The knife that will do everything?

[Steve6387]

If it were only one to do everything, it would be a multi tool. I've spent years putting hard backpacking and mountain climbing miles on my (newly replaced) knees. My favorite knife to bring was my old leatherman pst. Just super useful tool for many purposes and repairs and a serviceable knife. I might start bringing a mora on future trips. If I am backpacking or climbing, I have my shelter on my back so am not building one. Below treeline I have always been able to scavenge enough wood for a small fire, even in bad weather, so am not chopping or splitting. Above treeline. I have used a stove like had been mentioned to warm up, dry my socks, and cook.

If I were building shelters and had to choose a single knife... Maybe a bk9 or something.


Just my $0.02. Ymmv.

 

[TimmyJ]

One of these would work.

A manly knife of course .

 

[TimmyJ]

I agree with the BK 62.... It is a great knife. I don't have a CPK yet....but I imagine I will eventually.

 

[noviomagus]

Thanks for the info.

I checked out both hatchets online. They look very functional, I was impressed with their low weight, and I've read good things about the quality of both companies.

I've loosened or broken wood axe and hatchet handles before and now prefer all metal handles, such as on my Estwings. An Estwing is too heavy to pack, for me at least, and a big knife (with a finger choil) that can chop wood is easier for me to use, for more delicate tasks, than a hatchet. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just what works best for me for my situation and the environment I am in.

I like the Fiskars X7 a lot. I had several Estwings also. But the steel handle makes for a less effective chopper, balance was bad. And you can choke up with Fiskars axes.
The XA3 (billhook) is also a nice one. Bites even deeper with certain wood than the X7. It's extremely fast. Low priced things , but great performance. Also nearly no shock to hand. Where the Estwing was quite uncomfortable..

 

[RousingRabbles]

View attachment 1501790

Dang, that Loveless is beautiful. Also, today I learned RW Loveless is from where I grew up!

 

[DangerZone98]

If we disregard chopper and machete applications, I’d say my Mora Kansbol is the most versatile in the current collection. Lightweight too, so that’s always a plus.

If it’s the zombie apocalypse or get-home scenario we’re talking about, I’d take the SRK or Recon Tanto.

 

[fuyume]

This may properly be better suited to the wilderness pages, and the moderators will judge if it should be moved! During this bloody pandemic, locked down in the inner city, I've been torturing myself by re-reading 'Woodcraft', by Nessmuk. It really got me thinking about that evergreen topic here on BF - 'if you could only take one knife etc'.

I'd like to point out that Nessmuk never only carried one cutting tool. He goes into great detail describing the process of getting his favorite hatchet custom made, for one thing.

For me, there's no such thing as "only one knife". There is no conceivable situation in which I would be limited to just one tool.

Of all the knives I own, my favorite woods knife is my vintage Gerber Pro-Guide II Drop Point Hunter. I've noticed this series of knives going for ridiculous prices lately on eBay, but they were originally inexpensive knives when they were designed by Brad Parrish back in (I think) the early 1990s. I prefer a cheap, tough, highly corrosion resistant stainless steel that sharpens easily using field-expedient methods. One of these days I will get around to drilling out the scale rivets and fashioning some better scales than the stock hard plastic ones.