Choosing a hunting knife
Q. I’m going on a camping trip with my troop, but my hunting knife broke. I see a lot of different hunting knives advertised. How do I know which one to buy?
— Knifeless Neil, Summerville, S.C.
A. The best type of knife for camping trips — and most any other outdoor activity, for that matter — is a short, fixed-blade knife with a beefy handle.
Folding pocketknives can fold up on your hand while cutting. Not fixed blades. And remember: When it comes to blades, bigger isn’t always better. Avoid blades longer than four inches. A small, sharp blade can cut just as well as a long one, but it’s safer to handle and easier to maneuver in tight spots. With a good fixed blade you’ll be set for most anything the outdoors can throw at you — whittling, cutting, notching, butchering, filleting, even speading peanut butter.
Here are two of my favorite fixed-blade knives:
- Buck Diamondback Guide ($27; http://www.buckknives.com/)
This knife has a 3 1/8-inch-long drop-point blade with a texturized rubber handle. - SOG Field Pup ($60; http://www.sogknives.com/)
A four-inch stainless steel straight-edge blade with an easy-to-grip handle and nylon sheath.
i think that the fixed blade is only really effective if you know how to use one the way it is intended, skinning animals and other extremes of nature survival. most boys entering boy scouts will be too inexperienced to handle a fixed blade. i say stick with a cheaper folding knife with a serrated edge at the base of the blade. if you really want to impress your scout buddies buy a nicer knife that is a wacky color. i have a blaze orange knife from Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) and everyone wants to see it. for 30 bucks i got a serrated edge, double safety system, iron grip clip, and overall a sweet knife. oh yeah, to clean the grit out of the pivot all you have to do is loosen the bolt a little and swish it around in some water, dry it off, and put a thin layer of oil over the entire knife, tighten the bolt, and you have a brand new knife. i like Rem oil but don’t use it on a blade with a black finish because it eats the finish off. Hope it helps.
Serrations at the base of the blade interfere with wood work in the area of the blade that gives the greatest control. Great for cutting rope, however.
Just stick you knife in your pack if they dont let you use it better to ask for forgivness then permission
There shouldn’t be any job a scout needs to do on a weekend or week long camping trip that can’t be done with the official Boy Scout folding knife, like the Camillus Knives: Boy Scout Knife. If you’ve had a blade close on your fingers that means you were using the knife incorrectly. A fixed blade knife as described by the gear guy is great if your name is Bear Grills, or Jeremiah Johnson and you plan on disappearing into the wilderness. I’m not saying the gear guy is wrong about fixed blade knives. I’m saying that Boy Scouts don’t need them.
BSA has sold fixed-blade knives for over 70 years. Since 1989, they are strictly “kitchen” or wood-working knives. They are routinely used at BSA camps for cleaning fish as a folder is hard to clean. A lock-blade folder is safer than a slip-joint, and, when locked, is as dangerous as a fixed-blade knife.
The guide to safe scouting does not prohibit fixed blade knives but it does not encourage them. Scout camps may set more restrictive rules.
i think that they are good but do i order them or buy themm at a store
i went to lewis n clark summer camp and you cant hve them there
you bring up a good question i thought you cant have fixed blades but this gear guy question says you can?!?!?!?
I do belive that fixed blades are not allowed on scout outings
i was wondering if you can cary fixed blade knifes in the boyscouts. i made a knife at a camp and someone told me i could not cary it. i beleve that fixed blade kifes are better then jack knifes like you said thay dont fold up on your hand and thay are easy to clean and you know whare the blade is when you cant see it.
i dont like folding knifes because thay get grit and sand in the pivot and the lock on lock backs and i have a fue good scars because of folding knives with bad locks or none at all
i would just like to know what the rules are on what knifes you can cary and what you cant.
thank you
these are great and all but where can i buy them
Thats what i’ve been wondering