I halved, peeled and cut into chunks a large fresh pumpkin with a medium size knife the other day to make delicious pumpkin pies. But I soon got huge nasty blisters on my hand and fingers when I was suspecting nothing.

I will probably get myself a good quality Canadian made Grohmann Chef's knife full tang soon. But this made me think about survival situations where I would have to cut wood and perform other tasks with a four inch knife and realized that it can be tricky especially if your handle doesn't fit your hand properly. Do you practice with your survival knives?

Frankie

You may want to consider a ceramic Kyocera 5" utility knife. I have one & i am impressed with it.

The problem may be (trying to put this diplomatically) the condition of your hands. I take it that you don't do much hard labor. This can be a problem with our lifestyle these days, where we don't get enough exercise to harden our hands. We tend to work more with our brains & less with our hands.

Practice? No. USE? All the time. To me, there is little differene between a "survival" knife, and an "everyday" knife. If it's too big to EDC, your NOT going to have it when you need it

Strangely, I see very little need for a BIG knife just in my kit. A 4" fixed blade, backed up with a hatchet and a folding saw will do just about everything a big knife will do, and will do a lot of things the big knife WONT

As a matter of fact this is true although I used to do knuckle push-ups on cement and gravel to harden my fists during my Karate lessons long time ago. Anyway I will make sure my Stanley deerskin work gloves are packed in my bug-out bag.

Frankie

Some designs are clearly more comfortable to use. No guard on top of the blade. The fatter the spine, the more comfortable it will be to use with your thumb. A handle with smooth lines is going to be better than one with finger groves and sharp metal around the scales, etc.

Hmmmm: sounds like the Ritter fixed blade knife. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

"A handle with smooth lines is going to be better than one with finger groves and sharp metal around the scales, etc."

In a number of knife-related forums we'll commonly hear folks complain about the smooth handle on the Becker Knife & Tool blades, but to your point, I know I have read somewhere a comment from Mr. Becker himself saying that the smooth handles were designed to reduce hand irritation after extensive use. Rough, edgey handles may look cool and feel good at first but they are blister-makers.

BTW, I LOOOOOOVE my Ritter fixed blade. If you haven't purchased one yet, please consider doing so. From looks alone it is a beautiful knife (especilly the handle) with a very classy sheath (gray lettering on black - I like that it looks less military than the Becker sheath), but it also handles well and is sized just right, at least for my camping needs.

Salut Frankie,

If you're looking for great kitchen knives at a decent price, look at the Lagostina Pro-Forge knife kit available at Canadian Tire. I remember paying 150 $ for a 9" chef knife, a smaller 6" utility knife, a bread knife and a 5" paring knife. I use them all the time and they are great! Full tang, great feel... I don't forsee myself needing/wanting anything higher-end than that. They're basically exactly the same as pricier J.A. Henckels knives and such.

EDIT : Can't find the Pro-Forge set online, you might have to visit your local CT.

As for the practicing, I think you need to take advantage of fishing, hiking or camping trips to play with pieces of wood and make fire sticks, etc. I agree you can't really practice doing those survival chores at home.

:-)

While I might not agree with kc2ixe on what a "large" knife is, I agree whole heartedly with using your main knives regularly. I have a Ka-bar that I use in the woods, and a second one I use I in the kitchen. And a third one in the tool box. And a fourth in the car tool box. You can't tell I like that knife or anything, can you?

And when I was in college, living off campus, boy did that spook my roommate's mother the first time she was there while I was cooking. I also have a 12" machete that I use rather than a cleaver, so I guess I should be glad I was sectioning a deer. :P

Salut Bee, I will check them out but take a look at the Grohmann :



It looks well balanced and even sexy, with a nice handle and probably stainless steel from Germany. And it's made in Canada. I may order one from knifezone.ca Have you ever bought a knife from them?

Frankie