Tagged : Bushcraft Knife Vs Survival Knife MHO 

Thanks for sharing a real perspective on "bushcraft and survival" vocabulary. When you talk my ears are open and my mouth is shut. Thanks for posting

You hit the nail on the head William. It all made perfect sense to me. Very concise and to the point.

William. You made a very valid point about not being to far away from civilisation and what is important is getting back home. While a flint worked a 1000 years ago, today we need survival tools to get us back home from various modern world survival scenarios. I am all for a 6inch heavy duty blade that is rust resistant to use as an all rounder to do what needs to be done. Breaking out of a car accident. Getting away from natural and man made disasters etc. Making a spoon or cup is not important but making a wooden peg maybe. Making shelter and fire is important. Protection is important. Todays dangerous situations are quite likely to be situated around your vehicle so that is one of my cache spots to have survival tools. Practicing bushcraft is a fun hobby but practicing to get out of a modern day survival situation is more important and needs more preparedness.

If I could "like" this again 20 times over it wouldn't be enough. A-MEN.

Thanks William for video..... love your work. Hope you are feeling better and hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

This is the best whittle talk you've done in a while, enjoy listening to you talk about knife design. When I walk my dogs or when hunting around my home I find the tools left behind by the first Americans and I think of all the skill and knowledge of bushcraft they knew. If you haven't read it already you would enjoy the book SCOUTING ON TWO CONTINENTS ,1928 Doubleday,Doran&Co.

Good chat William. LMAO at "if the aliens came down and took your gear"!! HAHA

"The knife is what you need it to be." That is the truth right there! Mr. Collins thank you for this most excellent video and please keep making 'em!

Highly educational, well spoken Sir. Much appreciated.

If early man could survive with sharpened flint, then it seems to me that any modern steel knive has an even greater potential to be used for that purpose. IMO, what makes a knife a "survival knife" is more about what is in your head than what is in your sheath.

EXCELLENT video and discussion William! OH, and the Trail Sweep Two was AWESOME! The knife that I carry more than any other is one I am VERY used to using and am proficient in using and that is a Beck G Model WSK. In conjunction with it I of course also carry a smaller fixed blade, a pocket knife AND a saw. Most times I will also bring an axe. I am not one to try and do everything with one knife and I am also not one who believes in leaving tools to shave every once possible. I welcome the extra weight in the pack because I know the job will be so much easier when I need to do things at camp or on the way to camp, or whatever comes up, I am ready for.

absolutely a great video I feel the same way you do William and I just wanted to thank you for the shout out and thank everybody in advance that describes to my channel

Feeling like I just got gobsmacked with some really knowledge thank you so much the this great video Mr Collins!

I love your take on things William. Very straightforward and practical and grounded in reality. I think that Master Woodsman should make its way back to PA. I miss it.

Can't tell you you how much I appreciate this video!!!!! Thanks!

Great video. You covered the topic in a way that really makes me rethink what I will take with me next time I'm in the woods. Thanks

Well said. Others have alluded to the same philosophy, but your explanation is in "common man" speak that everyone can understand & agree with ( or not ).

Dang good video Will. I really enjoy all that you say because it comes from years of experience and dedication to your craft. Good common sense thought processes is not so common these days, but you definitely have it. Thanks for sharing.

