View Full Version : Best Bushcraft Knife
Fire Starter
07-08-2005, 20:06
Hi every one
I have just joined this fantastic forum and the one thing that puzzles me is people. People and their obsession with comparing knives and knife makers. Surly the knife is just the tool and its the person behind it that creates with it.
Would an incompetant driver of a small car be a better driver in a Aston Martin.
As a boy growing up I could not afford a knife so I reshaped and sharpened an old butter knife and happily carved with it for many years.
I recently read in one of Ray Mears book that and I quote 'In bushcraft folding knives are virtually useless ' WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH '.
I have carved and completed many different tasks using fold down knife for many years.
innocent bystander
07-08-2005, 20:24
Hello Fire Starter.
That's people for you. You should look on the BB forum if you want to hear about this maker, that maker, and frivolous torch collections. Some people like shiny shiny toys. I know. I'm one of them :D
And i also admit i would rather use fixed blade long term. And i own several folders. But to be fair to RM, he does say "virtually", so i don't think it's an outright dismissal... :)
But i klike your approach - it is closer to what BC is about isn't it... :)
BorderReiver
07-08-2005, 20:53
The "best" knife for any task is the one that you enjoy using. :)
Ogri the trog
07-08-2005, 20:55
Have to agree with both of you.
Any knife that does the job you want it to do and can reasonably be expected to last the duration of your time away from the means of replacing it, should be the ultimate item. Sure we'd all like to own a shiney, cool looking example from the best of the best, but in the end if a posh knife means you can't afford a good sleeping bag or other piece of kit, your enjoyment of the whole event is marred.
ATB
Ogri the trog
simonsays
07-08-2005, 21:22
The "best" knife for any task is the one that you enjoy using. :)
Or the one you have with you......
Simon
Fire Starter
08-08-2005, 13:03
Have to agree with both of you.
Any knife that does the job you want it to do and can reasonably be expected to last the duration of your time away from the means of replacing it, should be the ultimate item. Sure we'd all like to own a shiney, cool looking example from the best of the best, but in the end if a posh knife means you can't afford a good sleeping bag or other piece of kit, your enjoyment of the whole event is marred.
ATB
Ogri the trog
I have to admit - I find a flake of flint works wonders for me and keeps it's edge for the duration, I have one or two scars to prove it :)
Hi every one
I have just joined this fantastic forum and the one thing that puzzles me is people. People and their obsession with comparing knives and knife makers. Surly the knife is just the tool and its the person behind it that creates with it.
Correct. You should see the BB forum. We are exemplars of moderation and frugality by comparison...
Would an incompetant driver of a small car be a better driver in a Aston Martin.
Naturally not, they would merely be incompetent at greater speed, and attract envious gazes from the unenlightened ;)
As a boy growing up I could not afford a knife so I reshaped and sharpened an old butter knife and happily carved with it for many years.
My first was a discarded sheath knife I found in the woods, de-rusted, re-handled (orange string :D ) and sharpened up, and which served me well...
...I think my dad found it and pinched it in the end.
I recently read in one of Ray Mears book that and I quote 'In bushcraft folding knives are virtually useless ' WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH '.
I have carved and completed many different tasks using fold down knife for many years.
Not without their limitations, though, in my experience. I love my Opinels for fine woodwork, cleaning fish &c, but most folders don't stand up well to batonning, as the pivot starts to suffer after a bit. Not an issue if you have an axe
I'm fairly happy with just an opinel and a hatchet for most circumstances. I do have a fair pile of shiny toys about the place, though. My old-style Mora is starting to take over from the clipper as my favourite, though, and they are the 2 cheapest fixed-blades I own!
Jim.
Q: What is the best survival knife?
A: The one you have with you.
Basically, it boils down to personal preferance, a knife that you are comfortable using. And so, if you are faced with a survival situation, the knife that you are carrying with you, the one that you are most comfortable with will be the one that you use.
Everyone has their own personal preferance about their choice of knife. Some people swear by the Parang. Others, an Opinel. I swear by a Victorinox, I'm completely comfortable with it, and I've never had any problems with it.
