# General > General Knives & Blades >  Need help choosing a good long lasting camp blade and axe for long term primitive liv

## Aleks

I have been looking for a good multi use knife to use for long term primitive camping. I would like to chop and cut through  wood of various diameter, as well as skin and prepare game. I also need a good strong axe for cutting timber and splitting logs. As well as maybe for preparing large game.
What I've found are good choice in my opinion so far is these: 
Gransfors Bruks Outdoor Axe

Ka-Bar Becker BK9 Combat Bowie Fixed Blade Knife

Condor Tool and Knife 1.5-Pounds Greenland Pattern Axe with Leather Sheath

CFK Cutlery Company IPAK USA Custom Handmade HAMMERED D2 Tool Steel Camo Micarta Large 16.5" 

Ontario 8628 RTAK II Knife

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated. I'm looking for quality so price isn't an issue.

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## Lamewolf

Any ideas or suggestions appreciated. I'm looking for quality so price isn't an issue. 

Gransfors Bruks Outdoor Axe - check and double check, great choice !

Knife:  try looking at the ESEE line of knives: http://www.jungletraining.com/  quality that's hard to beat and a no matter what lifetime guarantee !

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## nighthawk7.ni

easy answer for u check out lon humphrey custom knives they stand up to what ever u throw at them they are hand forged look period and not that pricy for custom i have a hunter check out his video and web site . the axe is tougher i seen some good ones just depends on style and if you want period look or modern

Sent from my LGL34C using Tapatalk

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## kyratshooter

Sometimes I feel like there are too many people with too little experience searching through too many choices.

99% of what you do with a knife can be done with an Old Hickory butcher knife with a 6" blade.  Everything else is just a dress up party.

As for the Axe, get yourself an Eastswing camp axe and find a good brand of single bit axe with a good 2 1/2-3 pound head.  As long as it is a good brand and not a Walmart or Harbor Freight special, and you care for it, it will cut wood for longer than you are alive. 

My camp axe is a 1 1/2# Plumb I rigged up with a 2 foot handle about 30 years ago and my big axe is a 3# True-Temper that is older than my own 66 years.  My "hatchet" is older than dirt, made from a small broad-axe salvaged form a rondy trade blanket, I think, can't remember that far back.

They have worked fine for trips of two days up to two weeks and I hiked the AT for three months carrying a 6" Old Hickory butcher knife stripped of its handle to save weight.  They have chopped wood, skinned, quartered and butchered game, prepared food and I have had no complaints.

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## Roel

Gransfors Bruks is a good choice. Less expensive is the Husqvarna allround axe and it will do the job just as fine.
And the axes from Hults Bruk are also available in the States nowadays and also less expensive as the Gransfors.

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## finallyME

Condor is another brand to look at.  Other than that... I'm with KYRS.

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## crashdive123

I would be quite comfortable in the woods with nothing but Old Hickory kitchen knives.

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## hunter63

I have to agree as well.....once you get a blade that cuts, chops, shaves and clean animals....the rest is just window dressing....or bragging.

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## Wildthang

Just a cheap old Mora will do just about anything you need to do with a knife. I have a couple of low priced Bucks that serve me well!

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## Aleks

Thanks for all the great replies guys! I know carbon steel is more easily sharpened in the wilderness if you have no traditional sharpener, so with that being said, what axe would be best if I did not have a sharpener with me?

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## crashdive123

If you are planning on taking a knife and ax to the woods with you, why not also plan to take a sharpener?  It really isn't all that difficult to do, and should be part of your plan.

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## kyratshooter

Why folks have decided that a good knife never needs sharpening I can not understand??  

"Back in the day" we had a pouch on the sheath for a stone on many knives.  Today we have carbide sharpeners and small diamond hones that do a fantastic job and take up little space.

Every knife, no matter how good or how expensive is going to need sharpening eventually, and a dull expensive knife is just as useless and a dull cheap knife.

A small file, sharpening stone or diamond hone will work for all your edged tools and should be considered a necessity, not excessive gear.

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## LowKey

If you are taking an axe and a knife into the woods for a long term primitive experience, bring two of each. Nothing sucks more than breaking the eye of an axe and having to use it as a hand axe. The knife is even easier to break when you start using it for things you oughtn't.
You only need a spare axe head. You can always make or re-use the handle.

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## DSJohnson

Question.  Could you please define what you mean by "long term primitive camping"?  Are you talking about pre-1840's camping?  Are you meaning a month long back packing trip?  A horseback pack in Hunting trip? You are not talking about a modern move to the country to live are you?  Thank you.
Also when you talk about "splitting logs"  do you mean an axe you can use to both fell a tree and then split the main trunk of the tree after loping off all the limbs?  I have some suggestions and a couple of recommendations but I would really like to know the answers to the above questions first.

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## hunter63

I agree that a definition  would be helpful.......
Just a couple of comments, no matter what you choose......use your tools for the use intended, and don't throw them at things

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