I love your pointing out the role of carefully napped flint over the past 500,000 years or so. I think a lot of the current knife fashion was set by knife collectors who wanted a whole bunch of smaller knives to fit in the display case, and making knives for them was where the money was for the past 40 or so years. Even older premium knife makers like Randall have gone to shorter knives today than they sold 40 years ago, except for their fighting knives. I look to the Saami for a lot of good advice on knife length: 4 to 6 inches was a mans knife, 6 to 8 inches was for working in the woods away from a settlement, they made lighter knives, maybe 3-1/2 inch or so, or shorter, for women's chores, cooking, making utensils, etc., and specialized knives for things like working hides. Back in the 1970's you could even buy 10-1/2 inch knives from folks like Marbles, just like they made back in their earliest catalogues, and many custom makers were around 4-1/2 or 5 inches for their standard knives. In my old Lovelace catalogue about 4 inches was standard length for most of his knives, and if you wanted 5-1/2 inch that was okay. Then, all of a sudden 3-1/2 inches was normal for a "full sized "custom knife, then even 2-1/2 inches was common on high grade custom work, and you had idiots spouting about how you could clean and skin an elephant with a 2 inch pocket knife. Well, you could do it with a 2 inch piece of flint faster 'cause the flint is sharper. I slowly learned to prefer a larger steel knife, and the mountain men favored 6 to 8 inch belt knives (carried horizontal). The 19th century trade knives were almost all 6 to 10 inches long because that is what the Native Americans wanted. They use a 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 inch knife to clean and skin small animals like sheep in a slaughter house today, and 6-1/2 to 8-1/2 for beef. Only folks from Arkansas and rich Texan collectors think that a 2-1/2 inch knife is ideal for those longhorn jackrabbits Texans call deer. (The guide at the game ranch probably has a 7 or 8 inch blade on his belt to quickly do the work for the dude packing the toy knife--I have family in the Hill Country near some of the more famous of those game ranches, and they know some of the ranchers.) Alas, I learned about toy knives like that at considerable expense back in my foolish youth, when I was impressed by important names and the latest fancy steel. A sucker for advertising, in other words. I hesitate at anything shorter than 4 inches today, but have some shorter bushcraft/campcraft knives today--the lightweight knife to take along with the bigger knife, with different edges for each apropriate for their assigned chores. A patina on carbon steel is a badge of honor, reflecting careful use.

Man other than your experiences about making and using knives, beside your skills in wilderness, you are such a great thinker that it worth to follow your very slow way of coming to the point. Respect. Ps I have some dozens of knives. But for last two decades my buck zipper has been my only hunting knife and recently I’ve got a fallkniven a1 pro for “survival purposes” ;)

You nailed it William!! I enjoyed it.

Well, there you have it... I guess that I should've dug deeper. Thanks brother.

absolutely interesting video, thank you Will 👍🏻👍🏻

The best explanation I have seen yet... I get sick of the corporate shill knife reviews. I guess they go for the cash flow not the flow of real knowledge.

True words spoken by a man that's been stuck in a greenbrier thicket a time or two!

glad your doing better! great video man!

I had to watch this one again! Great thoughts William. I really couldn't agree with you more. The skills we have in our head and that we have practiced are the tools we use. We just adapt them for the gear we have on hand and the environment we are dealing with. And like you mentioned several times, try to select gear that fits your location and you will have a much better time out in the woods! Good stuff my friend! take care -Chris

Humbled by your kind words brother. Keep the great videos coming, one of my favorite channels.

Absolutely, also it can be whatever you have. But I also prefer 6, 7inche blades.👌

Great video William, I recently reprofile an old survival 7 inch tanto knife which I had about 9 years. I use it a lot back then I recently change the profile to a butcher/bushcraft knife with wood and leather handle. It feels much better than before. I believe you have to learn your skills with the knife of your choice. I'm curving my stick each time I have a chance.

Fantastic video William, all said that need to be said about this topic! Thanks, Cheers, Marc

I remember the survival knives from the 80s with hollow handles filled with fish line and hooks, matches and maybe some paper and pencil to write on. The survivalist movement was big, but the knives were not as good in my opinion. A small belt knife and a good machete are my favorite tool when working in the woods. I use them constantly. The best "bushcraft" knife is not as efficient as my machete, but it has more weight and size (14") and does not carry on belt as well granted. Enjoy the info. I admit I know little of Bushcraft knives except some of them are good in woods.

Great vid !! As i am new to the different types of blade grinds is there a video of what they are and what ones are good for what? I have always just used knifes but didn't know there were different .."Grinds"

I know this is a late comment but thank you for not throwing “tactical” knives into the mix. Great video.

