posted on Feb, 12 2014 @ 01:16 AM
When you're talking knives (swords, axes, spears), the bottom line always comes down to the use case. What are you using it for? Like the OP, I'm
a blade fanatic. I have fixed, folders, automatics, gravity, assisted openers, swords, axes, spears and I love them all. Some are for show (like my
Hibben knives and axes), and some are for work (like my CRKTs and some of my Gerbers) while still some are just because I thought they looked neat.
Many of my knives will never see more than sunlight. A few, however, are my go-to blades.
Gerber EAB - fantastically fearless. It's a box-cutter, basically - but it's so small. I keep one in that tiny right hand pant pocket above the
main pocket that nobody knows what to do with. It doesn't matter what I need to cut, because the blade is reversible and replaceable - I don't
worry about damaging it. I have 6 of them because they're cheap and easy to lose (they are really small) Use case - utility. Single edge.
Gerber Profile - it's a brute. Although not the largest or most impressive knife, I use it for cutting tasks that are a little more aggressive than
the EAB can handle - like beating on it with a stick to cut a larger piece of wood. It can take it. Use case - utility. Single edge.
CRKT ABC - fast and lean. Backside serrations may classify this as a double edge knife - but its use case is a little less savory. I keep it on an
inverted sheath at my back. Use case - defense. Double-edged (sort of).
SOG Spirit - extreme hiking stick. I had been secretly wanting one of these, when my wife spied one while we were out. She liked the way it looked,
and fell in love with the idea that it could be a spear tip. I pitched her my idea of combining one of these with an alpine spike on a hardwood pole
to make the ultimate walking stick - and we walked out of the store with two. Use case for this is ambiguous - defense, hunting, offense - definitely
not utility. Double edged.
In my mind, where knives are concerned - single edge knives do work, double edged knives end lives.
Swords, on the other hand have only one use case (unless you're using your sword as a machete - shame on you). Single/double edge is a matter of
preference. The europeans favored double edged swords because they believed that the ability to strike a blow on the return swing made the blade
twice as deadly. The europeans never faced a Japanese swordsman with his single edged weapon philosophy of keeping the edge sharp by blocking with
the spine.
I'll stop going on about swords because this thread is about bushcraft.
Knives... I love 'em. My wife thinks I love them too much (but she doesn't complain when she finds a Kershaw in her Christmas stocking). My
philosophy is that you should always have 2 on hand, and be prepared to use them. By prepared, I mean it in the boy scout way - know what you're
doing. Be familiar and comfortable with the blade (or type of blade) and know what your limitations are (this includes the blade).