I don't understand the desire to chop with knives. They simply aren't good at it. Trying to make them big and heavy enough to chop wood with even marginal effectiveness only ruins them for their legitimate purposes. Bowie-style knives are a badge that says "I got my outdoor skills by watching Rambo and Crocodile Dundee".
As a retired military pilot (and current airline and bush pilot) with several survival schools and exercises (and two crashes) under my belt: There's almost never a need to chop wood for fire. You'll just waste energy and give yourself blisters. Simply burn the ends of the logs, or burn them in half. And no need to clear the forest with a knife for rescue helicopters, they can drop you a line as easily as landing. As for shelter-building, an axe and a shovel would be nice. But I don't see that a Rambo knife would be an improvement over a Mora.
The knives issued to military pilots are junk, made by the lowest bidder. Those of us who were serious about survival replaced them. The only reasons they're larger and heavier than, say, a Mora, is that they might be used to hack through a plexiglass canopy or to fight with. I replaced my issued Ka-Bar with a Buck "Nighthawk", and my issued pilot survival knife with a 4" Kershaw. I still have both. The Buck has hardly ever been used. Even though it's an improvement over a Ka-Bar, it's still too large and awkward for almost everything.
Nor do I understand that oft-repeated axiom. I can't imagine a skillful shooter having only one firearm any more than I can imagine a skillful whittler having only one knife, a skillful cook having only one pot, or a skillful reader having only one book.
... I will lay out the Military aircrew/pilot ejected over northern europe in winter as my case provenance... You might need to create shelter, make fire (chop wood for fire), and possibly clear a space for a rescue helicopter to land. That is why the MOD survival knife is basically a short, heavy chopper...
As a retired military pilot (and current airline and bush pilot) with several survival schools and exercises (and two crashes) under my belt: There's almost never a need to chop wood for fire. You'll just waste energy and give yourself blisters. Simply burn the ends of the logs, or burn them in half. And no need to clear the forest with a knife for rescue helicopters, they can drop you a line as easily as landing. As for shelter-building, an axe and a shovel would be nice. But I don't see that a Rambo knife would be an improvement over a Mora.
The knives issued to military pilots are junk, made by the lowest bidder. Those of us who were serious about survival replaced them. The only reasons they're larger and heavier than, say, a Mora, is that they might be used to hack through a plexiglass canopy or to fight with. I replaced my issued Ka-Bar with a Buck "Nighthawk", and my issued pilot survival knife with a 4" Kershaw. I still have both. The Buck has hardly ever been used. Even though it's an improvement over a Ka-Bar, it's still too large and awkward for almost everything.
... Beware of the guy who only has one gun, because he knows how to use it...
Nor do I understand that oft-repeated axiom. I can't imagine a skillful shooter having only one firearm any more than I can imagine a skillful whittler having only one knife, a skillful cook having only one pot, or a skillful reader having only one book.