Wonderful commentary as usual and very well presented. Another way to look at it is that there are different but related scenarios at the base of the ideas of bushcraft and survival and each have a strong element of romanticism on them. Bushcrafters essentially want to try to live for a while the way men who drew their living from the forest did a century or more ago while survivalists want to see if they can maintain themselves in an emergency situation that is most often situated in a remote area of the world, sort of Daniel Boone or Rambo. I agree that the one tool option isn't a good idea and I can't think of any historic group of woodsmen who chose or allowed themselves to be put in a position where they had to try to stay alive with just one tool.

Love it William!! Preach on man.

True it's almost impossible to get into a survival situation in the eastern woodlands these days. I have been to the most remote parts of the Virginia mountains on Thanksgiving and Christmas only to happen across several other hikers. I would have to severely injure myself, do my best to get off a trail and loose my signaling devices to even have a chance of enjoying a good survival situation lol. They don't come easy anymore.

Excellent video William, I completely agree with your philosophy. Some ppl just don't get it, they need to watch this video, as well as the "Experts". Awesome blades too. Thank you for this video. Atb. Diane

I keep a Mora bushcraft black on my belt, (don't feel the need for a larger blade and don't prefer them) with an old razor sharp Case trapper, a hatchet, machete, folding saw and shovel in my pack. I never have any issues. Good video

Makes perfect sense to me. Good stuff.

You make very valid points- great video

totally agreed,glad you Made this video about this subject

Your view on knives is the exact same as what I have been taught my whole life. That's why my primary blade is an Esee Junglas and my small companion blade is a PKS Scorpion. I can use the Junglas to go through brush, make shelters, etc and I can use the Scorpion to do all the fine tasks

fantastic video man I totally agree...

Rocks the Wok. cooking joke.

Hello William! Thank you for this absolutely invaluable video. A lot of what you shared here will stay with me for a lifetime. So much truth in all you said! You are so right about environments and choosing a knife for that said environment. I also would like to add my humblest thanks for the shout outs to both myself and Homer Mayo. God bless you brother, get to feeling even better and we'll see you in the woods.- Donny

Great information. Yes I unserstand.

Good thoughts. hope you feel better.

This was truly an engaging video. I'm in the same page with you. Thanks so much for sharing this and keeping it real. LOTS OF KNIVES

Great vid brother a person can have the best gear knives or what have but if they dont get out and use them then they are a useless tool but love love the vids brother

a very good video, I could not agree more.

Good video....great discussion!

I feel like the people who are beholden to one specific knife probably don't have many knives or haven't tried many. If you like knives and think they are that important, then why not have a variety of all types? They aren't that expensive, especially if you just go entry level. They all serve a function as a tool designed for a certain job with characteristics. It's fun just to play with them and try them out, with bandaids close by of course.

On point. Thank you,.

I fully agree that all this labeling is commerce. I was expecting to see a chopping flint. And our ancestors walked way longer than we are driving cars but still we consider a car an improvement. :) A lot of outdoor people have more than one knife. So these commercials work. If some tv celebrity tells what a survival knife is supposed to look like he usually sells these kind of knives ;) It's true that some knife styles are better at some jobs and for the beginner that's important. When the skills improve it really does not matter that much any more. I can survive anywhere with a 10 usd Hultafors or it's a place I also could not survive with a 500 usd knife. I still prefer a machete in the jungle of course, but it's not a life or death choice or difference. It's an ongoing discussion. There are more topics like that. I'm not saying these discussions are not useful. People see it, read it, might get interested in the outdoor world, start showing (growing) some respect for nature, etc.

Bushcraft is a learned behavior and skill; survival is a situation or circumstance. Any tool will perform to the extent of your knowledge and ability; it will only fail if you fail. Never get caught with your pants down...........Knowledge is the only tool you need to worry about!

At the end of the day a true survival knife is the knife you have on you when it is required for extraordinary use to preserve yours or someone elses life. This debate has been done to death but a survival knife has zero actual design requirements other than it accomplish that simple task.

Thank You !

