I just read through the "All purpose survival knife" thread and it got me thinking. What do you use your knife for? What do you use it for every day? How about camping or hiking? How do you anticipate using it in a survival situation?

Also many people seem to think a big chopper or heavier knife is what they want when they're in survival mode, but they can't carry that everyday. How would you use your everyday knife? Would you improvise a chopping tool if you needed one?

I have a Big knife (Bolo,dogfather) I carry in my BOB and in the trunk of the car plus a 5 inch blade for the "in case". If something goes wrong and I can get to my car, I have a big chopper plus my 5 inch blade, or if I'm at home and a twister, huricane or what have you comes, I grab my BOB and my bolo. Now, if I'm not near either, or can't get near either, then that's where the 5 inch comes in as a backup. The key to survival is your brain. I can jump on a plane, fly to LAX, get off the plane, goto walmart and buy 2 bic lighters for fire, and a machete for $10 to go in the trunk and they even have a 5 inch knife (drop down point)there for $10. I could mail them back when I return or throw them away, but the point is, you know what equipment you need, so when you travel, acquire and dispose as necessary. My big thing is I would like more training in bushcraft which is a invaluable tool worth more wight than gold. Look at all the survival schools and what is all in common, a big knife. There is a reason for it.

AROTC

In my case my every day carry is 2 knifes, The one I use the most is a 3 blade stockman pocket knife carred in my right pocket. My second knife is a swiss army knife carryed in my left pocket, The SAK is the large locking blade type and is called the Rutsack. This knife also has a good sized saw in it which would preclude me from haveing to use a large pice of wood on the straght blade to cut down small trees for making a shelter,or other tools needed during a bad situation. But I must admitt that in my BOB I have a Big Knife, That would be a 51/2 inch USAF Survival Knife for beating on if the job required that.

My knives don't lead very sexy lives.

My EDC is a mini-Rittergrip. It gets used to open mail, open boxes, cut hay twine, cut packaging strap - the heavy stuff, open plastic blister packaging, cut open bags of dog food and oats & bran for the horses, slice bagels, and much more.

When camping I generally bring both my fullsize Rittergrip and my fixed Rittergrip. The folder is used for carving wood - for fun, fire prep, or making "tools", for cutting packaging, cords, rope, and it is sometimes involved in cutting up food, though I'll usually try to use my fixed Rittergrip instead. Recently the fixed Rittergrip did an awsome job at cutting up onions, green peppers, and potatos for a Hungarian goulash - the meat was pre-cubed.

If I'm trying to split larger sticks, I'll use a hand axe and, if needed, batton the hand axe rather than a knife. For the most part I burn smaller lying wood that I can break or cut into suitable lengths with a hand saw.

I can honestly say that I have never had to use my knife during any day hiking or backpacking that I have done. That being said, I would never think of leaving it behind, because I know that when I actually do need to use it, I will REALLY NEED to use it.

I've used my knives a lot on ships for cutting line.

Here at the Academy I find my biggest use is envelopes and boxes.

Even with that history of light knife use, my EDC is either a KaBar Dozier Hunter or the RSK MK1. The RSK is also the knife I choose to take in the woods.

I'm thinking about the fixed Ritter, but with my light knife use I'm having trouble justifying it. And I would hate to get it and not take it hiking because of weight.

Back when I packed my Wave all the time, it was my primary go-to tool for most of my electronics work. I'd say it got used on average a dozen times a day. I used the blade for dressing coax and fiber for fittings, I used the diamond file to sharpen up other items, I used the screwdrivers a lot, I used the pliers for cutting, stripping and crimping wire and as a heat sink.

Now I use my little SAK classic as a personal hygiene tool (fingernails, mustache trimmer, toothpick), or to open plastic bags, cut tape, cut paper, open CD case wrappers, open shrink form plastic wrappers, you get the idea.

In the woods, I've used my bigger knives to field dress game, clean fish, chop kindling and make tinder, make lodgepoles, make skewers, cut rope, you get the idea.

Quite an extreme variance to go from the litle SAK with a one inch blade weighing a couple ounces to the Battle rat with a 9" blade weighing a couple pounds.

I clip a little 1" on-hand locking gerber folder in my right pocket for the everyday cutting, opening tasks that seem to come up. I also carry a swiss "field master" with a little piece of tinder and michmetal clipped to it in my left pocket. this beauty has the scissors, phillips and flathead screwdrivers that I seem to use everyday for one thing or another. using the gerber for everyday cutting leaves the two blades of the fieldmaster razor sharp for backup. also, the straight blade of the gerber can be touched up on my stones to arm shaving keenness in a minute or two. This allows me to do it every couple of nights or so while waiting for the dogs to come in from their evening whiz. I wear a "field vest" (ie. fishing vest) every day with all sorts of goodies in it. I'm not actually too out of place here in NH with it either. Anyway, I have a fixed 4" blade Mora in the inside breast pocket of the vest, so it's always there. I don't use it too often, but sometimes pull it out in the woods to split fire wood, etc.

BTW, when hiking I "throw" my woodmans' pal in the backpack for good measure. I suppose this is major overkill, I could certainly at least ditch the mora to cut some weight. I don't however because it is on me in case I lose the backpack!

My EDC was a SOG Flash-1, but lost it. Not crying much, since I thought it was a POS. Currently it's a Kershaw something or other, 2 inch blade. When I'm not in class, it's often a Benchmade Griptilian.

Like most very little hard use. Mail, the occasional stray string on clothes, cleaning nails. Packages in the mail, cutting up cardboard boxes for recycling. Occasionally I'll use it for something hard. The Griptilian is also my second knife when I'm on any overnight hike, supplementing a SAK.

I never go anywhere without my Leatherman Supertool, plus a diamond sharpener, and use some part of it every day. In my car is a Sven saw and a "boys" sized axe. In my daypack is a Cold Steel Master Hunter. I figure that with those I can do just about anything I might want to, short of building a 1500 sq ft house...