The Double Edge Knife and Survival/Bushcrafting

reply to post by MystikMushroom


Now you're talkin'. Check out the vintage Lamson chef knives on ebay.

2nd

That would be the one for your boot.

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).

reply to post by stutteringp0et


The Cav scout way is a bit different.I carried a Gerber Mark II ( My division command forbade knives over 6" but they didn't come up to check).I had a multitool and an Al Mar warrior knock off in my pack,sap gloves,steel toed Tanker boots from the Cav store,a choice of a 203 or the M60 ( I slinged the '60 since I was in armor support ,no real long patrols in Desert Storm.