All About Pocket Knives

I know im a little late in this thread but i do have a question.......Does the elements effect the carbon knives to heavily to use? Should i opt for a high carbon or stainless???

When it comes to threads to resurrect, this is a good one! As far as Carbon steel in the wilderness, let me put it to you this way. Did they have stainless steel when they carved this country out of the wilderness in the first place? A good woodsman will tell you if you take care of your tools, they will take care of you. Now, onto my contribution:

When I go hiking my pack has a Schrade ST1 (oldskool yay!) in it, and I've got a Strider SnG clipped on me somewhere. Lately I've supplemented that with a small, very sharp, very lightweight Boker CLB Titan framelock (it's the the 440C and Titanium version of the SubCom folder. Dirt cheap and really high quality) clipped to the shoulder strap on my pack.




The PTCC in this picture is my "work EDC". Hands down the best knife I've ever owned, but a bit small for outdoors work. Hence the SnG DGG


This here is the little Boker (I keep one in my desk drawer at work too, just in case ) http://www.boker.de/us/pocket-knife/bok ... BO582.html

Noddy, that is an awesome collection. It's take me half a day to choose what to haul all that to choose from.

Frode, here are the pictures of my old beat up Swiss tool.

Original belt pouch that has been many a mile.


Pliers and wire cutters showing much abuse.


Half of the stuff. The twisted off end of the little screw driver doesn't show too well. THe serrated edge is about gone from cutting wire, mud flaps, wood, cargo straps, and dog knows what else.


The other half of the toys. Once again the twisted tips on the screw driver blades doesn't show too well.


It isn't hurt and it has held up a HELL of lot better than I ever expected it to. About the only tools that haven't been much are the can opener and the saw blade. That saw blade is EVIL if you get a piece of your anatomy in contact with it..

Alabama,
As Darksev wrote, If you take care of your tools, they will take care of you.
I like high carbon and I like the patina the blades will develop after being used for some time.
But I must say that for many people I think stainless is a wise choice. The first stainless steels may not have been so great, but there are several more than decent stainless varieties out there today that will serve you well. I've seen some high carbon steel blades that have been carelessly put away directly after cleaning fish in salt water and it's not a pretty sight!

Darksev,
Nice knives to bring hiking!

Wullie,
Great pictures of a tool that really has seen some hard use!
Thanks for sharing them!

Memories and Plain Plastic

From an early age I enjoyed being outdoors and hiking in the woods. At school I got a friend with the same interests and we hiked and camped outdoors a lot in the weekends and Holidays.
As I've told earlier in this thread, Norwegian knife traditions are very much centered around tollekniven, our fixed blades. I enjoyed my small pocket knives too, but especially when hiking, the fixed blade was the real knife, while the pocket knife often went home having seen almost no use at all. As a youth I had never owned or even handled a full size Trapper, Stockman or Folding Hunter, and most of my pocket knives were quite small, cheap and rather flimsy.
When we went hiking, we always brought our traditional fixed blades. At that time I had a few Norwegian knives, a few Swedish and a couple of Finnish fixed blades to choose from. My friend typically brought a Norwegian or Swedish fixed blade.
But then one time, I think it was an early Spring hike, he did not have one of his usual fixed blades on his belt. We reached a nice camp site and started doing camp chores like gathering firewood and preparing dinner. I used my trusty Helle fixed blade, but he reached in his pocket and got out a pocket knife. A pocket knife..!?! And what a knife! It had one blade only and red plain plastic handles, and I thought it looked like an ugly toy. "Are you serious?", I asked, "are you going to use that...thing?" He was serious and showed me his new folding knife from Swedish EKA. After examining it, I had to admit it did not look that bad after all. It was bigger than any of my pocket knives, the blade was sharper than on my well used Helle and the handle actually felt comfortable in my hand as I tried to whittle some.
I kept a close eye on him each time he used the knife for the rest of the weekend, but not even once did he use a backup knife from his pack or borrow mine... Before we went home on Sunday evening, I asked to have another look at his knife. I sort of expected to see some blade play, but the knife was as good as new and the edge still very sharp.