I don't think there is such thing as "best bushcraft knife." Don't you think that's kind of like saying "My rucksack is the best in the world," or "My Hiking boots are the best."?
Just use what you are comfortable with, and that's all a person needs to do!
Be well,
Adam.
Q: What is the best survival knife?
A: The one you have with you.
Basically, it boils down to personal preferance, a knife that you are comfortable using. And so, if you are faced with a survival situation, the knife that you are carrying with you, the one that you are most comfortable with will be the one that you use.
Everyone has their own personal preferance about their choice of knife. Some people swear by the Parang. Others, an Opinel. I swear by a Victorinox, I'm completely comfortable with it, and I've never had any problems with it.
I don't think there is such thing as "best bushcraft knife." Don't you think that's kind of like saying "My rucksack is the best in the world," or "My Hiking boots are the best."?
Just use what you are comfortable with, and that's all a person needs to do!
Be well,
Adam.
FLODDER'S PARADOX: "If the knife you have with you is not the one you are completely comfortable with (or comfortable with at all), is it still the 'best'?"
BorderReiver
09-08-2005, 18:55
FLODDER'S PARADOX: "If the knife you have with you is not the one you are completely comfortable with (or comfortable with at all), is it still the 'best'?"
Why are you carrying a knife you don't like :confused: :D
Why are you carrying a knife you don't like :confused: :D
Testing the old chestnut, "The best knife is the one you have with you," the issue was "best."
But to answer your very reasonable question:
> The "rules" bar carrying otherwise.
> can't afford it (or replacement for the one lost)
> Testing out a knife for some reason, you discover you don't "like" it.
> It's what was available at the time in the drawer/boot/box. You didn't expect to go bushcrafting.
> You liked it until it broke.
(Fire Starter's point taken. U.S. "Mountain Men" got by with what were, essentially, butcher's knives --- plain carbon with cheap wooden slab handles, not particulary hard, < 1/8" thick. We obsess over knives/blades. Ain't it grand?)
bushwacker bob
10-08-2005, 00:11
(Fire Starter's point taken. U.S. "Mountain Men" got by with what were, essentially, butcher's knives --- plain carbon with cheap wooden slab handles, not particulary hard, < 1/8" thick. We obsess over knives/blades. Ain't it grand?)
But if someone came along and offered them a decent modern knife,they would have jumped at the chance of 'better kit'.Just as we all do today!
The General
10-08-2005, 02:11
There are folders like my Strider AR that can handle battoning no problem. I think Ray is no where near as aware about what is available on the market as he thinks...
As an example 01 steel is easily outclassed by A2 Tool steel in every respect and yet he still harks on about carbon steel this and carbon steel that! A2 IS a carbon steel and it is MUCH better than 01. Ray is not as aware as he thinks...
Why is 01 so popular? Because its a good steel and very forgiving to heat treat and work. A2 is a more complex heat treat steel but holds a better, keener edge longer, is tougher, more stain resistant and just as easy to sharpen. In fact A2 is easier to sharpen, holds an edge just as well and is tougher than S30V.
I am not as good a bushcrafter, but then I don't claim to be.
RovingArcher
10-08-2005, 04:21
I sure do like my A2 NorthStar. The full convex grind, balance and over all feel make it a superb working knife in my opinion.
Any of the Mora's will out work a host of higher priced knives and I'm partial to the 2000 model, but also like Frosts clipper/SwAK blades. There's just something about being able to spend 10-30 bucks and end up with such great working blades.
I have to agree, that compared to a fixed blade, the average folder is lacking in strengh for many of the more strenuous tasks, but there are exceptions to that rule. Unfortunately, I havn't had the opportunity to use any of them.
Myself, I feel naked when my Victorinox Hunter SAK isn't on my belt. Nope, it's not strong enough to do many of the chores I'd ask a Mora to do, but if it were the only knife on me at the time, there are other ways to get to the heart of a piece of firewood.
IIRC on RM's recent DVD he uses folding knives to make birch bark containers...So not so useless after all :cool:
In Rays defence on steel I seem to think he states that any high quality tool steel is good.
