What's the point of a big knife?

[CopperFouling]

Before anyone starts flaming me, let me first state that I own a large knife (the sharpened pry bar that is the ESEE 5). I am asking a question without trying to be sarcastic.

Let's stipulate that a large knife has between five to twelve inches of blade length and that I am not discussing machetes or similar blades (for which I can see a specific use).

At first, what attracted me to the ESEE was the sort of indestructible feel of the knife. However, I rarely use it. When I am backpacking, the weight and size are uncomfortable, and it doesn't slice all that well (obviously). I've always found deadwood on my camping and canoeing trips, and as a result, I've never felt the need to baton wood. If I've needed to chop some wood in the back yard, I always use an axe.

I'm not going to lie. I am attracted to some knives with larger blades, such as the BKRT Bravo-2 and the Fallkniven A1. Something about them makes we want to buy them. Perhaps it's the same motivation that caused my friend to buy a .460 Smith & Wesson.

However, I am at a loss when it comes to thinking of practical uses (and no, "zombies," etc. are not practical uses in my thinking) for such large blades. Thoughts?

P.S. I'm not really thinking about buying a knife right now, just pondering my motivations for wanting something for which I really don't have a specific use.

 

[Sam1911]

Most folks who use knives for much (aside from butchers) don't tend to select large heavy knives for those tasks.

But, yeah, if you for some reason are going to split heavy bone on an animal you're quartering, chop light wood for a campfire or notching logs for shelters, digging into hard ground, etc. -- and you're going to do it (or have to do it) with just that one tool, a bigger knife will do some of those things more easily than a smaller one.

Likewise, if you are one of the few people who actually do carry a knife with the knowledge and intent that they might kill something with it, a large knife will reach a bit father out to connect with limbs and tissues, and will plunge deeper into structures, probing for vital structures to cut.


But for most folks, it's just cool to have a big knife. I've got a few that I built. Yaaay. Neat. I don't use them for much.

 

[Valkman]

They are cool?

I am attracted to some knives with larger blades

 

[CopperFouling]

They are cool?

Hey, that's a legitimate reason to own one.

 

[CopperFouling]

But, yeah, if you for some reason are going to split heavy bone on an animal you're quartering, chop light wood for a campfire or notching logs for shelters, digging into hard ground, etc. -- and you're going to do it (or have to do it) with just that one tool, a bigger knife will do some of those things more easily than a smaller one.

True. From time to time, I daydream about myself doing these tasks but somehow haven't actually had to do them as part of my trips. I'm not hardcore enough (well, perhaps I might quarter something in the future, but I just hunt ducks and rabbits right now).

 

[JShirley]

"Mechanical advantage".

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

What's the point?

Should be opposite the handle.

That's like asking: "What's the point of a 455 Buick or 460 Ford..."

Todd.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Let's stipulate that a large knife has between five to twelve inches of blade length

Did Large get smaller, or did I miss the memo?

I always thought large blades started at 7".

 

[geologist]

In very remote locations, a good quality 6" full tang carbon steel knife is very dependable.

Even if the scales break the knife is still good to go.

I carry an ESEE 6 in the arctic.

 

[lemaymiami]

Let's add professional fishermen to the list of those that need (and use daily) large blades for the same reasons butchers use them....

As for something to be carried in the field - put me in with those that find a something less than five inches blade length to be pretty handy most days....

 

[Aletheia]

As a generalization, the size of the knife seems to be inversely proportional to the level of actual experience using knives for "wilderness" activities like hunting, fishing, camping, hiking etc.

 

[Browning Guy]

If you look back into our history the "large" knife had a definite purpose. The average frontiersman had a single shot in his rifle, then maybe a single shot pistol. After that he was down to a knife and/or tomahawk for saving his skin. The large knife was a last line of defense, but even most frontiersmen or mountain men carried a "system" of knives. They had a large knife for fighting or heavy chopping (if his 'hawk wasn't available). They carried a smaller "camp" knife that did the vast majority of daily work from skinning out beaver, to whittling a spoon, to cutting rope, to prepping food, etc. They also had a small bladed, sharp, knife usually called a "patch" knife for cutting patching as they loaded their guns, and I have heard of being used as an emergency scalpel. So historically the large knife played an important role,(saving his hair) but was not used as much as others he carried. Today we might not have ALL the uses for the big knife that Kit Carson had but it can fill certain needs. But as pointed out before, we pay a price in bulk and weight to have it along. Is it worth the weight for what you use it for.... that is what you have to decide in your own case. If backpacking maybe not, if camping from a camper or canoe, maybe yes. But however you decide to use it they can fill a sense of "history" or nostalgia, they can be useful at times...and they are COOL! Even if not as necessary as they were in times past.

 

[Sistema1927]

Large knives are cool, and I own a couple of them.

