Where do you go to use your knives?

not2sharp

not2sharp

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I have been collecting and trading knives for a long time and enjoy the historical and aesthetic aspect of knife collecting. But, now with the holidays coming up it occurred to me that if a younger member of the family were to ask to borrow and use a knife I wouldn't know where to send them to test it. Most of the articles and videos that people post shows them chopping up miscellaneous stuff in their back yards. I used to hike, backpack and camp when I was younger and it wasn't a problem then, but it seems to be getting harder to find public land where you can find and harvest wood or even build a small fire.

Then there is the whole issue of hiking into a state or federal park with a khukuri or machete sized blade hanging off of your pack; I am less concerned with kind of stares you will be getting these days than I am with the possibility of confronting real law enforcement issues.

Lets face it; most of us live and work in dense urban areas and simply do not have access to private forested areas, and many public areas are not as knife friendly as they once were. So lets talk about those accessible places that still allow people to play with their knives. What are some of your favorite destinations for a some knife related R&R?

n2s
 
I usually use my knives for EDC tasks and for work in the house or in the back yard

I am lucky enough to have some woods around and I can take the time to make a walk and try my knives on something different

However I usually carry/use sub 4” blades and not machetes
 
I go to work. That being said I just carry folders and don't (currently) carry in my off time. Fixed blades are, like you mentioned, prone to get attention and hassle.
 
Good knife use begins at home in the kitchen. If you’re lucky enough to have a fireplace or bbq to cook on you can make feather sticks and baton to your heart’s content. It’s food purposed so it comes full circle.
 
I don't live in a forest but on the high plains of Colorado. We have five trees that look something Charlie Brown would try to hang an ornament on. But there is always something that needs cutting. For an apartment dwelling urbanite to receive a large non-culinary knife, I suppose it would be like me getting a sword as a gift: "Hey, this is a great saber! Now who needs some killing?" But then I do like sabers and it's time to get another. :rolleyes:

Zieg
 
91bravo said:
Go to a National Forest. You can hunt, fish, camp, hike and build fires! At least the National Forests here you can...
Click to expand...

Can you share the name of the park with us. I hope that we can put use this thread to put together a list of suitable destinations.

n2s
 
Even in my country, where we decimated the vast majority of our arboreal forest more than 1,000 years ago, you can find places where other people simply don’t go. The reality is the same in most developed countries: if you want to lose yourself, or lose the presence of others, then you need to use shanks’s pony. Most people won’t stir more than 50 yds from their car. And the few who do will almost always follow established trails or paths. Effort is usually rewarded. YMMV.

Oh, knowing how to navigate with a map and compass really helps. ;)
 
91bravo said:
Go to a National Forest. You can hunt, fish, camp, hike and build fires! At least the National Forests here you can...
Click to expand...
Yes, this. And in my state, state parks are plentiful. Day use is free. I was checking out a camp ground to take my daughter. Little day trip. Tested out a new knife. Made a fire to cook lunch.

clXuljQ.jpg

8mQcJo7.jpg


not2sharp said:
Can you share the name of the park with us. I hope that we can put use this thread to put together a list of suitable destinations.

n2s
Click to expand...
This would be a bit tedious. In my state, just about every state park is open for day use. All you have to do is get there. Here is the website with a list of all the parks: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/stateparks/Pages/default.aspx

Another option is looking at the A.T. Regulations on various things like fires are different for each state and area. I know going out and testing a knife is not illegal in most states.
 
craytab said:
Yes, this. And in my state, state parks are plentiful. Day use is free. I was checking out a camp ground to take my daughter. Little day trip. Tested out a new knife. Made a fire to cook lunch.

clXuljQ.jpg

8mQcJo7.jpg



This would be a bit tedious. In my state, just about every state park is open for day use. All you have to do is get there. Here is the website with a list of all the parks: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/stateparks/Pages/default.aspx

Another option is looking at the A.T. Regulations on various things like fires are different for each state and area. I know going out and testing a knife is not illegal in most states.
Click to expand...
And what you are basically referring to is the great outdoors! I’m a curmudgeon, and I tend to think that if someone is posting here then they have internet access. It follows, then, that the benefit of Google is just as available to them as it is to me. If they spend money on fine knives, then ordering some local maps and a compass should also be within reach. I generally don’t tend to direct people to exact spots that I have found. I’m no genius. If I can find places, so can others. If I make it public online, then bang goes my solitude. Like I said, I’m a curmudgeon. ;)
 
Well the first thing to do is sit down and teach your kids knife safety. Give them a nice small knife and teach them the basics like cutting away from yourself.

I feel like there are ways to carry a knife that are non-threating. I've ran across guys where it's like they make a point of you seeing it, or they start handling it in front of people for no reason. Now days I realize they were just showing it off, but drawing unnecessary attention to something is a good way to get it taken away. To me it's no different then when someone points a gun in someone else's direction, they maybe didn't mean anything by it but who ever had the gun pointed at them are going to think the other person shouldn't have it.
For me it's just common sense. If you have to use your knife in front of non knife people. Do things like open it slowly instead as fast as ninja possible by doing that you show them it's a tool. Don't give a 10 year old a machete and let them run wild.

If you use common sense you will find you can take a knife just about anywhere without problems.
 
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