Originally Posted By: hikermor
I just love all this talk about "celebrity" survival knives - way too much emphasis on what is really a very simple, commonplace tool that has been available for thousands of years.

And yet, it seems that everyone who relies upon a knife has come up with their own set of ideal characteristics that a knife should have, from George W. Sears to Doug Ritter and I doubt these are the first or last gentlemen who will be advocating, and yes even selling, their ideal blade designs.

I would guess this pattern goes back well before Nessmuk and will continue as long as men use knives in the outdoors and have a public platform.

I think this discussion became what it did because of the questions on many people minds. Like whether this latest breed of televised outdoorsman (i.e., Grylls & Stroud) are actually promoting their own ideals or are just putting their name on product, and if they are promoting tools which would be a liability as opposed to a benefit in the field compared to what is already available on the market.

Originally Posted By: hikermor
If one wishes to lug around a heavy "Rambo" type cutting tool, that is fine, but chances are, there are better uses for the money and weight involved.

I don't think any of the knives discussed so far would fall into this category; they all pretty much fall into the 4"-5" range.
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Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck. Roald Amundsen