Choosing a knife for hiking

The knife is one of the oldest tools known to man. Thousands of years ago, primitive man used shards of obsidian or flint to create edged tools for cutting. It's one of the things that sets us apart from the animals. In fact, some would say that a man without a knife is really just a monkey. Needless to say, every man (and woman) needs a knife.

A knife is one of the few items that features on every essential gear list for hiking or camping and there is a good reason for this. A knife is an incredibly versatile tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, including:

•  Food preparation
• As a utensil
• Chopping firewood
• Clearing the campsite
• Fashioning other tools
• Building a shelter
• Cutting things – rope, vines, branches, etc  (it’s amazing how hard this is without a knife).
• Prying things
• Opening things (cans, packages, etc)

 So now we've established you need a knife for hiking, the real question is which knife?

Fixed blade, folding knife, or multi-tool?

Let’s get this out of the way first – there is no ‘best knife’ for hiking.  Your choice depends on your preferences, the environment you are traversing, and the local laws and regulations on carrying knives. The best knife is always the one you have with you, not the one sitting at home. Each style of knife has it’s pros and cons. That said, there are some important considerations in choosing your knife that go beyond preference and will ensure that you choose a reliable piece of equipment that will serve you well for many years.

A folding knife  is smaller, lightweight and can be placed in your pocket and so you are most likely to have it with you when you need it. It has limitations because of its size, as it cannot be used for tasks like clearing scrub, chopping wood etc. It is also more prone to breaking as it has a thinner blade and moving parts and could fail under pressure.

A multi-tool offers a range of tools, including knives, saws, scissors, screw drivers, can openers, tweezers and just about anything you can imagine. They tend to be somewhat heavier than folding knives but are relatively lightweight have the same limitations of strength and blade size.

A fixed blade knife is strong, tends to have a larger blade, is capable of heavy duty tasks like chopping and prying and is more comfortable to use for longer periods of time because you can grip it easily. It is likely to endure a lot of mistreatment and keep on performing, meaning that you can rely on it when you need it most. The downside, it’s a bit heavier to lug around.

Personally I like all of these options for different scenarios and would recommend that you have at least one of each to try out and decide which best suits your purpose. But if I had to choose just one knife to stake my life on, it would be a fixed blade knife. When Aron Ralston of 127 Hour fame had to make the agonising decision to cut off his arm to escape, all he had was a cheap, blunt, multi-tool. Ouch. Don’t be that guy. Overall the fixed blade knife will accomplish most tasks and is the more reliable should you find that your life depends on it. So let's have a look at how to choose a good fixed blade knife.

What to look for in a fixed blade knife

Full Tang Construction

The tang, is the part of the blade steel that extends into the handle of the knife. Many knives are made with partial tangs, in which only a portion of steel continues into the handle. Obviously this saves on cost for manufacturers but it is at the expense of the strength and durability of the knife. A full tang is illustrated here and makes for an extremely sturdy construction. Even if the handle material breaks you still have a usable tool.

The Size

Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife with firesteel

The optimum sized blade that can tackle batoning, chopping, slicing, and finer bushcraft tasks is between 4 1/2-6 inches (blade only) for a total length of 9-11 inches length. You also want to consider the thickness of the steel as this is what will determine how much abuse the knife can take before cracking or bending. If you are an ultralight hiking fanatic, you may be willing to sacrifice some functionality in your bladeware to keep your pack weight to a minimum. On the other hand, maybe you should use your man-sized chopper to carve off the weight somewhere else!

The Steel

ESEE Izula

There are so many different steels to choose from but in the end it boils down to buying a knife from a trustworthy bladesmith that comes with a good warranty. You want to consider stainless steel if you are in areas of high humidity, or are working in or around water often. Stainless steel can still rust, but it will resist corrosion and require less frequent care. High-carbon steel is commonly used in tool making and is more durable and tends to hold a better edge. The downside is, just looking at it causes it to rust. Some knife manufacturers have developed corrosion resistant coatings which help protect the blade. ESEE Knives applies an Epoxy coating to their knives which works really well and gives the knife a unique and appealing look.

The Sheath

ESEE 5 sheath with Molle backing and pouch attachment

Your knife will live in the sheath most of the time. The sheath needs to be of a sturdy construction so that it won’t drop your knife out in the wild. It needs to be easily accessible and comfortable so that you aren't chafed and bruised after wearing it. You will want to consider how high the sheath rides on your belt, as this can vary considerably and can be very uncomfortable.  Does the sheath have Molle or Alice compatibility for attachment to webbing or a pack strap? Buying a custom sheath can be
expensive so it’s worth doing your research
 to find a good one first off.

                                             

The Handle

Gerber ASEK

The handle should be comfortable to grip and use for long periods without forming hot-spots that cause blisters. It should also have a lanyard hole. A lanyard is essential for using the knife for chopping. Some knives have a handle that features a glass breaker or hammer pommel which can be useful.

Conclusion

Now you're armed with the knowledge you need to choose a great knife for hiking and make the transition from a mere monkey to a real man. Choose a tried and tested knife from a reputable maker and you won't go wrong. The internet is also full of reviews and product tests that can make you an expert overnight. (Please note: If you are a monkey, following this advice may not actually change your species but good job on the reading skills!).

Here are some of the knives that I have and use. I have no affiliation with these companies I just think they make great products. . 

 ESEE 5

A Survival knife designed by SERE instructors, it has a blade length of 5.25in. and thickness of .25in and is built like a tank. It was designed to enable a downed pilot to cut his way out of an aircraft hull and when you hold this weighty hunk of metal you can believe it. It’s a full tang construction forged out of 1095 High Carbon steel, sabre ground for strength and epoxy coated to protect it from rusting. The handles are made from micarta, which consists of layers of compressed linen or canvass infused with an epoxy resin. The ESEE warranty is simple: If you break it, they replace it. It is the best warranty out there. The knife comes with a top notch Kydex sheath that has the option of Molle backing and a utility pouch.