I don't know what steel any of my carbon my knives are made of. I know what steel is used in my stainless knives. I know they all work though
There are folders like my Strider AR that can handle battoning no problem.
OK, I have to confess I don't have many knives I'd be prepared to use *as* the baton... :D
Why is 01 so popular?
Because I can get hold of it! I'd love to use 1084, or 1095 or the like - but it really isn't as readily available as O1 in a known form. Still, it lends itself well to both forging and stock removal, even with hand tools. The likes of D2, for example, does NOT. No experience of A2, but I know Jim Hrisoulas has his MAD6 pattern weld - M2, A2 and D2 layered & patterned.
Added - urgh. With that much chromium, it is going to be stiff to forge by hand... I must post a piccy of a piece of D2 that someone forged too hot, too cold, too hot, too cold... It went like cottage cheese.
Fire Starter
10-08-2005, 16:16
[/QUOTE]Because I can get hold of it! I'd love to use 1084, or 1095 or the like - but it really isn't as readily available as O1 in a known form. Still, it lends itself well to both forging and stock removal, even with hand tools. The likes of D2, for example, does NOT. No experience of A2, but I know Jim Hrisoulas has his MAD6 pattern weld - M2, A2 and D2 layered & patterned.[/QUOTE]
Well - This exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about in my opening thread. :p
I rest my case.
Knives are addictive things… You start looking for a knife for bushcrafting, then for carving, then tools for chopping. After 2 years you realise that now you have more knives than you will use in your live, but cannot stop buying more. But you still will try to rationalise and try to explain your wife that it is not a collection, you need them all. :D
BorderReiver
11-08-2005, 11:48
Knives are addictive things… You start looking for a knife for bushcrafting, then for carving, then tools for chopping. After 2 years you realise that now you have more knives than you will use in your live, but cannot stop buying more. But you still will try to rationalise and try to explain your wife that it is not a collection, you need them all. :D
It's always an idea to ask how many sorts of knives are in the kitchen,and why it is necessary to have SO many different ones. :)
Works in discussions with NKP as well. :D
It's always an idea to ask how many sorts of knives are in the kitchen,and why it is necessary to have SO many different ones. :)
Works in discussions with NKP as well. :D
It makes you wonder how we ever survive in the woods with such a small number of knives doesn't it. :cool:
I NEED more knives
It's always an idea to ask how many sorts of knives are in the kitchen,and why it is necessary to have SO many different ones. :)
Works in discussions with NKP as well. :D
OK. I'll bite. Who or what is "NKP"? :confused:
My favourite bushcraft knife is by far my saami-knife. It is cheap, strong and about 30cm blade. It is useful as a small axe as well as to other more delicate work. With the large size of the knife it takes some time to get used to. Myself I have used it for many years and find smaller knives to be messy and only use them when I need a more sharply pointed tool.
If I ever had to defend myself with a knife, I guess this one would fare better than the average short knife. :)
Torjus Gaaren
Personally, I still like the original Frost's Mora knife (not the Clipper) it's very original and no-frills.
Don't get me wrong, I like using other blades as well, but the grunt work I would use the Mora... Hey, if it's good enough for Mors Kochanski; it's good enough for me.
Personally, I still like the original Frost's Mora knife (not the Clipper) it's very original and no-frills.
Don't get me wrong, I like using other blades as well, but the grunt work I would use the Mora... Hey, if it's good enough for Mors Kochanski; it's good enough for me.
Equipment "good enough" for an expert may be totally inadequate for a novice, yes?
Well yes, but as far as I know the Mora was a knife designer for beginners. Mors just shows that it can also be used to a high level also. But can I see where you are coming from.
Hi, Jazman.
Relatively thin blades for outdoor use are characteristic of knives made in Scandinavia, inclusive of the Mora area of Sweden, and are used pretty universally. Some "youth" models have more substantial guards but the same thin blades.
I would say that there is no "best knife" in general. Only a best knife to YOU.
You have to find one you can use comfortably and be able to master all required tasks easily.
