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Is there really any point to the KBar style 4-6in bladed wilderness survival/camping knives you see in all the sporting goods stores? They either folding, or fixed blade. There are so many brands like Gerber, ESEE, Buck, Shrade, Benchmade etc etc. And they are pretty expensive too because of celebrity endorsements, and aesthetics.
They cannot do better nor are more versatile than a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, or a Leatherman Multi-Tool. If you going to carry an edged tool then just bring a machete, or a hatchet. If you are going camping the weight of a machete, or hatchet wont make that much difference. I just dont see a need for a tool that is in between machete/hatchet, and little pocket knife.
The only possible reason I can come up with is as a concealed weapon. Well the fixed blades no easier to conceal than a snubby so why not just carry a snubby? I dont there is any jurisdiction that lets you carry a knife but not a gun. What was the original purpose of the US army KBar knife?
I've wondered about those huge knives too. Unless it's to be used as a weapon, they seem like more of a problem than a solution.
I've been hunting for many decades, and I can field dress and even butcher large game with a small 3-inch blade (worn on my hip). I'd hate to try that with one of those oversized ones. I think it would actually be dangerous to have that much sharpened surface near my fingers (like when you're skinning).
Back in the 80s, I worked as a deckhand and rigger (offshore oil). It was a rule that we carried fairly large knives in a scabbard. The foreman refused to allow you on deck with a small or folding knife. The lines we used could be up to 3 inches thick, and we had to prove our ability to cut free of a tangled line quickly (for obvious reasons). This was the only case I've seen for having a really large knife.
If you were actually in the wilderness you'd see the need for a larger knife with a 6 inch+ blade.
As a hunter/trapper/survivor for most of my life, a 3 inch blade works for gutting and skinning small game up to a deer, but once you get up to elk size, it just creates a lot of unnecessary work using a small blade.
While a huge Rambo style knife is just added weight, a good fixed blade of 5-7 inches works well when breaking down carcasses for transport. I've had to field dress a cow with a 3 inch blade to save the meat, it will get the gut out, but that's about it. I couldn't break the pelvis, split the ribs or separate vertebra or remove the head. Just not enough blade to do the work.
I usually carry an ax head I can make a handle for for heavy work like splitting wood or cutting down trees, and I have a saw blade I can make a bow saw out of as well. Without the handles, the weight and bulk are reduced and area fairly easy to carry and work well for splitting wood or cutting bone.
With a saw, ax and good knife you can make a very nice shelter that will actually protect you from the elements, build good traps to get game, make tools, you have a full tool kit with those three items. A multi-tool blade or Swiss Army knife are handy for small jobs, but just not up to bigger tasks.
If you're talking survival, you can't really baton a 3 inch blade through larger saplings to build shelters, and if you're talking survival, a spear with a blade made from strapping your Leatherman to a long shaft doesn't give you much protection as a defensive weapon, or for killing game as an offensive weapon.
A good blade made from high carbon steel will make fire with a flint or quartz. Stainless steel doesn't create sparks.
For a myriad of jobs from making feather sticks to making traps, a good fixed blade knife is indispensable.
I carry a multi-tool and a swiss army knife in my EDC, but if I'm heading into the great unknown, I add a very good 7 inch blade I make myself from high carbon spring steel.
For city life, yeah, you're better off with a good police whistle to call for help.
A knife of any kind is no substitute for a firearm if you're planning on taking on humans, but for survival or camping/hunting/wilderness work, an adequate blade cuts jobs down to size in a hurry.
I've wondered about those huge knives too. Unless it's to be used as a weapon, they seem like more of a problem than a solution.
I've been hunting for many decades, and I can field dress and even butcher large game with a small 3-inch blade (worn on my hip). I'd hate to try that with one of those oversized ones. I think it would actually be dangerous to have that much sharpened surface near my fingers (like when you're skinning).
Back in the 80s, I worked as a deckhand and rigger (offshore oil). It was a rule that we carried fairly large knives in a scabbard. The foreman refused to allow you on deck with a small or folding knife. The lines we used could be up to 3 inches thick, and we had to prove our ability to cut free of a tangled line quickly (for obvious reasons). This was the only case I've seen for having a really large knife.
But the KBar Style 4-6 in blades wouldnt be much use for cutting through 3in rope either. Old timey sailors use to carry cutlasses for that job. I think modern boats have full size axes for that.
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Originally Posted by MTSilvertip
If you were actually in the wilderness you'd see the need for a larger knife with a 6 inch+ blade.
As a hunter/trapper/survivor for most of my life, a 3 inch blade works for gutting and skinning small game up to a deer, but once you get up to elk size, it just creates a lot of unnecessary work using a small blade.
