I am in the process of buying and trying out different setups for woodcraft/survival/SHTF foot travel and have been doing research on what different people use/recommend.
It seems to be small variations on several different "themes" for a lack of a better word.
Theme 1: Sharp light knife, saw
Usually a Mora and a folding or Saber cut style saw
Theme 2: Sharp light knife, Machete
Mora or SAK with a Machete/chopping knife
Theme 3: Heavy "do all" knife
BK2 or ESEE 6 or other "sharpened prybar" design
Theme 4: Medium knife and axe/hatchet
Bushcrafter type knife and an GB small forest axe
I really don't know how I want to do it so I have been collecting a little bit of everything to test it out for myself.
I have found that I personally don't really like big, heavy knives (Ontario Ranger Afghan).
I like the machete okay. I trimmed back the edges of a 1.5 acre lot with a 22" Ontario and it worked good on softwoods like maple but it wasn't so good on hickory/dead cedar. Doing so "crafty" work up close wasn't much fun at all. The 22" blade is just too long. I am going to get either an Ontario 18" or a Condor El Salvador and try that next.
I have used an axe all my life and I am comfortable with them. I got an Estwing Campers Axe and while it is okay, I don't really like it. Hard to choke up on it and the balance is weird to me. I just got a Wetterlings Small Wildlife axe in today that I am going to try out. I much prefer it's balance even with a slightly shorter handle.
I also recently got in a Mora Companion, an ESEE-4 an Izula and a Pocket Chainsaw to test out.
I really like the light weight and the handle and feel of the Companion. I like sturdy feeling of the ESEE but it seems like the handle needs to be wider and more rounded.
I still need to get a Silky/Bahco folding saw and I am thinking about getting an ESEE-6 to try out as well.
As to the "themes" I am leaning more towards the Multitool or SAK, Medium knife/Axe combo at this time but I want to test more before I decide. I like the fact there is some overlap between the tools and I am pretty comfortable with a 4-5" knife and I have nearly 30 years experience with an axe. My machete experience is fairly recent other than playing with some when I was younger and really long heavy knives have so far proven awkward for me.
So what do you use?
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