Knives

[pentrekeeper]

OK so I got to thinking about knives - again. Forget the best compromise to get the best all rounder in one knife, this is what causes all the debate and differences of opinions.
Rather than looking for this holy grail of knives how about looking at it a different way - without any compromises how many knives would you need if you had the best design for each dedicated purpose.
Most people carry an axe or bill hook in their kit, even RM, so why would you need a super heavy duty knife that is capable of light axe work an axe would be better suited to.
I know some on here are focused on survival skills with minimum tools and others are more into the camping side of bushcraft so not sure what sort of response this may get.
I am very far from being skilled in any aspect of bushcraft but I will have a stab at it.

1) Skinner - wide thin blade deeper than the handle, could also be used as a general camp knife for food preparation
2) Wood carver - hard thin shallow blade with slender point
3) Crook knife - small double edged curved blade with long handle

That's it for me, given that other tools will be part of your kit, ie a saw and an axe.
Although I am guilty and do own a hand made heavy duty general bushcraft knife having though about it I am not sure I actually need it.

Any thoughts, anybody

 

[bushwacker bob]

My bushy is 3mm thick with a deep,flat grind and convexed edge.Its thin enough to slice carrots without pinging bits all over the place, an exellent wood carver and I use the curved edge to carve spoon bowls.Its strong enough to batten if required.(never HAD to do that exept to make kindling)
Never understood why People carry such thick knives.
I thought the Idea was one tool for all tasks.

 

[Native Justice]

OK so I got to thinking about knives - again. Forget the best compromise to get the best all rounder in one knife, this is what causes all the debate and differences of opinions.
Rather than looking for this holy grail of knives how about looking at it a different way - without any compromises how many knives would you need if you had the best design for each dedicated purpose.
Most people carry an axe or bill hook in their kit, even RM, so why would you need a super heavy duty knife that is capable of light axe work an axe would be better suited to.
I know some on here are focused on survival skills with minimum tools and others are more into the camping side of bushcraft so not sure what sort of response this may get.
I am very far from being skilled in any aspect of bushcraft but I will have a stab at it.

1) Skinner - wide thin blade deeper than the handle, could also be used as a general camp knife for food preparation
2) Wood carver - hard thin shallow blade with slender point
3) Crook knife - small double edged curved blade with long handle

That's it for me, given that other tools will be part of your kit, ie a saw and an axe.
Although I am guilty and do own a hand made heavy duty general bushcraft knife having though about it I am not sure I actually need it.

Any thoughts, anybody

I'll add a few if you don't mind ...

4. Caper - short and narrow with a clipped fine point with minimal belly used for delicate detail work on game animal heads, etc. prior to mounting.
5. Boning/fillet knife - self explanatory, flexible thin blade with medium length and minimal belly with a sharp point, used for removing meat from game animals and getting as close to bones as possible to get every last shred of meat.
6. Machete - used for clearing brush and vegetation.
7. Gut hook/hide starting knife - basically a knife which is either dedicated to opening the hide of a game animal or a knife which has the added feature necessary to open the hide of a game animal. Can be either a hook shape like the Benchmade Rescue hooks (my favorite) and pulled thru the hide, or a knife which has a light curve in the blade with a blunt tip to insert between the hide and the meat then gently pushed thru the hide to aid in getting to the paunch without puncturing the bowels and ruining the meat.
8. General Utility - used for tasks that you wouldn't use the other knives for fear of damage
to the blade, knife or your person. Tasks which also couldn't be performed with the axe or saw. Tasks like opening canned food (Dinty Moore anyone?) when you don't have a can opener, light prying, etc. (similar to a Cold Steel SRK or Benchmade CSK/Presidio/Nimravus).
9. Dive or River knife - usually made of stainless or corrosion proof steel with a variety of configurations including blunt flat tip, serrations, rope cutting notch, skeleton handle with kydex sheath, etc.

Anybody have any others?

Be safe!

NJ

 

[Draven]

To expound on what Native said, you really have to compromise. While it's unrealistic to look for a true "jack of all trades" you can't expect to carry a knife ideally suited to every task you might come across. However, I feel impolite posting without saying how many, so I'd say about a dozen including two different kinds of axe, and assuming I'll be doing carving, firestarting, food prep and shelter building

Atb
Pete