danny
Trail Wise!
Posts: 43
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Post by danny on Jan 21, 2019 21:02:48 GMT -8
Please don't assume you know which political Spectrum I stand on just based on nature of this thread. with all due respect.
I don't want to start a flame War either.
But I would like to know if any of you carry knives especially big knives like Choppers how many knives do you carry what kind of knives do you carry.
Also have you ever had issues with the ranger or one of the other hikers freaking out because of the gear you have?
I never go into the woods without at least one big ass knife.
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Post by hikerjer on Jan 21, 2019 22:04:54 GMT -8
I think you’ll find that a lot of folks here have a great appreciation for a fine knife. However, most of us keep them to a minimum while hiking/backpacking. Personally, a single SAK tinker is all I ever need. Some would say that’s overkill.
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OwenM
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Post by OwenM on Jan 21, 2019 22:15:01 GMT -8
Depends. Sometimes carry a folding saw plus a 7" fixed blade for splitting wood in winter. No reason not to for quick 15-20 mile overnighters where it means carrying 13.5lbs instead of 12-would never carry them on a "real" backpacking trip. Haven't needed them any of the 5 times they were carried recently, as wood has been plentiful whenever I wanted a fire, so they've been dead weight. Last time I really "needed" them was meeting a friend for a ~5 mile each way overnighter where we stood around talking for hours in single digit temps. Most of my fires are very short-lived. Small stuff that can be gathered by hand and burns fast to get rid of tp and any trash I've found. Don't need bigger wood when you want to be dousing the coals 45min later so you can go to bed.
I used to be a big-time knife nut, and had some choppers from custom makers, Busse Combat, etc(and Gransfors Bruks hatchets and axes, lots of high end production stuff, smaller fixed blades from various makers, Darrel Ralph folders, CRK Sebenzas, the whole nine yards, and all users that got beat up), but sold all that off years ago. Now, for occasional wood splitting, it's a 17yr old Becker BK7 or the 30yr old Blackjack #1-7 I bought when still in high school. Biggest knife I normally carry in the woods is the same Spyderco Delica I carry every day, though.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 21, 2019 23:05:01 GMT -8
Not into carrying extranious weight, so nope, no “big” knives. My SAK Super Tinker or my Buck Stockman is about it except when I know I’ll need something for food prep: then I’ll bring a Dozier KS-3. I’m usually headed to alpine areas where wood fires are banned and in any case unwise for resource protection and my 4 ozs Pocket Rocket stove (or my slightly heavier Dragonfly) suffices for my boiling water needs. Canoeing I’ll bring the Dozier and a Silky 210mm folding saw, even with portages a bit extra is tolerable. Haven’t hunted in decades and then not combined with backpacking. Again: extra weight. Some on the forum do: elk mostly iirc. Absolutely some rangers totally freak out about my gear! They swoon over my 11 ozs Mountain Laurel Designs Dyneema Solomid, positively get rapturous over my Western Mountaineering GWS Antelope! The occasional real connoisseur will get the enthusiasms over my 4.6 ozs ea Carbon Fiber Gossamer Gear LT4S trekking poles, so unbelievably light and strong! Have to say, can’t blame them at all.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 2:33:11 GMT -8
I carry a small folding knife that fits in my pocket. The knife is custom made by some fellow in his garage.
I don't light fires in the backcountry.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Jan 22, 2019 5:12:56 GMT -8
. If I'm in area that I have a concern about bears I'll bring spray. Otherwise nothing.
With the knife, I carry a small folding blade in my pants pocket along with a small lighter. That way if I get separated from my pack I have the means to start an emergency fire. I'll carry a larger knife if I know I'm fishing or (again) if I'm hunting. But by larger I mean a fixed handle with a three inch blade at most.
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Jan 22, 2019 5:21:19 GMT -8
I never go into the woods without at least one big ass knife. And what, if anything, do you use it for? I carry a single-edge razor blade and a small pair of very sharp sewing scissors, this handles all of my cutting needs which, in reality, are only trimming cordage and tape and such and (hopefully not) first aid needs. Bushcrafting is the opposite of LNT so I don't do that. It's not a great defense weapon against animals. Only legitimate needs for a real knife I can think of are dressing a kill, but I don't hunt, and food prep, which I don't do on the trail. I started off thinking I needed a knife because, well, you're supposed to have a knife in the wilderness, right? Except when I examined how I actually used it I concluded, as many do, that it is unnecessary and heavy.
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jazzmom
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a.k.a. TigerFan
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Post by jazzmom on Jan 22, 2019 5:28:07 GMT -8
One small, cheap folding knife, under 2oz. Almost never gets used, to be honest.
Have never considered anything bigger, or more than one, or a gun, because I've never had any cause, ever, to wish I did.
