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  1. #1
    Registered User SunnyWalker's Avatar
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    Default Best Lightweight Knife for ThruHike

    I have found it. It is lightweight. When you wear it as it was made to wear you can get to it easily without reaching into your pack. It will do all the jobs I could conceive of in a normal hike: cut food, cut rope, cut cheese, etc. It is the Buck Hartsook Neck Knife. I came across it accidently and it is a little humdinger. I have carried larger knives many times but have read many posts where posters talk about that is another area we can cut down on the weight we are carrying. Then they describe just what do we really, really use these knives, dream knives, rambo knives, multi-tool knives, etc., for? NOT MUCH! I know there are exceptions to this. I have come to a place where I had to agree. So I have been looking for a light knife. I think this is it. Look it up at buckknives.com and look for the Hartsook knife. You can also see this little knife in action on YouTube.
    "Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges. Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!" (Rudyard Kipling)
    From SunnyWalker, SOBO CDT hiker starting June 2014.
    Please visit: SunnyWalker.Net

  2. #2
    Registered User ShelterLeopard's Avatar
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    Nice- looked it up, and I like it!

  3. #3
    Registered User SunnyWalker's Avatar
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    Default

    Thanks Shelter. I also like the KaBar Becker Necker knife. That might be a close second. It is heavier though.
    "Something hidden. Go and find it. Go, and look behind the Ranges. Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you . . . Go!" (Rudyard Kipling)
    From SunnyWalker, SOBO CDT hiker starting June 2014.
    Please visit: SunnyWalker.Net

  4. #4
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    RAT cutlery Izula.

  5. #5

  6. #6
    Garlic
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    The lightest, simplest tool I've found for the job is a single-edged razor blade in a plastic holder/scraper handle from a drug store or hardware store--about a dollar with five spare blades, weighs about an ounce. It's sharp enough for minor surgery. It carries safely and easily in a pocket. It's not that great for food prep, so I don't carry any food that needs to be prepped and I cut my cheese with the edge of my spoon.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  7. #7
    Registered User Ramble~On's Avatar
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    I don't know about "best" cause there are so many different knives out there. I carried a little Swiss Army knife with scissors and a small blade.
    I rarely used it. For food, I used a plastic knife from a fast food place. 6 1/2 months 2100+ miles...I used this knife maybe 10 times.
    "Going to the woods is going home" - John Muir

    "Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truely get into the heart of the wilderness" - John Muir

  8. #8
    Registered User Peaks's Avatar
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    Default

    First, thanks for sharing your find.

    But, no one piece of any gear is right for everyone. For example, my preference is the Leatherman Micra.

  9. #9
    Registered User Cheers's Avatar
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    "It is designed for wearing primarily around the neck for easy access."

    That toggle looks like a little short. Just how close to the neck are we talking?

    Scary.

    Cheers

  10. #10
    Registered User Seeker's Avatar
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    you wear the sheath around your neck, not the knife itself... so you can quickly draw it. and you don't have to wear it from your neck. that short stump of cord on the handle doesn't matter. you can run a loop of something through the hole in the other end (of the sheath) and wear it as high or low as you like. make sense?
    Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you. John Muir

  11. #11
    Registered User toegem's Avatar
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    I sometimes carry a Case folder 1 7/8" blade weighs in at a little over 18 grams, but most of the time I'll just carry my Swiss Army knife it's has other uses so I'm able to rationalize carrying the extra oz.
    The journey of 10,000 miles, begins with the first step.

  12. #12
    Registered User Dances with Mice's Avatar
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    Skidsteer turned me on to this one.

    I'm sorry that it's not a sexy tactical knife or anything. But it does all sorts of knife stuff really well.

    I modified it just by drilling a hole near the tip of the sheath so the sheath can be flushed clean and a hole near the handle for a loop of string.

    I've accumulated a few of them - one's in my backpack, another stays in my daypack. One's been hanging outside in my garden for a couple years, still shiny and sharp. One's in the lunch bag I take to work. There's a couple others hiding in various places like glove compartments and tool chests. They're sold at the local grocery store so I pick one up every now and then.
    You never turned around to see the frowns
    On the jugglers and the clowns
    When they all did tricks for you.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dances with Mice View Post
    Skidsteer turned me on to this one.

    I'm sorry that it's not a sexy tactical knife or anything. But it does all sorts of knife stuff really well.

    I modified it just by drilling a hole near the tip of the sheath so the sheath can be flushed clean and a hole near the handle for a loop of string.

    I've accumulated a few of them - one's in my backpack, another stays in my daypack. One's been hanging outside in my garden for a couple years, still shiny and sharp. One's in the lunch bag I take to work. There's a couple others hiding in various places like glove compartments and tool chests. They're sold at the local grocery store so I pick one up every now and then.
    Sold at what grocery store? That looks like a useful tool.

  14. #14
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    Default Anything Else is Overkill

    Quote Originally Posted by Ramble~On View Post
    I don't know about "best" cause there are so many different knives out there. I carried a little Swiss Army knife with scissors and a small blade.
    I rarely used it. For food, I used a plastic knife from a fast food place. 6 1/2 months 2100+ miles...I used this knife maybe 10 times.

    Ramble On is dead on! You don't need more than that on the AT.

  15. #15
    Registered User Dances with Mice's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by take-a-knee View Post
    Sold at what grocery store? That looks like a useful tool.
    Publix. The one near me has a kiosk near the entrance with Joyce Chen merchandise and other cooking supplies.
    You never turned around to see the frowns
    On the jugglers and the clowns
    When they all did tricks for you.

  16. #16

    Default

    Most hikers carry too much knife, as I did for many years.

    A hiker knife has three primary uses:

    *You'll use it often to cut blocks of hard cheese.
    *You'll sometimes use it on pepperoni or salami
    *Rarely, you'll need it to cut rope or parachute cord

    That's pretty much it.

    I love my Benchmark, just as I enjoyed its predecessors, from Gerber and Buck. I appreciate a good knife.

    Next February tho, I'll probably be packing a folding single-blade from Wal-Mart. It's really light, it does everything I'll need it to do, it's easily replacable if lost, and it'll cost me around two bucks.

    Funny thing.....on other thrads, you see people talking about the excessive expense of things like Trail maps. I wonder how many of these folks are carrying seventy dollar knives, fifty dollar flashlights, etc.

    (Oh, and having a scissors along is also a nice thing, but I carry a razor blade in my first aid kit which suffices quite nicely).

  17. #17
    Section Hiking Knucklehead Hooch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by winger View Post
    RAT cutlery Izula.
    Agreed, an excellent knife. I've had mine for nearly a year now and love it.
    "If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl

  18. #18

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    Mora(Frost) Make good light, cheap knives, for people who need more than a tiny folding pocket knife. If you cook on wood fires, they are great. If you lug stove fuel, you can get by on the tiniest of folding knives.
    "If we had to pay to walk... we'd all be crazy about it."
    --Edward Payson Weston

  19. #19
    Registered User Panzer1's Avatar
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    I don't believe that there is one "best" knife. There are many many very good knives for backpacking.

    Panzer

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ramble~On View Post
    I don't know about "best" cause there are so many different knives out there. I carried a little Swiss Army knife with scissors and a small blade.
    I rarely used it. For food, I used a plastic knife from a fast food place. 6 1/2 months 2100+ miles...I used this knife maybe 10 times.
    Does the blade have a lock? If not, it is an accident waiting to happen.

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