Brother the points of view that you have shared here need to be said over and over. Great video great information. I have more than just a few knives Timothy Osborne has made. Really like his knives.other than being a close brother he is an all-around great man with a huge heart Full of giving and selflessness.

it's best to just be prepared and forget about the one tool nonsense but if you are gonna play that game agreed 100% learn your knife pick and choose your battles and use common sense. as for ancient tools don't forget the natives in those places where Flint in church are not readily available used bone for thousands of year's here in Alaska you can't just pick flint/chert just everywhere but I really wish I could working on learning where to find that very limited resource up here. anyways great video and glad you're feeling better

Well put William.

Great vid, well said. As usual you just put it into plain language that we can all understand. Get well.

and like most folks, I always have a pocket knife on me to supplement my belt carry.....so when the aliens attack, so long as they don't take my pants, I'll have some options....lol And I've never been in a survival situation here at home.....and hope I never will be...!!

Great video

that master woodsman is growing on me...!!

I was in a survival situation, but thanks to my little altoids survival kit and my skilled ability to baton some wood, I survived! Pfffff. Lololol. The closest most of us will ever come to being in a "survival" situation is breaking down on a rural highway with a dead phone battery. Most survival situations are a direct result of very stupid decisions.

Totally agree. This survival knife thing has been over hyped. It's simply a selling ploy and very little beyond that. Realistically how many people find themselves in real survival situation? I'd venture to say VERY few. This has been propagated by 'reality' survival shows and used as a marketing ploy. Well done sir for telling it as it IS !

Your're dead on when you mentioned flint as a proven "survival knife", thanks William.

That's a great video my friend really like Your point of view on knives 👌👍👏🙌 Ciao from Québec ⚜

Say Heah, I totally agree,, But I've been in a situation where I simply ran out of daylight, In rough place that I wasn't to familiar in, That's why I will rely on one of your knives my ordered Mater Woodsman, to help me survive atleast until daylight. Staying warm is very important to me, so I will need something to lite process wood to start a fire before I could find some smalls, Yeah, A good knife is a Survival Knife, In my case, I prefer atleast a 6" blade, made well. If a person feels comfortable with a 4" blade as his survival knife, I say, Kewl Beanz. ,, .

Hello, I appreciate the video and understand the point you want to make about the flint and agree on everything else. But I disagree about the value of the flint or its ultimate usefulness. An individual flint blade will not hold up as well as a metal blade. It will chip away with every single cut you make, unless those cuts are only in soft materials like flesh, skin or the like. Anything of resistance will chip off or break the flint to a point where you have to manufacture a new flint blade. That takes both time and effort from you before you actually can go on with your desired task. Rudimentary put, one have to basically manufacture a new flint blade for every new cutting task or many flint blades to complete a bigger project that involves cutting or chopping harder materials. Also, Im sure one or two caveman have not survived because the flint blade simply didnt hold up well enough. The reason we know so much about flint is that they dont decay in nature and they are constantly being found to this day. Are flint knives sharp? Oh no doubt! Are they fragile and brittle? Absolutely! To conclude, there is a reason why even the most crude and basic metal got the overhand on flint when humans got involved with metallurgy. Copper knives are good examples. Now, as an extended example, would you use copper knives today when there are better metals? Thanks for the video.

Nice Video.

Well explain difficult and full of controversy topic. I only hope not to be in a survival situation... great video

Damn Aliens😂

i hate it when alians take all my crap

I agree there is no one tool wonder knife out there personally I carry 3 if ya count my pocket knife plus a small axe and a saw

I would go as far as to say there is no such thing as a survival knife since for it to exist means having one on you in the near impossible scenario where you end up in such a situation. And if you do happen to end up in that situation then literally any tool you have or find is then a survival tool inherently. Survival implies being in a situation that is unplanned. How many of us will end up in that situation while having a knife that can accommodate such a scenario? Community is the only true survival tool. That and faith in God.

And no matterwhat knife we use we could alsways use another... no one has too many knives.

