Knives necessary in the outdoors?

pict said:
Seriously this thread is like asking crack addicts if a pipe and lighter is really necessary. Mac
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Nope, pipe, knife, hearth, drill, bow and piece or paracord will do ya fine!
 
Blowtourch? That is an old indian trick, all of us old indians use it.:D

In a pinch, zippo fluid will work.;)
 
udtjim said:
Blowtourch? That is an old indian trick, all of us old indians use it.:D

In a pinch, zippo fluid will work.;)
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I'm not above using Zippo fluid, nowadays. Sometimes I wish I still had C-4: just peel off a chunk and light it. It was a pretty good fire starter, once upon a time. Still, a blowtorch would be better, if it didn't weigh so much.:D
 
Empty nasal spray botttles filled with alchol work well, Just don't get the bottles mixed up, or mark them well. WHOZERS. :eek:
 
I like that nasal spray bottle idea.
Hmm on that point should I try filling one with Bourbon? probably not.
Again I'll mention the perfect tinder produced by a pencil sharpener.
Carl
 
dawsonbob said:
I'm not above using Zippo fluid, nowadays. Sometimes I wish I still had C-4: just peel off a chunk and light it. It was a pretty good fire starter, once upon a time. Still, a blowtorch would be better, if it didn't weigh so much.:D
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C4 was good substitute for Hex tabs too. :D
 
Nomad333 said:
Honestly, i did read much past the 1st page.
My personal belief is "It's better to have and not need then to need and not have."
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That's exactly why I always carry a one legged barbie doll with the left eye missing and a small ziplock bag with freeze dried goldfish excrement with me at all times.

Why ?

Because "its better to have it, and not need it, then to need it, and not have it."
:rolleyes:
 
necessity, no. but itd make life WAY easier....im sure we can all agree on that.

hawkings: id like to see some pictures of that!! :p
 
G'day Rick

Magnussen said:
This is a statement that gets used a lot (for different items).... My only problem with this mentality is it poses many other questions regarding gear choices.

Do you carry.... a gun?... bear spray?... back-up blades?... GPS?... PLB?.... etc....

all those fall under the same category, IMO.
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To be honest I tend to think of the often used expression "two is one , one is none along the same lines. Where does it reasonably end :confused:

For example 10 is 9, but 9 is 8, but 8 is 7, but 7 is 6, but 6 is 5, but 5 is 4, but 4 is 3, but 3 is 2, but hang on a minute 2 is only 1 & my god 1 is none. Does it mean I should carry 11 of everything?

Useful expressions are one thing, but I worry when they are repeated like a mantra.

As is always the case, common sense & experience goes a long way :D




Kind regards
Mick
 
Mick... nice:thumbup:..... but don't throw math at me this early, brother... that is uncalled for.:confused:








Rick:p
 
Codger_64 said:
Improvising a cutting edge isn't rocket science. It doesn't have to be art either since it isn't going to be an accurate airborne projectile. It doesn't take much skill to find an already sharp flake of chert, flint or other stone. It doesn't have to be shaped like a modern knife and doesn't have to be hafted.

Without said "jive" skill, what will you do when your knife gets lost or stolen? Reach down and pick up a sharp rock, or strike two round rocks together to percuss off a conchoidal flake?

Like a more "refined" knife that resembles a modern one? Learning to knap and haft isn't beyond the abilities of most children, and certainly few teens can't master it. Sure, it takes a little bit of effort. But there is comfort in knowing that if you find a loose thread, you won't die if you've lost your knife.;)
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I didn't say learning to knap was hard. I said if you know nothing about it, which most people don't, and find yourself in a survival situation, knapping isn't going to help. There is more to knapping flint than hard rock/flaky rock, and there is more to a knife than a cutting edge. I didn't say anything about dying without a knife, survival is much more to do with whats inside than whats in the hand. If I lose my knife in the woods, I'll use the other one I carry. If I lose that, I'll use the other one. If I lose all my knives (which don't weigh lbs by the way), i'd try my hand at knapping (if I had to). This isn't an argument that can be won be either of us. I would rather have a tool to help make a bad situation more comfortable (even if its only mentally)...and for me thats a knife, or two, or three.
 
John said:
I didn't say learning to knap was hard. I said if you know nothing about it, which most people don't, and find yourself in a survival situation, knapping isn't going to help. There is more to knapping flint than hard rock/flaky rock, and there is more to a knife than a cutting edge. I didn't say anything about dying without a knife, survival is much more to do with whats inside than whats in the hand. If I lose my knife in the woods, I'll use the other one I carry. If I lose that, I'll use the other one. If I lose all my knives (which don't weigh lbs by the way), i'd try my hand at knapping (if I had to). This isn't an argument that can be won be either of us. I would rather have a tool to help make a bad situation more comfortable (even if its only mentally)...and for me thats a knife, or two, or three.
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Don't you think it might be better to learn at least the rudiments of knapping before you might need it in an extreme situation?

It can be interesting and fun to learn, and it's a skill you can always take with you, just in case. If worse came to worst, you could always make a blade to use for survival. Having that skill instills a certain amount of confidence in a person. Okay, I lost all my knives and I need to cut/chop/scrape/whatever to make things better — no problem, because I know how to make a blade. My feeling is that it's a little late to "try your hand at knapping" when you're deep in the doo-doo.
 
I don't need a knife. Ever. Or an axe for that matter.
With my Psych degree I can talk wood into splitting and chopping itself. I can talk animals into hanging themselves, so I don't really even need to set snares.

If that fails, I'll just stare the wood down and threaten it into breaking itself into the pieces I want. I learned that from watching a Chuck Norris marathon.

Who needs a knife?

That said, I do sometimes carry a butter knife in case I feel like wrestling with a Grizzly bear or carving a stone monument to myself.

I am a manly man. Women desire me. Men fear me. Animals flee at the mere mention of my name.

Man, my chest will be sore from all that thumping...

I think Rick proved very adequately in one of his posts that you CAN get by without a knife.
 
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