What are your minimum edged tools?

[Joe13]

I am trying to downsize my edged tools to conserve weight and would like some input from yall.

Right now I take 3" fixed blade, 4" fixed, hatchet and machete.

I've been looking at kukuri to replace my hatchet and machete and possibly my 4" fixed.

So, would a Rat3 and a kukuri handle all your woods crafting jobs? Gut and skin big game?

Id love any ideas - I'm not looking to buy every gimiky blade to see what's junk and not - that's why I have all of you.

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[Just Jim]

I keep a hunting setup and a bug out set up. Hunting has a skiner and a hand saw. Bug out has a bayonet that fits rifle and a multitool.

 

[IronMonster]

It's kind of a crazy question. In my opinion a small axe and a good pocket knife is a minimum. What and where are big considerations though.

 

[erudne]

I have used a bush knife, heavier than a machete, shorter blade, as an all purpose cutter and packed a knife and folding saw as well. Works for shelter and trap building, firewood

 

[rick benjamin]

In my hunting day pack I carry a short Gerber hatchet, a cape knife, a hunter knife. Among other things

 

[mjbskwim]

A blade is not a replacement for a hatchet/axe,not even a kukuri.Blades are not for processing wood.
So what I have with me,if hunting is my EDC folder , a 5-6" fixed for animals, and a saw or hatchet in the truck for other stuff. If you aren't back too far from the truck you can retrieve the hatchet or saw to field dress.If you are way back then I guess I would take them with.
You can split these up if you have a partner hunting with you to lighten the load
For butchering a deer,all you need is a small filet knife and an implement to break the pelvic bone. Filet knives suck for skinning but will work. I saw 1 guy on you tube doing a deer for a friend and nobody had anything but a pocket knife.Hey he got it done!
For bug out I would use the same but would carry a small hatchet or my Woodsman's pall also.Woodsman's pal isn't the best for splitting wood,but you don't have to split wood for fires.
I look at options and ways to cut down,but then I remember it will just be a lot easier with the right tools

 

[WAYNO]

I carry one medium-sized folding knife on my person when I'm hunting. I have saws, a Woodsman Pal, a boys axe, and an assortment of knives in my vehicle if I need them. I've never had to use anything more than my folder while in the field.

WAYNO.

 

[Joe13]

All great points!

I should have stipulated in West Wa, away from the vehicle.

I always keep a full sized axe in the truck. Probably should add a good saw as well.

I also have never personally needed to "baton" a knife, nor do I really split wood - I just find smaller stuff that dries faster and build out from there.

I mostly use the hatchet if I'm away from my rig and want a fire, or to modify a stump to sit on etc.

Worst case would be to build a shelter for the night so nothing much larger then a few inches average.

I've yet to need it but have a couple skinning knives I take when I'm trying for big game.

 

[RBid]

I'm not a hunter, but I can address the other stuff. A 3"-3.5" folder and a camp saw are all I would need for pretty much any task.

Ultralight campers are great to look to for different angles of problem solving.

 

[Joe13]

Oh, and the ever glorious berry bushes are generally what I use a machete for; that and thistles, twigs etc.

 

[156256Hunter]

For hunting: a smaller fixed blade skinning knife, a big knife w/ half serrated fixed blade, a small folding wood handsaw (to go with tinder and tree pitch already in pack), and two Coleman pocket hand saws for the pelvic bone (need more than one because they break if you're not careful). Maybe a hatchet in the truck, and a chainsaw in the truck bed secured with a cable lock.

 

[Brutus57]

My bob has a hunting/ fighting knife and then this kinda odd item that I bought because it was light and inexpensive.It is all one piece steel hatchet with a very short handle that fits in the hand and not much more. It's grip is simply para cord and I can easily fasten it on to a woods made haft in a pinch for more robust wood processing. It's very sharp and cost less tHan 10.00 on sale. I have considered a Swedish folding saw but my bob is not meant to build a homestead, just a temporary shelter. If money and weight were minor objects I'd carry an Estwing hatchet. And I always carry a medium Swiss army pocket knife.

Brutus out

 

[IronMonster]

Well just at a minimum, just a few things really. I mean just for EDC. Not including what's in the truck, or the BOB, or at the shop but just at a MINIMUM.

 

[156256Hunter]

This guy has some cool looking stuff. Integrity Implements located in Forest Grove. <broken link removed>

 

[Joe13]

Well just at a minimum, just a few things really. I mean just for EDC. Not including what's in the truck, or the BOB, or at the shop but just at a MINIMUM.




