What knife do you carry backpacking?

>I carried a hatchet on my very first backpacking trip on which I almost died…

Was there a relationship between the hatchet and almost dieing?

I tried using a razor blade to make a fuzz stick. Have a nice new scar on my thumb.

I took the scissors from my little classic knife and they work well for cutting small-diameter line, but not much else. Poor choice for removing splinters, but great for cutting open MP1 tabs.

I now have a small Ladybug by Spyderco. This is just right.

I carry a small, assisted opening Kershaw with a clip, that a vendor gave me. Carry it every day.

Hey guys

Evan – They still make Buck knives. Last year I was feeling nostalgic for my old Navy days, so I went and picked one up at a local sporting goods store. You're right, they are one of the best folding knives made and they definitely hold an edge well. Like you, I 'm also a big fan of a good folding knife with no extras.

Question: I've been thinking about trying Ray Jardine's fixed blade knife kit just for kicks. Has anyone made and/ or used this knife. And, if you have, what do you think of it?

Lynn, I'd love to hear the ax story "I carried a hatchet on my very first backpacking trip on which I almost died…" I almost lost a finger twice this summer to my tommohawk. I think I have learned my lesson for now and have chopped well over a cord of wood this winter with it and no major injuries. As a sailor losing an appendage is a right of passage and you get a hook. For the UL BPer maybe you could attach a ti spork or something. All I can say is thank god for duckt tape cause thats all I had to top the squirting. Ali

Eeeeyewwww Ali, thanks for the graphics. You may have hit on the newest and coolest in SUUUUL fashion-chop off a limb to reduce total skin-out weight!

Yeah I know they still make Buck knives, in fact, they have a factory in my very own Post Falls!

What I meant was I could not find any kind of marking on it except the Buck logo.

Lynn, the ax was not involved. I almost died on the trail because of my pack weight :)

Edit: got Ali and Lynn mixed up, sorry

cheers

Hello, Ray jardines Knife kit is a simple stick tang scadi ground knife blade with a wood block you shape for a handle and the nessecary hardwear. If you are interested in making your own knife then that is cool but you can buy many similar knives allready made for under $20. One of my favorite Internet knife retailers is Ragweedforge.com. The owners name is Ragnar and he is a really cool guy, very knowledgable in all things scandi and his prices and shipping are very fair. You can also buy many different kinds of blades, handle material and hardwear So you can truely make a one of a kind knife.

If you want a good knife that is very affordable then take a look at the Frosts of Sweden. If you want something that looks nice and don't mind spending a little more then Helle of Norway is the very finest IMO.

I should mention I am not affiliated with ragweedforge.com.

Joseph,

Very cool website. Large selection, too. I could never find a fixed blade I liked. I haven't seen a lot of these knives around. That's a good thing to me. Thanks for the tip.

Nice knives, Jordan. Are they all homemade from the Ray Jardine stuff?

This year at BSA Camp Easton (my troop is lucky because we are less than a 20 min. drive from Easton – only across lake CDA!) I am going to take the Metalwork and Leatherwork merit badges in hopes that in my free time, I can make a "blade" out of steel (not sharpen it too much because Easton does not allow sheath knives), and perhaps scrounge up enough leather that I can make a sweet handle for it.

My first attempt will most likely be somewhat crude, but my neighbor who's a mechanic can sharpen it nicely with his tools.

-Evan

Ali,

I liked the match case as well. Looks like I found two. The first is a Silva and I found it at a couple of different sites:

http://www.thecompassstore.com/matchcase.html

http://cspoutdoors.stores.yahoo.net/simacaco.html

But the one in the photo looks like this one. I think I like this one the best. There are also two different sizes depending on what type of match you want to carry

http://www.kmmatchcase.com/index.html

P.S. I like your website as well.

Jeff

Thanks jeff, I'm planning on testing my survival kit in may and this should fit the bill. I'm going for 3 days with nothing but my basic kit and a big hunkin knife. Ali

Right on Ali…
Everyone has a kit, but how many people have tried to use it?
I used to do short trips in the local mountains with mine- I'd come back cold, tired, and super hungry, but the point is, I'D COME BACK, and I learned a little more each time about wwhat would be better to carryor not.

I don't want to hijack here, but I way prefer carrying a firesteel and tinder over matches…Why do you like matches?
We should start a seperate thread on this, I'm curious about other people's justifications for what's in their kits.

I will be carrying matches and a steel and making a bow drill. I'm looking to see what I really can and cant do without. The reason for the matches is when its really cold, numb shaking hands can fail at a flint. I will be carrying hurricane matches and doing a three way comparison. I will also have commercial pocket size kit to side compare to mine. Cold wet hungry yes. I will also be testing the fishing kit on the commercail unit. I tend to think that I am a great fisherman and have actually caught a fish one time with my bare hands but dont expect much to come from it. I wont be hunting and dont really expect to eat more than I can forrage. Its always been my opinion that all you need are two things to survive in the wild. Ali

If a new thread hasn't allready been started I will start one with a video I made of the contents of my survival kit.

