You can only have ONE with you

SpookyPistolero said:
That's interesting, do you use a saw?
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I have used a saw in the past (and I've used hatchets and axes too) but I never NEEDED to.
In my youth I have chopped up trees and sawed down trees for firewood, but now that I'm a little older (and hopefully wiser), I have come to realize that it is very very VERY rare to not be able to find plenty of firewood already on the ground...you might have to walk a little farther, and look a little harder, but it's there.

Plus I try to leave the wilderness as untouched as possible so the next camper can enjoy it.

I hate to see some guy chopping down a young perfectly healthy tree for firewood when there's plenty of fallen trees already on the ground.:(

In fact, if I go camping with inexperienced younger guys, or less experienced older guys, I hate to see them bring along an ax or hatchet...
Sooner or later, they're gonna use it whether they need to or not.
There's just something about having an ax in the hand that makes a man want to chop down a tree.
I don't know why but I've seen it too many times.
It's like carrying a firearm in the wilderness...sooner or later most guys want to shoot something whether they need to or not.
 
allenC said:
I hate to see some guy chopping down a young perfectly healthy tree for firewood when there's plenty of fallen trees already on the ground.:(
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Agreed. When backpacking I've never had the need to cut down trees, All you need sometimes is a boot to kick off some dead wood. Maybe if I'm car camping an axe is handy for splitting larger wood.
 
allenC said:
I hate to see some guy chopping down a young perfectly healthy tree for firewood when there's plenty of fallen trees already on the ground.:(

In fact, if I go camping with inexperienced younger guys, or less experienced older guys, I hate to see them bring along an ax or hatchet...
Sooner or later, they're gonna use it whether they need to or not.
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I don't think most here are advocating chopping down of live trees, are they? I hope that's not just something I've missed. I don't think I've ever actually chopped down a live tree when camping. I have, though, found plenty of downed trees that I needed to cut into smaller sections to transport to the fire.

Taking down a whole tree just to feed the fire is a very sad notion indeed.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
I don't think most here are advocating chopping down of live trees, are they? I hope that's not just something I've missed. I don't think I've ever actually chopped down a live tree when camping. I have, though, found plenty of downed trees that I needed to cut into smaller sections to transport to the fire.

Taking down a whole tree just to feed the fire is a very sad notion indeed.
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It is sad.
But I've seen it happen way too often...especially with younger guys.
You give them an ax and the urge to chop down a tree is just too strong to resist.
I've been guilty of it myself.:o

I think there's just something in the nature of men that makes them want to use tools and weapons and such.
Give an ax to a teenager or a young man and take him camping and I can practically guarantee that he's gonna want to use that ax on a live tree at some point.
And I admit that chopping up a downed tree simply cannot compare to the thrill of felling a standing tree.
The temptation is very hard to resist.
 
Allen-

That's a really sad thing to have to see so often, if one has to at all. I'm fairly young myself but haven't really felt that urge. I appreciate you mentioning it if only so that I will be aware of what other inexperienced members of my party might be inclined to do. I'd hate to send someone out to collect some wood, only to hear the sound of a tree being felled.

it's so odd, especially when there are almost inevitably downed trees (much better for burning anyway) in the local area.
 
I don't think I've ever done that. I remember one time I took a few low limbs off a live tree because I was young and dopey.

But for me the most purely fun things to do with axes are throw them and split wood with them, and I do lots of both.

Chopping down trees, even with a good axe, is a timeconsuming bitch.
 
Chopping down trees, even with a good axe, is a timeconsuming bitch.
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Not really.
It can even be fun if you have some land to clear or if you have to remove some trees that are too close to the house.
 
Maybe I'm jaded from the last 3 hackberries I took down. Or maybe the 90+ weather had something to do with it. Just not something that's fun enough to do for no reason
 
hmmm...

eight pages in and no one has stated the obvious... GINSU! :thumbup: :D
 
koyote said:
Maybe I'm jaded from the last 3 hackberries I took down. Or maybe the 90+ weather had something to do with it. Just not something that's fun enough to do for no reason
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Heck, even fishing aint much fun in 90+ degrees.:D
 
When I was younger i used to carry a large bowie when camping. Either one of my Western Bowies or my old Blackjack Anaconda II. When you are hefting a big knife it does tend to make you want to chop things, lol.
Nowadays i use a SAK, a Mora and a small hatchet. Strangely for me the hatchet does not induce the urge to chop. Mostly i use the hatchet as a hammer. The ground is very rocky here, you really need it for driving in tent pegs.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
I don't think most here are advocating chopping down of live trees, are they? I hope that's not just something I've missed. I don't think I've ever actually chopped down a live tree when camping. I have, though, found plenty of downed trees that I needed to cut into smaller sections to transport to the fire.

Taking down a whole tree just to feed the fire is a very sad notion indeed.
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I am advocating chopping down live trees...given that this is a fictional scenario and that might be necessary to live. I have never cut down a live tree while camping - what's the point? The wood is not great for burning, even if you hate trees and want to kill them for the sake of killing them.

