody here going to take the time to leave their EDC blade in order to adhere to the (one knife) rules of this scenario and trade up to a bigger and better knife as an aircraft slips into the deep?
 
:thumbup: I like this version better because this fits my line of work,Aircraft , I fly quite often in small single or twin engine aircrafts and on my belt I have 2 items on me ,LM wave & RAT-3 .So a downed aircraft and climbing or swimming from the downed vessel,These items are by my side.
 
XMP said:
When I proposed this scenario I suggested examples like your pack going over a cliff (not retreavable) or an aircraft that sinks (as in Paulsen's story Hatchet). You have one blade on your person. What do you hope it is?
Click to expand...

I said that my pack has two knives, but the smaller one goes on my belt when I'm out and about in the woods. If said pack goes over a cliff and is unretrievable, I will have the smaller of the two knives on me. Right now, that's a Busse Badger Attack TAC. Its Spec-Ops sheath has a Leatherman Wave in the pouch. I need to work on putting some basic survival gear in that pouch as well (firesteel, lighter, whistle, fire straws, etc.)
 
Part of the reason I proposed this scenario is that I recently realized that I usually have my "best" knife on my pack, not my person, and that I'd better rethink that. I want to be confident I can make do with what I have on my person, not just what is in my pack.
 
XMP said:
Part of the reason I proposed this scenario is that I recently realized that I usually have my "best" knife on my pack, not my person, and that I'd better rethink that. I want to be confident I can make do with what I have on my person, not just what is in my pack.
Click to expand...

Valid point. One reason I bought a Spec-Ops for the smaller fixed blade. I can (and need to) stuff a few essentials in the outer pocket.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top