Skeleton Tang Strength - Opinions please

[Totumpole]

On the first point: I normally split several cords of firewood every year from logs bigger than that as a teenager. So NO, it's not much of a job at all for an axe; just another everyday job. It is way too much to expect of a knife though.

Second point: Neithet do I and I also expect to do a "reasonabl" amount of prying (especially when digging roots) with a knife. However, if you're really expecting to do a lot of heavier prying with it, you might want to get a blunt tipped, heavy bladed, diver's knife instead.

BY moderate sized axe I meant something along the lines of a GB SFA. I have certainly struggled with huge logs with similar sized axe, but I suppose mainly when the wood is a bit knotted which is probably where the problem lies. I ended up buying a log greade to pount with a sledghammer for the huge/knotted bits.

With regards to point 2: I am merely trying to acertain what may or may not weaken a bushcraft/survival knife. I don't think I would ever intend on going out and prying open something, but would like to know that if I had to that a design feature of the knife is not going to make it more likely to break on resulting in probable injury, and lack of knife. DOes that make sense?

 

[bushwacker bob]

If it is properly made and not misused it will make no difference what so ever. The Scandinavians are great knife users and most of their knives are pukkos with a rat tail or stick tang. They use knives daily and rely on them in genuine survival situations NOT to break. They don't batton with them as they know how to use them to cut wood.

 

[santaman2000]

...With regards to point 2: I am merely trying to acertain what may or may not weaken a bushcraft/survival knife. I don't think I would ever intend on going out and prying open something, but would like to know that if I had to that a design feature of the knife is not going to make it more likely to break on resulting in probable injury, and lack of knife. DOes that make sense?

Perfect sense. And if you're only talking about "occassional" and "reasonable" prying rather than extreme misuse, you shouldn't have problems with most any good, modern knife.