Outdoor Knives
For me, this gets complicated quickly, as regional and social variations
abound. From the kiridashi, the puukko, the machete, to the Bowie
inspired classic US camping knife- there are dozens of things included
in the term "outdoors."
Discarding for the moment the machete class of knives, I see several
main types of modern outdoors knives. The Bowie pattern - a Kabar is a
classic example, or a Muella Ranger. The bushcraft type, which is
exemplified by the puukko and lueku knives of Scandinavia. The game
knives, of which the best all around multi purpose type is the
American drop point. There are dozens of examples, some of which
straddle lines- bird & trout knives, trailing edge skinners, etc.
But going by type of knife seems backwards.
I take the idea of the outdoors and split it up into a few broad
categories. Hiking, bushcraft, hunting, and camping.
Hiking
Hiking is the hardest to pin down. I think this is because
it has some crossover with both camping and bushcraft. Still-
Hiking is a specialized activity out here in the West. We tend to
practice low impact or leave no trace philosophies, and weight matters
a lot. So while you might need to trim a few sticks for kindling or
find a situation where you do really NEED to make a shelter, chopping
wood and notching poles isn't a high priority. You want to be able to
do it if need be, but it's not the primary purpose of the
knife. Cooking and line cutting, and simple chores are what you are
after, though.
I find a hiking knife needs to be light, with a thin blade and a good
geometry for fine cutting of food (often in the hand), a usable but
small handle and a 3 to 4 inch blade.
A 2 ounce knife with a 3.5 inch blade of 5/64s or even 1/16 inch
thickness and a very acute scandi grind or convex edge makes a great
hiking knife. I like spear points, straight spines, or clip points for
these.
It might seem excessively light given the penchant for 3/16 and 1/4
inch spines these days, but give one a try and you might change your
mind.
Bushcraft
Bushcraft. So much is written about bushcraft knives I'd sound like a
fool if I tried to reinvent the wheel. All I can say is that most of
the patterns work well, and the standard ideas of a thin but stout
blade, easy to maintain edge at a good angle for carving, good point
for drilling and poking, a full sized handle and a blade in the 3 to
4.5 inch range seem to ring true when I make and use one.
I'm not a fan of hollow grinds for a bushcrafter, and I don't see any
other way to put a 1/4 inch spine on a knife that size and get the
performance you want. 3/32 and 1/8 inch spines, full flat, full convex,
and scandi grinds all seem right. Handle materials and shape need to
be comfortable, hand filling, and durable.
This type of knife, more than any other, probably has a need for a
well thought out sheath.
Most of what I think of as general utility knives, including a lot of
drop points, fit this category best. That may be because a
bushcrafter is what I think of as an outdoorsman's utility knife.
Hunting
Hunting knives I think should be carried along with knives appropriate
to what you are doing. Generally that would fall into camping or
bushcraft. I'd happily skin small game with a buschcrafter, but I'd
really rather have a nessmuk or bird and trout for small game and a
nice bullnose skinner and hatchet for large game.
Carving meat is a specialized activity and I think I'm happiest with a
specialized tool.
Camping
Camping is the odd duck out, here. Generally with hiking and
buschrafting, one is either alone or teamed up with relatively
independent and functional persons. Gear weight is at a premium, and
you don't cart around things like 15x20 foot tents and full kitchens.
In camping, one is often with a group of mixed age, experience and ability,
supported by a vehicle, with a larger amount of Stuff. For us, with
two small kids, this often means a packed to the brim station wagon.
What I use a knife for most when camping- not counting personal
training or experimenting with survival skills- is food. A close
second would be kindling and third would be rope cutting.
So a camp knife needs to be thought out for this. Here is where I most
like a 6 or 7 inch blade, a bit of weight being fine, and feel most
free to experiment with profile shapes.
Even here, though, I find that anything more than about 1/8 inch of
blade thickness takes away from the joy of using the knife. I've
chopped potatoes and onions with a kabar and the SOG government I
carried in the Gulf and neither is really fun, though the kabar is
a bit easier going.
I made a matching pair of dropped edge clip point blades about 3/32 on
the spine, with convex grinds. A bastard cross between a kabar and a
chef's knife. Light, sturdy enough for splitting wood and bamboo, and
excellent in the kitchen. Someday soon I'm going to make more.
I think camping is a great activity and we should feel free to have
fun doing fully supported trips with our families. I don't feel a need
to skimp along and try to make dinner for 4 or 8 people with a 3 inch
blade, and I like having a tough, sharp, and usable outdoors knife
with a belt sheath instead of trying to pack along my Shun
santoku. It's not like I don't have room to pack it and my GB forest axe, too!
