Knife & Fire On Your Person

[Mungo]

My friend Yoyar is preparing to leave for a 14 day solo canoeing trip through the north west area of Algonquin Park. Lucky devil.

He was watching a Ray Mears video yesterday (Canoe Journey), where he proclaims the importance of having your 'knife and fire kit on your person at all times'. Mungo agrees with this. Cleverly, Yoyar believes this applies to him and writes that it will be

"...useful if those giant eagles come down from Middle Earth and make off with my pack. (I always worry about that happening)."​

Cough. Eh-hem. Anyway... He has a new Frosts Mora knife and sheath and has attached it all together thusly:



He used the Figure Eight Follow Through to secure the line. He also added a half hitch on the free end to add a tiny bit of extra security.

The gold caribiner attaches to the belt loop on the knife sheath. The red caribiner will attach to his belt. This keeps the knife close to his hip but dangling somewhat below so that it doesn't bind against his hip when he bends. Smart thinking, I think. I neck-carry my knife, for a number of reasons. One reason is that hip-carrying is uncomfortable for times when I kneel down and the sheath bites into my hip. The dangler is a great idea. It won't get in the way of the pack either while it is on his back. The fire steel and striker hang from the cord and go in his pocket.

Cheers,

Mungo

 

[alpha_centaur]

You really have to watch out for those pack snatching eagles, apparantly they also like picnic baskets

or is that Yogi bear

 

[Air Pirate]

I've noticed that the water is adept at snatching only the most important gear on a canoe trip, nevermind giant eagles.

 

[Goatboy]

I always have my firesteel in the lovely pouch that Spaniel Man (above) made me on my person, even at work. As to a blade I know that the law of the land doesn't like us carrying them, but I've carried a blade in my pocket since I was a kid - nightclubs (whuch I no longer frequent excepted). I now rely on the fact that I'm a fat respectable (ish) looking chap to let me get away with it. I like to give the smaller ones a turn depending on where I'm going and what takes my fancy in the knife drawer that day.

TTFN
Goatboy.

 

[Prawnster]

If it were me I wouldn't tie them together. I could stand to lose one or the other but not both. Firesteel and striker and I can still make fire, break twigs with my hands. Knife and I can make fire from a friction kit that I would whittle. Both lost together? Hmmm

 

[Barney]

Makes sense really to have them on your person on a 14 day canoe trip. The possibility of canoe upturning and kit going overboard must be rated as "probable". With my canoe skills it would be "certain". It sounds like a wonderful trip.

 

[lamper]

I'm with Prawnster on this one.

I normall wear my Firesteel round my neck.

 

[Mistwalker]

Well....it's not the Eagles he has to worry so much about as the pesky Orcs that open hidden passages in shelter rocks and come out and steal your stuff....and maybe you as well. Or perhaps even that big monster in the lake over-turning the canoe.

Since Bryan made the sheathe of this knife this way for me I really like having my knife and firesteel together, although I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut away part of the loop/pouch in order to secure it better now that I've worn a good bit of it off making fires. I need to have him make the smaller one like that also.

 

[Pict]

Keeping a knife and fire-maker on your person is always a smart idea but especially when packs can get lost in those deep, deep Canadian lakes.

I did a trip in Algonquin a few years ago and had a USMC Ka-bar on my belt. At one point I met up with an old guy and he started into a tongue lashing in French, clearly upset I was wearing a knife. I don't speak French and it's probably a good thing. I should have told him off in Portuguese and left him wondering. Mac

 

[cheapeats]

About the llose fire steel attach a thong to the steel and slip it around the holding strap for the knife.

 

[Tye Possum]

I did a trip in Algonquin a few years ago and had a USMC Ka-bar on my belt. At one point I met up with an old guy and he started into a tongue lashing in French, clearly upset I was wearing a knife. I don't speak French and it's probably a good thing. I should have told him off in Portuguese and left him wondering. Mac

Really? Hmm I would have thought that an old person who likes to hang around in the woods would know the importance of a knife... Then again I guess that park gets a lot of city folk coming in.

I was thinking the same thing as Prawnster but if your knife is really secure and on you and not a pack then I'd imagine it would be one of the things that has a good chance of staying on you, a firesteel on the other hand is small and often without a pouch so if you tie it onto the knife then it's got a good chance of staying with you as well. Though I'd think that tying it onto a belt loop or having it around your neck (under clothing) would do just as well but without the risk.

 

[Nonsuch]

Don't firesteels disintegrate if they get wet ?

 

[HillBill]

I have heard similar. Yet mine is fine. They are supposed to be an all weather lighting option.

 

[sandbender]

Don't firesteels disintegrate if they get wet ?

Apparently yes, it was discussed on this thread. However it may be brand related problem, I have never had it happen to me and I used to live in wet 'n' windy Scotland.

 

[Pict]

Don't firesteels disintegrate if they get wet ?

Yes they can corrode if left damp. Salt water will eat them apart very quickly. I coat mine with clear nail polish before every rainy season. Mac

 

[Nonsuch]

Yes it was salt water, not fresh water, that kills them

Thanks

 

[helixpteron]

Don't firesteels disintegrate if they get wet ?

Oh', I thought that that only happened to Gremlins!

On a more serious note, I'm a very firm believer in having one's personal survival gear in a body worn configuration, especially when paddling.

 

[Mistwalker]

Keeping a knife and fire-maker on your person is always a smart idea but especially when packs can get lost in those deep, deep Canadian lakes.

I did a trip in Algonquin a few years ago and had a USMC Ka-bar on my belt. At one point I met up with an old guy and he started into a tongue lashing in French, clearly upset I was wearing a knife. I don't speak French and it's probably a good thing. I should have told him off in Portuguese and left him wondering. Mac

Might have been more about the size of the knife than a knife in general. Back when I used to carry my Ka-Bar here it took a few looks and a couple of comments to realize that a seven inch combat blade was a bit out of place in a state park...so I switched to a six inch bladed survival type knife (my SOG Bowie) instead , and now I have ordered a smaller knife with a more natural colored handle to suit my EDC needs.

One thing I meant to mention, and since we're on the subject anyway, is that I learned the hard way just how much a fire steel can oxidize under extreme humidity conditions.

This was a brand new out of the pack, never been sparked firesteel and then I took it into the shop where I worked and showed it to a friend and sparked it a couple of times. This is what ten hours of a lot of sweat can do to a firesteel in your pocket.....and this is after scraping off some of the oxidation.