bush craft without a knife

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

g4ghb

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 21, 2005
4,321
246
54
Wiltshire
light a fire, make shelter and feed yourself.....

what else do you need to do?:D
 

g4ghb

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 21, 2005
4,321
246
54
Wiltshire
you aren't allowed to purchase a knife but there is no law stating that you can't have one!!

as long as you are on private property with permission there is no reason to not have / carry / use one.

but as mentioned there are lots of things you can do without a knife......
 

Matt.S

Native
Mar 26, 2008
1,075
0
36
Exeter, Devon
What g4ghb said; you can't yet buy one but no reason why not to own or use one, within the law. (AFAIK, there are no differences between what a minor and an adult can do with a knife in law.)
 

darrenh

Member
Apr 20, 2010
31
0
new forest
there might be no difference in law but ask your parents first,discuss it with them why you want it and that it is a tool not a weapon,in this age your parents COULD be liable in court ect.
 

Ahjno

Vice-Adminral
Admin
Aug 9, 2004
6,861
51
Rotterdam (NL)
www.bushcraftuk.com
If you learn to knap flint tools / scrapers etc. and learn to use it you have 1) learnt a usefull skill; 2) no need for a knife; 3) may be seen as a purist and expert ;) Impovise, it's the core of all things bushcrafty :)
 

g4ghb

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 21, 2005
4,321
246
54
Wiltshire
So, from the list above there doesnt appear any reason to have a knife, have I missed somthing ?

There are plenty or reasons that a knife makes a job easier - you asked what you could do without one ;)

carving things is a tad of a chore without one for instance and as lots of bushcraft tools and gadgets are made from wood......
 

bikebum1975

Settler
Mar 2, 2009
664
1
49
Connecticut
Im only 14, Im not aloud a knife am i?


My Grandfather bought me my first knife was just a small Swiss Army type knife but I was only bout maybe 8 years old I think. Had one ever since with me As said you may not be old enough to buy your own knife yet but no reason you can't have one just realize it's not a toy it's a tool and nother thing don't bring it to school with you. But it is very handy to have one specially if you like fishing and stuff like that.
 

_scorpio_

Need to contact Admin...
Dec 22, 2009
947
0
east sussex UK
well i have had knives since i was 3 and so i know they are tools and i dont mess around with them. this means i now (15 years old) have well over 40 knives and axes, machetes etc. it depends on the tolerance of your parents and your own responsibility...
 

Tjurved

Nomad
Mar 13, 2009
439
3
Sweden
Many so called bushcrafter are more like knife-lovers :D. I think you gonna learn alot without a knife. Actually I think you might benefit from it a great deal. Learn to use the bush without a knife and you will always manage...
 

shaggystu

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2003
4,345
33
Derbyshire
in one of RM's books he says that in an ideal world bushcrafters shouldn't be carrying a knife at all until they've learned how to do without one, i'm not sure that i completely agree, but he has got a good point. one theory of bushcraft is that it's all about getting nature to provide for you, some of the true purists would say that means that you should be able to get everything you need from nature. unfortunately it's pretty much impossible to walk naked into the woods and find everything you need to live so we compromise, we wear clothes, carry a shelter and a sleeping bag, cooking pots, water bottles, food, stoves etc. etc. once we've got all this kit why do we need a knife? shelter, food, fire, water, all sitting in my rucksack ready to go, none of them need cutting up, they all work fine as they are. i think what you should be doing is looking at the bushcraft skills you'd like to learn/practice and working out how to do them without a knife. that way, in a couple of years when you've learned some real bushcraft skills, you can tell all the rest of us iron age men with our obscenely technologically advanced cutting tools about it and watch us all cry.

cheers

stuart
 

spiritwalker

Native
Jun 22, 2009
1,244
3
wirral
you can buy a swiss knife now with a rounded point so slightly safer and more convincing for your parents to let you have one it also doesn't lock and will be legal carry when you are old enough, at least then youll be able to practice some skills as a basic blade is very useful especially for carving up salami :-D
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,613
239
Birmingham
The point of Bushcraft for me, is to learn skills that have fallen out of use due to the advance of technology. Flint knapping etc has to be one of those skills.

I would see if you have a local group of these Baden Powell Scouts. They should teach you the basics of axe, knife, and rope work.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE