Considering I am going camping, I know I need a knife. My friend told me one that would be like an ax. I am going to have to chop dry wood to build a fire.

What do you carry?

In the woods I carry one of these. How much are you willing to spend?

Sounds like you need a parang or kuhkri knife, that is if you want something to do it all. You could get a hatchet, which if it was actually cold weather you would probably need. A folding saw doesn't require skill, so always take one of those, too. Get a good fixed-blade knife to your liking, or if it is awkward to display, get a good heavy-duty locking folder. A cheaper locking folder that I like that takes alot of punishment -- I always have it in my car to whittle with -- is a rubber handled Buck Alpha Hunter liner-lock knife. It is too heavy for EDC. The weight and size of the handle is ridiculous when considering the amount of blade given. But it gives plenty of leverage for heavy duty work that some other folders I own cannot.

I just ordered the Doug Ritter Mini RSK MK1.

I just read an article of someone taking the RSK MK1 on a trip to cut wood. I wonder if the mini is good enough. I don't want to spend a lot. But as with all items I buy in life, I want to get the best bang for my buck.

Yep, I pack the RSK MkI as EDC, too. Just find something bigger like that Becker Norad showed for camping. It should do the job.

It would be hard to beat the Ritter. I mean that literally--I like mine too much to split wood with it, unless of course it was an emergency. In that case I'm sure it would do the job. But for everyday around-the-camp woodwork, get yourself a good fixed-blade as well. 5" to 6" ought to do it. Check out the section on survival knives elsewhere on this site. Some good recommendations there.

You live in THE WINDY CITY and your not aware of Nature's pruning service? Everybody wants to 'get away from it all' but leave a few more board feet of denuded forest monday morning in thanks. Think small fire sit close versus bonfire dance like nekkid druid in the moonlight. You can readilly gather wood from the ground and break dead and dry branches from trees without harm. You don't need an Alaskan Log Splitter, Viking broadaxe or a houstrained pet beaver to do that either. Any decent fixed blade knife such as discussed in Doug's section on sharps will give you more options than decent people deserve. Chances are you'll wind up opening up a can of beans because your P 38 got lost, cutting paracord for that broken shoelace and gripping it tightly at 3 A.M. when a field mouse runs across your camp and you have visions of Bart the Bear sniffing your toes. Axes, parangs and kukris wil just make you walk with a list to port and throw your compass off 5 degrees, which in the East just about cancels each other out. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

If I was only going to carry one item, it would be my Leatherman Charge Ti. The tools probably would cover most needs on a camping trip plus the blade is of high enough quality for most EDC use. Plus the saw on the Leatherman would be better than using a large fixed blade for cutting wood. If you need an axe to obtain the wood, your fire is too big.

If you want to carry two items, the knife would be the RSK without the serrated blade (the charge Ti already has a serrated blade.)

So in laymans terms, stick to my Leatherman Wave and Mini RSK 1. I also just receive my INKA and SPACE pens. Man I'm thrilled today. My EDC is building.

All the knives/tools discussed are great! I will also echo the small fire comments, big fires are for ceremonies. And remember, DEAD and DOWN first then DEAD standing when gathering fire wood.

Personally, if I could only carry one knife in the field it would be a Leatherman Wave. While multi-tools blades aren’t as nice as the purpose built locking folders like the RSK, the added tools and capabilities make up for it.

When backpacking and going light I carry my Leatherman Wave and a full sized RSK. If weight isn’t as issue, I add a quality fixed blade knife, like a Benchmade Nimravus.

Any knife is better than none, but your setup of a Mini-RSK and a Leatherman Wave is a great way to go. You could add an inexpensive quality fixed blade knife like the Becker Crewman Norad linked, for $43 you can’t go wrong those are well built versatile knives!

So Wave is probably a way to go. That's the only thing I carry when backpacking, unless I a am going winter camping, in which case I bring a "survival" type knife as well.

You certainly don't need an axe for camping. Or a knife that will imitate one. In all the years I've been camping and backpacking, never once have I needed such a thing. I do carry a larger knife, but not gigantic. A ColdSteel SRK. Never once have I actually NEEDED a knife that large. I think on my next trip the SRK will probably be replaced by a much smaller Becker Necker.

Most chores are easier done with a blade in the 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inch range. The SRK has stayed burried deep in the pack, in case a real survival situation presented itself. I can't imagine needing to access it quickly (especially since I've never REALLY needed to access it the first place!) While it may look manly to pull out a 14" Kurki to cut a piece of paracord, it's hardly necessary. Leave that showmanship some neanderthal future Darwin winner in one of their "He yall, watch THIS!" moments. A Spyderco folder will do the job faster, neater, and safer.

In layman's terms sometimes you just have to go camping and risk getting a little uncomfortable. Some folks advocate ultralight camping that reflects more philosophy than real world needs. Thats great if your seeking a beautific vision like a mendicant monk. On the flip side some people set up a perimeter defense with dedicated bear rifles and fail to notice the butterflies. Everyone's needs fall somewhere in between the two, depending of course on experience, finances and the minimum wage for Sherpa guides to shlep this stuff for you. Go camping and then you'll know better than anyone here what YOU need. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

While yes, most outdoor tasks can be done by a smaller knife and a huge knife is more often than not overkill, don't underestimate the usefulness of a good bigger fixed blade knife. The real utility of a fixed blade knife, like the Becker Crewman, is that some tasks are easier and quicker than with a smaller knife. When the SHTF and you are scrambling to build a shelter, fire, etc using less energy and time is a good thing! Again, yes these tasks can be completed with a smaller knife but it is easier and quicker, requiring less energy with a larger one.

If you have the money to buy one and neither weight nor room are an issue than bring a good fixed blade knife. I do leave my fixed blade knifes home from time to time, but I prefer to have one with me in the field!

For what it is worth, Boy Scouts, who do LOTS of camping (pretty much the core of the Scouting experience) are taught to carry/use three different tools when camping:

1. Pocketknife - for food preparation, cutting small stuff. My son's troop recommends a locking blade. Younger Scouts tend to carry Swiss Army Knives; older Scouts tend to carry multitools (Leatherman & others). The screwdriver tools aren't much use, but the pliars get used a bunch. We tend to use real can openers rather than mess with those on knives.

2. Axe - mostly used to split wood and chop small 1-3 finger sized sticks. Any larger and it is much easier to use a saw to do the cutting. My son's troop tends to limit this to hatchets (battoning with logs to split larger wood) rather than axes, but my own bias is that hatchets are more dangerous than full length axes since hatchets have a slightly higher tendency to get close to fingers, legs, etc...

3. Bow saw - used to crosscut larger logs

If you want to learn how to camp, consider getting a Boy Scout Handbook, which is packed with simple but very usefull camping/hiking skills. If you don't know where to buy one the Chicago Area Council's web site is http://www.chicagobsa.org - call them and they'll tell you where to buy one.

Where are you camping were you think you'll need to split wood?

Seriously, most public campgrounds are stoves only these days, or you use a fire ring at a fixed site using supplied wood. And most privately owned land that is worth camping on will have someone with a rifle investigating an open fire and campsite if you dont' have permission. (Something about meth labs and pot patches makes people with land kinda cranky.)

You honestly don't need a big knife 99% of the time. Trust me, I grew up in the woods. Most of the time a saw is a lot more useful for the weight and bulk, and a lot safer if you are just learning.

While you can split wood if with a long knife if needed, you usually don't need to nor do you want to. I know I'm about to scandelize people, but I've only broken three fixed blades in twenty years, and two of those were by batoning. I've also bent a machete to the point it was unusuable trying. The technique just isn't one I can recommend.

If you want to split wood, you want an axe or better yet, a maul. Or best, a hydraulic log spliter- trust me on this, my parents house is heated with wood. But in the woods, while there is the romantic ideal of splitting wood, that's all it is for the most part. Open fires, just roll something so big you want to split it over to the edge of the fire to form a reflector while it dries, then feed it in a little as needed. Rolling is good, you are less likely to pull something in your back or your belly than if you'd picked it up.

What do I carry- a folding saw, a back up single blade folder and a swiss army knife in my pack, and my leatherman and my Ka-bar MKII on my belt. And I only carry the Ka-bar becuase it is has been with me so long, it is basically a part of me. If I was going to replace it, I'd go with the Becker Crewman.

Thank you all for your sound reasoning. I appreciate the pure honesty in your responses and reasoning with me instead of just answering my question in black and white.

I will stick to my WAVE tool and mini RSK knife.

Reason is the point of existance, along with experince. And without reason, there no true understanding of those experinces, you'd just kinda bob along like a sheep tossed into the ocean. *cue soundtrack and robot shark*

And don't get me started on the human created ideas about these mythological black and white. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I carry a Gerber LMF. Big, thick and holds an edge. You can chop wood and abuse it without fear or ruining it.