Camp knife or hatchet?

shootist16

shootist16

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I am going to start camping and hiking and would like to know which performs better at tasks around the campsite, a hatchet or a large knife?

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Dennis Bible
 
Get A khukuri, then you will have the best of both worlds. It can be used to cut (also comes with A small utility knife) and can chop as good as or better than A hatchet. I would give up every knife I own before my H I
15" Ang Khola!
Brian

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I'm living on the edge!
 
Depends a lot what you have around to cut. If you need to cut light brush there is nothing like a long thin machete. If you are going to split a little kindling wood and also drive tent stakes the best thing is a hatchet with a hammer surface on the back. When I hunt I like a hatchet to use to cut bones (knives get too long before they get enough mass to do this well). If you just need something for a little medium wood cutting a khukuri would work well. If you have some heavy wood cutting to do, bring a Swedish folding saw and a small axe.
 
My recent thinking on this has changed. I think the hatchet is the better tool, especially if you get a 3/4 cruisin' axe. And I just bought a couple of 15" Sandvik hatchets from A.M. Leonard.

See www.amleo.com

These are great for putting in your trunk or the back of the pickup. Cost won't break you up. I can buy 5 or 10 of these or more for what you pay for some big camp knives.

But...I'm starting to lean towards the big campknife. The number one reason is that I think they are safer to use. Say you are chopping some small saplings to make a leanto. With a large blade, it's a lot easier to hit your mark. With the hatchet, swing short and you could futz up your leg or more important, critical parts of your body.
smile.gif
I've been using a hatchet since I was a kid and never had an accident but the big knife, I think, is still safer. I have a large, heavy duty Barteaux machete (a really old model with an aluminum handle) and it is quite a chopper. I've cleared a lot of brush and delimbed a lot of trees with it.

Right now I'm considering a RTAK. These seem like the best priced big knife out there for what you get. And I hate rubber-handled knives (no more for me) so the linen micarta handles on the RTAK appeal to me. I'm not worried in the least about the 1095 rusting. A little oxidation on a working knife doesn't mean squat.

Now, if you plan to do some serious chopping, get a full size axe or better (i.e. safer) still, get a saw.

For hiking, skip the big knife and hatchet unless you like to lug stuff around. Unless you are doing a "survival" hike, a small lightweight hunting knife like a Grohmann camper is all you need for most camp chores. The saw on an SAK will cut a lot of saplings but a nice Sandvik folding saw will really do a number and is fairly lightweight. This is my primary tool I use for clearing shooting lanes during hunting (you don't want to advertise your presence by doing a lot of chopping anyway). I haven't tried it but another nifty lightweight saw might be the Opinel.
http://www.marshmanbrothers.com/op2.jpg

I think the large Opinel folder would also make a great campknife!

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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
I'd vote for the hatchet. There is little that can be done with a large camp knife that cannot be done better with a hatchet and a smaller camp knife. The smaller knife will be better at small tasks, and the hatchet will be better at large tasks. A machete is very useful in some terrain, and a saw of some sort is always nice. If, for some reason, the mere number of items was more important than weight or utility, a large camp knife will suit you well. But I see little my hatchet and Endura can not handle.


Stryver
 
I tend to like a lightweight Udhaipur style Nepalese khukuri. The 15” Ang Khola that bteel mentioned is also an excellent, if heavier, khukuri for camp use.

Another tool that deserves consideration is P. J. Turner’s Uluchet. It’s a nice lightweight little folding hatchet/ulu that will perform both knife and hatchet functions. It doesn’t have much of a point though.

There is no best answer to this question. Different strokes for different folks. Hatchets are useful tools also. I wouldn’t turn one down if I needed to chop something.
 
Hmmm... Looking at the original question, I think you need to define what your main tasks are going to be around camp.

Many backpackers carry small tents and camp stoves, and never chop anything. Others make each site the bonfire of the century.

An alternative to the overrated khukuri is a Cold Steel Special Forces shovel. In my experience, it outchops a khukuri, and you can also dig with it. Since I got it, I've retired my favorite hand axe. The whole thing is just over 20 inches, and it fits through two loops on the outside of my backpack.

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-Gregory Zolas
tinsta@hotmail.com
 
I go both ways, sorta AC/DC on this one. It depends a lot on you, what you are more comfortable with. I have heard it said that it is easier to make a mistake with a hachete, I won't go agaisnt that as I do not know, I have never had one, but with any tool there is that possibility.

I have worked with the kukri and for my personal preference I would prefer a large knife similar to Newt Livesays machete or a large bowie, or a barong. This is just me. Native cultures use machetes, barongs, and kukris and get along just fine without an ax.