This happened (too!) many years ago, but I still remember that weekend hike. It was my first introduction to the folding knife as primary knife for wilderness use. I was far from convinced after the weekend, but it shook my view on the limitations of folding knives in the wild.

I don't remember the exact model my friend used, but it was a knife quite similar to the knife you see here. It had red plastic handles and I think it may have been somewhat bigger.
Last month a Swedish gentleman showed me this used blue EKA at a fair, and I just had to have it. He had used this model for years himself and he told me he had found at least a couple of them "i svampskogen" (meaning it was forgotten by mushroom hunters) back home in Sweden. He believed this blue one to be one of them. Stainless steel and plastic handles is not a bad thing when a knife has to spend days, maybe weeks outdoors on the ground in moist areas, and apart from being dull and a bit scratched up, it worked just fine. After some cleaning and oil I put a new edge on the blade and the knife was ready for new adventures.
These EKA-knives may not be beauties, but they are very capable knives that will serve you well when hiking.
This weekend I went for a walk on my own in the woods. I paused for a cup of coffee from my thermos bottle and reached for the EKA. Lots of memories from days gone by surfaced while I was making shavings...

I think this knife will see quite a lot of pocket time in the woods this Fall.

useem wrote:I would take these 3 and feel pretty good about it. The old Kabar has been reliable for a long time. Top guard was cut off on the advice of my good friend. He had just got back from Iraq (first war) and said cutting the top guard off makes it easier/safer to use the knife in the dark. He being a combat veteran, off came the guard .
The 110 is an older frame with a new blade. We all know what the BUCK 110 can do, and along with the Gerber Multi-tool i would feel pretty secure.
With all the survival skills i learned from that phony, Bear Grylls, i should be able to survive a whole 2hrs out in the wilderness .

This seems reasonable to me All depends on upon the definition of "wilderness" as Clinton would say! Camping is one thing but wilderness to me is different. For me this would be the requirement: one fixed sturdy blade capable of splitting larger limbs and such by using a soft hammer (big stick) with it, also capable of doing heavy cutting without damage. Also would need a good folding locking type (or liner lock). Buck 110 is good but I don't have one so I'd opt for a 422 or 426 which I have. Last but not least would be a good quality Multi tool or Swiss type army knife. If I was limited to one knife, I'd go with a heavy duty locking (single blade) folding knife, 4.5 to 6 inch folded or medium sized HD fixed blade. Good thread BTW!!

How about wilderness camping..?
Understand what you mean. A night in a tent does not imply wilderness around you.
Good choices, but personally I would normally prefer a light hatchet over a big blade for chopping...

Froggyedge wrote:How about wilderness camping..?
Understand what you mean. A night in a tent does not imply wilderness around you.
Good choices, but personally I would normally prefer a light hatchet over a big blade for chopping...

Agreed! In all fairness, I'd probably slip in a good hatchet too!

Is it considered "wilderness camping" when you backpack in, sleep on ground or hammock, and then hike it back out?
Around my parts people call "camping" when you drive your vehicles in, sleep in tent and/or camper trailors, with a barbecue grill, coolers..."the fancy works" im trying to break away from all that.

For the gear that im putting together im actually considering a machette or kukri along with a medium fixed blade.

After following this thread for some time I have to say its the Trekker from Victorinox.
just has all you need. I see a lot of leatherman type tools but if your in the woods why would you need screwdrivers and pliers?

alabamaedge88, I agree with your post! Pretty much what I was thinking. If I backpack (which I haven't done in a long time) and make due off the land, that's wilderness camping in my mind. I do more of the other type lately that me and my missy are a little older now

alabamaedge88 wrote:Is it considered "wilderness camping" when you backpack in, sleep on ground or hammock, and then hike it back out?
Around my parts people call "camping" when you drive your vehicles in, sleep in tent and/or camper trailors, with a barbecue grill, coolers..."the fancy works" im trying to break away from all that.

