What a good knife to use for cooking and bushcraft

[Batman76]

I have bought a small campervan and I’m looking for a knife that I can use for cooking and when. I get out doing some bushcraft activities trying to find a one does all to save on weight and space within the van. I know that I will end up with a knife collection but what would you recommend to get me started please
I will also be looking for a small shovel and axe and a small survival kit

Thank you in advance

 

[Kav]

Mora Kansbol
Stainless blade for food prep, squared spine and a unique blade with two distinct grinds; scandi that abruptly turns into a thinner section for slicing food.

 

[Bearmont]

I would also say Mora Companion stainless. 15 bucks, slicey, does everything. Great to find out if you're into the hobby. You can always spend more later.

 

[gra_farmer]

While the Mora's are brilliant I have found the manly patriot is pretty spot on for a small do it all knife

Manly Patriot D2 G10

With the Patriot, Manly presents the fixed version of the successful Comrade folding knife.

heinnie.com

 

[Kato28]

It depends of the budget.
A Mora is a great knife for the money, everyone eventually ends up owning one.
They are not the best for food prep, due to the scandi grind. You would also want a stainless steel for this.
They start at about £20 for the Companion, up until £80 for the
full tang Garberg, which is a super knife. I’ve had one for more than 2 years and it beats knives costing twice that price.

 

[Damascus]

Mora clipper, stainless, cheap n practical for food and out door activities. Used one for years, I have one in my food prep box permanently.

 

[Bearmont]

Just in case there's confusion. Mora Clipper and Companion are the same knife. It used to be called a Clipper and just had a different rubber texture on the handle.

 

[R_Fonseca]

Mora companion is a solid choice. Low maintenance with the synthetic handles, but man I don't enjoy cutting veggies with mine... It does the job though, just not a first choice.

So, to muddy the waters... for a food prep knife, I like the cold steel 4116 knives. The finn bear makes a nice kitchen knife for little money and weight.

Both the companions and cold steels have rounded spines though. So you'd need to file the spines square for ferro rod stuff if you wanted to do that. The Kansbol recommended above would be good to go out the box, but I've never used one, so can't comment. Might just add a Kansbol to my own collection soon though.

 

[Mesquite]

My take on it is that most bushcraft labeled knives aren't really suitable for food prep apart from prepping meat because of the thickness and grind.

Can they be used for it, yes but try chopping a carrot with a knife that's 2.5+mm thick with a scandi grind and you'll find it won't slice cleanly and more often than not break the slice off.

 

[Batman76]

My take on it is that most bushcraft labeled knives aren't really suitable for food prep apart from prepping meat because of the thickness and grind.

Can they be used for it, yes but try chopping a carrot with a knife that's 2.5+mm thick with a scandi grind and you'll find it won't slice cleanly and more often than not break the slice off.

So a separate food prep knife and a separate bushcraft knife is the best way to go

 

[Kadushu]

It also depends on what kind of bushcraft you intend to do... and this is how you end up with 300 knives! If you want to do fine carving like spoon carving then a fairly short, thin blade is ideal (+crook knife for the bowl). If you want to baton through logs then a longer, thicker blade is better. The Mora Companion kind of straddles those 2 extremes and does a bit of both. The Kansbol throws in a compound grind so the scandi part is good for woodcraft while the flat grind slices through food more easily.

As for axe and shovel then some idea of budget would help us make suitable recommendations.

 

[C_Claycomb]

So a separate food prep knife and a separate bushcraft knife is the best way to go

Given you have a van, you don't need to count grams and cubic mm the way a backpacker would. A light, thin edged, paring knife with a 8 - 10cm blade will make cutting up veg on a board much easier. It isn't just a matter of the blade thickness, but also the shape of the handle and relation between hand and cutting edge.

Also, washing up a food prep knife alongside other metal items is a good way to dink the edge. Hard to keep up being precious about the edge all the time. A less than razor sharp paring knife will still cut an onion or carrot, but a similarly dull knife will just skate infuriatingly when trying to carve wood.


Axe - Fiskars. Not expensive, available, choice of sizes, no fussing with whether the wood is good on a handle, and very low maintenance.

Shovel. Nothing that folds. Screwfix Roughneck micro shovel that looks almost identical to one Wilko sell.

 

[Mesquite]

So a separate food prep knife and a separate bushcraft knife is the best way to go

That's what I'd do. Also it makes sense on the hygiene level to keep them seperate

 

[Ystranc]

It seems I am not alone in thinking that bushcraft knives with their thick blades are not best suited to food prep. Since it is for a camper van a small sharp knife dedicated to food prep that stays with the cutlery will not take a camper van overweight and will be better for food hygiene. This means you can have whatever you want as a bushcraft knife, no matter how impractical it is for food prep.
If you do insist on having a one knife does everything approach to this then consider the handle which will regularly end up in hot washing up water as well as re sharpening, the grind, thickness, what grade of stainless etc.
I use a brand of filleting knife called Hygiplas which are cheap but good enough quality for the butchery trade (and are colour coded for food hygiene) I do not use a sheath for these knives as a sheath is just a foetid reservoir of disease when used for a food prep knife.

 

[Batman76]

It also depends on what kind of bushcraft you intend to do... and this is how you end up with 300 knives! If you want to do fine carving like spoon carving then a fairly short, thin blade is ideal (+crook knife for the bowl). If you want to baton through logs then a longer, thicker blade is better. The Mora Companion kind of straddles those 2 extremes and does a bit of both. The Kansbol throws in a compound grind so the scandi part is good for woodcraft while the flat grind slices through food more easily.

As for axe and shovel then some idea of budget would help us make suitable recommendations.

Hi a cheaper end one to start with and then I will upgrade as I get more money if I use it much etc

Thank you neil

 

[Batman76]

Given you have a van, you don't need to count grams and cubic mm the way a backpacker would. A light, thin edged, paring knife with a 8 - 10cm blade will make cutting up veg on a board much easier. It isn't just a matter of the blade thickness, but also the shape of the handle and relation between hand and cutting edge.

Also, washing up a food prep knife alongside other metal items is a good way to dink the edge. Hard to keep up being precious about the edge all the time. A less than razor sharp paring knife will still cut an onion or carrot, but a similarly dull knife will just skate infuriatingly when trying to carve wood.


Axe - Fiskars. Not expensive, available, choice of sizes, no fussing with whether the wood is good on a handle, and very low maintenance.

Shovel. Nothing that folds. Screwfix Roughneck micro shovel that looks almost identical to one Wilko sell.

Thank you

 

[Batman76]

Thank you for all the advice and where does everyone buy there knives from in uk please

 

[Mesquite]

Thank you for all the advice and where does everyone buy there knives from in uk please

If you're wanting a Mora knife then all the buschcraft shops will be able to help you.

Personally I've dealt with The Bushcraft Store and never had any issue with them. Heinnie Hayes is also another reputable supplier

 

[Kadushu]

Yup I've used The Bushcraft Store, Heinnie and Moonraker multiple times and never had a problem.

 

[Bearmont]

Also, you can get a 600g hatchet (or small-ish axe, "boy's axe" size, handle about an arm's length) from a forestry or home improvement store. No need to buy a premium scandinavian brand. Buying it in person, you can pick and choose a good handle, which is important. Grain parallel to the head is best.