Now, I can tell you that up north, a person suddenly stranded without a lot of gear in any season but summer will be cutting down live trees pretty quickly to stay alive. I love trees and hate killing them even when necessary, but I would be making like Cyril Sneer in a heartbeat once the pre-killed wood supply ran out!

At twenty below, with minimal shelter, you can go through a cord of wood every few days. In fact, I would guess that if you fell out of a plane and miraculously survived unharmed, in your street clothes, you would probably burn something like a cord a night until you got shelter together.
 
I'd take a Leuku. Heavy enough for chopping with a 7-inch blade. Plenty of belly for skinning and a large enough handle to help eliminate hand fatigue. I'm also partial to the Scandinavian grind on the blade.
 
I am surprised that no one mentioned the Leuku. I mean, isn't where that blade originated from, the far north? I think it is good to look at what people use who live their. Not that anyones choices are bad, mine aren't that great for what I currently own.

Scottman
 
I am with the others here on the subject of cutting live trees, even though I am 21. I think ignorance and inexperience leads to live trees getting cut, not age. over the past 7 years I have often carried a small Norlund hatchet in my travels to cut kindling, rapidly remove wood for fashioning batons, and paddles. It has also been used to skin game,and process chickens. All I ever use is dead wood I agree it can be found in a vast abundance, not to mention less work, and burns better. But over the long term, I would trust an ax more than a knife to provide me shelter and make my tools. I am sure if I lived in another climate my choice may change, but New England is where I have had my experience and an ax is my choice.
 
Based on the criteria above -- i.e. possibility of being stranded for months/years w/weight not a criteria, I would go with a full sized, fiber glass handled pulaski. I would rather try to improvise tools to do the micro work, rather than the macro. Give me a pulaski and some time, and I could build quite a shelter, and fashion just about anything else I needed....
 
Busse Battlemistress. <<<<Note the period afterwards. It is the hands down best knife for a real life survival situation, nothing else comes close.<<another period.

It can cut a swath through a jungle like a machete, and can still be used for filleting fish, which are caught by the spear it carved. Nuclear toughness is what a man needs in a real life survival situation, and no knife comes close to the nuclear toughness of a Battle Mistress (except for other Busse knives which are also good for a real life survival situation.)

Think about it, why would any one use a lesser knife in such a situation. A lesser knife is just a recipe for failure and sure death when it is the real deal.

Need more convincing, just read Cliff Stamp's review of the SH-BM on his website.
 
knifetester said:
Busse Battlemistress. <<<<Note the period afterwards. It is the hands down best knife for a real life survival situation, nothing else comes close.<<another period.....Think about it, why would any one use a lesser knife in such a situation. A lesser knife is just a recipe for failure and sure death when it is the real deal.

Need more convincing, just read Cliff Stamp's review of the SH-BM on his website.
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I guess I am dead. I know my father and grandfather are. None of us ever owned a Busse Battlemistress. Period. We all used... lesser knives. They worked for us in all sorts of situations from wars to hunting to general woods running. Marbles Woodcraft, Schrade Woodsman... 1095HC and very user friendly. My own Woodcraft is circa 1915-16 and hasn't failed yet. My Woodsman is circa 1969-70 and still manages to skin and butcher a dozen deer a year, make hotdog roasting sticks and tent pegs, dig sassafrass roots and shave willow bark for lashings and for tea.

O.K., I'll admit to also suffering from the "arrogance of ownership" with some of my knives. They work for me so they should be perfect for everyone. Why would anyone pay ten times the price for an unweildy knife just because they are in vogue? Because they are there!;)

Codger
 
Well said Codger, in a survival situation instead of a battle mistress, just saying the name makes me feel funny inside, I would much rather have an old schrade or mora. For the difference in price I could also have a very nice 22 to go along with my "survival" knife. Chris
 
I have to address something here. Although some of us fall prey to our own "Arrogance of Ownership", being proud of our choice in tools is a very natural thing. I grew up using Western, Schrade, Buck and KaBar knives. I thought Cold Steel was high-end and a little too spendy when it came out as well.:eek: I have used and broken many brands and styles, some included in the choices listed in this thread. I have to admit to being a bit of a Busse fanboy, but there is an obvious reason that goes beyond being a "cool" knife "owner". The fact is that my Busse blades have outperformed all other blades I have used, and that is more than a few. Most any blade from them is 1-3 days wages for me. That doesn't sit real easy with my family or myself, but I've managed to scrape, save and trade up to a few of what I've wanted. I'm willing to pay for something I'm going to use, as long as it performs. I look at it like I do any of my woodworking tools I make a living with now. I'll use whatever works, but if there is a better made tool, and I can afford it, why not. I'm not a knife snob, I just like great knives. ;) Many of which you folks have named. My choice may change though. I'm waiting on my WSK from Daniel Koster, and some of you guys have posted me into submission and considering a "Nesse".;) :D
Alright, I'm stepping off my soapbox.:o
 
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