The perfect "Two Knife" bushcraft set

[JonathanD]

What knife is that?

And full flat.

 

[TeeDee]

What knife is that?

Butter knife.

But he sticks his pinky out because it looks fancy.

 

[JonathanD]

Butter knife.

But he sticks his pinky out because it looks fancy.

It’s not fancy. It’s the correct way one handles ones cutlery.

 

[PoppyD]

Everyone is different and does different things. All of you that know me know that I use one knife. Have done so for now over 20 years. One for all does it for me. That’s for the U.K. That twinned with a Laplander saw does most things for me until I need an axe. For outside the U.K. I use the same knife but with a full flat grind rather than a scandi. But I could easily use that in the U.K. too without any problem. And did for many years. But scandis are so nice for living wood.

How about the one I bought you

 

[shaggystu]

Broch makes an incredibly valid point that it really does depend on how you define "bushcraft", I still don't know and I've been practicing and/or teaching it since way before it was called bushcraft. However, I'm going to go with uncle Ray's version as laid out in his "The Survival Handbook".

So we'll assume that I've got an axe and a folding saw already. I want a 4"(ish) puukko style knife with a blade that's relatively stiff, and some kind of victorinox alox.

If we need specifics then I'd say a Hultafors HVK and a Victorinox Harvester, they've been my preferred tools for some time now, but I'm really not that fussy.

 

[JonathanD]

How about the one I bought you

Used that till my hands were bloody.

 

[shaggystu]

Well you've ruined the damn thing now Jonathan! That's no way to treat a gift.

 

[JonathanD]

Don’t encourage her I’m quite surprised she hasn’t stolen it back. It’s what usually happens.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Don’t encourage her I’m quite surprised she hasn’t stolen it back. It’s what usually happens.

The joys of kiddos that JD

I "donate" no end of kit to my son nowadays

 

[PoppyD]

Used that till my hands were bloody.

View attachment 104291View attachment 104292View attachment 104293View attachment 104294

Awesomes.

 

[shaggystu]

The joys of kiddos that JD

I "donate" no end of kit to my son nowadays

I've seen the size of him Sam, by "donate" do you mean he's mugging you?

 

[Man of Tanith]

I've seen the size of him Sam, by "donate" do you mean he's mugging you?

Holds me upside down by one leg and shakes me until stuff falls out of my pockets

 

[JonathanD]

Holds me upside down by one leg and shakes me until stuff falls out of my pockets

Mine just get picked. I just feel a small draught and the slight whiff of Floris White Rose.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Mine just get picked. I just feel a small draught and the slight whiff of Floris White Rose.

My lads 6ft 3 and an absolute unit.
Subtle is not his forte.

I distracted him with his own knife and other bits of kit as I feel it's educational to have slightly naff/not top level stuff so he learns to do it well with skills not rely on super duper kit, then his mother robs my kit for him to take.
I am outnumbered

 

[JonathanD]

My lads 6ft 3 and an absolute unit.
Subtle is not his forte.

I distracted him with his own knife and other bits of kit as I feel it's educational to have slightly naff/not top level stuff so he learns to do it well with skills not rely on super duper kit, then his mother robs my kit for him to take.
I am outnumbered

Brilliant. Pops is living just outside of Reading now as she’s doing her masters at the uni. I went down with her on Sunday to sort some things out. We rented a small house for her for the five years. And it’s brimming with all my stuff. I can’t even begin to tell you what she’s liberated. It must have taken her a whole week with an army of removal men to remove the amount of swag she’s got down there. I just spent the last three weeks trying to find my favourite hammock. Ripped the place apart. I found it down there Sunday. Clem thought it was hilarious until I pointed out that some of of his Kupilka stuff that he gave me to engrave for him, is down there too. Luckily she has given me permission to repatriate a lot of it. And I have done

 

[PoppyD]

It’s not stealing if you mean to bring it back eventually. It’s borrowing.

 

[Pattree]

The next job is to fit a padlock to your freezer before the next visit home!!

 

[MrEd]

Casstrom #10 SFK and Brisa Necker 70 flat grind.

Small flat grind Brisa for food prep and scandi grind Casstrom for woodcraft and heavier duty work.

Also an axe and a saw!


Pics borrowed from Heinnie as I don't have pics of my own handy.

Almost exactly what I use, except I have an encounter trapper (had years) with a scandi grind and the brisa necker with a flat grind, perfect combo imo.

 

[forrestdweller]

The last two Knives I made earlier this year were close copies of a Nessmuk and a Kephart. It's interesting to see that two outdoorsmen of a similar period and operating in similar landscapes adopted completely different knives

It's suggested that Nessmuk used his knife for preparing fuel, skinning game, and eating with (bringing the food to the mouth). I would suggest it wasn't the best tool for any of those things - but it was probably a reasonable compromise. He used a small folding knife for more delicate tasks and a small double-edged hatchet for the more robust tasks. One could argue he was carrying 5 blades. I actually like the Nessmuk knife, it feels balanced in the hand, chops really well, and has an aesthetic appeal but I don't think I would select it as my main 'robust' blade.

The Nessmuk Holy Trio:
View attachment 104243


View attachment 104244

glad to see i'm not the only one carrying multiple blades (although that has been around since prehistoric times, one of many examples would be "Oetzi" the ice mummy...)
my current set-up consists of ●a 12" machete (i'm in central america... a small parang would work better imho, but they're not available around here), ●"little ben" (=my beloved Ben Orford Woodlander which arrived here a few years ago thanks to a very generous fellow forum member) and ● a Leatherman "Surge"...

 

[Dr_Rez]

I don't even think of a SAK as a knife. It's a compact, lightweight multi-tool which goes everywhere I go.

You should try the larger Forester size with the locking blade. It's a legit pocket folder with great ergos and one handed opening. Blade is very similar to a Spyderco.