I like Opinals - cheap knives but they work great for me.
some people associate having lots of knives with an undesirable personality trait, the reality of it is that a Knife is a tool and the primary tool for our craft.
if you do any hobby or job which requires a particular set of tools, over time you will invariably amass a number of them as your preferences change or you discover a version which accomplishes a particular task better.
on the web I am sure there is a carpentry forum where, right now they are discussing the number of different chisels they own, and in all probability someone has just asked "which chisel is best?" which will evoke a thread just like the one we have here.
however this is an unanswerable question, the only possible but unfortunately unhelpful answer is "which ever is best for you"
the only way you will know which is best of you is to buy a cheap knife which you think will suit you, try it and learn from it, so that you can make a more informed choice when you by your next.
in time you will own a knife which you feel is perfect for you, and probably own a small collection of semi redundant knives as reminders of the learning curve which led you to you current choice of tool. You will also feel a strong desire to inform others of 'only one true bushcraft tool' which you have discovered when someone next asks the question "which is best"
but if you can restrain yourself and say "which ever is best for you" whilst offering some flexible guidelines on what features they might consider to looking for, you will be doing them a far greater service.
Well said Stuart, over the years and with knowledge gained over time, I have collected quite a few bushcraft knives, from my first a Norwegian Puko (bought in 1976) through Mora's, Helle's, Svord, Northstar to my current user the WS Woodlore. My next purchase will probably be a custom made knife to suit my own needs, this will be the "best knife" but only for me. :)
I change my knife carry often, here are a few of my favorites :D
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5268/favoritetools2vo.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
the only way you will know which is best of you is to buy a cheap knife which you think will suit you, try it and learn from it, so that you can make a more informed choice when you by your next.
Excellent Stuart. I recently thought forums like this and questions like this were perfect to keep folks from following that exact path...acquiring and acquiring until they acquired their perfect knife. But now I wonder if this path is almost not required because the perfect knife is as Stuart states is
"which ever is best for you", and guidance alone is all we can offer.
I have believed for a long time to not buy a cheap tool then rebuy and rebuy but I bet every knife I ever used taught me something so maybe some of those awfully odd knives I bought were not all a waste of money.
This weekend, on a car camping trip, I took along a knife that has not seen much use up to now. I was even more impressed with my choice after giving it some decent use building fires. When I had first purchased it I read that the blade was 3/32" thick but the text actually said 3/16" thick. Now that is 50% thicker than most of the knives I tend to buy now. I parked it in my kit thinking it would work great with a baton and this weekend I used it quite a bit for exactly that. I was happy that this knife found its place in my kit.
This knife is not ever going to be my first pick for most tasks but I am glad to have it and to learn from it.
Hi - just a point to mention to Myakka: it's interesting that you have lots of knives on show and your signature says 'the more you know, the less you need' ;)
Do you really need all of them?
Which would you have if you could only have one?
I change my knife carry often, here are a few of my favorites :D
http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5268/favoritetools2vo.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The two middle knives? are they copies of the Klingon mekleth. I always wondered if they could be used for real? :p
The wise man knows the difference between "want" and "need"
-- and caters to both when reasonable.
As an example 01 steel is easily outclassed by A2 Tool steel in every respect and yet he still harks on about carbon steel this and carbon steel that! A2 IS a carbon steel and it is MUCH better than 01. Ray is not as aware as he thinks...
This is unfair General, I have only ever heard Ray say that he likes any good tool steel and that his preference is for 01.
I think 01 when heat treated well performs more than well enough for any bushcraft job. And i think Ray particuarly likes the way in which it reacts to nature in a visable way. But i guess you would have to ask him that yourself. Forgive me for being harsh but this is how i see it.
Personally i prefere Cpm3v but i would use any good steel.
The ultimate knife must be sharp and hold a good edge and be quite tough and that is the fundmatals i think, good basics!
I think the old fashioned approach for knives still holds water though. Carbon steel is better for sparks and a slightly softer blade is easier to sharpen and less likely to chip.
I currently have a Nessmuk style sheath knife I brought because I wanted a fixed blade and didn't get on with a frosts 90 blade I made up, a SAK Electrician Plus (Farmer with an extra blade) and I'm starting work on a cheap tomahawk.
