Once I caught a very nice small mouth bass using a minimum of fishing gear. As a matter of fact, I had so little gear, I did not have a knife. Here is a fish which I hoped to eat, and out of water much too long to be released back. Yet, without a cutting tool, I was at lost as to how to clean and fillet it. Fortunately, a resourceful kid immediately sat down and using his newly learned knapping skill, created a very functional stone knife. Approximately 4 inches long, with a nice handle to maneuver the blade, it was perfect for the job. Needless to say, the fish was especially tasty to all. Since then, I have been very aware of the proximity of a cutting tool any time I am in the outdoors.
So what can I bring to this enormous body of information already? There are chapters written in books dated decades ago by very learned authors already. Actually the three points I make probably are not that earth shattering and are merely extensions of what are known already.
The first is that it should be accepted that there are many different kinds of knives for many different purposes. However, most bushcrafters only carried one or two (excluding pocketknife). The knife therefore has to carry on multiple purposes. As an avid fisherman, I am very much bias for a blade that can fillet and gut a fish. This type of knife has been modified and improved over many years to its current long, thin, flexible version. This is completely opposite to some of the modern concepts of a bushcraft knife should be. Yet, a knife that can handle fish is very useful to me.
Similarly, a whittler has a penchant for small blades. Amazing objects have been created by these folks with miniature knives (artists in the truest sense). I will write about pocketknives at another time as that seems to be the preferred tool for this task. It should be noted that some of the best carving knives are barely an inch long with a bendable blade (see picture). One important function of a bushcrafting knife is to create tools to supplement the basic carries. Hooks, cups, notches, digging tools and spoons can be created by imaginative woodsman with whittling skills. It would be very useful if a bushcraft knife can carve.
Knives therefore have to fit your purpose. You can't baton a fillet knife, but then again, some bushcrafters never baton. A bushcraft knife with a flexible blade may seem bizarre especially with so much modern discussions focusing on the merits of 3/8" vs 1/4" thick blades. For a coastal bushman though, maybe a flexible blade is not such a far out idea. At the current time, a thick blade I can stand on is not something I personally want, but some knifemakers I am sure are push the research envelop and come up with interesting ideas. Incidentally, the Cold Steel Bushman knife is flexible and can be mounted on a stick to be used as a spear! Bottom line... get a knife that fits your personal (multi-) purposes.
The second point is that the human body that is connected to the blade is just as important as the blade. For example, I can't imagine a small young bushcrafter-in-the-making to carry an 13 inch Bowie knife for daily purposes. My bias therefore has gravitated toward a blade useful for a mid height (5 foot 8.5 inches or 175 cm), mid weight (150 pounds or 68 kg), noodle armed (don't ask) middle aged man.
One of the modern award winning and good value knife is the Schrade SCHF51. Curious of its reputation, I purchased one recently, having not used a robust heavy bushcraft knife before.
The Schrade SCHF51, a powerful bushcraft knife with a strong lineage. The seven inch version is the Schrade SCHF52.
At 1/4 inch thickness, and 11 inch length, it weighs by itself without the sheath 14.3 ounces (406 grams). I bought the 5 inch blade version with the premonition that the 7 inch version would be really heavy, having used a short Vietnam War era machete before about that size. When the knife arrived by mail, I was extremely excited. However, when I started waving the Schrade around, I realized two things: 1) I am really weak! 2) This thing is huge! It finally dawned on me that even though many large (and expensive) brands of bushcrafting knives are popular, many oldtimers used small thinner blade knives. It also seems that the main purpose of a thick blade is to increase the durability of the blade to the baton. A knife certainly has to be tough when encountering gnarly twisted hardwoods. Yet, using one's knowledge as to the different types of woods, using one inner eye for viewing the grain and ring patterns from a log, and using one's understanding as to the shortcomings of his knife could probably get one out of most difficult jams. Being the weakling that I am, it seems much less energy sapping than to have to carry an extra half pound of metal along your hip. That said, for someone of large proportions, strong arms, a large Bowie may be just the ticket. That knife has an extremely colorful history, and I would be very glad to be able to carry something like that for its intended purpose if I could. Incidentally, it seems alot of folks carry those big bushcraft knives in their pack rather than on their belts. Good idea. Looking back, most logs I have batoned are quite small though and I have a suspicion that is the case of most folks.
The final point may be more controversial, and that is the need for a guard on the knife. Many Moras do not have them. I feel this is important because it prevents an extremely common injury that I have personally sustained. This may be mitigated by wearing gloves and I encourage young ones to do so in the wild. If one looks at Mors Kochanski's book (he recommends the old fashion Moras) on northern bushcrafting, he actually feels that the injury (that is a cut on the index finger/phalangeal region from the hand slipping forward from a guardless grip) is rare. Nevertheless, newer Moras are commonly seen with molded in guards. The guard doesn't have to be huge, and a choil may be all that is necessary, but a reminder of some sort to the user can make a knife much safer and less painful to use. A little prevention and inconvenience, especially with numb hands and brains, may well be worth the reduced incidence of wound infection, tendon damage, and nerve damage to a very important finger.
With that said, what I will carry in the future is what I already have in the drawer... two knives similar in nature and differing only by an inch in blade length. I have had them for many years. As an aside, I only carry one at a time, and they do have a history with me. No, they are not full tang. They don't have indestructible micarta scales. Being an amateur woodworker, I find the wooden handle very pretty despite the collection of dents and scratches on the wood. Yes, they are stainless steel and not high carbon. The brass is starting to discolor and the blades have some rust mark (I know I just said they were stainless). They are small and skinny, and I am sure someone can break them into bits by baton. Personally, I haven't been able to, but I do avoid hitting the tips.
The Buck Woodsman (top) with the 4 inch blade and the Buck Pathfinder (bottom) with the 5 inch blade. Perspective of the camera makes the Woodman seem smaller then what it is.
In a pinch, they can fillet a fish, although with the acquisition of a new fillet folder that weighs close to nothing (3.1 oz or 89 g), I do it less and less.
The Rapala folding fillet knife
My Bucks make it easy to baton small logs for dry wood. They can gut large game, and even the 5" one only weighs 5.8 oz (165 g). They are not cheap, but not too expensive either. I did splurged to get the wooden handles awhile ago, and cheaper versions with phenolic handles are available with exactly the same blades. Probably because I am pretty average, the pundits recommend knives which are similar to those two. The well known Mora knives are about that long... stainless steel, with tough handles. Incidentally, their most famous blades for bushcrafting are not full tang (they do make them though), and I am sure many different companies make similar knives to what I have.
There you have it. I try not to mention handle shape, tip shape, blade grind, etc. Lots of people already discuss that stuff, and I don't know enough about it. Remember that you have to use the knife in winter and summer, with and without gloves, sharp and not sharp. Looking over the knives used by expert bushcrafters over the years (centuries), I am sure you can discern which aspects of a knife are important to you (my guess is there aren't that many for the truly knowledgeable and flexible woodsman).
I have to admit that I like to carry other light cutting tools in addition to a fixed blade, which may not be the case for other folks. I hope to add two more posts in the future concerning them. As mentioned before, one would be about pocketknives. The other would likely be about axes and saws. To some northern biome experts, the axe is an extremely valuable tool, and after all, that is where I live. Would you carry one? I would, but probably not for what you think. Thanks for reading!
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