Can we take a second to appreciate what an effective educator Dave is? Not just in substance but in style. His teaching skills are a craft unto their own.
I never saw my dad without having a two bladed pocket knife. He had a small sharpening stone on a small table near his easy chair and his knife blades appeared to have lost a lot of metal from sharpening. I’d like to add that in the highly technical world we live in today, I haven’t seen anyone with as much detail knowledge of his craft as Dave.
This was crazy informative! Every time he was talking about a tool or an edge of a blade I kept thinking "will he explain why?" and before I could finish my thought there he was explaining! Great video, well worth a watch. Thank you, sir for the information in its abundance.
Fantastic video Dave. Really helps put into perspective what our intentions are heading into nature and what tools allow us to enjoy and be most productive with what limited time we have.
When I car camp, I bring a small canvas tool bag that holds a knife, axe, folding saw, hammer, adjustable wrench, pliers, rope/cord/twine, carabiners, multi-tool, knife/axe sharpener, ferro rod and cotton tinder as a minimum. This doesn’t change much when I’m bike-camping, but of course I also carry bike specific tools. I also have a carving multi-tool if I think I want/need to use it I like the idea of a folding saw with different blades. A nice way to reduce weight and add functionality. PS - I appreciate the thank you’s to the community at the end of every one of your videos. It makes it real and personal, not commercialized.
Thanks for going longer than you meant too on axes. Been on the fence between council tools vs Gransfors bruks. You answered my question. The rest of the info was top notch.
Very informative video. I carry various tools that do the jobs you mentioned but there's one extra that is easy to make yourself that I always carry. Its two pieces of paracord, one 10m long, the other 5m long. I have tied knots along their lengths to make them into a rudimentary tape measure. Bear in mind were not building houses or furniture here, I find they come in most handy when I've wandered off to find something a rough size of what I want, they are easy to carry in the pocket. I hope that helps? Thanks for your videos Dave.
Awsome informative video. Please don't apologize for the axe tangent. I replayed that section 5 times. Thanks for all of your teaching. Cudos from Ohio
DEFINITELY one of your more informative and concise videos. Lengthy videos are fine when there's informational or entertainment value. Great content. 👍🏽
Nice to see you mention Ben Orford, one the UKs finest knife makers, check out some of his knives, they are works of art, he's super talented, and his wife Lois does superb leather work for the sheaths, and he is also a really genuinely nice guy.
I'm tired explaining all the time, that Bahco Laplander, is a general use saw.Something like a "srivival" tool, or a hunters saw.It's not designed to cut only wood, that's why it's slower on wood. It's designed to cut any other soft material, like plastick, even bones if it needs to. Again, my go to for wood, is Samurai Ichiban. Bahco Laplander, is in my BOB, just in case of an emergency,it fits that role much better, than the dedicated wood saws. Don't forget the Corona saws, not easy to find in Europe, but in the US and some countries in Asia, it's way easier to get one.Great saws too.
Thank you sir...that was an excellent video...I learned a lot...I do a lot of experimenting with making blades for specific tasks out of old circular saw and hacksaw blades...cheap and rough but highly functional...I've also experimented with cutting cheapo hatchets in half and fitting longer or shorter shafts....right now I'm making spears out of a pair of really crap cast iron scissors...very brittle..never seen a hook knife before...I'm interested ....my favourite knife is my old school two blade Joseph Rodgers...
Thanks for reaffirming the difference between project carving and construction, and everyday light camping tools. Somehow the lines between surviving, and "bushcrafting" and woodcraft type camping got blurred and mingled and bastardized. Everybody that has not needs to find your Jackknives video and watch it as many times as it takes to properly absorb it. Thanks for the informative video Looking forward to many more
Years ago, I had a friend that was a gun show vendor. One show he had a old nail keg full of axe and hatchet heads. At $2 a pop I had to dig through them. I found a old hatchet head of the type used in factories for wooden crates. One of the claws was broken. But, I didn't care. I took the other off with a cutoff wheel. This left me with a hardened poll. A single bevel blade, like a broadax. I fitted it with a framing hammer handle. It's one of the handiest tools I carry. It's very similar in size and profile to your axes.
Turn on CC Closed Caption. The CC button reads Subtitles/closed captions unavailable. For those of us with hearing difficulties, CC is a major help understanding what you are saying. Thank you.
Not a tool to tote around, but for homesteading work... . My dad had welded a wedge ax head on a square, hollow iron bar about 5 ft long. His root chopper. I beat my brothers out to inherit it and i use it often for many purposes.
I like the longer format; not a fan of multi-part videos, especially when you can do time stamps in the description to make navigating longer videos a breeze. As for knives and such, I've really liked my KA-BAR Becker BK9, along with its companion blade, the "Remora." That big honkin' blade makes short work of most tasks, and the small blade is a good, light option if you need to do something finer. I wove yarn into the skeletal grip of the Remora to give a bit better grip. The sheath holds my fire starting kit. For general small whittling, I've used my Boy Scouts of America pocket knife going on almost 30 years now. That blade has more wear on it than any of my knives, and I use the can opener on a regular basis at home. Is it the best pocket knife? No, of course not. Does it get the job done? Sure does. I saw a modern one my nephew has; they are built like crap now, and feel junky. One of these days, I'm gonna spring for a proper Swiss Army knife, a good folding saw, and a proper hatchet.