I also have a small belt ax that I carry a lot and use extensively. I even have used my etool in this role, with success.

You are going to get a lot of different answers, because we have all driven different roads to get here.

How about buying both and trying them both to find what YOU prefer. The cost of either will not break you, check Newt Livesays Wicked KNives website for an excellant not expensive machete/large knife and buy a good hachete, then work with them. Whichever you dont choose for your kit, throw in your vehicle as part of its kit.

This does not give you a clear answer, hope it helps some though.

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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
Hatchet. Big knives are better for clearing trails in the jungle, but in forests, a hatchet will do everything (hammer tent stakes, break up hard dirt when digging a toilet pit, split firewood, sharpen sticks, act as extra anchor point for a tent, break open boxes, etc). A hatchet is also easier to carry (it's shorter - mine is 13 inches and fits nicely in my ice axe loop on my pack). Hatchets are also much cheaper (mine was less than $10).
 
Shootist,

Doggone, you’re never going to get this motley crew to agree upon the hotly debated knife vs. hatchet question.

I guess you’re just going to have to start hiking and camping to find out.

For many years a SAK tinker served all my camping and hiking needs. I never chopped anything. Why don’t you start out with some easy camping trips or hikes and learn what tools work best for you and your tasks. I find that many people have equipment that can perform much better than they can, because they lack the experience to understand its use. Also, just because a particular item performs well for another does not mean you will find it particularly comfortable. Advice and book learning, although useful to get you started, eventually has to take a back seat to experience.
 
i am a big fan of camp knives although it has been a long time since i had one. i have a little eastwing hatchet that i gave my son when i left his mom (i am using his login) that is very nice. however my son likes cold steel bush ranger knives for a camp knife ( a friend let him borrow one) i used it a little and it seemed nice. i carry a small hatchet in my pack when i hike and a knife on my belt i would recomend this combo. the little eastwing weighs in at about 1 and a half to two pounds very light but very nice.
 
Dump 'em both for a 3/4 size single bit or a Hudson Bay ax. If you need to clear brush or grass take along a machete. Ernest Hemingway wrote on one safari that he wished for a Michigan double bit, razor sharp, instead of "this endless sabering of trees." (Hope I got that quote right.)
 
Yes, depends on settings. A Khukri is a good answer though. I'd prefer a blade at least 8 1/2 in long myself
 
A camp ax is a great tool, but one swing with these little devils can cleave your foot in two. I know a real careful fellow that chopped his hand really good. I forget how many stitches, but it was only dumb luck he didn't earn the nickname "Stumpy". My advice would be to stick with a large heavy knife. It's more work to chop without the weight of the camp ax, but its easier to aim, control, and carry. If you want a camp ax to hike with, go nuts. Just be careful... you need your feet to get home.-max7474
 
I do a great deal of camping and canoeing, and such, and I feel that it all comes down to personal preference. As previously mentioned about safety, chopping ability, weight, price, etc. On the other hand, examine your most frequent use of such a tool. If its general use, I wouldn't want to cut rope with a hatchet, let alone cut vegetables and meat for stew with COLD-STEEL's shovel. Perhaps a nice duo of two further extremes could be used rather than settling for one area.--My suggestion: buy an inexpensive model of what you're considering and see if it's really what you want.--My two cents.
 
Those of you who vote for Hatchet, have probably never had a good khukurie. The Nepalese khukuries win hands down in all aspects and can cut like a knife.
 
Don't want to go "technical" on you'l but a "hatchet" is a carpenter's tool - I think you are all referring to a belt or hand ax.. and you are all right - pros and cons exist.. I used to carry a mini-handax similar to the old "Marbles" safety model too light for most things - Machette is a great tool and one can clear lots of brush in a hurry but it's rough to peel carrots with it and cumbersome while backpacking - - a Bowie style or camp knife is great but has limits.. I guess I'd say it depends on what you are out there for and what you potentially could encounter then choose from all the tools. By the way I've field dressed deer with a "classic" sak - there is a cartilage in that pelvic arch that opens like a zipper with a small blade you don't have to chop it at all.
One thing NOT to leave home is a medium pocket knife . what ever you like from a sak to a delica or similar size.. that becomes the tool that is most used for me.

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knife Knuts are sharp people

Jonesy!
 
Tried it for a while but found the hatchet pretty much near useless. The handle is too short to give you leverage and the blades tend to be too light and thick. Given the choice I would go with camp knife (and add a good SAK).

The 3/4 size camp axe is something else entirely. But, this is probably the minimum size for an effective camp tool. If you intend to work wood then take one of these; otherwise go with the camp knife, or for light backpacking the SAK.

 
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