I've finally settled on this eating ustentil for my next backpacking trip, the GSI Thrive spoon :



Along with this spoon, I will be bringing a Bahco Laplander saw and this nice SAK, the Victorinox Compact :




Question... do you guys use the same knife for eating and for other small chores? At the first the idea of only carrying one knife made sense but it might not be the most hygienic solution. I might bring another dedicated knife for eating.

What do you do?

I'll generally take at least two knives with me when hiking and camping. Both might get used and both might get used again for cooking and eating. I try to clean them, depending on what they've been cutting, but I'm not worried about sanitizing them.

If I've been hunting and then used one of the knives to clean game, I won;t be eating with that one until it's clean...but again, not necessarily sanitized.

For a long time I used to use my multitool knife, pocket knife, or swiss army knife for cutting food like cheese or sausages, etc. But I realized camping in bear country that isn't the smartest thing to do. And I also hate having grease/oil on my utility blade. So, even though its a little added weight, I've started using a US army mess kit knife for cutting food and a P-38 for opening any cans instead of my multitool can opener. So I recommend using a seperate knife for food cutting. Any cheapo serrated kitchen knife will work.

Yes, at least two knives to use interchangably. One will likely be suited for a certain type of food prep, while the other one will be better for different food chores, just like with my non-cooking tasks.

Back when I used to BP, the food I carried rarely required a knife to cut it; a spoon worked just fine for all meals. But on the off chance that I needed to slice something, that is why God made pants legs, for blade wiping after a dunk in boiling water (unless I was in a hurry, then just water...

I use my Vic Rucksack for cooking / cook prep, eating and small chores around camp. I clean it with boiling hot water.

I need to buy this; the knife not the tweezers although they are cool too.

http://www.agrussell.com/knives/by_purpose/cooking/cooking_tweezers.html

which is why sailors have to wear socks, to be able to wipe off their fingers, after eating!!!

My wife, the former swabbie, says that nylons aren't worth a damn for wiping anything from your fingers...

But nylons are good for quick polishing the odd pair of boondockers or shoes.

(Also former-sheswabbie)