I use a Kershaw camp 10 Kukri as my general chopper, it can also scrape and plane very well as well as choke up for general carving. I have loved my Camp 10 for years now. It bites DEEP on chops, batons well, scrapes and planes bark ect. And nothing better for limbing and general chopping. 3-4 in dead trees fall in a couple swings its just great. it just does it all in addition to a folding saw (been using a Corona saw for a while now, i find it faster for stacking up firewood vs a laplander, but with itd curved blade less ideal for cutting notches and finer tasks. But i dont do that much im typucally building shelter and bucking wood and chopping/widdling so its no prob.), and a Mora Knife as my skinner/fine carving blade and my SAK stays sharp and new for emergencies.
It is to Dave Canterbury & Les Stroud I owe my ongoing love of this stuff. I’m calling it right now for either Dual Survival 2.0 with Les n Dave OR “Survivormen” Why someone hasn’t thrown a few mill behind such an obvious hit …is a mystery. They’re the two most beloved professionals and have the strongest diehard fan bases Who, here, wouldn’t set their calendars to watch Dave n Les take on the outdoors? And we wouldn’t need phony amplified “differences” either. Both men ROCK
These 'long' show n' tells from a pro are my favourites. A 'conversation' that induces me to look over my entire kit... and look forward to getting back out there.
I know that this is outside the wood working subject a little but, I like to carry some sort of shovel..like an e tool maybe. comes in real handy for leveling, digging fire pits, maybe post holes....stuff like that.
Good information but I think many of us wish you would have removed the sheaths from your concavity tools so we could better understand the nuances you were speaking of, but we couldn’t see what you meant. Many of us are still learning about those tools in particular. Just a thought bro.
I've watched this video so many times at this point I can quote Dave. I'm still shy a carving curved spoon knife and a fine bladed saw. I've got the rest. Even found a NBC compression bag like he suggested the other day at the flea marked.
Curious to hear your thoughts on the dedicated carving knives from Mora in this application. I've been using the 120 for a few years for at-home carving projects, and it's great for that - full V grind, swept profile, and laminated construction. I think it was like $25, and it seems like it's punching above that price. Is that more dedicated/specific a tool than you'd want for the bushcraft setting?
Interesting to learn about that V grind and I'll have to look into to because I want an all around pack axe that i can do some carving and moderate chopping/hewing with. I totally agree with having the proper knife for the job. I use a hand forged belt knife I bought for $20 at a Renaissance Fair thst has an nice thick spine and it's great for battoning and limbing and heavy work but with a 7-9 inch blade I feel it's just to large for carving. I don't even like using my pocket knife for carving with it's 3-4 inch blade. I go right to my Victorinox Swiss Army Knife my Aunt got in Switzerland, with my name engrabed in the handle, and gave me for my birthday a couple years back. While not a fan of the larger blade, nor of the fact that the blades don't lock, they hold an edge extremely well and thst smaller blade is my go to carving tool. Great for fine work, can be a pain for bigger projects but I'm usually not carving anything bigger than my hand. I have been looking at Felix Immler on RU-vid as well for tips, tricks, and versatility uses with the Swiss Army Knife and he can do a lot of projects, even complex ones, with his knife I also saw a person grind the back circle end of an old wrench into a concave/hook style tool and it worked good for them
Thank you for another great video on things that you can carry out in the woods to make things easier what's the best tool that you can take out there is knowledge and the only way to get out and get the knowledge is get out and do the dirt time as you always say thank you once again Dave
Thanks for the great tips Dave. As always, you give great information, and multiple examples, and the reasoning for the choices you made. Great combination for us to make the decision about what we want to use ourselves.
Sir,I would like you to know that I learned more about tools in general, and I am no stranger to tools by any means,I am not a young man,and over the years I've done a variety of jobs and used quite a few different tools,and thought I knew quite a bit about them,but I definitely know more than I did 38 minutes ago,I will be recommending this video to young lads and old goats like myself alike, thank you very much Sir.
I live in South Africa and our wood is the same as Australia/New Zealand which is very hard. We need axes with steel that can handle it. Collins steel is softer then Swedish and Australian/New Zealand steel on thats used for their axes. You cant put as thin a bevel on Collins as you can with the Australian/New Zealand axes because the Collins edge roll on our hard wood.