While a huge Rambo style knife is just added weight, a good fixed blade of 5-7 inches works well when breaking down carcasses for transport. I've had to field dress a cow with a 3 inch blade to save the meat, it will get the gut out, but that's about it. I couldn't break the pelvis, split the ribs or separate vertebra or remove the head. Just not enough blade to do the work.
I usually carry an ax head I can make a handle for for heavy work like splitting wood or cutting down trees, and I have a saw blade I can make a bow saw out of as well. Without the handles, the weight and bulk are reduced and area fairly easy to carry and work well for splitting wood or cutting bone.
With a saw, ax and good knife you can make a very nice shelter that will actually protect you from the elements, build good traps to get game, make tools, you have a full tool kit with those three items. A multi-tool blade or Swiss Army knife are handy for small jobs, but just not up to bigger tasks.
If you're talking survival, you can't really baton a 3 inch blade through larger saplings to build shelters, and if you're talking survival, a spear with a blade made from strapping your Leatherman to a long shaft doesn't give you much protection as a defensive weapon, or for killing game as an offensive weapon.
A good blade made from high carbon steel will make fire with a flint or quartz. Stainless steel doesn't create sparks.
For a myriad of jobs from making feather sticks to making traps, a good fixed blade knife is indispensable.
I carry a multi-tool and a swiss army knife in my EDC, but if I'm heading into the great unknown, I add a very good 7 inch blade I make myself from high carbon spring steel.
For city life, yeah, you're better off with a good police whistle to call for help.
A knife of any kind is no substitute for a firearm if you're planning on taking on humans, but for survival or camping/hunting/wilderness work, an adequate blade cuts jobs down to size in a hurry.
And as I stated in my OP, why not just carry a machete, or a hatchet then? A machete like a SOG Sogfari even has a wood saw on the back. And also carry the swiss army or multi-tool that fit in pocket. It is easier to carry one than two, but the KBar style knives are not really compromise between the two.
I have taken survival courses. You dont need large pieces of wood for survival shelter. If you want to build a cabin, you are going to need a full size ax. You cannot really baton wood unless that size of wood is already lying on the floor. What be the chances that you are in an area with that thickness of wood, and there not being a hachet or ax nearby which someone used to sever that branch from a tree?
If you intently go out and hunt the biggest game around, then you may as well bring the specialty tools too. If you field dress a cow, you will likely be a ranch correct? They ought to have the power tools there for you to use.
Interesting thing about steel weapons I saw on a cable TV program (so it must be true), the Vikings thought that adding the cremated remains of a powerful animal (like a bear), or of a hero killed in battle into the molten steel, gave their weapons magical powers drawing from the spirits that were inside their weapons.
Their superstitions were true (to them) because these weapons always outperformed ones without cremated remains. They didn't break, they held a better edge, they were generally just better all around.
Of course, it wasn't spirits, it was the carbon in the cremated remains that improved the steel and made better weapons. One is left to wonder how much the placebo effect magnified that result.
But the KBar Style 4-6 in blades wouldnt be much use for cutting through 3in rope either. Old timey sailors use to carry cutlasses for that job. I think modern boats have full size axes for that.
And as I stated in my OP, why not just carry a machete, or a hatchet then? A machete like a SOG Sogfari even has a wood saw on the back. And also carry the swiss army or multi-tool that fit in pocket. It is easier to carry one than two, but the KBar style knives are not really compromise between the two.
I have taken survival courses. You dont need large pieces of wood for survival shelter. If you want to build a cabin, you are going to need a full size ax. You cannot really baton wood unless that size of wood is already lying on the floor. What be the chances that you are in an area with that thickness of wood, and there not being a hachet or ax nearby which someone used to sever that branch from a tree?
If you intently go out and hunt the biggest game around, then you may as well bring the specialty tools too. If you field dress a cow, you will likely be a ranch correct? They ought to have the power tools there for you to use.
You apparently live in a more temperate region than the Rocky Mountain West. A shelter that can work well in an area that rarely goes below zero degrees and doesn't get winds in excess of 70 mph doesn't need the kind of shelter you need here to survive.
I noted that I do carry an ax head. Full size too. A hatchet is a lot of work for what you get out of it. They do work pretty well for butchering, but are no better than a good full size knife on wood. Nobody is going to leave an ax lying around on purpose, and most serious tree felling and limbing are done with a chainsaw, not an ax.
Machetes work fine in a jungle cutting vines and branches, but they're pretty worthless cutting even small trees. I've tried them. And those saws on the back? Right. Go try and cut even a 4 inch tree and let me know how that goes for you.
