I sat and watched the video's a couple of times through, and there's lots of great stuff there. The man was great, no question about it, and he and his videos have given me a great deal to think about. As a carpenter and craftsman, I doubt he had many equals. With very few tools he carved a living out of the most hostile bush country we have.
But I think about his tools, and I see a theme repeating itself; the right tool for the job. And no fooling around with anything in the mid range. It was all or nothing. His cutting tools went from what looks like a medium size stockman slip joint to a cruiser ax. That was it. To Dick's way of thinking, if his pocket knife was not enough, then it was time for the ax. No half measures there.
When I look back on some of the people I've known who made a living in the outdoors, they all seemed to be of the same mind. All had a sturdy pocket knife, but somewhere in their canoe, truck, fishing boat, shack, was an ax or hatchet. Growing up in the 1940's and 50's, I don't ever remember seeing a large chopper style of sheath knife anywhere. The sheath knives I did see were of the Case and Kaybar little finn types, with the stacked leather washer handles. Maybe about 3 and 1/2 inches in the blade. But I did see a great deal of old well used Eastwings, Plumb, and Vaughn hatchets around these same people.
Being a knife knut, I know we have the "disease", we wouldn't be here if we didn't. So I wonder if maybe our view is tilted out of plumb a wee bit from reality because of our disease. Yes, we love knives, but are they the right tool for the job in a survival situation, or would we be better off like Dick, just using a tool made for chopping. Somehow, Dick Proenekke got by in the wilds of Alaska with a stockman style pocket knife, but had real chopping tools on hand. I watched the videos carefully, and I could see no large sheath knife on him. No rifle either, but I do wonder about that, being in Griz country.
Someplace on this forum I saw the video of the video of the guy that was dumped off in the Canadian north country with nothing in his pockets, but he was with a native indian guide who had just an ax. It was amazing what the guide did with that ax. I recall he even made a fireboard, and did fine carving with that ax. It was his one indispensable tool for survival. No knife, just an ax.
Some years ago, our oldest son, John, was in Costa Rica for several months on business for his company. Whille he was living in San Jose, he arranged for Karen and I to fly down to visit him. Knowing that both of his folks were nature nuts, he arranged for us to take one of those rain forest tours. While in the jungle for the trip I noticed one thing. The guides all carried a 12 inch machete in a nice leather sheath on their belt, and in a nylon pouch on the belt was a sak. They all had a basic sak, like a tinker model, and they used them around camp at night for small jobs. But if the sak was too small, then they pulled out the 12 incher on the belt and had at it. There was no middle ground in cutlery. Nothing between a pocket knife and a 12 inch blade. The guide who was point durring the day on the trail had a 20 something inch trail clearing blade, but the 12 inch job seemed to be the personal knife of choice. Aside from a sak.
Of late, both the wifde and I have been desperate to cut our packs down to just the bare absolute minimum. In our 60's, we senior citizens need to pack as light as possible if we still want to go roam around the woods now and then. I've questioned my need for some things. LIke totally doing away with all mid size cutlery. Steel is heavy, so how much don't we need? If I have a good pocket knife, do I need anything else beside an emergency chopper? Am I hunting? No, so why would I need a 4 or 5 or even 7 inch knife? Both Karen and I carry personal folding kives like Opinels, or sak's, or even my old stockman.
I have experimented with a 12 inch Ontario vs my old boy scout Plumb hatchet, and both are very good cutters of wood. But so is our folding saws and the Sven saw.
No real conclusions, just mental musings and food for thought on how much do we need? Looking at Dick Proenekke and John Muir, maybe not as much as we think.
Carl.
But I think about his tools, and I see a theme repeating itself; the right tool for the job. And no fooling around with anything in the mid range. It was all or nothing. His cutting tools went from what looks like a medium size stockman slip joint to a cruiser ax. That was it. To Dick's way of thinking, if his pocket knife was not enough, then it was time for the ax. No half measures there.
When I look back on some of the people I've known who made a living in the outdoors, they all seemed to be of the same mind. All had a sturdy pocket knife, but somewhere in their canoe, truck, fishing boat, shack, was an ax or hatchet. Growing up in the 1940's and 50's, I don't ever remember seeing a large chopper style of sheath knife anywhere. The sheath knives I did see were of the Case and Kaybar little finn types, with the stacked leather washer handles. Maybe about 3 and 1/2 inches in the blade. But I did see a great deal of old well used Eastwings, Plumb, and Vaughn hatchets around these same people.
Being a knife knut, I know we have the "disease", we wouldn't be here if we didn't. So I wonder if maybe our view is tilted out of plumb a wee bit from reality because of our disease. Yes, we love knives, but are they the right tool for the job in a survival situation, or would we be better off like Dick, just using a tool made for chopping. Somehow, Dick Proenekke got by in the wilds of Alaska with a stockman style pocket knife, but had real chopping tools on hand. I watched the videos carefully, and I could see no large sheath knife on him. No rifle either, but I do wonder about that, being in Griz country.
Someplace on this forum I saw the video of the video of the guy that was dumped off in the Canadian north country with nothing in his pockets, but he was with a native indian guide who had just an ax. It was amazing what the guide did with that ax. I recall he even made a fireboard, and did fine carving with that ax. It was his one indispensable tool for survival. No knife, just an ax.
Some years ago, our oldest son, John, was in Costa Rica for several months on business for his company. Whille he was living in San Jose, he arranged for Karen and I to fly down to visit him. Knowing that both of his folks were nature nuts, he arranged for us to take one of those rain forest tours. While in the jungle for the trip I noticed one thing. The guides all carried a 12 inch machete in a nice leather sheath on their belt, and in a nylon pouch on the belt was a sak. They all had a basic sak, like a tinker model, and they used them around camp at night for small jobs. But if the sak was too small, then they pulled out the 12 incher on the belt and had at it. There was no middle ground in cutlery. Nothing between a pocket knife and a 12 inch blade. The guide who was point durring the day on the trail had a 20 something inch trail clearing blade, but the 12 inch job seemed to be the personal knife of choice. Aside from a sak.
Of late, both the wifde and I have been desperate to cut our packs down to just the bare absolute minimum. In our 60's, we senior citizens need to pack as light as possible if we still want to go roam around the woods now and then. I've questioned my need for some things. LIke totally doing away with all mid size cutlery. Steel is heavy, so how much don't we need? If I have a good pocket knife, do I need anything else beside an emergency chopper? Am I hunting? No, so why would I need a 4 or 5 or even 7 inch knife? Both Karen and I carry personal folding kives like Opinels, or sak's, or even my old stockman.
I have experimented with a 12 inch Ontario vs my old boy scout Plumb hatchet, and both are very good cutters of wood. But so is our folding saws and the Sven saw.
No real conclusions, just mental musings and food for thought on how much do we need? Looking at Dick Proenekke and John Muir, maybe not as much as we think.
Carl.