[nikto]

their stone knives could not be used for batonning, etc. the lid of my 2 qt canteen cup can be hafted, or used as an ukluk, if i sharpen the convex edge. until I do, nobody who observes the lidded cup/cookpot will realize what the potential of the lid is. I'd rather have a machete than a hatchet, any day. lopping off small limbs is far more likely to be a need than the weight of the hatchet. If the hatchet is an advantage, what you REALLY need is a full sized axe and a real saw!

. The BOB is just to get me to the BOL, and there's REAL tools cached there. Why would I try to use a belt knife instead of an axe, or a folding saw instead of a REAL saw? So the BOB contains only a "hand chain saw" and a multi-tool.

those "neat" videos of guys doing this sort of stuff are NOT about doing such things long-term. that sort of "life' SUCKS, even in the "better" climes/terrains, with real hand tools!. There's a reason why people prefer AC, heated buildings, window screens, instead of log cabins..

 

[nikto]

VERY few places in the lower 48 states are you more than a few hour's walk to fences, wiring, culverts, etc. So you're more likely to have a need of the "other" tools of a multi-tool, than you are to actually NEED to be chopping/batoning with your belt knife. In the time that it takes you to MAKE a decent shelter, (locating it in a decent place) you could have walked to a MUCH better shelter, or at least, to a much better location, with better resources for building a shelter ( like lots of wire, sheeting,, firewood, water, out of the bugs, etc).

I mean, why are you "out there' without a rented satellite phone, hmmm? If you sprain your ankle badly, , fall and bust your knee, etc, a knife's ability to baton (or not) aint going to matter. It aint 1790 and you aint in Alaska. So, if it AINT shtf, you shouldn't be doing much of anything in the way of construction in the woods, unless you've taken the proper tools in with you, as in a generator, or at least, battery powered stuff, chainsaw, etc. so the belt knife thing is a case of ' neither fish nor fowl. It's not a wirecutter, vise grip, file, folding saw, hatchet, machete or chisel, and it's not a shovel, axe, bucksaw, etc. I don't see the point in the things.Maybe a little fillet knife, if you're going to eat the fish you catch and stay "gone" for a week or so. But this 1/4" thick blade, stuff, $300? you're nuts.

 

[gripper]

There are some blades that approximate a " machete/ hatchet combo". Some do better than others, but if weight is your main concern I can see your point. Terrain/ vegetation in your AO would be a factor in your choice I guess. FWIW, I see and have had use for both.

 

[nikto]

the main use, for 90+% is for a rented satelitte phone. I can see having REAL tools stashed at the BOL, but all the "big knife" bs is just that, bs. Very few places remain in the lower 48 where you can't see lights at night. , or where the maintenance of a smoky fire won't bring an investigation within a very few days. So you're not going to have any need of "bushcrafting". Those days are long gone. In alaska, maybe, but you'd have to take the PROPER tools then, (and really know how to use them) CAuse if you didn't get the job done (safely) in time, you'd die of your failure.

 

[nikto]

I once saw a little wagon, all made of Osage Orange heartwood, crafted with just an axe. This was 50+ years ago, in central Illinois.

 

[BigEd63]

Ummm.....no chopping at all???

They did have stone axes though not nearly as efficient as metal ones.

Google it dude.

 

[nikto]

well

very little. many tribes had only blunt war club sorts of "tomahawks". The grinding of stone and understanding of such "edges" was far from being universal. They certainly had nothing like the wonderful "Pathfinder" belt knife.

 

[gripper]

Makes sense.

 

[nikto]

Chopping is noisy and dangerous, especially when exhausted, sick, or hurt. Sawing is much quieter, safer, much less calories burned, lighter tool, can be done in the dark. The only real use I see for chopping is machete type stuff, clearing out underbrush or removing small limbs from a sapling for some sort of crafting, pointing up a stake, etc. Certainly, hatchets and small axes can't accomplish much. Their shorter swing, and lighter weight precludes that, makes them both less efficient and more dangerous. Also, they are inefficient at doing the machete type stuff. Cache a full sized buck saw blade and full-sized axe at your BOL? Sure. Lug an axe or hatchet in the BOB? No.

 

[gripper]

One of my favorite tools is the " Woodsman's Pal" machete/ Brush&printing hook/ hatchet combs.. Surprisingly useful. Additionally, the version I have is the " two handed"( a description that does not preclude single hand use) version with the slightly longer handle.I'd like to see them adapt this to one without the hook and with an extended or chisel type point, but this one IS a pretty versatile cutting ( and chopping) tool. Nothing is perfect, but this works well for me. Be a good melee weapon in a pinch as well.