Can a big blade replace a hatchet/axe?

EngrSorenson said:
so wait... hold up...

you carry a 10” knife because a 1.25-1.5 lbs hatchet is too heavy? I just looked up the specs on the Junglas which is a 10” knife. The “knife only” weight is 23 ounces, or 1.4 lbs. What knife are you using?

I mean, you have a great point- it matters how he got in that situation, but most people don’t go out for a hike carrying a 10” knife, either.
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LOL! Yeah, the Junglas is a beast.... but it's a cool piece. I also like the Ontario RTAK II in this size. They are nigh indestructible, and they do chop.

But if I know I'm going to be doing dedicated chopping, not just incidental, then the Gerber 14 inch hatchet is the same weight and by far better chopper.

If you were more trail hacking, the Junglas or RTAK make a superior tool, as they are pretty much machetes. A hatchet can't sub in for a machete.

Like lots of folks said, it's gonna come down to environment, expected use, familiarity.... hell, just personal preference really.

But as far as the OP's question of whether a big knife can actually stand in for an axe, I'm kinda with Rocky Mountain Bushcraft on the subject.

Rocky Mountain Bushcraft: Knife vs Hatchet-- Which is the King of Chopping?
 
EngrSorenson said:
so wait... hold up...

you carry a 10” knife because a 1.25-1.5 lbs hatchet is too heavy? I just looked up the specs on the Junglas which is a 10” knife. The “knife only” weight is 23 ounces, or 1.4 lbs. What knife are you using?

I mean, you have a great point- it matters how he got in that situation, but most people don’t go out for a hike carrying a 10” knife, either.
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Most of my knives with a ~10" blade weigh just a few ounces over a pound. One weighs 15 ounces. They are Busse and Swamp Rat knives with a .25" spine.

There is also the matter of bulk, which you don't mention. For me, at least, a hatchet is much more bulky and awkward to carry than a slender knife.

A hatchet is pretty much used for just one purpose, chopping, whereas a big knife, especially with a finger choil, can be used for most everything a knife can be used for, including wood chopping. I wouldn't want to clean a fish with a hatchet.

You're right that most people don't go for a hike carrying a 10" knife, but then most people, from what I've seen, think things will always be normal and do not plan for an emergency or survival situation, which unfortunately can happen at any time, at any place.

I don't have anything against hatchets. They are good tools and I have a few, but if I am carrying everything myself in the wilderness I much prefer a big knife for its great versatility and to keep the weight and bulk in my pack to a minimum.
 
Also, and sorry to be so loquacious, if you are in the woods in winter, or even late autumn sometimes, on your lonesome, then it is hard work. I take provisions, I don’t fool about thinking I will forage or trap game. I’m in the UK and I can’t wander around with a rifle or shotgun bagging winter fowl either. That costs more than pennies around here, more is the pity.

Camping wild, in my case with a tarp and bivvy bag, is a lot of work. 6 hours of daylight maybe? But the trees make everything more dim. You burn calories like they are going out of fashion. I take pork, bacon (more pork but salty yummyness), oil (more fat), beans (carbs), tomato purée (sugar), flour, salt and currants to make bannocks (carbs, salt and sugar), more bacon, flapjack (by that I mean oats rolled in honey and baked soft - sugar & fat & carbs).

I eat all of it and welcome, and I am wiry little git! Still wake up ravenous. It takes energy just to stay warm.

First time I did a solo winter escapade for more than a night, I took a BK9 and Adamas, just to see. Wood was frozen, and I mean frozen. It snowed on and off. I had to both cross cut and split wood. Now. I adore the BK9, great knife. I even put ironwood scales on it and a great sheath from Sagewood Gear.

sMaEpjX.jpg


Man. Talk about BOIIIIING! Jeez Belize, frozen wood? Becker ain’t nothing in the face of that shizzle. Yeah, as you can see I have a lanyard on it and, of course, I ‘got her done’. Fun? No. Labour saving? No. Energy draining and needless? Yes.

If you can take both, take an axe or a hatchet. If you don’t have a choice, take a large hatchet or forest axe. You can cut whatever you want with it, including onions and dead standing trees. Can you do it with some big-arsed, beautiful Busse? Yes. But why the hell would you bother, unless you are in high summer and don’t have a hell of a lot else to do?

