Survival v Bushcraft?

[moab]

With some trepidation I'm posting this thread in the hope that it has not been covered this way before. If it has i apologise and please point me in the right direction. I have done some searches to no avail. Now to my question.

What would you carry to cope with a survival situation in northern european countries (all times of year) between a "bushcraft" style blade and a "survival" style blade & why? I'm not talking about excessive amounts of time in the situation (ie months) but that which could befell any outdoorsman/woman (a few hours to several days)?

 

[gunslinger]

I think there would be some difficulty in defining one or the other.
ie. what makes it a survival rather than a bushcraft blade.

Other than killing zombies you cant go far wrong with a Frosts or Eriksson.

After all a knife should be sharp,able to cut things,maybe cut or whittle some wood,stand up to abuse. These cover all those bases and are cheap.
I was never convinced until a generous member gave me an Eriksson and TBH I was amazed at how good it is.

So the question remains is it a bushcraft knife or a survival knife.
IMO it would be useful in either situation.

GS

 

[littlebiglane]

Its a funny way you have phrased the question though. A survival situation: which would you rather have - a survival or bushcraft knife? Well I would need a knife that would help me survive. A bushcraft knife will enable me to do that.

By survival knife I assume you mean 'rambo' knife?

Definitions aside - I can't think of anything a 'bushcraft' knife cannot do that a 'survival' knife can do in critical situations. Not sure about the distinction either. I would use a 'bushcraft' knife for survival...I doubt I could use a rambo knife for bushcraft.

 

[moab]

To my mind the bushcraft blade is the popular alan wood/skoocum style whereas the survival blade is more like the f1 style

I'm trying to avoid a lenghty discourse on the fine differences between the two and I suppose the bushcraft blade has a wider role in creating items whereas the survival blade tends to include the "hunting" element in it (skinning etc).

I agree that the bushcraft style is a survival knife in a given situation but if you had the choice?

 

[JohnL]

whats the definition of a bushcraft knife & a survival knife? the fallkniven F1 is popular for bushcraft, but is sold as a survival knife.

If it is good steel, & an appropriate shape & size it is a good choice no matter what sort of knife it is.

generally a survival knife is a bit bigger, so you have more chopping power for shelter building etc. I think this is usefull when you don't have a saw or axe, so I would go survival, but I am not talking about a cheap hollow handled trash.

 

[Zammo]

I think we get to hung up on types of knives, if you watch any programme where Ray Mears meets indigineous people they usually have some totally knackered up knife that serves them fine.

 

[Taiga]

If you are between a rock and a hard place you will be more concerrned about shelter and warmth not whitling spoons,so I would go for a larger knife, leku or A1

 

[Greg]

whats the definition of a bushcraft knife & a survival knife? the fallkniven F1 is popular for bushcraft, but is sold as a survival knife

Its not just sold as a survival knife! It was designed for the Swedish Military as a Survival knife!

If you think about it any knife you have is a survival knife. Whether it be a Woodlore, a Mora, a Kukri, a parang, a bilhook, a Leatherman Tool...the list is endless, but if its all you've got in a bad situation then it's all you will have to cope with!
Our friends in the US all seem to prefer big blades for Bushcraft where as us lot mostly prefer about a 4" blade. At the end of the day you can take advice off people but the decision on what knife is right for you is up to you and you only, no-one else knows what your abilities are!
I would advice you to try a few different ones out and find out which one you are the happiest with handling.

 

[moab]

If you think about it any knife you have is a survival knife. Whether it be a Woodlore, a Mora, a Kukri, a parang, a bilhook, a Leatherman Tool...the list is endless, but if its all you've got in a bad situation then it's all you will have to cope with!

Greg
What would your choice be to carry in such a situation? ( I know its a little false because you are not going to purposely get into a survival situation)

I'm interested about peoples choices in relation to the type of area we are in (generally northern european), as opposed to jungle/desert etc

 

[Greg]

A SFA would be my choice!

