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are knives only for autists or do we really need them?
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May 14, 2016 14:45
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Professor Tomtom posted:are knives only for autists or do we really need them? yes, knife is probably second-most important tool after axe. first-most in places without trees
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May 14, 2016 15:57
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Buy an inexpensive mora knife, stainless unless you use it often/take care of it, throw it in your pack along with a lighter. You will thank me, internet person, later.
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May 14, 2016 19:58
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Free Market Mambo posted:Buy an inexpensive mora knife, stainless unless you use it often/take care of it, throw it in your pack along with a lighter. You will thank me, internet person, later. This, except in carbon, and the care needed is not a huge amount. Clean it, put some oil on the edge and it'll be fine. Let me get this out of the way: I own a knife store. That said, you don't need to spend an arm and a leg to have a great camping / bushcraft / survival knife, but a knife is an essential item that should be on you at all times when camping. Cody Lundin did multiple seasons of Dual Survival with the Mora Classic 1 around his neck, and this is a knife that retails for around $14 - http://www.moraofsweden.se/construction/classic-1 Get a decent carbon steel fixed blade. Try for something with a full tang if you can. Recognize that it's a knife, not a pry bar, or a hammer, or whatever else. You aren't going to be ninja killing enemy troops with it, so avoid the giant rambo knives. Likewise, don't buy huge machete style knives unless you actually need a goddamn machete and are hanging out in South America or other tropical environment. Ounces add up to pounds and pounds equal pain when you are humping your equipment. Get something small enough that you can clean small to medium game with it. If you use your head instead of trying to be a moron, a decent small fixed blade will handle 99% of your misc vaguely knife related camp tasks. I get people coming in my store constantly going "I want to buy this $300+ survival knife I saw on a TV show / in a magazine and I want it for bushcraft or my bugout bag or the zombies!!!" and think that's going to work out for them. Meanwhile they don't have a means to purify water, or know how to build a fire, or whatever. Get a decent, under 4" fixed blade. Kit up the rest of your gear. Then when you have the rest of your survival stuff sorted, come back and buy something better. The difference between a $250 and $50 knife aren't going to matter so much to a novice, so save the rest of your money and spend it on other essentials - water, shelter, pack, fire, medical, compass, etc. Knife, compass, map, personal medical kit and personal small survival kit, all are "First Line Gear" that you want with you, on your person at all times. Picture the worst case scenario where you fell out of a boat while white water rafting or you lost your backpack to a bear or some stupid bullshit. One of your moron friends burned down your tent and campsite. A flash flood hit the area. Whatever. My personal recommendation is a Mora Bushcraft.- http://www.moraofsweden.se/adventure/bushcraft-black I like the ergonomics of the handle and it's not big enough to be inconveniently heavy or bulky. If you lose it, big deal. If you prefer stainless, here's a bright orange version - http://www.moraofsweden.se/adventure/bushcraft-orange They are coming out with a full tang knife called the Garberg later this year that looks ok; didn't speak to me when I handled it but it'll probably sell pretty well. If you wear gym shorts hiking and don't have an actual belt, you can look at neck knives like the KaBar Becker 11 or 14, or the Condor Fidelis, or the Tops Tibo If you have more money and want a decent knife you can hammer on, look at the Ontario RAT 3, or KaBar Becker 16 (my personal favorite) - http://www.kabar.com/knives/detail/166 - Street price on these is still under $100 and they have 1095 blades which is a workhorse carbon steel that will hold up if you give it a minimal amount of care. The Benchmade Steep Country has S30V stainless and is available in black or orange and retails for $115 Once you have a street price over $100, the return on investment starts dwindling pretty quick, and you run into people who aren't actually using their tools but want something they can brag about owning. That isn't to say that there aren't great knives over $100. The thing is that there's nothing magic about knives, it's all materials science and construction technique. 1095 steel is 1095 steel so when you have a 1095 knife from one company that is selling for $90, and one from another that's $160 and they are virtually identical, what are you paying for? Often times it's the name. If you are going to pay for a premium, make sure you are paying for materials, and not someone's ego, and always pay for steel first - S30V, S35V, CTS-204P, CTS-XHP, S90V, M390, etc. Make sure it has a decent handle: G10, Micarta, Dymondwood if you like that stuff, rather than Kraton or other bullshit. Make sure the construction is solid, don't buy some bullshit hollow handle garbage that you saw on QVC or at Walmart. Look at the Benchmade Bushcrafter, or the ZT Hinderer Field Tac or the Chris Reeve Nyala, but really there's a ton of great stuff out there. Just buy quality.