For the gear that im putting together im actually considering a machette or kukri along with a medium fixed blade.

That's my notion of wilderness camping. You may use a tent of course, but what you use, you carry on your back. No fancy works!
I've never used a machete or a kukri, (the closest being a Sami knife - Leuku) but nothing wrong with doing so of course!

gino wrote:After following this thread for some time I have to say its the Trekker from Victorinox.
just has all you need. I see a lot of leatherman type tools but if your in the woods why would you need screwdrivers and pliers?

That's why I don't bring them too often... The knife blade(s) may be acceptable, but I prefer a dedicated knife.
I have needed a screwdriver to tighten linerlock screws, but then you often need a special size of torx or something you probably won't find on your multi-tool.
I have used multi-tool pliers to remove a hot kettle from the fire!

Removing stuff from the fire is the only thing I've every used a multi-tool for. Not a big fan I prefer a knife that can do some work!

I've enjoyed this thread a lot--it's interesting to see all the different tools folks use in the woods. I almost always carry a Leatherman--I'll explain why in a bit.

I used to backpack quite a bit--what went with me was my Puukko and a Camillus Cub Scout knife!


These days most of my time outdoors is spent either fishing or following a couple of dogs around, looking for birds. I've been rotating between my old H&R Stockman and a SAK--this year the little Northfield Mink Skinner gets tossed into the mix. The Leatherman is a don't-leave-home-without-it tool for a bird hunter--if you've ever seen what a porcupine can do to a dog you'll know why!

It also comes in handy for changing beeper batteries (the beeper goes on the dog), and it isdispensible for fishing. When hunting, I also carry a small "survival" type kit containing an extra compass, firestarting stuff, minimal first aid stuff, a Camillus metal scaled Army pocket knife, and a few other things. I hunt a couple of weeks each fall in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, often alone, and me and my pups get out there amongst 'em to get to less pressured birds. And yes, a GPS augments the compass! It's big wonderful country.

Cooter, That's some nice looking equipment! Thanks for posting... TD

Thanks, TD. I travel fairly light, but it gets the job done.

I wish my pics looked as good as yours!

Cooter Brown wrote:Thanks, TD. I travel fairly light, but it gets the job done.

I wish my pics looked as good as yours!

Even a rank amateur like me gets lucky every now and then when a picture actually turns out decent!! Most of mine don't Thanks... TD

The ultimate wilderness knife to me would depend on the type of wilderness I was going to be in. If I had to choose one knife and had no idea what type of environment I was entering it would be my BRK&T Bravo-1 with a firesteel. It can perform any task from making fuzz sticks or carving a spoon to chopping down saplings for shelter. Sure the trivecta of wilderness readiness is a fixed blade/sak/hand axe but as far as one knife it's the Bravo-1.

Tank, That's a very nice knife!

Cooter,
Nice pics and nice knives!

Tank,
Looks like a great all-rounder!

Tank,
Nice knife, for the 3rd time!

wullie... I like your multi-tool it was so cool.


_____________________
Cold steel knife - is the world strongest and sharpest knives.
Also you can use it in a combat as your self defense.

In my opinion, the best knife I've seen on here is Gunstock Jacks Cold Steel Trailmaster. Oh, O.K. Willie, I like yours too, but that trail master looks like a work horse.

For what it's worth.

Thanks FRJ! You're right about it being a workhorse; you can chop down a three inch sapling in about 5-6 licks and still shave with that bad boy. Also makes a decent machete but you should have a lanyard on it or risk throwing it. It's not so handy to cut your fingernails with though.

i have a "scatchet" i use to carry in my butt pack when fishing as a just in case. You can use it as a skinning knife, a hammer, a hatchet and has a gut hook built in the back of the blade. All you do is find a suitable limb to make a handle out of and screw it into the "threads" that are cut into the tool. Kinda neat tool but heavy, i'll try and find it and get a picture up.

EDIT:
found it! Here are the pics