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Post by Coolkat on Jan 12, 2016 5:01:47 GMT -8
Single-edge razor blade. I don't fish, hunt, chop food, build fires or shelters, etc. I get that normally you don't have a huge use for one and admittedly my knife rarely gets used, even on a multiday trip. On my last 11 day trip I think it got used once and was only because I was bored. However, a knife to me just seems like smart thing to carry into the backcountry. One never knows when things will go wrong and you do have a need for knife. Unless of course you're never more than a couple of miles away from help.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 12, 2016 8:46:02 GMT -8
However, a knife to me just seems like smart thing to carry into the backcountry. One never knows when things will go wrong and you do have a need for knife. Unless of course you're never more than a couple of miles away from help. Well, that depends. The high Sierra is more than a couple of miles from help, but if I run over possible scenarios in my mind, I don't come up with a lot that would have me needing a big knife. My 2" blade is enough to shave kindling if needed, and if there is anything to burn anyway (since I have a propensity for hanging out at or above tree-line). I guess if I needed to build a shelter, and was in the trees, I'd have to settle for downed branches and what I could break, assuming something had happened to my tent, etc. I'm pretty sure I could clean a fish (if I could catch one) with my little knife, and I couldn't catch a larger animal anyway.
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Post by Coolkat on Jan 12, 2016 9:09:25 GMT -8
... This make sense to me. My knife has a 3in blade so not a huge difference there. However, when JrinGerogia said single edge razor blade this is what comes to my mind.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 12, 2016 15:14:29 GMT -8
Coolkat, I think that is what he means. It's a pretty standard UL thing, though I personally would be afraid of cutting myself. I am guessing you could use that to shave kindling, too, but it would be harder.
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Post by williamh4 on Jan 12, 2016 15:28:29 GMT -8
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 12, 2016 15:32:11 GMT -8
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Post by Coolkat on Jan 12, 2016 16:03:59 GMT -8
A bit like a contractors knife but FAR lighter. Nice! I had completely forgotten about these. I used these when I worked in a warehouse years ago.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 12, 2016 16:26:07 GMT -8
A bit like a contractors knife but FAR lighter. Nice! I had completely forgotten about these. I used these when I worked in a warehouse years ago. I kept losing mine here in the lab (I receive all the reagents, supplies etc. for inventory control) so I finally switched to a big BRIGHT LIME GREEN contractors version. Which I don't lose more than two, three times a day.... I have to be more careful with the cut since it's not specifically for box cutting, but it's so much easier to locate.
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Jan 12, 2016 19:53:42 GMT -8
when JrinGerogia said single edge razor blade this is what comes to my mind. I think that is what he means. It is indeed. I used to carry a knife and found I never used it. I do carry scissors and find way more uses for those.
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Post by Coolkat on Jan 12, 2016 20:06:14 GMT -8
I used to carry a knife and found I never used it. I can understand that. Like I said earlier I think I only used it once on my last hike. However, i carry it every day. I'm not sure if my brain could handle leaving it behind. lol
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markskor
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Post by markskor on Jan 12, 2016 20:24:06 GMT -8
Interesting... I fish, cook real food, occasionally make campfires, and did 3 months, mostly off-trail Sierra/Sawtooths last summer. The only knife carried was the smallest SAK (the one with scissors), and never felt the need for anything else. FYI, found easy to keep it safe (read not easily lost) by using a light cord, maybe 18" long, knife tied to hemostats. just my 2¢
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 12, 2016 21:14:04 GMT -8
I do carry scissors and find way more uses for those. Ah. Most of what I do with my knife (aside from slicing cheese for crackers) is scissors stuff. I've never seen a pair of light, folding left-handed scissors, though, so I'll use the knife. I carry a Leatherman multi-tool everyday. I will definitely bring it along when I'm on the trail as it has proved invaluable (I use it nearly everyday for something). Pay attention when you are hiking, and see if you really use it out there. I have almost nothing with me where a multi-tool would be of use, though I do occasionally think about having something with pliers--if only as a first-aide measure in the event that someone's wedding ring is crushed onto their finger. When I used a Whisperlite stove, tools were good to have. But my White Box stove has no moving parts. As I age, the need to lighten up gets more urgent
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 12, 2016 21:22:59 GMT -8
I do carry scissors and find way more uses for those. Ah. Most of what I do with my knife (aside from slicing cheese for crackers) is scissors stuff. I've never seen a pair of light, folding left-handed scissors, though, so I'll use the knife. [ These don't seem to have a handedness? Ones I carry. m.rei.com/product/745494/coghlans-folding-scissors
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 12, 2016 21:29:44 GMT -8
All scissors have handedness. It has to do with which way they cross over, and what the forces do to them as you grip. When you stick those scissors on your right hand, the natural angles of your hand force the blades closer together, so that they can cut cleanly. When you put them on the left hand, the opposite happens. A very sharp, tight pair of scissors will work with either hand, but always better with the one for which they were designed.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 12, 2016 21:40:24 GMT -8
Even those with the symmetric handles?
I'll have to think about this.
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