American and British knife size difference

[Scottishwanderer]

After reading BCUSA it seems the average american bushcrafter seems to prefer the larger knife but us lot seem to prefer the smaller knives.

I may be way off but thats what it seems like.

What are the reasons for this do you think?

 

[udamiano]

Our Cousins over the pond tend to like big knives, big guns, etc cultural thing methinks

 

[Retired Member southey]

Different cultural influences, social, historic and tv

 

[JonathanD]

Emm would attribute it to something else. Ickle things.

 

[spandit]

Probably less paranoia about being stopped for having a knife

 

[lannyman8]

knives are a way of life over there and big bowies are allowed to be carried around, our knife laws are much stricter and dont allow such things....

 

[Martyn]

....penis size, obviously.

 

[santaman2000]

....penis size, obviously.

That's just a rumor. Ours really aren't that much bigger than yours

 

[santaman2000]

Honestly? Reading back through other knife threads on this forum it seems as if the older members remember when bigger knives were more common in the UK too. I'm thinking it has mostly to do with more wilderness areas here for one thing. but even more with what lannyman8 said. We're allowed to have big knives.

Think about what we (all of us) are doing when we are bushcrafting. We're basically playing in the outdoors. What's more fun to play with? A big toy or a small one?

I look at the modern, smaller knives commonly called a "bushcraft knife" on both sides of the Atlantic. Some of them are beautiful, fantastic pieces of work....BUT... they're really just glorified, very well made, and expensive "steak knives."

My personal reasons? Well partly what's listed above. Partly my experience with smaller knives. When I was a teen I used a medium pocketknife for most of my hunting and fishing chores. It worked very well but....it wore out after the first hundred or so squirrels and rabbits (that meant buying 2 or more per season) And frankly it's difficult to properly clean a fish much bigger than a couple of pounds with less than a 6 inch blade, much less a stringer full (and a 6 inch filleting knife doubles as a boning knife butchering big game)

 

[Wayland]

Just fashion.

 

[mrcharly]

I think that in the UK 'bushcraft' knife use is very influenced by scandinavian knives (particularly Moras), which tend to be 4" or shorter. A longer blade is really of no use when doing small whittling, it just gets in the way.

 

[Retired Member southey]

what about the seax or the lueku?

 

[Retired Member southey]

billhook or dirk?

 

[JonathanD]

MOD Survival. Lofty and CC knives... and I bet there are a fair amount of Kukris in use with UK 'shrafters too.

 

[R.Lewis]

I think alot is down to cultural influence as stated. That and Terrain, The US have proper wilderness unlike here!

 

[mrcharly]

If you go on a basic green woodworking course, they don't hand around saexes or luekus. I can't buy any of those in the hardware.

What gets handed round is a Mora, same as stocked by the hardware in town.

The other influence on US large knives is the use. Lots of US outdoorsy people go hunting and they have large game. A mora clipper isn't the best knife for skinning out a moose.

 

[Retired Member southey]

I absolutly dissagree with your skinning statment,

 

[Bucketosudz]

Although some bigger knives have legitimate functions in certain locales, I for one am not a big fan of larger bladed knives. Anything over a woodlore clone is out of the realm for usefulness outside of the kitchen for me. Even then much can be accomplished by using a simple folding pocket knife with patience. "Different strokes, for different folks" as they say...

As to the skinning bits, I have harvested many deer that the only thing I have used was a Schrade Old Timer folder on. Dad did the same on our Moose for the record. Done properly the only cuts needed after gutting is removing the hide from the head, the rest can be pulled away from the animal if hung.

 

[santaman2000]

MOD Survival. Lofty and CC knives... and I bet there are a fair amount of Kukris in use with UK 'shrafters too.

+1 on the larger knives carried by UK bushcrafters. Also what's seen on the BCUSA forum may not in itself be a reliable indicator of what US bushcrafters are actually carrying. It might just indicate that the bigger knives are the more likely to be shown off on the forums. I have 1/2 dozen pocketknives now and have gone through another 30 or 40 over the years. But other than a couple of classics I would rarely, if ever, mention them. They're just taken for granted.

A thread I started here on BCUK a few months ago would indicate a shared attitude. I asked what members considered the definition of knife sizes. The consensus here on BCUK was:
Small = <3 inches
Medium = 3inch - 5 or 6 inches
Large = >6 inches.

In my experience, that's about the same as most US opinions. Granted there may be a preference for the larger end of the spectrum here.

 

[3bears]

hmmm never really thought about it much until now i guess.... I don't carry anything bigger than a 4'' fixed blade as it suits my need- I don't need to make bamboo huts, chop my way through a swamp, fight a off a bear (lol), or skin an elk. I suppose it comes down to 'right tools for the job' for my needs, and the needs of 90% of the other 'shcrafters in the UK we dont really need big steel as there well, isn't that much to cut over here- it's like having a bigboy rifle in the UK- who REALLY goes after anything bigger than a rabbit hunting over here? you don't need a 50 cal when a .22 air rifle will do the job on bunnies.... right tools for the job is my opinion, but that's me... any thoughts gents?

when it comes to Americans ourdoors, (from watching waaaaaaay too much youtube) you've got folk like Cody Lundin, who I've just seen use a Mora, and people like Ron Hood, who used a variety of tools from that massive TOPS Anaconda to a little SAK. Again, right tools for the job?

is that just me, or is anyone else thinking similar here?