View attachment 221677

Thats what I'm trying to avoid!!!

 

[mjbskwim]

For hunting: a smaller fixed blade skinning knife, a big knife w/ half serrated fixed blade, a small folding wood handsaw (to go with tinder and tree pitch already in pack), and two Coleman pocket hand saws for the pelvic bone (need more than one because they break if you're not careful). Maybe a hatchet in the truck, and a chainsaw in the truck bed secured with a cable lock.

Oh yeah the truck sometimes looks like ,well the truck I used to have,looked like ironmaster's pile. I would have a medium sized axe,2 knives in the door,1 of those Havalons in my truck pack,bone saws,wood saws,polanski,and whatever else I could talk myself into.
This was besides what I had to take with me on foot
Heck there was room,why not?

 

[Brutus57]

You had Roman Polanski in your truck? Ahhhh Pulaski is what they called them round here.

Brutus out

 

[forefathersrback]

Well just at a minimum, just a few things really. I mean just for EDC. Not including what's in the truck, or the BOB, or at the shop but just at a MINIMUM.




View attachment 221677

Holy Crud! IronMonster, is that why you call yourself IRONMONSTER?

 

[IronMonster]

Well, I am a blacksmith.

There are several in that pic I forged myself including the viking hatchet and the zombie axe with the baseball bat handle.

Really this was just what was handy in the room I was in when I thought to take the picture. I could probably come up with a pile three times that big if you gave me 15 minutes.

I like sharp and pokie things, what can I say?

 

[The Heretic]

It depends on what I am doing, where I am at, and where I plan on going.

I do almost always have one knife on me - usually a folding knife (like my Tool Logic SLP2), and in that case then it would have to be what I would use - not because it would be my first choice, but because I can't go around carrying a kukri or even a 4+ inch fixed blade on my person everywhere I go - it just isn't accepted in the office or even in most public places.

I have a Cold Steel Survival Edge, which is very similar to a Mora Companion - it might even be made by Mora (I also have some Mora knives - like the MG860 Companion) but with a hollow handle and a firesteel in the sheath. It is very light and nice for small chores like fixing food, or skinning/preparing small game, any light small task. It is so light that you don't notice you have it at all.

My next step up is my Gerber Prodigy, which is like a smaller/lighter and less expensive (under $40) LMFII (I have an LMFII too) without the blade sharpener in the sheath. This is what I would want for more general or heavier tasks.

So generally I would have at least three knives if I was going out in the woods for anything beyond a few hundred feet from my house - the pocket knife, the CS and the Prodigy.

I might also carry my Ka Bar Kukri if I anticipate I will be doing any light brush clearing. I have a Gerber brush tool, but except for lighter stuff (like brambles) the Kukri is better - it has more chopping power.

Any woody plant or tree over an inch or two, I would use my CRKT Woods Chogan.

Each of these tools does certain tasks better than the others, and each is a compromise for other tasks.

I could maybe chop up some wood for a fire with the CS Survival Edge or Mora, but it would take forever and I might break the knife.

I could maybe gut and skin a squirrel or rabbit with the Woods Chogan, but again, it would take forever, be very messy, and I would maybe even cut myself.

The proper tool for the proper job.

I don't mind taking along the folding knife and the CS S/E or the Mora as they are so small and light that I would not even notice them. Whether I take the Prodigy depends on how long I plan on being out. Whether I plan on taking the belt axe depends on where I am going and what I plan to do.

If I was going out on foot for more than a few days, where I anticipate I may need to process wood for a fire and/or shelter, then I would take the Chogan and a folding bow saw (I have a Sven, but I plan to get a better one) or just a bow saw blade. Ditto with hunting medium to large game; a hatchet or belt axe is handy for splitting pelvis bones and quartering up the carcass, and a meat/bone saw blade is good for cutting up large carcasses into more manageable pieces (I once had to haul a deer up out of a ravine, one hand on a rope to pull myself up, the other hand on half of the deer).

Can you baton or chop through wood with a knife? Yes, but it is more work than using a hatchet or belt axe. Even the Kukri doesn't chop or split near as well as a one pound hatchet, and the one pound hatchet doesn't chop or split as well as the 2 pound Chogan t-hawk. I prefer not to abuse my knives that way just to prove I can do it.

As I said, it is all a compromise between weight and size and utility.