I sometimes get grilled by other hikers because my pack looks too small.
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toejam
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Hiking to raise awareness
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Post by toejam on Jan 22, 2019 5:45:49 GMT -8
When people say they carry a big-ass knife I wonder what they've ever done with it they couldn't have done with a 2" blade that would have been much easier to carry.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Jan 22, 2019 6:36:50 GMT -8
I carry a single edge razor blade, and sometimes a 2 1/4 inch CRKT peck blade. I don't carry anything bigger because I've never needed it. When I was in my early 20's, I carried far too much stuff, including big knives. I learned a long time ago that that was folly. I also don't carry that 6" cast iron skillet any more. knives here, you'll find several pages of opinions on knives. It was on pg 2 of this Gear section.
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swiftdream
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the Great Southwest Unbound
Posts: 543
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Post by swiftdream on Jan 22, 2019 7:41:02 GMT -8
My knife is a No 8 Opinel that weighs 1.75 oz, an old world design that is very comfortable in the hand even under heavy cutting pressure. It excels at cutting and slicing. Many knives have way to thick of an edge. Opinel knives have thin blades with full convex grinds and thin edges. They have been around in basically the same form since 1890, a very simple, light weight, real world working tool.
I use it for mostly food prep but it will eat through wood like a maniac if you need a quick fire but it is very rare I need any kind of knife to start or maintain a fire. I bring my own shelter, at the least a tarp I can put up in in a few easy moments so no need to blow all my energy banging up a leaky shelter.
Opinels have a 119 year history of serving travelers, farmers, peasants and pilgrims in the fields and the wilds as well as the slightly more dubious distinction of being adopted by modern inner city hipsters. You can get them for 14 or 15 bucks shipped and my luxury Bubinga wood model only cost me 24, a fraction of what many knives cost now. Easy to sharpen to a razor edge, inexpensive to replace and there is a model that only weighs one ounce but is a bit small for my hands, makes a dandy super razor though.
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markskor
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Mammoth Lakes & Tuolumne Meadows...living the dream
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Post by markskor on Jan 22, 2019 8:12:31 GMT -8
Once upon a time...got in the Yosemite Valley Permit line, right behind a noob also sporting a "Big Ass Bowie", carried on his right hip...a good 2 feet of blade. Overheard the ranger asking him the same question - why? His response - "It balances out the Big Ass Hatchet I carry on my left hip."
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Post by Moonshae on Jan 22, 2019 8:39:22 GMT -8
I carry a small, lightweight folding knife. Not planning to need it for anything, but it's a good item to have. I don't own any big knives or hatchets, so I don't anticipate buying one just to carry.
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RumiDude
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Marmota olympus
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 22, 2019 8:39:24 GMT -8
Biggest knife I normally carry in the woods is the same Spyderco Delica I carry every day, though. I carry my Benchmade @2.3 oz with a 3" blade. I have fashioned several tent stakes with it as well as cut cordage, cheese, etc. I could do lots of bushcraft type work using that knife. I rarely build a fire so processing wood is not a need. I cook with my stove. I depend on clothing to keep me warm. On the rare occasion I do build a fire, I use found wood small enough to break with my knee or on a rock. Fires are a waste of effort to warm except in an extreme emergency where one did not have proper clothing to stay warm. If I had a tipi type shelter setup with a metal stove, it might be worth it in the winter. It takes a lot of energy to process wood, energy better used to just keep warm in one's clothing. As an aside, most people are not responsible with fires. They sometimes cut standing trees for fuel. They leave fires smoldering without putting them completely out. The build fire rings which the then leave, rather than repairing the site to a natural state. They leave piles of unused wood next to their fire ring. Finally, many people build fires in places or at times when it is illegal. Rumi
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danny
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Posts: 43
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Post by danny on Jan 22, 2019 8:48:02 GMT -8
I think you’ll find that a lot of folks here have a great appreciation for a fine knife. However, most of us keep them to a minimum while hiking/backpacking. Personally, a single SAK tinker is all I ever need. Some would say that’s overkill. As for guns, I’d suggest you don’t even go there. No I meant if you got lost for more than a day and you had to survive there or days if not weeks, do you carry a survival kit, like a whole kit fishing gear, etc.. You're probably betting that another hiker will come across you or that your personal Beacon or cell phone will be able to reach help. I Am referring to people who were not able to reach out for two weeks. You can go on YouTube and simply type in "hiker found" you will see a hundred news stories of people who had to survive for weeks in the woods. I'm talking about one of the worst case scenarios besides you dying from a fall or breaking a leg. I understand that the best way to prevent stuff like this is to not go off Trail but stuff happens it has happened to me before If all I had was a Swiss army knife I would feel completely naked I'm referring to knives like a esse junglas.
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