Great vid Dave appreciate it. I once carved a spoon with a 6 inch fixed blade for lunch at work, I was high north on a large sight and used a generator manifold to cook my soup while I carved the spoon lol
One of the very most important tools you can have are lineman's pliers and wire for quickly making and fastening wood together. From shelter to the homemade bed and everything you need you will use them over and over and will be one of your most used tools
I will throw this out there because we all learn from others experiences. I bought a WICING 13.5 Inch Hatchet off amazon. Kinda middle of the road in price, and the handle has not only chipped but started to split down the handle. All I used it on was a piece of apple wood, granted pretty dry, when I was roughing out a spoon to carve. Very disappointing
Great Video Dave !!! With a subject this interesting and diverse the video length was perfect. I think it is best to get the subject covered well than worry that the video is to long. Hope 2024 will be great for everyone at the Pathfinder School God Bless
Hey Dave how do you tell the difference between a left an an right handed knife. I've never heard there was that in knives before I know scissors have that but didn't know about knives
This was a great video. I know you've got a lot of material in your older videos and so it's good to see some newer videos because it really brings things up to date. Thanks for sharing your amazing content and looking forward to the new book you're working on. It'd be cool to see what you'd have for tools for building a cabin.
12:40 A word on the Hult Bruk. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, NW Washington. Like many enthusiastic students of this channel I forked over top dollar for a “Scandinavian axe crafted in a 400 year old foundry” and was thrilled to receive my axe, 4 years ago. It was that boxy Hult head. 3.5 pounds. 32” handle. Used it for 3 winters & processed local woods to the tune of 18 cords, total. Ultimately my axe skills were still developing (much better now) and it was time to replace the handle due to bad swings and compromising/chipping the lug area of the handle. (Men? Do a leather wrap on that lug area especially if you’re new to axe work like I was) After speaking to the guy who delivers our wood I went to the local mom n pop hardware store. Explained my situation. The guy at the hardware store handed me a Collins with a 4 pound head. Single bit. I hefted it. Asked about the fiberglass handle and expected a $100-$125 price tag. The axe (made in Mexico) was $39. I bought it and bought a replacement handle for the Hult. Immediately upon returning home I laid into some Pacific Alder logs with the Collins. BAM! The difference was like that day you abandoned the Gerber folder for a Mora when bushcrafting. No questions or concerns. The Collins is what you want in…my neck of the woods. I haven’t used the Hult for wood processing again, since. The moral of the story? This is the Olympic Peninsula. Boreal rain forest. It is not nordic tundra in Sweden or Finland. Our flora is different. Processing wood here is different. And no offense to Hult (I’m definitely keeping my first love) but I could’ve bought 4 Collins and dinner with what I paid for the Hult. Gentlemen? Buy the tools for where YOU live. I’m now in a similar situation because my friend in Maine told me to get a spoke shave for a new businesses I started. Turns out a spoke shave won’t really help me here as much as a robust 5” draw knife will. Same story. The spoke shave I almost bought is $180. The draw knife was $40. Were I processing wood in Maine the spoke shave is the way to go. Heck, firewood may be one of the last non-globalized commodities on the planet. PS: Dave, youtube movies just released EVERY episode of Dual Survival. All seasons. The show absolutely tanked once you left. The only watchable combo were the O.G.’s: Dave Canterbury & Cody Lundin. Dave your frustration by the end of season 2 was apparent and FWIW I am firmly in Camp Canterbury. If I had the resources I’d fly to Ohio to train with you. I would not fly to Arizona to train with a man who wears cotton shorts in epic winter conditions. No offense. Cody has skills but Good Lord watching you set snares while Cody banged on that truck hood, surrounded by acoustic buffers, all I could think was “I hope those Producers paid well.”
The companion by Mora, is another fantastic carver, my kids have a 511 was thier first k ife it's phenomenal. Bit the companion has the more comfortable with rubberized Dave! You should try one dave, they are inexpensive not cheap!
OMG ... you think that american made axes are better than other axes - Scandinavian in particular? When will you stop with the "made in america is best" attitude? I live in Sweden, but I'm very well aware that not everything made here is the best. We made some very good knifes over here (Mora the most known) but are they the best? Of course not, but they are the best in their price-range without a doubt. Then the knifes .. you know that Mora makes better crafting knifes than those you show? Short blades, pointier and much sharper than the standard Mora knifes. And they cost just about 20-25% more than standard Mora knifes, due to the wood handle. If you look into a real wood-crafters toolbox .. you will find knifes that looks exactly like Mora's, but with customized handle because it's a very personal thing how you like your handle (long, short, fat, finger-grooves or plain...).
When it comes to axes and there geometry in general Scandinavian axes were designed for soft woods of those countries. There is a reason the GB developed an American Felling Axe as the others were not designed for hardwoods
Great video Dave. Possibly one of your most informative that I have watched. I love PKS and Self-Reliance products for their quality and value. I have purchased several products from SRO, but your showing other items is pretty cool. Thanks for sharing and not just being a commercial.
I'm really glad that you mentioned the 35° microbevel on the Mora knives. I received a Bushcraft Blackblade as a gift, and NOWHERE on the website does it tell you the grind angles. So, what is the angle of the main v-grind?
Appreciate. the British knife is a Sloyd, I believe. Pretty expensive with contoured handle and with sheath- not just a simple protection sleeve. In 01 steel
