No, it just needs to be longer than the wood is thick so you have a tip to pound on. That size might be harder to use in the woods to find pieces of deadwood that are thinner then the blade is long. But, you can use it to carve wedges and split larger wood. This would though take a lot of time that you may not have to spare if you’re freezing to death though. So for safety reasons, make sure you bring a long enough knife in the woods. Especially in cold/wet weather when you could freeze to death. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />