I wasn't going that far back. Bowie's knife in the 1840s had a 14" blade. I think the original Hudson Bay camp knives had about 8" blades. Still considered big by most folks today. The rifleman's knives of the revoutionary era were short swords. Anyone who has used machetes knows how efficient they are compared to short knives. But Bear runs every where he goes, and a machete might slow him down! Why take all day felling a small tree with some dainty little "survival" knife when a chopper can do it quickly? For me, the Bushwacker, M9LE, ESEE Junglas, DFLE, and other similar sized knives just work well. I don't like them too heavy, though.