I like an outdoor knife that lets you whack out saplings and still dice food without dusting your knuckles.
Swamp Rat is said to make a high value knife. Their Camp Tramp has a big blade that you choke up on for kitchen work then haul back on to use as a hatchet. swamprat.com/
The hangup with some modern blades like the Rats is that I’m finding a thick blade to be a frequent handicap: thin blades cut so much better!
For thing blades, you can’t go wrong with cheap ole Old Hickories of various models. Knife buffs say they can be easily modified into super camp knives. www.knivesplus.com/OLD-HICKORY-KNIVES.HTML
Man, for butchering deer, a 5″ upswept boning knife is really handy for doing the whole job. Forschner makes a good one: www.knivesplus.com/FORSCHNER-KNIVES-BONING-KNIVES.HTML
Man, it’s fun dialing in the tool scene: what’s the right shovel? the right saw?
I got a 10″ Granfors-Bruks hatchet last year. It’s handmade and is the ultimate coffee-fire hatchet. I was finding my standard 14″ hatchet to be a bit big for kindling. This GB is the tiniest thing! Small enough even for excellent kitchen use on cheese and sausage. Just as with the Tramp, you can choke up on it to use it as a knife (fingers go under the long-drop head). It’s Swedish and the Euro is strong so it’s pricey, but heck will last 100 years. These guys have the cheapest ones: rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1000860.
