Best edged tool combo for bushcrafting

[Geoffrey]

Hi guys, I am wondering what you prefer for edged tool combos for bush work? I am waiting for an Allan Blade Bushcrafter, its in the mail as of last friday. I plan to get a Bahco folding saw, I have a swiss army knife, and here is where my question comes in...

What should I get to do the heavier bushcraft work. A small hatchet, GB Mini, Wildlife hatchet, or a largish knife a Valiant GOLOK POTONG, or another large knife 8-10" blade.

I am not wondering which particular knife company or particular tool to get. I am more wondering which tool a small axe/hatchet or a large knife/kukri/bolo would meet more needs in the bush.

Tasks that I need it to fill, split firewood, cut material for wilderness shelters, do heavy wood work, rough out bows, snowshoes, sleds etc...

Open to all opinions.

Thanks.

:super:

 

[TheViking]

A SAK, a smaller fixed blade (about 10-11 cm) and a leuku with a 21 cm. carbon blade. That covers my needs.

 

[RovingArcher]

I've been relying on a SAK or similar folder w/saw, a Becker BK-7 fixed blade and a T handled saw.

I will continue to carry the utility folder w/saw, but have ordered a BRKT Northstar as my primary bush blade and have already stashed the Becker into my rucksack for the heavier chores.

 

[hootchi]

Try this
http://www.survivalschool.co.uk/shop2004.htm
The gransfors small forest axe or the wetterlings small hunting axes are both nice size and weighted axes. The gransfors is the more prestigeous.
These should satisfy your axing needs! Personally I dont use a smaller fixed blade as my fixed blade in in the middlish.

 

[Gary]

Small fixed blade (3.25") and a lapplander folding saw for 99% of the time.

Leuku is a nice and very useful addition but not essential - however I general always carry one.

Axe errrr, maybe in the boreal forests but not really needed in uk for general bushcraft applications (as long as you have the top two!!).

 

[eraaij]

I am waiting for an Allan Blade Bushcrafter, its in the mail as of last friday.

You lucky dog. Mine is at least 4 weeks away. In what configuration did you order it?

My preferred carry is a small fixed blade, my Wave and the Bahco folding saw.


-Emile

 

[Geoffrey]

I got lucky a saw a Bushcrafter for sale on his website under currently available. It has standard handles I think, mosaic pins, standard blade finish, flat ground with convex cutting edge. Also the sheath has the firesteel holder. Not bad, I was on the wait list for more or less the exact same thing. Got it for $89US not too bad since the firesteel holder adds $2 and the mosaic pins add a few $$$ too.

I will post some pics once I get it.

Geoffrey

:biggthump

 

[Lithril]

GB Mini is fantastic, can do many jobs that the bigger axes can with surprisingly little effort. Failing that and before Jack gets it in, you can't go far wrong with a Billhook!

 

[Stuart]

I find Puukko, GB mini, saw combination covers eveything

 

[tomtom]

im with Stuart.. get a decent "bushcrafty" knife and a folding saw and a little hatchet and you will find you have got pretty much ever situation covered!

 

[Tantalus]

yeah some good suggestions

you could buy a spork too and save yourself the necessity of carving spoons

if you find you really enjoy carving stuff with the knives you have then you can think about getting a knife more suited to carving later on

personally i am an axe fan , and a little bigger than the mini axes too but they are difficult things to lug about

as for axe preferences, apart from size, i think it is very much down to skill and practice, you will adapt your style to suit the axe

cant see what a saw can do that a reasonable axe cant

get one, and work with it, get the blisters and the muscle pains, its all part of the learning

Tant

 

[Metala Cabinet]

cant see what a saw can do that a reasonable axe cant


Tant

Try using both saw and axe in confined or awkward situations (in dense growth or above your head) and you'll soon see the usefulness of a saw.

 

[Hoodoo]

I always find these questions interesting because there's a lot of factors that go into it: time of year, climate and location, previous skill level, etc. And then when someone says bushcrafting, do they mean sleeping under a tent, tarp, or building a shelter? Do they have a warm sleeping bag or is fire a critical element for their survival. Or maybe they will be building a bark shelter with no fire? One day, one week, one month? Lots of factors to consider. Just like there's no magic pill to take for all ills, I also don't think there's a magic set of tools or survival kit, etc, for all trips into the wild. When you read books like Larry Dean Olsen's Outdoor Survival Skills, he favors the truly primitive approach. This is also true of the McPherson's books, although their videos show them using several types of cutlery, including a nice bolo for splitting out and shaping a stave to make a nice primitive bow. Mors Kochanski also uses a variety of tools but flintnappers like Jim Allen (Sleep Close to the Fire) tend to gravitate towards the more primitive route.

So I think the answer is that you take the tools you feel most comfortable with, given what you feel your skill level is and what you plan to accomplish while you are out there. Ultimately you have to decide what your goals are and work towards them. Whatever tools you take, you should know them well and practice with them A LOT before you go. I can't tell you how many stories I've read of experienced trappers and wilderness explorers who have wounded themselves in the wilderness with an axe. It happens to the best of them. The more I use small hatchets, the more I tend to favor them over axes, because i think they are much safer to use, especially if you do your splitting and chopping with a baton. Combined with a small saw, you can get plenty of standing timber and split it up to keep you safe in cold or hypothermic conditions. But mush your foot once with a 3/4 axe and you may have a bushcraft experience you will long regret.

The trappers and explorers needed larger axes simply because they often built cabins and also traveled for extended periods of time in the winter months and relied on large amounts of wood to keep them warm. I think that's much less typical of the modern bushcraft crowd. If you want to go that route you can, but before you grab the bigger axe and head out, you really need to ask yourself if you will really need it and if you feel comfortable enough with it to use.

Now, climbing off my soapbox , I will say that I often find a use for pliers, so a good multitool can solve some nagging problems sometimes and I've never regretted carrying one and almost always have one kind or another when I'm in the bush.

 

[TheViking]

So I think the answer is that you take the tools you feel most comfortable with, given what you feel your skill level is and what you plan to accomplish while you are out there. Ultimately you have to decide what your goals are and work towards them.

I agree (on the whole post). :biggthump People shall/should take what works for them. Meaning that there's more than one way to skin a rabbit. Every tool has advantages and disadvantages.

 

[EdS]

got to say it - billhook

 

[JFW]

Always be aware that no matter what cutlery you decide to use remember that they all have a tendancy to bite you at one time or another, so once you have your preferred tools get yourself a decent First Aid Kit that stows in your pack/on your person at all times.

Cheers

JFW

 

[Viking]

4" knife and then combine it with somekind of saw, axe or leuku all depending where I am going or what I am doing. A leatherman can be really good if I am in need of repairing things.

I think that you can come a really long way with just a 4" knife, if you know how to use it right...

 

[tomtom]

cant see what a saw can do that a reasonable axe cant

Reduce the chance of the tree getting infection

 

[Gary]

Also as Mors Kochanski says -

'A saw you can learn to use safetly in a few hours, an axe can take a life time!'

Also (apart from making clean cuts for the tree to heal) their is the weight issue (why burden yourself needlessly) and in use a saw is more energy efficient.

 

[Hoodoo]

Also as Mors Kochanski says -

'A saw you can learn to use safetly in a few hours, an axe can take a life time!'

Some of the best outdoor advice ever given. A little too much enthusiasm to "chop something" can lead quickly to a disaster.

I spend a lot of time alone in the outdoors and whenever I'm using cutting tools the thought ALWAYS pops into my head: BE CAREFUL YOU IDIOT because if I screw up here, it could be serious. The farther you get off the beaten path, the more serious any cut becomes. Slice into an artery and it might be the last thing you ever do.