your feelings on big fixed blades

I love big knives!! But other than in the yard or near my truck, I seldom use them.... like a couple times a year. The use certainly doesn't justify the cost. Only the cool factor justifies the cost for me. I was all set to buy a Fletcher made Griffin X and talked to him about it.... then I thought about it and told myself this was another extravagance and not something I should just do for the hell of it because the use and need does not justify the cost. So, I didn't. It is also why I don't own a BK-9 and it is not the money part, it's the use. I do own a BK-7. Unless I'm away from people, I feel really funny (uncomfortable) carrying a really big knife when I know I don't need it.

If I am car camping, I carry along big knives to play with. I also carry at least one machete and for wood I tend to go with the Condor Pack Golok. For brush or wispy vegetation, I want to have the Condor wood handled El Salvador or the 14" Puerto Rican machete if I am walking a ways and not cutting much. I have found that I much prefer these to the regular Condor Golok and I have several of them.

I have gone from large to small to medium sized fixed blades for my general woods knife. I am very comfortable with a 5-6" blade on relatively thin blade stock. The BK-2 is NOT for me. My latest is a Bark River Wilderness Explorer model with a 5.7" blade. My target was 5.5" when I was looking to buy and I ended up with this as I just like it a lot. I thought it might be a tad long for me to be comfortable with both carrying and using. Feels great in the hand and I don't think I'd have much difficulty using it for smaller tasks if I need to. But I always have a folder with me for that (unless I loose it ;) ). But loosing a knife is not a common event for me. Can't see myself buying another fixed blade for a good while as I have plenty to choose from even if I decide not to use the Barkie.

Generally speaking I don't care for hatchets. I'll take a stiff machete for chopping small wood. Saw works better overall and if I think about it, I'll have a small Silky folding saw with me. Chopping dry or dead wood can be a pain, sawing is easier and more efficient. I seldom really need to chop dead wood for a fire unless I'm doing it for fun. I'll usually just feed the wood into the fire and keep moving it into the coal area to burn as it is consumed. But you have to watch it and I don't want to start a forest fire.

Added: I don't believe in the "One Tool" option. I have never had to survive and I have never spent a night in the woods that I wasn't prepared for or planned. But right now, if I want the one tool, it's the new Barkie in Cru-wear.
 
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I use my Busse B11 to delimb fallen trees and to sometimes split firewood into smaller pieces.
 
It's like any other tool, you may not need it very often, but it's nice to have when you do need one. I only have a need for a big blade about 3 times a year, but I'm glad I've got one.
I don't have much need for a jackhammer, but I've got one for the few times I have to break concrete.
 
Ajack60 said:
It's like any other tool, you may not need it very often, but it's nice to have when you do need one. I only have a need for a big blade about 3 times a year, but I'm glad I've got one.
I don't have much need for a jackhammer, but I've got one for the few times I have to break concrete.
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You own a jackhammer. That's different unless you're in the construction business. Me, I'd rent one and have. Knives.... the only time I have missed having a big knife with me is when I needed a machete and didn't have one with me. I do keep one in my truck however. The last "big knife" I purchased was a Condor Moonshiner. Cool blade!
 
22-rimfire said:
You own a jackhammer. That's different unless you're in the construction business. Me, I'd rent one and have. Knives.... the only time I have missed having a big knife with me is when I needed a machete and didn't have one with me. I do keep one in my truck however. The last "big knife" I purchased was a Condor Moonshiner. Cool blade!
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It's just a pain in the butt to have to go and rent one. Sometimes they're not in very good condition. Plus, it's about two hours of my time to rent/return. I've got a Bosh Brute which I think is equivalent to a 60lb hammer. It'll take me about 3 years to pay for it but what the hell. And yes, I'm in construction, plumber by trade. Actually, I've used a 10" camp knife more on the job than at home. It does come in handy at times.
 
I've got one 20 inch +++ machete, and one Kabar USMC. Do I really need them? Not really, but there is something about the size and feel of a big knife that is just fantastic. Been drooling over some of the bigger ESSEE knives for a while.
 
a four inch knife like Falkniven F1 is great one knife option. It would obviously excel at the smaller tasks. Saws and Axes are what I use for wood processing.
 
Big blades are fun. They're good for doing things the manly way. But I cut up about 60 chunks of firewood with a Silky saw yesterday, and I'm fairly certain it would've taken me 3x as long and I wouldn't be able to lift my right arm today if I had done it with a chopper.

It really boils down to what you want to do. If you're playing with your tools, go for the big knife. Its way more awesome.

But if you're actually working, bring a saw and a hatchet/axe to pair with a little 3" blade.
 
Car camping covers almost all of my time in the woods. I like a good chopper, and always take at least one. Along with a machete. Oh, and an ax or two. Smaller fixed blade is always with me.
 
If I had to go quick and light I have a ranger rd9 piggybacked with a tak mod(4 1/2” ,154cm) and a 2 1/2” blade hawk with 20” handle and hammer poll. This I also belt carry with a swivel leather and steel hammer holder. I guess I’d carry my rtak2 in a sling across the back to double as a machete if I needed one.
 
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I'm preparing bugout bags for our family(brother and his gf, my mom, and myself). For ea person I'm expecting to take 3 knives.

- one, 3 to 4 inch folder
- one, 5.5 to 7 inch fixed blade
- one, machete or kukri

No single knife can do it all and it's better to have them in the trunk of a car than not.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
I'm preparing bugout bags for our family(brother and his gf, my mom, and myself). For ea person I'm expecting to take 3 knives.

- one, 3 to 4 inch folder
- one, 5.5 to 7 inch fixed blade
- one, machete or kukri

No single knife can do it all and it's better to have them in the trunk of a car than not.
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Don’t forget the tactical shovel or spax!
 
Grease said:
Big blades are fun. They're good for doing things the manly way. But I cut up about 60 chunks of firewood with a Silky saw yesterday, and I'm fairly certain it would've taken me 3x as long and I wouldn't be able to lift my right arm today if I had done it with a chopper.

It really boils down to what you want to do. If you're playing with your tools, go for the big knife. Its way more awesome.

But if you're actually working, bring a saw and a hatchet/axe to pair with a little 3" blade.
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This ^^^ ! :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
I love to play with BA knives , machetes , Khukri , and swords . You can do a lot with a big knife in the woods that a small one just can't handle . A big un is clumsy for precise work but it's easy enough to carry along a small fixed or folder with the big . Big is ~10" and above . Chopping or clearing trail with less is a PITA .

For serious work with wood , saw and / or camp axe .
 
When I first got into knives about 2 years ago, I loved big blades.
Now my tastes have changed and my favourite blade length is about 4.5-4.7" blade length. I generally dont do much that requires anything more than that. A 4.7" blade feels the more comfortable and relaxed in my hand.
 
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