What's in a Knife?
Last Updated on Sunday, 06 September 2009 22:31 Written by Dave Canterbury Thursday, 03 September 2009 20:58
When you speak to fellow woodsman, bush crafters, hunters, trekkers or whatever click they happen to be in the topic of what knife to carry always seems to come up. There are volumes of forum chat and blogs on the net concerning this subject. Well some one mailed me recently and asked Dave what do you think the best knife to carry in the woods would be? And to be more complimentary he asked what knife do you carry?
I must first start by saying that in no way is my opinion the gospel on bush crafting tools, or the last word in woodsy knowledge but I have a very fair amount of experience and skill in both departments. Beyond that you must realize that not every situation is the same and the answer cannot be the same for every one. First let’s discuss the size of the blade. Many of the bush crafters in the UK seem to say they prefer a short 4 inch pointed blade, and if you weren’t planning to cut down saplings without a lot of extra effort or split kindling or make large notches in wood I would say that’s a good choice. It is easy to handle very accurate for delicate work and great for cleaning game. In this case I would think most of the time they are also carrying a good camp axe as well. In the Canadian Northwest the Axe would be the preferred tool over any knife for a survival situation. If you were to look to the island regions of the World you would probably see that native bushman and tribe’s people generally prefer long machete type blades for lots of hacking and chopping type duties and they no doubt have smaller knives for more delicate needs. The Native Americans of the 18th and 19th century seemed to prefer something in between the 2 of about 6-8” in blade length and differing blade design depending on region.
My personal opinion is that if I can only have one tool and it is going to be a knife it must be able to cut down saplings easy as well as perform other tasks like processing meat and small carving and scraping duties. Now with all of that said and with all the bad raps this knife has gotten on the net I personally carry a Tops manufactured Tom Brown Tracker 1. The main thing that I like about this knife is its versatility. I think it has gotten a bad reputation in some circles because people haven’t taken the time to get to know the knife through trial and error. This is something that cannot be understated. Whatever knife you choose you must become intimate with all its individual capabilities. I would recommend that it have a thick heavy blade for chopping tasks but at the same time you must be able to use it with some fine detail either by holding it in a different location or manipulating the balance of the blade. I definitely like the heavy saw on the back of the TBT it will cut notches like butter even in hardwood. This is important for lots of survival tasks like making fire sets, traps, and shelters. I also like the draw knife area on the lower portion of the blade for stripping bark and making tinder. Whatever knife you choose realize there is probably no better one than the one you are use to and comfortable with as long as the blade is of high carbon steel, and has a single bevel grind.
Dave Canterbury