ESEE 4

This is a bushcraft knife with a 3/16 in. thick, 4-inch long, flat ground blade. It's a full tang construction and features removable handle slabs of canvas or linen micarta or the orange G10. Made from epoxy coated 1095 high carbon steel it is an excellent size and weight for most camping chores. It slices well and has a finger groove cut into the blade to allow the user to grip the knife closely for finer tasks. You can choose between the plain edge or the partial serrations. The serrations on the ESEE are easy to sharpen and only take up a small portion of the blade. It also comes with a good quality kydex sheath that allows a range of carry positions.












        

SOG Seal Pup Elite

SOG Seal Pup Elite

This is a tried and tested knife. Made from Aus-8 stainless steel and featuring beautiful craftsmanship, this knife has been a favourite carry for military personnel the world over. It is tough and reliable. Featuring jimping (small ridges) along the spine for extra grip or for notching. The handle is made from a plastic-glass hybrid called Glass Reinforced Nylon which fuses to the handle and is incredibly durable as well as providing ergonomic and slip-proof grip. The knife comes with a choice of sheath;  A Nylon sheath with a utility pouch, or alternatively a water friendly hard Kydex sheath that comes with Molle compatibility.

Turning a camping memento into a knife

This was my first survival bushcraft knife from ESEE Knives. I love survival knives and decided I wanted to buy the best - something unbreakable. After a lot of research over the internet, I decided on the ESEE 4. ESEE have the best guarantee on their products you will ever find. Break it and they replace it. No questions asked. I fell in love with it and soon placed my order to ship one over from the US through theknifeconnection.com. I had planned on getting the desert tan colour but made a rookie mistake on the order code and got the jungle green with orange G10 scales. I loved the knife, but the orange look wasn't quite what I wanted.

The scales are easily replacable, and so I started to research alternative scales (eg handles). I discovered a number of forums on which people were personalising their ESEE knives in all kinds of clever ways and so I was inspired to create my own personalised knife .

A year earlier, I went on a 4x4 adventure with my good mate Tim and his brother Pete up through the remote Australian interior. One night we camped in an arid desert surrounded by mesa. Finding wood for a campfire was difficult due to the sparseness of the vegetation, but after some searching we found a standing dead tree and began to chop it up. It was impossibly hard and dense, causing  the axe to ring as if striking iron on iron. It was well seasoned, burning strongly and releasing a lovely aromatic smoke. We cooked lamb chops over the fire and told stories until it was time to curl up in our swags. The whole experience was so memorable, that I decided to take a small piece of the wood back with me as a souvenir of the trip. At the time, I had a vague idea of making something with it but now I knew that it would make the perfect scales for my ESEE!

I had decided to give my knife a complete makeover to go with the new handle and so the process began by convexing the edge of the blade using a piece of foam rubber with different grades of emery paper on top. It was the first time I had done this and I found it rather nerve racking lest I ruin a perfectly good blade. But it worked just fine and with the convexing completed I moved on to phase two.

In the second phase I determined to etch the ESEE logos and serial numbers into the blade. I sourced a powerful etchant from a computer supplies store and began the process. It only took a few hours on each side before I had a distinct and deeply etched logo. The result was fantastic.

I hurriedly applied paint stripper and within minutes had wiped off the green epoxy coating (except on the flat of the handle sections where I left the epoxy to ensure corrosion protection) and revealed a very rough and unfinished steel surface. So it was back to the Emory paper for many hours of painstaking sanding to take back the blade to a mirror finish.

Now to the scales. I had my piece of desert wood, a roughly hewn branch approximately 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches in length. Because it was small so there was no room for error. I carefully chose my first cut straight down the center to create two equal slabs. The wood was exceptionally hard, making progress tediously slow. It also created a fine dust that was particularly irritating to the eyes. I later found out that this is characteristic of this rare tree. After a lot of research, I discovered this wood is probably Purple or Pink Gidgee a rare desert hardwood of the Acacia family that grows in a few remote parts of Australia. It is a perfect wood for turning and has been used in the past to make knife handles! Once the first cut was complete, the wood inside had a lovely reddish heart with a dense grain. I decided this would form the outside of my scales. I then proceeded to make flat slabs by making lengthways cuts along the outer edge of the two pieces I had created. Then I sanded them down perfectly flat so that they would sit flush against the knife handle. Once this was accomplished I used the orange G10 scales to trace the pattern on to my wooden slabs and went about carving them to shape. It took me many hours of cutting, filing and sanding before I finally had my perfect replica scales. I carefully drilled and countersunk holes for the screws and attached them to ensure they worked. A few minor adjustments and a bit more sanding and they were perfect.

To finish the handles I applied a natural wood oil, a mixture of Danish oil and carnuba wax and soaked the scales overnight in a ziploc bag. Then I allowed them to dry, sanded them back with fine emery and repeated. After a few treatments I buffed the scales with a dry cloth for a nice polished finish.

The mirror finish on the blade was too clean-cut for a working knife and 1095 high carbon steel is very easy to stain and rust, so the final step was to put a patina on the blade. I firstly used vinegar and water and heated this on the stove, placing the blade in the mixture. This worked well, producing an even dark patina over the entire surface however, it was not the look I wanted. So after removing some of the coating with fine steel wool I applied some American mustard with a scrunched tissue to create a mottled look. This worked beautifully and I applied two layers for different lengths of time to create light and dark variation. Finally a rinse with water, a polish with a dry cloth, and a layer of oil and the job was done!

This was a great project to learn some new skills and to turn a memento from a great adventure into something I can now use and enjoy.