Yes there's a lot of very big game here and yes that's what's hunted here. I do have a ranch, but when a beef does something stupid and kills itself, you don't always have a tractor with a loader handy or any tools besides what are in your pocket or truck to butcher with before the meat spoils. Cattle don't always die in places conveniently located next to a power outlet.
If you don't want a full size knife, fine. Living in a densely populated state and not leaving city limits, yeah, I doubt you'd ever need more than a penknife. But for those of us that depend on tools and weapons on a daily basis, we need something that can handle the kind of work and situations we encounter.
You apparently live in a more temperate region than the Rocky Mountain West. A shelter that can work well in an area that rarely goes below zero degrees and doesn't get winds in excess of 70 mph doesn't need the kind of shelter you need here to survive.
I noted that I do carry an ax head. Full size too. A hatchet is a lot of work for what you get out of it. They do work pretty well for butchering, but are no better than a good full size knife on wood. Nobody is going to leave an ax lying around on purpose, and most serious tree felling and limbing are done with a chainsaw, not an ax.
Machetes work fine in a jungle cutting vines and branches, but they're pretty worthless cutting even small trees. I've tried them. And those saws on the back? Right. Go try and cut even a 4 inch tree and let me know how that goes for you.
Yes there's a lot of very big game here and yes that's what's hunted here. I do have a ranch, but when a beef does something stupid and kills itself, you don't always have a tractor with a loader handy or any tools besides what are in your pocket or truck to butcher with before the meat spoils. Cattle don't always die in places conveniently located next to a power outlet.
If you don't want a full size knife, fine. Living in a densely populated state and not leaving city limits, yeah, I doubt you'd ever need more than a penknife. But for those of us that depend on tools and weapons on a daily basis, we need something that can handle the kind of work and situations we encounter.
If you are using an actual hatchet to build what is basically a log cabin, then that just proves my point about KBar style 4-6in bladed knives being useless. Can you build an igloo with rambo style knife? Rambo Style knife cannot cut tree better than a machete nor in anything as it is basically a short machete. If you have a truck nearby certainly you can carry better tools for butchering large carcass than a KBar.
What was the original purpose of the US army KBar knife?
It was actually the Marines who adopted the Ka-Bar first, followed by the Navy.
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Besides use as a fighting knife, the Mark 2 has proven its usefulness as a utility knife, used for opening cans, digging trenches, and cutting wood, roots, wire, and cable.
I was not issued a Ka-Bar in the Army. I carried a privately purchased Buck hunting knife with a 10" (or was it an 8"? been a long time...) straight blade, in addition to my Buck 110 folder.
If you are using an actual hatchet to build what is basically a log cabin, then that just proves my point about KBar style 4-6in bladed knives being useless. Can you build an igloo with rambo style knife? Rambo Style knife cannot cut tree better than a machete nor in anything as it is basically a short machete. If you have a truck nearby certainly you can carry better tools for butchering large carcass than a KBar.
As I said, hatchets are basically useless even though they're handy for butchering.
You don't build a cabin with a hatchet. Now you're just being facetious.
Yes you can build a snow shelter with a full sized fixed blade knife. Works well for busting tough packed snow and ice when digging a snow cave.
You apparently know nothing about Montana ranches. Yes you may have a truck, but more likely a horse when handling cattle. You may be several miles from your truck when something happens.
You are just starting to look petty. I've said nothing about using oversized Rambo knives. They're pretty much as useless as a machete.
Stay safe in New Jersey. Then you'll never have to learn what real life in the wilderness is like.
As I said, hatchets are basically useless even though they're handy for butchering.
You don't build a cabin with a hatchet. Now you're just being facetious.
Yes you can build a snow shelter with a full sized fixed blade knife. Works well for busting tough packed snow and ice when digging a snow cave.
You apparently know nothing about Montana ranches. Yes you may have a truck, but more likely a horse when handling cattle. You may be several miles from your truck when something happens.
You are just starting to look petty. I've said nothing about using oversized Rambo knives. They're pretty much as useless as a machete.
Stay safe in New Jersey. Then you'll never have to learn what real life in the wilderness is like.
LOL jesus, this whole thread is about the rambo style knives and whether it has better probability of usage, and better usage than the other choices I mention. When I write cabin, I mean any robust shelter. Are you telling me a KBar style 4-6in blade will build a more robust shelter better than a hatchet can?
If you are already riding a horse, and can carry some blade why not it be a machete or a hatchet? You can even still carry a multi-tool or swiss army as they are so small. Rambo knives only have concealment factor over a machete or hatchet. But where ever you go and will need a big blade, you dont need concealment. You may as well carry the bigger blades that I mention. Multi-tool and swiss army knives offer concealment as well, along with versatility of its toolset.
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