Like the name! HA! HA!
I have a question about knives.
I would like to get a good field knife and I was wondering if you could suggest any.
I have been looking at the Tops 9.5 Anaconda. Good looking knife but a little steep in price. Customs are out of the question. Are there any good blades 7"-9" you could recommend that are not an arm and a leg?
Also, in one of letters listed on your site, a guy was talking about using a down spout to pack stuff. I like your bed roll idea, where can I get the details?
Thanks,
Eric C.
P.S. Love the site!!
Choosing a knife or other piece of outdoor equipment can often be as confusing as buying a new car. There’s just so many different models out there, it’s sometimes difficult to know where to begin. It looks like you’re off to a strong start though, you already know what you can and cannot afford and knowing that really helps to trim away at some of the fat. Let’s see if I can throw out a suggestion or two that will help you to narrow down your choices a little further.
First the short answer.
If I were to begin looking for an economical blade in the size you described, I’d probably start by checking out the BK&T (Becker Knife & Tool) 9" Combat Bowie. I've seen them offered in the $60 range which in my opinion is a real bargain.
The Combat Bowie appears to be a very straight forward design that doesn’t rely on a bunch of bells and whistles to help it sell. Even though I don’t own that particular model I do happen to have two large BK&T blades, a Patrol Machete and the Machax. They’re both made extremely well so I thinks it's safe to say that the Combat Bowie would have many of the same qualities.
I’ll start off by saying that these days I just don’t use big blades all that much in fact most of them have long since been retired and now reside in my safe. Let me try to explain why that is.
I think there are a lot of people out there that are under the impression that only one knife should be carried into the outdoors. It’s almost as if they’re constantly being told that something’s bound to happen where they’ll only have time to select one knife before they head out the door to start dodging mushroom clouds. Why is this? Doesn’t the entire survival mind set require the person to be somewhat prepared? Wouldn’t it be better to have several different tools that are designed for specific cutting chores packed away and ready to go?
I’ll admit that I once thought that carrying a single big blade was the way to go...until I found out that most of my cutting chores in the wilderness were small and often times delicate in nature. Carving traps, cutting string, preparing game, whittling spoons, and so on. And even though all these tasks can be achieved using a large knife, I’d much rather use a smaller knife and have the kind of control that’s needed.
By now someone's probably asking the question: “So what’s with the big-blade-hater?” .
Just for the record, I don’t dislike big blades in fact I have some absolutely stunning blades made by the late Knifemaster Rob Simonich that are as close to perfection as anyone could ask for. They're among the few blades that actually make me smile when I hold them.
But anyone who has read some of my more recent trips knows that I’ve more or less settled on a tool “system” that consists of an axe, saw, 2 small knives (folding and fixed) , small file, and a pair of locking pliers. With this combination I can do quite well in the wilderness performing just about any type of work that requires cutting, chopping, pounding, tearing, filing, or bending. And, aside from the pliers and file, if I do happen to lose a tool, I still have three more that can serve some kind of function cutting wood.
Now don’t get me wrong here, a large blade can definitely be a useful tool in the wilderness for chopping, cutting and slicing. If you wanted to carry one tool and one tool only, the extra heft of a large well-made knife might be the way to go. Then again I’ve seen some highly experienced (key word here) outdoorsmen do some amazing things with a small knife.
Speaking of small knives, the only one that’s going to do you a bit of good in a emergency is the one you have with you. For this reason I choose to carry a Victorinox Rucksack on a daily basis, even in town. Is it the prettiest, most expensive knife out there? Probably not, but I know from experience (there’s that word again) that it will do just about anything I need it to do outside of chopping. I guess that’s why I have so many of them!
I realize that some will disagree with what I had to say and that’s alright. Equipment choice is very personal. I only offered some of the above observations so people will get out and find out for themselves what works and what doesn’t and that you don’t necessarily have to rely solely on one tool to get the job done.
A word of advise. Be careful what you read about on the internet (chat-rooms/forums, etc.) as many of so called knife "reviews" are written by individuals who will never use their tools under true wilderness conditions.
If you really want to know more about which knives work best in real-world conditions, research which knives highly experienced wilderness skills instructors such as the late David Alloway, Joseph "Aboman" Bigley, Ron Hood, Chris Janowski, Mors Kochanski, and Christopher Nyerges (to name a few) prefer...and why. No armchair experts in that group!
Referring back to the second half of your question regarding the Trail-Tube. I’ll try to find some time to update (there’s only photographs at the moment in the Contents section) the article I wrote a while back. I think that will provide a better understanding what went into the idea.
Eric
Copyright © 2005 by Eric Stoskopf. Last updated 07/13/05
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