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May 14, 2016 20:40
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^^ good advice
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May 14, 2016 21:49
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Only thing I've ever used a knife for while in the back country is cheese 
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May 14, 2016 22:13
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OSU_Matthew posted:Only thing I've ever used a knife for while in the back country is cheese I've used them for cheese, salami, and splitting wood, making kindling... Never had a scenario where it was absolutely critical but knives can be helpful. I've got a benchmade barrage and a benchmade bushcrafter and a leatherman wave. Of all I think I use the barrage the most while camping. The leatherman is more useful outside of camping. The fixed blade one (bushcrafter) is really nice but it's just too much knife in general I think.
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May 14, 2016 23:03
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Don't pry anything with a knife in 154cm or s30v, btw. It's incredibly hard steel but it will totally chip, the lack of flexibility working against it. Source: Benchmade's fantastic warranty
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May 14, 2016 23:06
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I have a fellkniven A1, I regret the purchase. Great knife, but at that size, why not have an axe. Learn axecraft and be a happy woodsman.
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May 14, 2016 23:09
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Free Market Mambo posted:I have a fellkniven A1, I regret the purchase. Great knife, but at that size, why not have an axe. Learn axecraft and be a happy woodsman. fallkniven f1 is basically an overbuilt mora made of vg10 stainless and $100 more knife than most people need . the a1 is pretty much a combat knife, which is fine if you are carrying a pistol on your first line gear but overkill for everyone else A mora and a small estwing or gransfors or wetterlings or condor hatchet is a good pairing
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May 15, 2016 01:41
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i have a gransfors american felling axe, hell of an axe. would strongly recommend any of their products. i've seen wetterlings in action too and they seem pretty solid
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May 15, 2016 05:14
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I love my knife and my saw. I can do fuckin anything.
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May 15, 2016 07:03
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I have a few knives for different reasons. I have a 3.5" Gerber full tang knife that I like a lot. I've used it to split kindling, cut thick rope, clean game etc. I bring it on hunting and car camping trips mostly. I have a Gerber paraframe folding knife that's my usual go to pocket knife, nothing fancy but it works and it's not heavy. It's cut a lot of backcountry cheese but it's mostly just in my pocket on a daily basis. I have a Swiss army ranger? that I prefer to use on backpacking trips. I have a Leatherman multi tool that I like a lot but that mostly just stays in my truck. I have a few other little pocket knives but really I mostly just use the Gerber pocket knife for most things.black children posted:i have a gransfors american felling axe, hell of an axe. would strongly recommend any of their products. i've seen wetterlings in action too and they seem pretty solid I was originally looking at those for a while and settled on the husqvarna felling axe which is made in the Swedish hultafors factory but sells for $65. It's a great little axe and sharpens very well. It came with a shave sharp edge. It's in my truck when I go hunting, camping or hiking. You never know when a blow down can block your route home. Honestly though I'm going to pick up a chainsaw really soon. Firewood on camping and hunting trips will be much easier not to mention the times I've been blocked by down trees.
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May 16, 2016 03:51
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yes, i've seen the husqvarna axes too and they seem pretty good especially for the price range. get a stihl saw
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May 16, 2016 06:59
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Oh I forgot - buy a silky saw, specifically the Pocketboy: http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws/Folding-Straight_2/Pocketboy-170mm-Saw-1007#sthash.wWNcBvZc.dpbs This thing is unreal. A couple years ago there was a downed tree on the trail about 100 yards from our campsite - it had easily 6"-8" branches. After setting up camp and getting comfy in my hammock, I watched people struggle over it for the rest of the afternoon and early evening - because of the terrain features (it fell across & down in a draw / hill) people couldn't easily just walk around it. The next day I decided to attack it early in the morning and spent about an hour and a half clearing the large limbs off and breaking it down into chunks. i had the trail cleared before breakfast and it was much much easier to for people to get through after that. I usually use it for breaking down deadfall for campfires, it goes right through wrist sized limbs with a quickness and is great for making leantos or other shelters. I'm debating getting one of these: http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws/Folding-Curved_2/Bigboy-2000-XL-Teeth#sthash.pl3RFf02.dpbs or this one: http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws/Curved_2/Zubat-330mm-Handsaw-1608#sthash.N1go3i49.dpbs
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May 16, 2016 17:27
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quote:Oh I forgot - buy a silky saw, specifically the Pocketboy: http://www.silkysaws.com/Silky_Saws...h.wWNcBvZc.dpbs anybody ever get into making your own knives? it's easy and fun, you can do it with just a mill bastard file and an oven or a charcoal fire if you really want to. (obviously it's nice to have a few more tools but you really don't need to spend more than like 20$ at the most to get started). sometimes the knife that's best for you is one you make yourself! black children fucked around with this message at 17:47 on May 16, 2016 |
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May 16, 2016 17:45
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Ultralight MYOG option: get a thin chain saw chain and cut it as short as you like. Eats would surprisingly fast  .
