Again, very well put. Now to slice down some of the meat and eat it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
A Bushcraft mentallity will take a smaller tool and make it do "bigger" tool work without overly stress the tool. You just learn a few tricks to "make" a less heavy duty tool act like a larger tool with less stress on the tool. Things like bending a tree and cutting the tree at the bend instead of "chopping", Breaking dry limbs instead of chopping (try wedging dead limbs in between two stout limbs or small trees for leverage to break), etc. etc. Less work for the knife = less stress on the knife = more ability to depend on the long term function of your knife, etc.
I have said before, I will say again: chopping is "more" for fun and sport than need.
This is very true. Big Choppers such as the FBM, BR, CGDF, are all extremely impractical in a real survival situation. The main problem is that they take a lot of energy to use. A little bit of energy in a survival situation can go a long ways.
Cloak and I have had our fun of chopping with our RTAKs and FBM, but the Saws on the leatherman worked equally well, worked quietly, and took a lot less energy.
I guess as we advanced in our knowledge of the woods we slightly changed our mentality.
Though, don't get me wrong, we still love chopping stuff. For me (maybe Cloak, too) it's the only exercise I can get for now.
Your "ultimate survival" and many other peoples view on what an "ultimate Survival" knife needs to do is along the lines of a knife being able to chop down trees, take batoning with a stones, chop through concrete, pry open car doors, etc.
I guess here we would be looking at the 12" range blades from The Yard. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Man I wish I had a Yard Guard
You can baton some folders, but you need to know which folders can handle what and where to whack and how hard.
True. Cloak and I, as you all know, have had our fair share of batoning with a folder.
I can vouch that the Rukus, locked in open position, can be batoned (through a 5" thick branch) without failure.
