Quote from: Lynn LeFey on November 30, 2017, 07:21:48 PM#3 Fixed blade knives for 'defense'. Okay. So... HOW much training do you have in knife fighting? Have you ever BEEN in a knife fight? Was it fun? Is it something you'd ever want to do again? No? Well, then maybe a swiss army knife with a saw is a better answer, and use it go cut yourself a 4 foot long stick.Better solution: almost anything. Seriously. A f'ing sock with a rock in it is a better defensive tool. But a long stick would be my choice if avoidance was impossible.I kinda like my fixed blades for defense... and yeah come at me with your stick
#3 Fixed blade knives for 'defense'. Okay. So... HOW much training do you have in knife fighting? Have you ever BEEN in a knife fight? Was it fun? Is it something you'd ever want to do again? No? Well, then maybe a swiss army knife with a saw is a better answer, and use it go cut yourself a 4 foot long stick.Better solution: almost anything. Seriously. A f'ing sock with a rock in it is a better defensive tool. But a long stick would be my choice if avoidance was impossible.
Quote from: Etherealicer on December 01, 2017, 10:49:34 AMQuote from: Lynn LeFey on November 30, 2017, 07:21:48 PM#3 Fixed blade knives for 'defense'. Okay. So... HOW much training do you have in knife fighting? Have you ever BEEN in a knife fight? Was it fun? Is it something you'd ever want to do again? No? Well, then maybe a swiss army knife with a saw is a better answer, and use it go cut yourself a 4 foot long stick.Better solution: almost anything. Seriously. A f'ing sock with a rock in it is a better defensive tool. But a long stick would be my choice if avoidance was impossible.I kinda like my fixed blades for defense... and yeah come at me with your stick I like your fixed blades. So HEMA?
OK, wait a bit, I need to come up for batoning a bit...... 99% of the time we buy local hardwoods (Camelthorn and Mopani are prefered) for firemaking purposes, this is for the "braai".......barbecue, only done right....... We buy the wood in 25kg bags in general, containing sawn and sometimes split wood in 30-40cm lenghts.Most people also have an extremely large en always extremely dull axe in, at or about the "braai" place for splitting wood.I firmly believe there is no safer or easier way to split a few pieces when starting the fire than batoning with a large knife.....and I always have a big leaf spring chopper around.
Can someone explain one other thing - why are some people spending very big sums of money (let us say over $500 or €500, depending on where we are) on backpacks that weight more than the contents of the bag put together (especially those 120liter "backpack" that requires a frame and straps and a hip belt which are all sold separately) but then count grams on eating utensils, folding knives (the back up for a fixed blade), fixed blade knives (have to be light to strike fast ) and just about everything else with the exception of a wool blanket which is often in itself heavier than most well rounded sleep systems of equal warmth can be?
a few ideas from Mors
Quote from: Zed on December 01, 2017, 11:25:59 AMAnd don't get me started on bottoning endless YouTube videos of people breaking cheap non full tang moras and bitching when they break smurfs use a smurfing hatchet or collect smaller wood ,or use a more expensive full tang if you want to Batton the smurf out of it ,but I guess it's too expensive and pretty Bingo! You can baton with a morakniv and I do sometimes, just not a 6 inch log. Great for fine stuff.
And don't get me started on bottoning endless YouTube videos of people breaking cheap non full tang moras and bitching when they break smurfs use a smurfing hatchet or collect smaller wood ,or use a more expensive full tang if you want to Batton the smurf out of it ,but I guess it's too expensive and pretty
While I don't fully agree with all of your points, Lynn, it is merely from a matter of local terrain and gear preference...But part of why I have kind of dropped out the "prepper community" is that most people say their plan isn't to run to the woods and play out their Robinson Crueso/Mountainman fantasy, but then that is what they pack for. I think it is becuase no one can reconcil the mental disparrity between the following kinds of sources:-bushcraft, overly romantized descriptions of being a cowboy or a mountain man, or traditional pre-industrial skills (usually practiced by people who don't walk the walk, talk the talk, and die of old age at 35 assuming they made it out puberty- I like my running water)-WWII-vintage aviator survival manuals and more modern manuals that trace their way to those-fall out shelters (and the delusions that follow)-political wackiness and the panic that can be stirred up by one guy on a dirt bike screaming into the night, "ISIS is comming! The ISIS is comming". People have no idea what their plan is, so they try to absorb knowledge, never practice, and never try to apply it to their particular needs. But they will sure try to buy toys that can substitute for wisdom. One of the things that makes me cringe is what I'll call "fad gear". Not all of it is "gucci gear", but the tool of your guru of choice. Like the Mora. I own a Mora. It's a nice knife. It isn't a great knife, but 10 years ago before they became super fashionable for their price they were good. They still are, honestly, but the prices have jumped two, three times and many of the more useful and traditional styles dropped there becuase they are a trendy ...It's a lot more fun to think about how to deal with zombies and north korea invading, than it is to think about how to be a refugee. Particularly in modern natural disasters- have a way to keep that ID and cash and bank book on you at all times. ...When I lived an afternoon's walk from work, fine, yes, I had a 72 hour pack wiating for me. But now, it's a two day walk, and with my medical condition, I'm not sure my feet will still be useful if I have to do that in winter. Or my lungs. Come February, it's less painful and just as final for me to eat my pistol than it is to try to play out some hollywood fantasy. I'm not damning anyone who keeps a 72hour pack loaded at all times. Go for it. Just think long and hard about what it is really for, and act on rational, coherent, deliberative thought. Not trying to look cool.
Now I have had a laugh, I must begrudgingly admit a few items in my camp bag (can be used for a bug out I guess) designed for the Alabama woods.and lastly a Thompson sub-machine gun.
Great thread Lynn
You don´t need tons of stuff.
Food, water, and protection against the weather are the most important.
but are rather more likely than the invasion of the flesh-eating sheep.
Now we're talking the depressing scenarios, those which are really no fun planning for, but are rather more likely than the invasion of the flesh-eating sheep.