Wood cutting knife?

[Unknown abc]

that Buck Mayo Kaala is one freakin' expensive knife!!!

[Lawson Kline]

Buck Knives are expensive because of all the legal fees they pay fighting patent infringement.

[Sanad Toukhly]

"that Buck Mayo Kaala is one freakin' expensive knife!!!" -Evan Szakacs

Evan,
I suppose $60 might be considered expensive to some, however, you are getting a lot of bang for the buck (pun intended). S30V steel is not cheap, and BOS heat treatment is second to none, IMO.

-Sid

[Jeffs Eleven]

At my store we regularly sell knives over $200.

We have knives over $400- and sell them too.

One guy (cant remember his name) makes knives $600 and up and knife collectors buy them up. We sell so many for him, he's giving our sales guy a free one.

While personally, I'll prob never pay more than $40 or so, $60 ain't nuthin'

[Javan Dempsey]

yeah, for custom, handmade stuff, especially of some of the more exotic metals/tempers/finishes, $2-3k and up is pretty normal.

It's just like anything, if you've got a price-point, somebody has a product for you.

[A D]

$60 for a knife is pretty cheap in my book. S30V too. I'm not a fan of hollow grinds though, but it's a solid little knife.

[Mike M]

yeah I wish all my knives cost $60 :)

[Dean F.]

Uh, sorry to interrupt the knife-pron (yes I'm being hypocritical, here) but do you even need a knife at all? I spent ten days in Alaksa once, using a Kelly Kettle for all cooking and never needed a knife (though I admit that I did have one with me). Honest. Pencil-sized twigs and pine cones worked well for everything. Just break twigs with your hands. If one is a little green and doesn't break clean just saw a little bit with a Spyderco or other wicked-light little knife.

OTOH if you're actually just interested in the Zen of carrying a fixed-blade knife around, well, Mora brands are cheap, but not terribly aesthetic with those plastic handles…

[A D]

For me, yes. I do need a knife. I cook on fires when there's no ban.
If it's raining or has been, all wood on the ground is soaked. Batoning is useful, as is feathering.
But no, you don't NEED a knife. You could just eat your food cold.

You don't need tent stakes either. I carve mine with my knife at each camp. I find it ludicrous that people will huff and puff about carrying a knife but have no problem carrying 8 tent pegs that they don't use for anything else.

With my knife I cut cord, prepare food and slice packaging, spread PB, carve pegs and cooking setup for my pot and split wood for fire. With pegs I could…. stick them in the ground.

Keep the pegs but ditch the knife? Um… why?

[Mike M]

I feel I need a knife as well, it resides around my neck w/ ~ 20" of spectra line, a small fire steel, whistle and micro light- if push were to come to shove and I was separated from pack, I'd be in half way decent shape

I'll take the 2.5 oz hit- besides it's not part of my base weight! :D

[Dale Wambaugh]

There are several manufacturers who offer credit card (and smaller) sized diamond sharpeners. You can find pen sized diamond and ceramic sharpeners too. I wouldn't sweat it unless you are going to be out a week or more.

Blade steels:

Carbon steels can be sharpened to scary edges with less effort. And they can rust, but it only takes a little care unless you are around salt water. Some moras and other traditional knives are carbons steel.

I prefer the better grades of stainless steel– AUS8 and 440C. Swiss Army knives are stainless, but I don't know the actual alloy. They are a softer grade of steel.

The tool steels like 154CM, D2, and others hold the edge well and tough. They are very hard and equally hard to sharpen. Some aren't rust resistant and need the same care as carbon steels.

The Spyderco knife web site has some excellent information on knife alloys: http://www.spyderco.com/edge-u-cation/

[Dean F.]

Well, I carry a knife, too, though it is usually the little blade on my Leatherman Micra. But, if we're going to be fanboys, here:

A 0.05oz razor blade will cut cord and open packaging. As will the scissors on a Victorinox or my Micra. You can burn twigs broken by hand and pinecones, as I said, and if such small twigs aren't available then the only way you're carving tent pegs is by mangling live trees. In which case you could just tie off to the trees, eh? Your spoon or spork will spread peanut butter. Your tent pegs double as potty trowels and, in the case of a Tri-Ti or UL Calera Cone, as part of your cookset. Four UL titanium hook stakes can be less than an ounce. So, for a razor blade and four tent stakes we're talkin', what, an ounce? But most stakes are a bit heavier so, what, 1.5oz if you're not a fanatic?

I guess I'm trying to wrap my brain around your perceived need for batoning. For anything but that a small locking folder would be adequate.

HYOH, Brother. But don't kid yourself into thinking that your preference for a big knife is due to anything but aesthetics. :o) This includes the aesthetics of a nice, big campfire, or of your fondness for primitive skills.

Seriously, HYOH. I have my 'luxury items', too.

But as I mentioned, though they are great deals for the price, I don't find Mora knives very aesthetic. The wood-handled ones I've seen look cheap- though admittedly I haven't seen many. I'm the kind of guy who'd go for some ridiculous Damascene blade with fossil ivory grips, or somesuch.

And, admittedly, if I were going into serious wilderness for a long period I'd pack a real knife. And probably an axe. And a Piper Cub, if I could. :o) But the kind of hike where you'd bring a Bushbuddy? Eh. I don't think I would. I fed my Kelly Kettle just fine on twigs.

Another admission- I think the guys who carry only a razor blade are taking things a bit too far. A tiny locking folder weighs almost nothing. And something like a Leatherman Squirt or Micra is really handy for gear repairs, trimming your toenails, etc.

[A D]

Didn't mean to come across too strong.
I had to chuckle at a mora being considered a big knife though.
I have questioned carrying tent pegs a few times and each time been given the response "they're light, they save time, I don't have time to find sticks/ rocks". Really? I tend to have a spare minute when I get into camp. My schedule allows it.

Because the majority of us agonize over every gram, the thought of carrying a (non essential)single use item weighing an ounce or 2, yet believing a knife to be useless is a little odd.

Similarly, the titanium potty trowel. I use a stick, or my heel. They both weigh nothing and are free.

I personally find the BPL article on hiking knives offensive. Stating that only a novice would carry something like a SAK, whilst a master would carry nothing. That's a pretty broad judgement to pass over everyone else. How smug.

Anyway, off my high horse. No offense intended

Batoning is useful to gain access to the dry inner wood that is (for me) often the only usable firestarting material. By batoning and feathering, you don't even need tinder tabs, yet another weight saving, along with ditching the potty trowel and tent pegs :)

[Dean F.]

Heck, no offense meant from me, either. But I think that when people say stuff like "only amateurs carry a big knife" what are are talking about is, indeed, that many amateurs think they need some monstrous Rambo-blade to do a weekender, and that if they don't have one they will perish, etc. Which is ridiculous. (And a triumph of marketing.) And the 'master' they refer to is, I think, a master UL hiker… NOT a master woodsman in general.

Obviously, a knife has great utility. And woodcraft is fun.

I'm just saying that if you are a 'typical' modern hiker who might need to maybe open meal packaging, cut some cord, or trim a toenail, and who uses a cannister stove, etc., then you probably really don't NEED more than a Victorinox or SpyderCo.

As I said, HYOH. There are times that I want a campfire and thus carry something a bit more aggressive, too. But not for my Kelly Kettle. (Actually that's a little disingenuous, as the Kelly Kettle is much too heavy for UL hiking. I only use it for expedition kayaking and a few other activities when I'm definitely traveling "heavy".)

Where are you, by the way, that you have wet wood issues? PNW?

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