 

[wingstoo]

The best, and I mean the very best blade for a "survival" situation is the one you happen to have on you at the time.

It doesn't have to be big, small or medium, stainless steel or high carbon, doesn't matter if it is scandi or convex ground, it would help if it was sharp though.

With one you have something to work with, without one, you don't.

Just ask British Red, after all, he told me

 

[moab]

The best, and I mean the very best blade for a "survival" situation is the one you happen to have on you at the time.

It doesn't have to be big, small or medium, stainless steel or high carbon, doesn't matter if it is scandi or convex ground, it would help if it was sharp though.

With one you have something to work with, without one, you don't.

Just ask British Red, after all, he told me

Wingstoo

If you had the choice of a knife which one would you have with you?

 

[wingstoo]

As I have a good variety of knives, both fixed and folding and ranging from small to large blades, ranging in price from 99p to £60 the one I would want most on me in a survival situation would be of no significance providing I had one on me at the time.

All do the job I would need them to do in a survival situation - Cut!

 

[Tye Possum]

Seems like more of a "what's your favourite knife to carry" kind of question. I mean if you carry a knife, it's going to be the one you have in a survival situation right? You can't plan these things so it's not like one day your going to be like "I feel like I'll be in a survival situation today, I'd better take my survival knife.". Or is it just if you were put into a survival situation and given a choice of knife once out there, what would you choose kinda thing? If it was something like that, I'd choose a... Enzo trapper I think it's called. I've never used one but it sounds like a good all rounder that you could skin with or do woodworking, just as long as it's already been put together lol.

 

[Greg]

Wingstoo has just re-iterated what I said.
You can't choose a knife to have in a survival situation, you might have to use a piece of broken glass, or a shard of rock!
You can't plan these things, you can train for them but you can't plan them. Basically the day you don't have any kit is the day you'll probably find yourself in a survival situation, that's when you will have to use your most important tool - your brain!

 

[Peter_t]

tbh your lucky to have any knife at all in a real survival situation. if i had to pick only one tool it would probably chose a kukri. i havnt had any experience useing one but many people think they are a very good all rounder, cross between a knife and a small axe. also most also come with a small knife and sharpening steel that can also be used to light fires with flint.

i also have great respect for the gurkas and seeing what they can do with them i know i wouldnt go wrong choosing a kukri

pete

 

[sandbender]

What would you carry to cope with a survival situation in northern european countries (all times of year) between a "bushcraft" style blade and a "survival" style blade & why?

Try this thread moab, lots of answers there...

 

[moab]

Wingstoo has just re-iterated what I said.
You can't choose a knife to have in a survival situation, you might have to use a piece of broken glass, or a shard of rock!
You can't plan these things, you can train for them but you can't plan them. Basically the day you don't have any kit is the day you'll probably find yourself in a survival situation, that's when you will have to use your most important tool - your brain!

I understand the realities of this question but the reason for posting was to appreciate the differences bewteen what people think of as a bushcraft style blade and a survival style blade as the tool of choice in this predicament.

Thanks for your response so far

 

[jamie18thmo]

I've always got one or two SAK's with me in my pocket (on keyrings - a Huntsman and a smaller one) except at work, where I generally have a bigger, fixed blade knife with me too. It's nothing particularly special. Just a Remington sheath knife that came "free" with my rifle package. So, chances are I'd most likely have just a SAK on me, which would be a darn sight better than having nothing at all! If I were also carrying my survival tin, I'd also then have a small Orpinel with me too. Carrying a big knife evrywhere just in case isn't really a practical option in a lot of places, but a SAK is more discreet and you're more likely to actually have it on you at all times. When I'm out hunting etc., I carry a Mora. As others have said, whatever you have, just make sure it cuts!
Cheers,
J

 

[trail2]

If I was stuck with one knife and no other tool I think a Leuku would do it for me.
Jon R.