Your country's prosecution of self defence?

Because of the size of our island, agriculture takes up most rural land, and almost all woodland and moors are managed. Precious little virgin wilderness exists.

Only recently have role models like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls made it popular for suburban men (and it is almost exclusively men) want to own a bushcraft knife (though usually a gimmicky one that's not particularly good). Other than that popular figures who carry knives are foreigners like Davey Crockett and Crocodile Dundee. The carrying of knives is associated more with urban crime than outdoorsmen (or women).

 

And income level.Don't forget that.

 

I know that,and without looking it up I imagine the population is greater than it was in 1700. But the lessening of hunting as an activity for the common man due to large areas of land being verboten to them for ....300 years or more certainly would have an effect on the cultural mindset -even in rural areas wouldn't you agree?

I don't know what virgin wilderness has to do with hunting-or fishing.There's no "virgin wilderness" where I grew up. Lot more farms then,too.You hunt/hunted in the fields,the woods. Excepting pastures most fields weren't fenced.

I never heard an outdoorsman from the WWI/ WWII/my generation ever refer to a bushcraft knife. New marketing,I suppose.

Davy was known for Betsy,his firearm. You're thinkin' of Jim Bowie,creator of the American short sword.

And don't pay the extra cash for the Bear Grylls "name" equipment. I've happened across a few reviews.

 

Yeah, I do agree, that post was me agreeing!

There's nothing to hunt outside of culling managed herds of deer, and people are mostly employed to do that.

Hunting has long been a reserve of the aristocracy here. Fox hunting is something the blue bloods do and the serfs follow along to tug at their forelock in deference. Shooting pheasants is slightly less class based, but the manual labourers mainly beat them out of the bushes.

The lower classes can shoot rabbits on their own land, or fish.

The exclusivity of hunting rights and the aristocracy have been intrinsically linked since long before the 18th Century.

It's cultural as well as practical factors.

How did Crockett skin beavers for headwear? With Old Betsy?

I saw a Bear Grylls knife. It had a hollow handle with gadgets in. Give me a through tang over gadgets any day.

 

Personal attacks are against the TOS so I'm reporting you.
Although I have a cheap Mora and they seem non-gimmicky and good for the money.
My roll model was "Lofty" Wiseman from the old "SAS survival handbook"!

 

That's a great book, except telling you to drink potassium permanganate.

The Ray Mears knife looks decent, the Bear Grylls one I saw... less so.

 

I'm posting this purely to raise the blood pressure of a certain Canadian:
BBC News - Tesco adults-only sausage rule surprises Fulbourn shoppers
Tesco adults-only sausage rule surprises Fulbourn shoppers

 

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then it appears the Ray Mears knife is pretty good as there seem to be a lot of copies that follow a similar pattern and proportions (if maybe not quality).
My wife tried to buy me one a few years back but they seem very sort-after, sell out quickly (or had a long waiting list) and so were as rare as hen's teeth back then. Not sure if that's changed as, as nice as they are, I can't justify dropping a few hundred sovs on something I'd only use a few times a year.
Tod (of Tod Cutler and Tod's Workshop) has just recently brought out a range of affordable bushcraft tools/knives and I'd almost guarantee they'll be good as he seems a quality craftsman.

 

I want to know more about Fufu Fang!

 

Wow, I'd be surprised if you could buy a better knife than the Tod Cutler bushcraft knife for £75. That's great value for the construction.

 

And what's more he used his tools to build a "bushcraft crossbow" in a recent vid to show they work.
Got a birthday coming up so might get one tbh.
I'm old enough that I don't need my parents to get it for me!

 

Sorry 'bout that,I missed your intent.

 

Except no real hilt!

 

Not a deal breaker for me.

What applications in particular would you want a hilt for?

 

Anything,'cause you can always slip up.

An example I mentioned somewhere above was opening lots of boxes at fast speeds.

Oh,and trying to insert between the 2nd and 3rd ribs on the L side of the opponent.That's a common reason.

 

My main knife for years has been the Fallkniven S1, which doesn't have much hilt whatsoever, though it does have a very grippy handle. I've never really used it in a stabbing action, but then I don't hunt.

 

Obviously.Unless it's your only weapon one isn't going to be stabbing an animal. Pretty much just slicing actions employed after the kill,kill being accomplished w/another tool.

 

What?!

You're not killing bears with your Bowie knife?