That said, most everyday chores can be easily handled using a good 4" knife, folder or fixed.

 

[Scooter22]

You can quote Crocodile Dundee.

 

[Gordon]

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The little necker is allways with me and very handy for those small chores but if I had to survive in the wilderness make mine the big boy

 

[CopperFouling]

Did Large get smaller, or did I miss the memo?

I always thought large blades started at 7".

Beats me. I didn't know there was a classification. I had the ESEE in mind when I wrote the original post.

 

[CopperFouling]

Gordon, does that have a hollow handle?

 

[JShirley]

As a generalization, the size of the knife seems to be inversely proportional to the level of actual experience using knives for "wilderness" activities like hunting, fishing, camping, hiking etc.

As a generalization, a big knife can do things a small knife can do, but a small knife can't do what a large knife can.

The size knife I carry depends on whether I have transport.

 

[Space Ghost]

I love a large knife. Like already said, they're cool. That said a pocket knife gets used 85% of the time because it's what I have on me, and all that's required for most tasks. Field work at camp is great for big knife work. Knife fights are the domain of the large blade if you can help it. You want long reach to keep distance and reach vitals. Unfortunately, most knife fights you get in, are a surprise, so you use what you have.

I agree that a small folder is probably what most of us use on a daily basis, but that's because of the stigma and legal ramifications of walking around with a 7 inch fixed blade knife hanging off your belt like everyone did 100 years ago.

If I had to go with only one blade, it wouldn't be a small one. Same as all the people who carry a hand gun around. We do it because it attracts less attention. I'd rather walk around with a rifle, but I'd never get left alone doing that these days... Nobody (very few) notices a 1911 under an untucked shirt.

 

[Space Ghost]

Daily carry. (11+ years)



Blade I carried on my last two deployments. (In addition to the above.) Yes I know the hooks look kinda corny, but the handle is the most comfy thing I've ever had in my hand, and the blade is awesome.



CRKT Hishou with a custom handle. (For the zombie uprising.)

 

[Kookla]

I bought this hand forged beauty simply for the cool factor

 

[MikeJackmin]

I suppose the most common, sensible use is for butchering large game and fish, as others have mentioned.

I've found batoning to be a useful technique, and a large blade makes it easier. Obviously an axe or hatchet or (better yet) a saw is preferable, but a knife can do a credible job if those tools are not available. I took down a dead, eight inch diameter tree with a big Kabar Camp Knife and a stout hunk of wood to hit it with, and dismantled it further to make a fire. I was just fooling around to see how hard it would be, and it was not too bad. Making little pieces out of the big ones is easier if you cheat, just notch the wood and break them over something.

It handles light chopping just fine and while I'd hate to dig with it, but I could if I had to. It seems unbreakable.

All that said my favorite, most used outdoors knife is a generic Mora.

 

[hso]

I own a large knife (the sharpened pry bar that is the ESEE 5)

That's not a large knife. Large starts at 7" blade length and goes up to 12" (at which point you're arguably no longer in "knife" territory anyway).

If you have a large knife you can use it to do more than you can with a small knife, but you can't always perform the fine tasks most people use a knife for instead of a chopper. A large blade allows you to chop and baton as well as use the knife for a draw knife so you can process materials in the absence of other chopping and scraping tools. If you don't have a need to cut poles or limb or chop or split wood then there's little to argue for a large knife ...until you absolutely have to do those thing.

 

[22-rimfire]

Most outdoorsy folks have a large knife for its chopping ability if they haul one around with them. I think the ESEE 6 which has thinner steel might suit you better than the ESEE 5 which is a sharpened prybar like the Kabar Becker BK-2. Or go smaller with the ESEE 4.

Many employ a cutting system with multiple cutting tools. They like the large knife for big tasks and use a smaller knife for the detailed cutting. I own large knives and I'm very attracted to them. But honestly seldom use them or want to carry one in the woods. I tend to go with folder and knife about the size of the ESEE 5, but with thinner blade stock. It varies from 4-6" depending on what I feel like at the time.

 

[rcmodel]

I must confess I own several 'larger then 7"' knives.

But I have found them to be pretty worthless for outdoor chores.

I have field dress game up to the size of deer for 50 years with nothing larger then a Buck 110 folder, or 4" to 5" sheath knife.

For camp chores or clearing brush, I prefer a LC-14-B Woodsmans Pal from WWII, or an 18" Machette.

I carry a ratchet limb clipper and a Fiskers Folding saw in my game vest for building blinds and opening up clear fire lanes in front of them.

Combined, they weigh less than a 12" Bowie knife, which doesn't work nearly as well for anything.

To me in my 50 years experience, those big knives are all show and no go when it comes to getting things done.

I have a big butcher knife at home if I need to slice up big meat.

They cut better anyway.

rc