I could get a Mora and a Gransfors etc. but I like doing things my way as that's half the fun!
BorderReiver
16-10-2006, 10:03
[QUOTE=TAHAWK]The wise man knows the difference between "want" and "need"
QUOTE]
[Pedantry] Same meaning in dictionary.eg."for want of a nail a shoe was lost,for want of a shoe a horse was lost"etc. [Pedantry/] :p :D
Klenchblaize
16-10-2006, 10:13
The best knife is the one you’ve just ordered – in my case this one after an 'interesting' and aborted e-bay purchase!
http://www.lonewolfknives.com/store/pages/products-harsey-lc14850.shtml
Cheers
Nicklas Odh
16-10-2006, 10:20
I myself prefer the Fallkniven F1 although the Mora 2000 might be as sharp although they have a completely different blade shape.
The F1 can be regrinded to suit whatever need you want.
I was thinking about sloping the spine to make the knife to look a little more like the RM woodlore knife. I am thinking about buying an H1 because people say its superior to the F1 for hunting and wilderness use. I have an S1 and a WM1 I havent used yet and some extra F1s for spare. I will maybe use the WM1 for "food knife" and the S1 as a cut and pry tool next summer or so.
I will post pictures of the remake of the F1
[QUOTE=TAHAWK]The wise man knows the difference between "want" and "need"
QUOTE]
[Pedantry] Same meaning in dictionary.eg."for want of a nail a shoe was lost,for want of a shoe a horse was lost"etc. [Pedantry/] :p :D
[Pedagog]The feet of certain people living in northern Wales OR the feet of a range of hills south of Cambridge."[Pedagog]
Hills in Cambridgeshire? :lmao:
The two middle knives? are they copies of the Klingon mekleth. I always wondered if they could be used for real? :p
Nope, but if I am not mistaken you may be looking at a couple of variants of the Tom Brown tracker truncheon. Originally designed for bludgeoning any unsuspecting log to death.
Hills in Cambridgeshire? :lmao:
"[T]he Gogs are a range of low chalk hills, extending for several miles to the southeast of Cambridge."
The highest "towers" a breath-taking 75 m. :lmao:
jamesraykenney
23-10-2006, 17:09
But if someone came along and offered them a decent modern knife,they would have jumped at the chance of 'better kit'.Just as we all do today!
It depends on whether a decent modern knife would actually be 'better' for what they used it for...
They did not do exactly what we call 'bushcraft' today.
Some were often on the move and did not create a permanent camp...
They would roll out a bedroll to sleep, and use an axe or just break wood for a fire.
They would trap using real traps, not improvised ones...
For MOST of them, this was their LIVING, not their LIFE.
They hunted for food, and their knives reflected that... What better to butcher a animal than a butcher knife?
A modern bushcraft knife is not all that good for butchering... It will WORK, but it is hardly great at it...
It it has a convex grind, it would be a little better, as slicing through meat is one of the convex grinds strong points, but a thick bladed knife will almost never be as good as a thin bladed knife for the purposes that they used them for(unless they were very badly ground...Which they were not...)
jamesraykenney
23-10-2006, 17:31
some people associate having lots of knives with an undesirable personality trait, the reality of it is that a Knife is a tool and the primary tool for our craft.
if you do any hobby or job which requires a particular set of tools, over time you will invariably amass a number of them as your preferences change or you discover a version which accomplishes a particular task better.
on the web I am sure there is a carpentry forum where, right now they are discussing the number of different chisels they own, and in all probability someone has just asked "which chisel is best?" which will evoke a thread just like the one we have here.
<snip>
Which brings up the question... Do any of you carry a chisel with you when you go bushcrafting?
I have a folding woodcarving knife that has one built in... It is a VERY useful knife, though they do need to work on the lock, as it is a bit sub-par for a $100.00 knife... But the blades are GREAT.
Take a look at it HERE (http://www.flexcut.com/products/cart.php?target=product&product_id=981&category_id=174).
http://www.flexcut.com/products/images/CarvinJackT.jpg