Leatherman Skeletool CX..

I prefer a small (3-4") fixed blade myself. The Ray Way kits are fairly cheap, bring out my inner artist, and pretty light as well. Here are two that I made. I added some buffalo horn to the darker one and it still only weighs 1.7 oz. I made up a kydex sheath with a firesteel holder to go with it. Total weight is still only 3.5 oz. I've used this knife for batoning and splitting wood and it holds up great. The scandi grind is also very easy to sharpen to a wicked edge (hence the four stitches I had to get in my finger a couple of weeks ago).

Those Ray Way knives look interesting.

I've seen those Helle knives before. They really are a work of art.

This is an interesting thread. I usually carry a folding, locking knife (CRKT Lake, 3.25" blade) and a Leatherman Blaze. I use the knife mostly for just routine things like cutting line and working with food. I carry a bigger knife (bigger than a SAK anyway) because a bigger knife can be used for so many things if you get into a survival situation, particularly for fire making. The Leatherman I seldom use. Occasionally I use the pliers or scissors, but not often.

I've been thinking of switching to just my Victorinox Supertinker SAK, but the pliers on the Supertinker are pretty weak. Good enough to tread a needle or something light, but not good enough for heavier materials like pots, stoves, tent poles, etc.

You can (I have) go years without needing a more sizeable knife or a Leatherman the size of a Blaze. On the other hand there was one trip in 1984 where the "stuff" really did hit the fan (a one day hike turned into a three day hike), and having had a solid knife and a Leatherman Blaze would have made a real difference. So how much weight do you carry for "just in case" purposes? I doubt there's an easy answer, but I'd be interested in hearing people's feedback.

Lee,
What is the weight of the knife and sheath on the right in your pic ?

Thanks.

This workshop sure looks fun:

http://www.creativetourism.co.nz/workshops_barrytown_art.htm

John,
I just threw the knife on the right of my picture onto the digital scale. The total weight of the knife and leather sheath was 3.5 oz. The knife alone was 1.9 oz. I've been trying to figure out some way to make a lighter sheath. The kydex is a little bit lighter than the leather, but it still weighs almost as much as the knife alone.

Aside from my Spanish Machete, i decided i dont usually need a real blade, but it would also really suck to need one and not have anything at all. So i made a really small handle for an exacto knife by rolling up aluminum foil and JB welding the blade in place. I managed to whittle nice tent stakes and clean some trout pretty easily(seal the handle off so the guts dont stay inside). I made one with vinyl tubing over an aluminum flashing handle, and then a lighter one with just a rolled up piece of fosters can. I cant find what number blade i used. The one with vinyl is prolly under 5g and i would be suprised if the smaller one is much more than a gram. Kinda guessing, i have a crappy scale. Better than nothing….barely….but suits my needs. Ill try to post a pic but its my first try.

I have a small Mora with a 2.25" blade that they sell as a detail carving knife (faces, etc). I made a sheath out of 1/16" thick leather – side sown with a small extra piece (welt) to protect the stiches from the blade, and a belt loop (2×3/4").

Weight of the knife is 1.75 oz. Total weight with the sheath is 2.25 oz. I oiled the sheath so 2.25 oz is the "semi-wet" weight. Not sure if the 1/16" leather will hold up or not though. Been using it for a few days, no signs of wear from the blade yet…

ps: I was able to split 1.5" thick sticks length-wise using my standard 3.25" Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox Spartan) and a baton – with no ill effects to the knife.

I recently went to a wood (and Esbit) stove, so my knife choice has changed, carried a SAK Classic and it worked well for everything I asked of it (I used the scissors more than the knife!). I wanted something that could baton/split small pieces, make fuzz sticks, carve and clean trout/grouse.

I looked and looked and finally settled on a Landi PSK knife. Full tang, 1095 steel made from full 1/8″ stock. The knife is 6 3/8″ overall w/ a 2 1/4″ blade. I ordered w/ thin (1/8″) scales to save a little more weight. The Landi differs from a lot of other small full tang knives in that the handle size is larger (longer) than most- fits comfortably in my medium-ish hand. John utilizes a flat grind for strength, it comes razor sharp and holds a edge nicely. The spine of the knife is very square and makes using a firesteel very nice.

The knife weighs in at 2.7 oz, the kydex sheath 0.6 oz. I carry mine w/ a neck lanyard (2.5mm Spectra)- I added a small plastic ring so it would break in an advent of a fall (the Spectra is in the 250 # test range). I also added a Fox micro whistle, along w/ a Photon light. I wrapped the sheath w/ 15′ of the Spectra (extra guy line, lashing for a debris shelter, etc). Within the lashing is secreted a 3/16 x 2.5″ firesteel. I also added a wrist lanyard w/ a double cordlock- this allows me to secure the knife fully in a neck carry (the knife snaps in nicely into the kydex- just an extra measure).

total weight w/ knife, sheath, cordage & hardware, whistle, firesteel and light is 4.7 oz