YMMV

:)
 
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I am in complete agreement, except for the part where you were unnecessarily flattering in assigning this "word" to the category of 'vernacular.' While I suspect that you are correct, technically, I feel there is no situation wherein I would be tempted to use the term 'shizzle' to abbreviate the concept of a wet fart. One word where two would do just fine? If the conversation has already turned that sideways, what's the point of sparing anyone's delicate feelings?!
 
justjed said:
I am in complete agreement, except for the part where you were unnecessarily flattering in assigning this "word" to the category of 'vernacular.' While I suspect that you are correct, technically, I feel there is no situation wherein I would be tempted to use the term 'shizzle' to abbreviate the concept of a wet fart. One word where two would do just fine? If the conversation has already turned that sideways, what's the point of sparing anyone's delicate feelings?!
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That really made me giggle - thank you from a very cold and damp London! :)

I have no riposte, but remain unapologetic about the use, and abuse in terms of spelling, of ‘shizzle’. I am, as those who know me in the rather rough area in which I live, a posh b*****d. It is simply grist to my mill to misappropriate vernacular, whether or not correctly represented in syntax, as it only enhances my natural ability to stimulate a sad shake of the head. ;)
 
Pilsner said:
That really made me giggle - thank you from a very cold and damp London! :)

I have no riposte, but remain unapologetic about the use, and abuse in terms of spelling, of ‘shizzle’. I am, as those who know me in the rather rough area in which I live, a posh b*****d. It is simply grist to my mill to misappropriate vernacular, whether or not correctly represented in syntax, as it only enhances my natural ability to stimulate a sad shake of the head. ;)
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Fo’ shizzle.
 
This subject gets beaten to death a couple of times every year. It's fun to debate things like this, but unless you are building a cabin in the woods, most of this is overkill, IMO.

To me, an axe is not a hatchet. Very different. I have some larger knives that beat my hatchets and still do knife tasks very well. Some are khukuris, and some are more recent designs. In my opinion, they are also safer and easier to use than a hatchet. A big axe will beat both of them hands down, no questions asked.

I seldom carry an axe or hatchet, it's usually a SAK and a folding Silky saw. I'm not trying to build a log cabin, and the folding saw tends to be overkill as well. I think a SAK is all I need 99% of the time.

And if I'm in a tropical area, I'm not carrying anything except a SAK and a machete. Big knives, hatchets, axes, and saws would be useless there. As always, YMMV.
 
A big knife is kindling king in my house. BK2 or a 6 inch Kukri is sitting by my wood burning stove. Hatchets in the house aren't as handy. Just my mileage.
IMHO they can replace the role of a hatchet in many roles.
 
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Pilsner said:
There is never a correct spelling or usage for that piece of US vernacular. It was added for levity, naturally. ;)
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I subscribe to a notion from a quotation that is ascribed to the great Andrew Jackson when he stated:

"It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word."

Never a correct spelling? Poppeecock!
 
Pilsner said:
That really made me giggle - thank you from a very cold and damp London! :)

I have no riposte, but remain unapologetic about the use, and abuse in terms of spelling, of ‘shizzle’. I am, as those who know me in the rather rough area in which I live, a posh b*****d. It is simply grist to my mill to misappropriate vernacular, whether or not correctly represented in syntax, as it only enhances my natural ability to stimulate a sad shake of the head. ;)
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UN-apology unequivocally accepted, without reservation! And, please, by ALL means, feel free to abuse this frenetic genetic abomination of Grammarus Intoxicatus at your leisure, and, for historical and/or scientific reference, be sure to document the results for posterity.

Posh? Something I am not likely to be accused of being anytime soon. Once, perhaps, and long ago, had fortune not taken a few, shall we say, interesting turns, such a lifestyle might have been mine. That life was denied me, thus, I work for a living. BUT, 'b*****d? Gotcha covered, brother! I work in quality control, in a manufacturing environment, and hold several industry-standard certifications. I sit upon my posterior, in an air-conditioned building, and tell other people what they screwed up this time. Suits my disposition perfectly. I am quite good at it, and even rather enjoy it, most days. Not everyone can rightly claim to be a professional asshole.

Then I go home to my house in the woods, where I have about any tool I need for most any job I can think of, and where I will likely end up having to survive out of should lifey things take a seriously inconvenient turn. Yea, and verily, thy mileage dost surely vary somewhat....
 
my choice in knife would be an ESEE 3 in S35VN for its low maintenance and edge retention for what I’d need a knife for.
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Just a little something here you may wish to consider..
Eventually - that blade will get dull - especially if you use it for everything. Out in the middle of nowhere, you'll only have access to what you brought with you.
Just something to ponder.
 
Hal said:
Just a little something here you may wish to consider..
Eventually - that blade will get dull - especially if you use it for everything. Out in the middle of nowhere, you'll only have access to what you brought with you.
Just something to ponder.
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Aha! Fodder for another thread... What sharpener would you carry if you could only have one?...

As my answer to the op...

Around home I keep a small tramontina in my bag, it's used for various duties such as vine clearing, hole digging and kindling processing (I heat with wood). On the now rare occasion that I get away from adulting I take my gransfors small forest axe, along with a folding saw from silky. The last time I went camping I had forgotten just how much I use the axe... It did pretty much every cutting task I needed except for cutting my steak... It could very well have done that though. I however wouldn't want to use it clearing vines around home. So my answer is yes... And also no.
 
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