People talk about things that might or could happen far too often. 99% of people will not need to survive for 24 hrs anywhere yet they think that owning a knife of any size will make them like a star they see on TV. I've seen so called people that can't start a fire with a lighter and yet they carry a ferro rod thinking that is the best choice for them. Anyone that spends time in the damp areas know that it is hard to find the resources when you are cold and it is dark. My friends that spend over 30 days in the woods tell me that a bushcraft blade of 4 inches will work but they need a saw or axe or they will lose too many calories getting the job done. I would like people to educate themselves and know going out with just a knife and do it all like build fire boards, shelter, or traps and survive because they saw a video are going to die if they can't get back to civilization they will lose calories faster than they can obtain. That being said I enjoy your tools in the woods and will post more soon. Not every knife maker can make a tool that can clean fish , fire prep, and fit the hands so well. Once again thank you for the time you put into refining your tools and anyone that wonders about Mr. Collins heat treat I am here to let you know he knows what he is doing. You wont have to worry about O1 or AEB-L failing you for normal routines on your adventures. The Master Hunter Model 1 is a great one tool option but there are others but if you are able you should always have multi tier preparation. Until then get dirt time and master the blade that you have or ask Mr. Collins what he recommends as he knows his business.

that was great my brother situational everything and yup survival is a dream except for certain areas and I always carry two if not 3 with me our fore father's new from living it and carry a bunch my self I like a big blade and a pocket knife it will do atb brother ..tom

I think a better way to put it would be camp vs. woods which is what it comes down to!!what knife do you want with you in the woods vs. camp!! the real problem here is people are lazy, they don't want to use their heads and figure it out for themselves they want to be told which is best then egos get involved and everybody and their brother has to put their exhalted 2 cents in because they're the greatest bushman since Daniel Boone!! personally, I reject the one blade situation, i'm always going to have more than one knife and probably a small belt axe with me simply because I know not knife can do every job, plus I know old Murphy's out there and I ain't taking the chance of running into him without being ready to ruin his whole day!!!! it's like Canterbury says, nothing beats dirt time to know what works best!!! and like you I despise the term survival as well as bush-craft both unnecessary terms!! all they mean is they added $15.00 !!!going by your description of bush-craft, I despise the concept of bush-craft as well, when i'm out, I want to be AWAY from people as far as possible!! not 50ft. away from the next campsite, that's why I'd rather refer to it as camping!!! but to me, a woods knife is the blade version of a A.K. 47 tough as a old boot, utterly reliable and not necessarily the most expensive out there!!as a matter of fact, some of the best knives I've had were the cheapest, something you didn't mind banging up!!

Since you seem to have so many knives that i would like to handle and probably own...how bout i make a drive down from Tulsa OK with a pocket full of greenbacks?...maybe that would bypass that pesky 12 month waiting list...lol

can't argue with common sense!...well, ya could, but, ain't no sense in it...woods

7:43 "Survival is way over emphasized." 7:59 "In today's world, how many times are you going to be more than 5 miles from civilization in any direction?" These are simply the wrong premises behind all the bushcraft lore that is popular now...: 1-There are countries OTHER than the US where it is easily more than 5 miles . 2-You assume you haven't twisted an ankle, or injured your foot, in the woods, and can walk at your leisure like in a city... Literally hundreds of people die in the woods every year, so it is not that rare an occurrence, and a tiny bushcraft knife would have been of no help at all in ALL these instances... You are unlikely to carry a hatchet on a day hike, and even if you did, it would be crap weapon and a poor tool for just about every other task, to say nothing of being incapable of path clearing... There is a reason most really primitive people gravitate towards machetes or bolos or parangs and all sorts of similar things that have one thing in common: They are similar to huge chopping knives... This is the one video I did on survival knives, and it touches on some of these points: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xJvqThZ0gkY.html

I will be owing your parang 1day and not soon enough!

there's 20 min. of my life.i won't get back.

I had to watch this one again! Great thoughts William. I really couldn't agree with you more. The skills we have in our head and that we have practiced are the tools we use. We just adapt them for the gear we have on hand and the environment we are dealing with. And like you mentioned several times, try to select gear that fits your location and you will have a much better time out in the woods! Good stuff my friend! take care -Chris