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May 16, 2016 20:21
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Free Market Mambo posted:I have a fellkniven A1, I regret the purchase. Great knife, but at that size, why not have an axe. Learn axecraft and be a happy woodsman. i agree with your first post as it's pretty much what i post in all these threads, and this one i agree with too. the problem with the whole big knife argument is that they seem to forget you don't actually really save much on the handle size because you have to find a decent and dense bat sized log to then baton your big knife to emulate the stuff a hatchet or axe will do better also big knives get used very little and are what got rambo beat up by the cops and lead to all the bloodshed in rambo first blood not entirely related but i will say some words: plastic handles on axes are retarded
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May 20, 2016 17:29
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black children posted:yes, i've seen the husqvarna axes too and they seem pretty good especially for the price range. get a stihl saw husqvarna buys the 'seconds' or slightly imperfect axes from some classic swedish forges, they used wetterlings til roughly 2009 or 2010? when it probably became too expensive they switched to hultafors they don't tell you that, but i own 3 and it proves true if you look at pictures or compare the dimensions/style of the axe. i'm actually super impressed with the heavy hultafors hatchet and use it the most out of my axes, despite wetterlings being more expensive and having a more famous reputation among the dudes in my woodworking group
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May 20, 2016 17:37
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They're really good, you want one. A good knife is a good knife and also a small prybar or scraping item or tinder maker or splinter remover or nail cleaner or a million other things, I can't count the times a reasonable pocket knife has helped me out. It's one of the original tools, you know? Plus if you want to be unreasonable like me these days and get a benchmade they'll even sharpen the thing for you for free for life
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Jun 15, 2016 08:45
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We can be Bros, extra stout, and can discuss the finer points of axemanship and making a fool of yourself on skis. I will disagree with you on the plastic axe handles in one instance, a Fiskars splitting maul is surprisingly nice and low maintenance.
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Jun 15, 2016 10:48
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Also, learning to sharpen your own knife is easy and makes life better. Something like a hoodoo hone is light weight, cheap, and will save you frustration. Start with a carbon steel scandi-grind knife and learn the basics, takes 5 minutes.
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Jun 15, 2016 10:50
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Free Market Mambo posted:We can be Bros, extra stout, and can discuss the finer points of axemanship and making a fool of yourself on skis. this is good news, i have yearned for your friendship since i learned of your occupation and i feel lesser as a man ever since my 'make birch skis with a hatchet' project turned into a bookshelf because the ends had fissure cracks or whatever they call those kinds of dried too fast cracks in your neck of the woods i understand a lot of people like plastic handles, but the bigger and heavier the tool, the higher the impact, sure it is fine now, but it really is a matter of time until a thousand plastic shards litter the earth and maybe your eyeballs once it does finally give in. if it were american hickory it'd split in two, maybe three pieces, and you'd toss them into your next fire. you could then use a pocket saw and a hatchet or a heavy knife to carve a new handle on the spot please just admit you have fiskars stock and that it's making them a lot of money, but secretly you wish they were putting hickory or at least maple hafts on there
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Jun 16, 2016 16:50
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Don't get a camouflage knife, you'll lose it 1000% faster
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Jun 16, 2016 17:09
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I got an infection up in my cuticle, can a knife help me with this, alternately, can we make a funny list of things that a knife can do or help with? Thanks!
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Jul 11, 2016 20:58
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Any particular recommendations for a fishing knife? I'm planning on catching some trout (in new zealand)
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Oct 9, 2016 01:14
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Cumslut1895 posted:Any particular recommendations for a fishing knife? I'm planning on catching some trout (in new zealand) I don't know anything about the size of new zealand trout ( I figured you guys only had neon colored deep ocean fish or some poo poo honestly) But the earlier compliments about morakniv / mora knives remain true. They make a fillet knife in two different sizes, 20-30 dollars on amazon I think.
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Oct 9, 2016 05:08
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Rainbow trout have been stocked in just about every water body known to white man. Thanks Britain, most Americans don't even know what a native trout looks like! Tbh, you only need a small penknife to clean fish (unless they're bigger than your forearm), maybe 3" blade. Serration doesn't help.
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Oct 16, 2016 13:02
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sky shark posted:This, except in carbon, and the care needed is not a huge amount. Clean it, put some oil on the edge and it'll be fine. Look at this joker who didn't mention ColdSteel ONCE. 
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Dec 13, 2016 21:55
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coyo7e posted:Rainbow trout have been stocked in just about every water body known to white man. Thanks Britain, most Americans don't even know what a native trout looks like! 🤔 Not sure how you can blame Britain for this, rainbows are from the western US and widespread stocking only started in the late 19th century
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Dec 18, 2016 18:11
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